The moon will be fully covered by the Earth's shadow at 9:15 a.m. EST this morning during a a minor lunar eclipse. That will be approximately a half hour before the moon reaches its fullest phase of November at 9:46 a.m. EST.

Want to glimpse a view of what is called the penumbral lunar eclipse? By clicking here you can access Space.com's amazing webcast as the November full moon passes into the edges of the earth's shadow. When gazing at the moon, observers will see a faint shadow around the moon's surface.

Though this penumbral lunar eclipse won't be as extreme as a total lunar eclipse, the changes in color around the moon are still rare.

Residents in East Asia, Australia, Hawaii and Alaska will be able to see the entire trajectory of the lunar eclipse. Everywhere else, online browsers can see the amazing effect via the Slooh Space Camera.

The eclipse will begin at 7:15 a.m. EST as the moon surpasses the outer edges of Earth's shadow, or penumbra. The effect is expected to be hazy and gradual. So it will only be perceptible after more than half of the moon has passed into the penumbra.

Scientists expect 92 percent of the moon's diameter to be immersed in the penumbra at about 9:30 a.m. EST, more than two hours after the eclipse starts.

November has been an active time for moon- and sun-gazers. A huge sun eruption was captured on video and camera by NASA in mid-November, showing consecutive solar storms that resulted in what is called a solar prominence.

The eruptions followed three other flare-ups on Nov. 12, 13 and 14. The sun is now in an active phase of an 11-year solar weather cycle. The cycle, known as Solar Cycle 24, will likely peak in 2013.

The event coincides with the full moon of November 2012. Stargazers in the Eastern U.S. and Canada will miss the lunar show, but the online Slooh Space Camera will be providing live views of the penumbral lunar eclipse beginning with a preview at 7 p.m. EST tonight (000 Nov. 28 GMT) of November full moon from an observatory in the Canary Islands, off Africa's western coast.(SOURCE)

The moon toe-dipped through Earth's shadow early on Monday, June 4 in a partial lunar eclipse that appeared to take a bite out of our planet's nearest neighbor.

The partial lunar eclipse of the full moon occurred in the wee hours of Monday morning in North America, with die-hard skywatchers rising early to catch a glimpse of the darkened moon.

"Good morning, beautiful eclipse!" skywatcher Maggie Cates of Weatherford, Texas, told SPACE.com (and the moon) in an email.

The full moon of June is known as the Strawberry Moon because it typically occurs at the peak of strawberry harvesting season, according to a NASA eclipse guide. At its peak, Monday's partial lunar eclipse blocked about 37 percent of the moon and was visible from western and central North America, South America, Australia and eastern Asia.

Lunar eclipses are caused when the moon passes behind Earth, with respect to the sun. When the moon passes directly behind Earth it creates a total lunar eclipse. Partial lunar eclipses happen when only part of the moon passes through Earth's shadow, an effect that occurs because the moon's orbital tilt is slightly different than the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun.













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Lunar eclipses happen when the full moon, Earth, and the sun are lined up so that the moon crosses through Earth's shadow.

"It's a very cool kind of thing to see. It gives us an almost 3-D feeling for space that we don't normally get," said Mark Hammergren, an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

Coined in 1979, the term "supermoon" is often used to describe a full or new moon that coincides with perigee—something that happens about once a year, on average.

We don't see an eclipse with every full moon because our natural satellite follows a tilted orbit around Earth. This tilt also means that an eclipse can be full or partial, depending on how much of the lunar disk falls in our planet's shadow.

The last total lunar eclipse was in December 2011, and the next one doesn't happen until April 2014.

Monday's partial eclipse will be visible to sky-watchers in most of North and South America during the early hours before sunrise.

Meanwhile, observers in Australia, the eastern parts of Asia, and across the Pacific Ocean will see the partial lunar eclipse Monday evening just after sunset.

The eclipse will last for more than two hours and will reach its peak around 4 a.m. PT, when about a third of the moon's disk will be covered in shadow.


