Photo credit: Jim FakatselisGet ready for a terrific sky show tonight! Mainly clear skies are expected over central Virginia, so we should have a spectacular view of the total lunar eclipse taking place. This will be the first lunar eclipse falling on the winter solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere) in nearly 400 years!
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow. The Earth literally hides the sun behind it! The partial eclipse phase will begin at 1:33AM ET. Totality begins at 2:41AM ET and lasts for about 72 minutes. The absolute "best" view is expected at 3:17AM ET as the moon will be deepest in the shadow and should show off some beautiful hues of red. The reason for the red appearance you see is all the sunrises and sunsets that occur around the ring of the Earth during the eclipse. The atmosphere and scatters and refracts sunlight, and some of that indirect sunlight passes through the Earth's atmosphere sending it into the shadow.
For more information on tonight's eclipse, check out these links:
Sky & Telescope (the basics on tonight's eclipse with detailed times)
Shadow & Substance (great visuals)
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