Lunar Eclipse December 10th 2011

Goodnight, Moon: Total lunar eclipse wows the world

A lunar eclipse is seen framed within Turret Arch at Arches National Park
near Moab, Utah, on Dec. 10.

This total lunar eclipse, which occurs when Earth gets directly
between the moon and the sun, will be the last of its
kind until April 2014.

Did you catch today's total lunar eclipse? Take a good, long look at these pictures of the dusky dark moon: It'll be more than two years before we see a fresh batch.

The best seats in the house for today's spectacular were in Asia.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is positioned just right in its orbit to pass through Earth's shadow. Today, that occurred when Asia and the Pacific were facing right at the moon.

Other regions of the world, including some areas of Europe and the western U.S. and Canada, could catch at least part of the show before sunrise or after sunset.


Here's a sampling of the snapshots:

A lunar eclipse and the Hollywood sign are seen from the Griffith Observatory

in Los Angeles.

The earth's shadow falls on the moon as it undergoes a total lunar eclipse

above the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia on Dec. 11 local time.

A partial lunar eclipse is seen near the Tokyo Tower on Dec. 10.
People across Japan were in the prime viewing zone for the total eclipse.

 

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