Lunar Eclipse Writ Large

In early May the moon was at perigee within minutes of the official full moon phase, creating a supermoon that appeared 16 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the year's other full moons.

Next week the moon will officially reach perigee the day before the full moon, swinging just 222,750 miles (358,482 kilometers) from Earth.

But the lunar orb is only 0.26 percent farther away on the days before and after its closest approach, Hammergren said.

That means the full moon will still look slightly larger than normal during Monday's partial eclipse.

"It won't be a very noticeable effect," Hammergren said. "The full moon will look only about 5 percent larger than it does on average, appearing perhaps just a little bigger than it usually does."

Still, he added in an email, a supermoon eclipse is a relatively rare sight.

"If you restrict the label of 'perigee' to within only one day of true perigee, then such eclipses will only occur every 10 to 12 years."



Eclipse "Visible Proof" of Earth's Shape

While partial lunar eclipses are entertaining events for modern sky-watchers, in ancient times they served as some of the first evidence that Earth is not flat, Hammergren added.

"The Greeks understood that lunar eclipses happen when the shadow of the Earth is falling on the moon," Hammergren said.

During a partial eclipse, Earth's shadow on the moon's face clearly traces a circle.

"No matter what your angle was when the eclipse occurred, the shadow was always circular. And the only thing that projects a circular shadow no matter its orientation is a sphere," he said.

If Earth was flat, by contrast, the shadow would sometimes appear as a thin line or a squashed oval.

An eclipse, therefore, is "visible proof that anyone can see." (SOURCE)

The places that will get the best show, besides the middle of the ocean, include western North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. In most parts of the United States, the eclipse will happen in the predawn hours, and the moon will set before the event ends.

According to NASA’s predictions, the eclipse will begin at 8:48 a.m. GMT (4:48 a.m. EDT, 1:48 PDT) on June 4 and will end several hours later at 1:18 p.m. GMT (9:18 a.m. EDT, 6:18 a.m. PDT).

At first, it won’t be that noticeable—just a vague gray shadow that gradually appears on the full moon’s surface. This is the Earth’s penumbra, or the fuzzy edge of its shadow. But at 10 a.m. GMT (6 a.m. EDT, 3 a.m. PDT), the Earth’s umbra, or full shadow, will touch the edge of the moon.

The shadow will appear to take a black bite out of the moon over the next two hours, but it won’t be that big. Even at the height of the eclipse, less than half the moon’s surface will be shaded.

This event is the counterpart of the solar eclipse that crossed the Pacific in May. Every eclipse occurs two weeks from another eclipse; that is, a lunar eclipse must occur two weeks before or after a solar eclipse. A lunar eclipse can only happen on the full moon, when the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the Earth.

Lunar eclipses can be seen easily with the naked eye, or you can use binoculars for a closer look.

This is the first of two lunar eclipses this year. The second one will be a barely noticeable penumbral eclipse in November.
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In 2011, people saw a number of stunning solar and lunar eclipses around the world. In early January, the Middle East and much of Europe were treated to a partial solar eclipse. For Switzerland, the eclipse was the fullest since 1999.

In June, much of the world saw the first total lunar eclipse of the year. Lasting for 100 minutes, it was the longest in almost 11 years. Although it couldn't be viewed from North America, it was broadcast online for those who couldn't see it.

In early December, North America was able to view a total lunar eclipse. The eclipse lasted for about 51 minutes and was the last total lunar eclipse that will occur for three years. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon are perfectly aligned, with the Earth in the middle.

Lunar Eclipse: A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle.

Solar Eclipse: As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. In a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon.

Check out the photos below from 2011's lunar and solar eclipses

Only in the fleeting darkness of a total solar eclipse is the light of the solar corona easily visible. Normally overwhelmed by the bright solar disk, the expansive corona, the sun's outer atmosphere, is an alluring sight. But the subtle details and extreme ranges in the corona's brightness, although discernible to the eye, are notoriously difficult to photograph. Pictured above, however, using multiple images and digital processing, is a detailed image of the Sun's corona taken during the 2008 August total solar eclipse from Mongolia. Clearly visible are intricate layers and glowing caustics of an ever changing mixture of hot gas and magnetic fields. Bright looping prominences appear pink just above the Sun's limb. The next total solar eclipse will be in July but will only be visible in a thin swath of Earth crossing the southern Pacific Ocean and South America.

