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If you’ve been living under a rock you may not have heard that last night, on December 21, in the middle of the night, we experienced a full lunar eclipse. What that means is that the rotation of the sun ended up on the exact opposite side of the earth as our moon, causing a blackout of the moon. Why does this matter? Well, this lunar eclipse coincides with the date of the December solstice. It was the first total lunar eclipse in almost three years, after the February 2008 eclipse. We actually had a lunar eclipse earlier this year, a partial one, on June 26, 2010. But the big significance on last night’s event was that it’s the first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Northern Winter Solstice (Southern Summer Solstice) since 1638, and only the second in the Common Era. Almost 400 years, folks. Did ya watch it? I did. It was really pretty cool to see. But just in case you missed out, we’ve got a little video for ya to watch which gives you an idea of what everyone has been talking about. You can see that below. In the meantime, check out these lunar eclipse facts, from Wikipedia:
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. Hence, there is always a full moon the night of a lunar eclipse. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon’s location relative to its orbital nodes.
Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place. Some lunar eclipses have been associated with important historical events.
This comes from MacManLtd, with the quote “A Friend of mine in Calgary took time lapse photos of the Lunar Eclipse, and had me put them together.”
The next two lunar eclipses will also be total, on June 15, 2011 and December 10, 2011.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
