[/caption]There will be a complete lunar eclipse tonight. It will be visible across North America. It will be just in time for the longest night of the year. This year will be the first time since 1638 that a lunar eclipse has fallen on the winter solstice.
The lunar eclipse will be caused by the Earth's shadow blotting out the moon. It will happen at about 1:30 AM EST (10:30 PM PST). During "totality", which is when the Earth is directly between the moon and the sun, the moon will be colored a rusty orange-red for 72 minutes. This will occur between approximately 2:40 AM to 3:50 AM EST (11:40 to 12:50 AM PST).
The lunar eclipse will be best visible to viewers in North America as watchers in Europe, West Africa and South America will have their experience interrupted by sunrise.
What happens in a lunar eclipse is actually very interesting. First, when the Earth's shadow is only partly covering the moon, you see an almost black shadow on the moon. However, during totality the sunlight filtering through the Earth's atmosphere casts a ruddy glow on the moon. This makes the moon look, for a little while, almost like our very own planet Mars.
If you were an observer standing on the moon, looking back at the Earth, you would see a ring of red light circling the Earth. This light would mark all the sunrises and sunset across the planet.
If you want to skip the waiting, and want to only catch a little glimpse of the eclipse in its prime, you can go outside at 3:17 AM EST (12:17 AM PST). This is where the moon will be in the most shadow and will be displaying it's greatest coppery red color.
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