By Rod Hill on 2010-12-19
A 50-50% chance of partly cloudy skies Monday night to see at least a glimpse of the total LUNAR ECLIPSE. The moon will move through the dark shadow of the Earth and for 73 minutes, the only light hitting the moon will be the reddish glow from the Earth's sunrises and sunsets. The Eclipse will begin at 9:29 p.m., totality will start at 11:40. The next Lunar Eclipse for the Northwest will be December 10, 2011.
A star party, weather permitting will be held in the parking lot of OMSI. You are invited to look through the big telescopes - it's lots of fun! It is safe to view a Lunar Eclipse with the naked eye.
The Winter Solstice will take place local time, Tuesday afternoon at 3:38 p.m. The next few days will see the longest sunrise and sunsets of the year. Daylight hours will be nearly 8.5 hours. After the Solstice, daylight hours will start to increase! Areas north of the Arctic circle will be in total darkness for 24 hours the day of the Solstice.
Happy Winter!
A Typical Northwest Christmas!