Thunderstorms almost spoiled this view of the spectacular June 15 total lunar eclipse. Instead, storm clouds parted for 10 minutes during the total eclipse phase and lightning bolts contributed to the dramatic sky. Captured with a 30 second exposure the scene also inspired what, in the 16 year history of Astronomy Picture of the Day, the editor considers may be the best title yet for a picture (title credit to Chris K.). Of course, the lightning reference clearly makes sense, and the shadow play of the dark lunar eclipse was widely viewed across planet Earth in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The picture itself, however, was shot from the Greek island of Ikaria at Pezi. That area is known as "the planet of the goats" because of the rough terrain and strange looking rocks.

This surreal, wintry scene is a composite picture recorded on December 10 as the Moon rose behind the Zagros Mountains of Iran. A total lunar eclipse was already in progress. The image combines nearly 500 successive frames taken over 1.5 hours beginning in twilight as the eclipsed Moon steadily climbed above the rugged landscape. The reddened lunar disk and deep blue twilight make for a striking contrast, yet the contrasting colors have the same root cause. The eclipsed Moon is red because the Earth's umbral shadow is suffused with a faint red light. The ruddy illumination is from all the reddened sunsets and sunrises, as seen from a lunar perspective. But the sunsets and sunrises are reddened because the Earth's atmosphere scatters blue light more strongly than red, creating the twilight sky's dim, blue glow.

What's that bright orange dot above the large telescope on the right? Even seasoned sky enthusiasts might ponder the origin of the orange orb seen by scrolling across this panoramic image, taken last December. Perhaps identifying known objects will help. To start, on the far left is a diagonal band of light known as zodiacal light, sunlight reflected off of dust orbiting in the inner Solar System. The bright white spot on the left, just above the horizon, is Venus, which also glows by reflected sunlight. Rising diagonally from the ground to the right of Venus is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy. In the image, the band, which usually stretches dramatically overhead, appears to arch above the elevated Chilean landscape. Under the Milky Way arch, toward the left, lie both the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud galaxies, while toward the right lies the constellation of Orion surrounded by the red ring of Barnard's Loop. On the ground, each of the four Very Large Telescopes is busy keeping an eye on the distant universe. The orange spot -- it's the Moon. The image was taken during a total lunar eclipse when the normally bright full moon turned into a faint orb tinted orange by the intervening Earth's atmosphere.

Would you go to the end of the world to see a total eclipse of the Sun? If you did, would you be surprised to find someone else there already? In 2003, the Sun, the Moon, Antarctica, and two photographers all lined up in Antarctica during an unusual total solar eclipse. Even given the extreme location, a group of enthusiastic eclipse chasers ventured near the bottom of the world to experience the surreal momentary disappearance of the Sun behind the Moon. One of the treasures collected was the above picture -- a composite of four separate images digitally combined to realistically simulate how the adaptive human eye saw the eclipse. As the image was taken, both the Moon and the Sun peaked together over an Antarctic ridge. In the sudden darkness, the magnificent corona of the Sun became visible around the Moon. Quite by accident, another photographer was caught in one of the images checking his video camera. Visible to his left are an equipment bag and a collapsible chair.

For many Europeans, the Sun and New Moon rose together on January 4 in a partial solar eclipse. Arriving close on the heels of the new year, it was the first of a series of four(!) partial solar eclipses due in 2011. This composite image documents the graceful celestial event in colorful morning skies over Graz, Austria. Beginning before sunrise, frames were taken to record the position and progress of the eclipse every 15 minutes. As Sun and Moon rose above the eastern horizon, the town of Graz is seen bathed in warming sunlight only partially blocked by the New Moon, spreading beneath the town's landmark clock tower.

