This year Winter Solstice is heralded by a total eclipse of the Moon -- the first time these two celestial events have coincided in 456 years. The next lunar eclipse is June 15, 2011, but North America will be turned the wrong way. Another, on December 10, 2011, will be interrupted by moonset and sunrise. The next total lunar eclipse for North America won't be until April 14-15, 2014.
So carpe diem! Or, um, noctem.
NASA Eclipse website: for information, chats, and live streaming.
Time Zone Converter:
In Vancouver, totality starts 11:41 pm tonight, ends 12:53 am Solstice morning.
CBC: If you were to stand on the moon's surface looking up at the sky, you would see Earth hanging above, nightside down, and completely hiding the sun behind it. Rather than being completely dark, the Earth's rim would appear as if it were on fire. Around its circumference, you would be seeing every sunrise and every sunset in the world at the same time.
This surrounding light will actually beam right into Earth's shadow, giving it a rusty glow. From the Earth, the moon would appear as a giant red orb because the only sunlight visible is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere.
