december sky

Total Lunar Eclipse on December 21, 2010
A total lunar eclipse on December 21, 2010, will be the last eclipse of the year. This will be second of two lunar eclipses in 2010. The last time a total lunar eclipse occurred was on February 21, 2008.

Animation showing the moon's passage through the earth's partial and full shadows in relation to Universal time. Based on information from NASA. Where Will the Eclipse be Visible?
The December 21 lunar eclipse will be visible to observers in North America and western South America. The winter constellations are well placed for viewing during totality so a number of bright stars can be used for magnitude comparisons. Observers along South America's east coast miss the eclipse’s late stages because they occur after moonset.

Most of Europe and Africa experience moonset while the eclipse is in progress. Only northern Scandinavians can catch the entire event from Europe. The moon rises in the eclipse for observers in eastern Asia. The eclipse will not be visible from southern and eastern Africa, the Middle East or southern Asia. The moon will be situated in the constellation Taurus, close to the border with Gemini, and near the most northerly point in the moon’s orbit at that time of the year.

When will the Eclipse Occur?
The eclipse’s total phase lasts for 72 minutes. The penumbral eclipse ("P1") begins at 05:29:17 Universal Time (UT) and the partial eclipse ("U1") starts at 06:32:37 UT. The total eclipse ("U2") begins at 07:40:47 UT and the point of the greatest eclipse occurs at 08:16:57 UT. The moon lies near the zenith for observers in southern California and Baja Mexico at the instant of the greatest eclipse. The umbral magnitude peaks at 1.2561 as the moon’s southern limb passes 2.8 arc minutes north of the shadow’s central axis. Therefore, the moon’s southern half will seem much darker than the northern half because it lies deeper in the umbra.

Since the moon samples a large range of umbral depths during totality, its appearance will change dramatically with time. The total eclipse ("U3") ends at 08:53:08 UT, followed by the end of the partial eclipse ("U4") at 10:01:20 UT. The penumbral eclipse ("P4") ends at 11:04:31 UT.

Eclipses in 2010
The eclipse that occurs on January 15, 2010, is not the only eclipse for the year. The full list of eclipses in 2010 includes:

•An annular solar eclipse on January 15.
•A partial lunar eclipse on June 26.
•A total solar eclipse on July 11.
•A total lunar eclipse on December 21.
timeanddate.com will provide information on more eclipses close to the time of their occurrence.

Note: Universal Time (UT) is a timescale based on the earth’s rotation. UT is expected to be about 0.13 seconds behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) during most of December. Eclipse information courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and P. Harrington, author of Eclipse! The What, Where, When, Why & How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses.


this is a list of links on the site that i thought someone might like to check out

Astronomy calculators
•Moon Calculator – find times for moonrise, moonset and more
•Moon Phase Calculator – Calculate Moon Phases for any year
•Sunrise Calculator – find times for sunrise, sunset and more
•Day and Night World Map – See which parts of the Earth are currently illuminated by the Sun
More information
•General Information on Solar and Lunar Eclipses
•Tips for Eclipse Enthusiasts
•The History of the Solar Eclipse
Calendar tools
•Calendar for 2010
•Calendar Generator – Create a calendar for any year
•Duration Between Two Dates – Calculates number of days
Related time zone tools
•The World Clock – current times around the world
•Time Zone Converter – If it is 3 pm in New York, what time is it in Sydney?
•Fixed Time Calculator – If it's 3 pm in New York, what time is it in the rest of the world?
External links
•Fred Espenak's Eclipse Website (NASA)
•Harrington, P. (1997). Eclipse! The What, Where, When, Why & How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses. United States: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Click here to buy the book on Amazon.com.
http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar-eclipse-december-21-2010.html

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2010 in Review:Big news, pop-culture trends, and search obsessions
..Best Meteor Shower of 2010 Arrives in December
What should be the best meteor shower of 2010 will occur in a little over a week beginning on the evening of Monday, Dec. 13.

Like most meteor showers, the Geminids will be at their best after midnight (early on the morning of Dec. 14), when the Earth is heading directly into the meteoroid stream. But some will be visible earlier in the night, on the evening of Dec. 13, because the meteors' radiant – where they appear to originate – is nearly circumpolar, so they will stay in view above the horizon all night.

This sky map shows where to look to see the Geminid meteor shower.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20101206/sc_space/bestmeteorshowerof2010arrivesindecember

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http://www.shadowandsubstance.com/

the sky outside my nighttime window looks just
like that star map, sky, thanks for link .... now i know
i look up watching orion move across the sky and the
really bright thing, gets brighter toward morning, must be sirius .....
not sure but will look again tonight to verify

Enjoy Hippy and SKy!