What's happened to the sky? A time warp, of sorts, and a digital space warp too. The time warp occurs because this image captured in a single frame a four hour exposure of the night sky. As a result, prominent star trails are visible. The space warp occurs because the picture is actually a full 360 degree panorama, horizontally compressed to fit your browser. As the Earth rotated, stars appeared to circle both the South Celestial Pole, on the left, and the North Celestial Pole, just below the horizon on the right. The image captured the sky over Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia, including the domes of two large telescopes illuminated by red lighting. A horizontally unwarped image is visible by clicking on the image.

Makemake, a god in Easter Island mythology, may have smiled for a moment as clouds parted long enough to reveal this glimpse of July 11's total solar eclipse to skygazers. In the foreground of the dramatic scene, the island's famous large, monolithic statues (Moai) share a beachside view of the shimmering solar corona and the darkened daytime sky. Other opportunities to see the total phase of this eclipse of the Sun were also hard to come by. Defined by the dark part of the Moon's shadow, the path of totality tracked eastward across the southern Pacific Ocean, only making significant landfall at Mangaia (Cook Islands) and Easter Island (Isla de Pascua), ending shortly after reaching southern Chile and Argentina. But a partial eclipse phase could be enjoyed over a broader region, including many southern Pacific islands and wide swath of South America

Our Moon turned red last week. The reason was that during December 10, a total lunar eclipse occurred. The above digitally superimposed image mosaic captured the Moon many times during the eclipse, from before the Moon entered Earth's shadow until after the Moon exited. The image sequence was recorded over a Shanti Stupa Peace Pagota near the center of New Delhi, India. The red tint of the eclipsed Moon was created by sunlight first passing through the Earth's atmosphere, which preferentially scatters blue light (making the sky blue) but passes and refracts red light, before reflecting back off the Moon. Differing amounts of clouds and volcanic dust in the Earth's atmosphere make each lunar eclipse appear differently. The next total lunar eclipse will occur only in 2014.

December's lunar eclipse graced early morning skies over the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, USA. There, this wintry scene finds the Moon in a cold blue twilight sky near the western horizon, above the snowy North American Continental Divide. About 22 minutes before the sunrise, the reddened lunar disk is almost completely immersed in Earth's dark shadow. This dramatic Rocky Mountain moon set during the eclipse total phase. But all parts of the geocentric celestial event were seen from Pacific regions, Asia, and Australia, including the entire 51 minutes of totality, and parts of the final eclipse of 2011 were shared in skies around much of planet Earth.

Seen from central and northern Asia, the Sun and New Moon set together on January 4, in a partial solar eclipse. Close to its maximum phase, the eclipse is captured near the moment of sunset in this wintry scene from the bank of the Berd River near Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia. An evocative view in fading light, the picture looks toward the western horizon across a snowy, frozen landscape. Along with offset Sun and Moon, the dimly lit sky includes an industrial smoke plume and airplane contrail.

A picture taken on January 04, 2011 in Locon, northern France, shows the world's first partial solar eclipse of 2011. A solar eclipse happens when the Moon swings between the Earth and the Sun. AFP PHOTO PHILIPPE HUGUEN

From AP: The moon is seen in the sky during a lunar eclipse near the Narrows Bridge in Tacoma, Wash. on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

From AP: A partially eclipsed moon rises on the sky over Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, June 15, 2011. The total lunar eclipse was visible throughout most parts of Europe on Wednesday evening. (AP Photo/ Marko Drobnjakovic)

