Winter Begins with Rare Solstice Lunar Eclipse
Skywatchers across North and Central America got an early holiday present this year — a total eclipse of the moon. Hanging high in the sky, the moon slowly turned from bright silver into a red disk early Tuesday. While a lunar eclipse is hardly unusual to have it fall on the winter solstice is very rare.
Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory combed through the record and discovered only one winter solstice eclipse in the last 2,000 years. And, the last time this happened was in 1638. Babies too young to appreciate this one won’t have to wait quite so long. The next scheduled winter solstice lunar eclipse will mark the first day of winter on Dec. 21, 2094.
Because lunar eclipses are visible with the naked eye there is little research being done on them. Put simply, a lunar eclipse occurs when the light shining on the moon from the sun is blocked entirely by the Earth. Some residual light remains, giving the moon an eerie glow. As far as scientists are concerned, there is no other significance to the eclipse than an alignment of natural cycles — a pure coincidence.
Today’s eclipse in the wee hours of the morning lasted approximately one hour.
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