From AP: A lunar eclipse is seen framed within Turret Arch at Arches National Park, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, near Moab, Utah. Saturday's lunar eclipse, resulting from the earth's position between the moon and sun, was forecasted to be the last of its kind until April 2014. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Kaitvitjuitk (Inuit).
Cold Moon (Celtic).
Night Moon (Taos).
Respect Moon (Hopi).
Bitter Moon (Chinese).
Peach Moon (Choctaw).
Twelfth Moon (Dakotah).
Big Winter Moon (Creek).
Real Goose Moon (Kiowa).
Cold Time Moon (Mohawk).
Ashes Fire Moon (San Juan).
Oak Moon (Medieval English).
Big Bear’s Moon (Winnebago).
Long Night Moon (Neo-Pagan).
Popping Trees Moon (Arapaho).
Running Wolves Moon (Cheyenne).
Frost Fish Moon (Passamaquoddy).
Cold Moon, Long Nights Moon (Algonquin).
Snow Moon, Before Yule Moon (Cherokee).
Oak Moon : Full, : Snow Moon Dark (Janic).
Popping Tress Moon, Deer Horn Shedding Moon (Sioux).

Other moon names : Wolf Moon, Turning Moon, Heavy Snow Moon, Aerra Geola, Under Burn Moon, Big Winter Moon, Winter Maker Moon, Yellow Leaves Moon, Little Finger Moon, Mid-Winter Moon, Wintermonat, Small Spirits Moon.




The brilliant blood red 'impossible' lunar eclipse witnessed by millions of Americans this morning

The Earth passed between the moon and the sun this morning, treating early risers to a cosmic, rusty-red lunar light spectacular.

This was the last chance to see the natural wonder of a total lunar eclipse in 2011.

Dark side of the moon: The colour of the eclipse tells us about the health of the planet's atmosphere. A coppery red means everything is normal

Crimson tide: The eclipse illuminates a statue of Buddha in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Pie in the sky: Photographers take pictures of the moon during a lunar eclipse over the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

And additionally it was a rare chance to see an 'impossible' eclipse, with the moon red and the rising sun in the sky simultaneously.

Unlike total solar eclipses total lunar eclipses are relatively common and happen on average every two years. This is because the moon is one-third smaller than Earth and so fits more easily into Earth’s umbral shadow.

Ringside seats were found in most parts of western America, Hawaii, northwestern Canada, Australia, New Zealand and central and eastern Asia.

Those in western North America had the best views well before dawn, and viewers could still catch the eclipse until as late as 6.05am PST.

Unfortunately, sunrise and moonset stopped those in the eastern U.S. from watching the eclipse.

Warm glow: The sunlight is still able to pass through Earth's atmosphere and cast a glow on the moon

Natural beauty: The eclipse is seen framed within Turret Arch at Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah

Dramatic disc: The lunar eclipse is seen in the sky beside the famous Sufi shrine, Data Darbar in Lahore, Pakistan. This light is a projection of all the sunrises and sunsets happening on our planet at this time

The eclipse began at 4.45am PST when a red shadow started to cover the moon.

Then as the sun and moon aligned with the Earth slipped in between them, our planet cast a temporary shadow on the moon darkening it and making it appear a deep coppery red, as it blocked the suns rays.

The sunlight was still able to pass through Earth's atmosphere casting a mystical red glow on the moon.

Red light: The health of earth's atmosphere can affect the colour of the moon

Copper tinge: Most places in the western United States and Canada were able to observe the unusual effect

The atmosphere filters out most of the blue light, leaving the red and orange hues that we see during a lunar eclipse.

This light is a projection of all the sunrises and sunsets happening on our planet at this time, combined into a halo around the planet.

The colour of the lunar eclipse gives us a report card on the health of the earth's atmosphere.When it is coppery red it means everything is normal. A black coloured eclipse happens when there is a lot of volcanic dust in the atmosphere.

As opposed to a partial eclipse, total eclipses entail a perfect alignment of the three bodies- moon, earth and sun.

Most places in the United States and Canada were able to observe an unusual effect.

This occurs when both the rising sun and the eclipsed moon can be seen at the same time.

This was the second total lunar eclipse this year, the first was in June. The next total lunar eclipse will not be until 2014

Via http://www.dailymail.co.uk

VIDEO- Lunar Eclipse, December 10, 2011



VIDEO- Lunar Eclipse Setting December 10 2011 12/10/11 Time Lapse HD Video




VIDEO-(Explanation) The Lunar Eclipse of 11/12/2011