- December 2010 lunar eclipse
-
Total lunar eclipse
2010/12/21 [1]Saros (member) 125 (48) Recent <S <T < > T> S> 
Near Greatest eclipse (8:11 UTC)
Viewed from San Jose, CA
The moon passes right to left through the earth's northern shadowGamma[1] 0.3213 Duration (hr:mn:sc) Totality 1:13:12 Partial 3:29:22 Penumbral 5:38:22 Contacts P1 05:27:43 UTC U1 06:32:17 UTC U2 07:40:21 UTC Greatest 08:16:56 UTC U3 08:53:34 UTC U4 10:01:39 UTC P4 11:06:04 UTC 
At descending node in TaurusThe December 2010 lunar eclipse occurred from 5:27 to 11:06 UTC on December 21, coinciding with the date of the December solstice. It was visible in its entirety as a total lunar eclipse in North and South America, Iceland, Ireland, Britain and northern Scandinavia.
Contents
Occurrence
The eclipse of December 2010 was the first total lunar eclipse in almost three years, since the February 2008 lunar eclipse.[2]
It is the second of two lunar eclipses in 2010. The first was a partial lunar eclipse on June 26, 2010.[3]
The eclipse was 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.[4][5]
Related eclipses
This eclipse occurred at the descending node of the moon's orbit. Lunar eclipses are always paired with a solar eclipse either 2 weeks before or after at new moon in the opposite node. In this case, it was followed by a partial solar eclipse at the ascending node on January 4, 2011, visible from Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia.
The following two lunar eclipses will also be total, occurring on June 15, 2011, and December 10, 2011.
The next December solstice total lunar eclipse, as a Metonic twin eclipse, will be December 20, 2029 (19 years later), one day before solstice.
A saros series lasts for many centuries and has a similar event every 18 years and 11 days. This eclipse is the 18th of 26 total lunar eclipses in lunar saros series 125. The previous occurrence was on December 9, 1992, and the next will occur on December 31, 2028.
- See This saros
Visibility
In North America, the eclipse was visible in its entirety on December 21, 2010, from 12:27 a.m. to 6:06 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.[6] In the Central Standard Time zone and west, the eclipse began the night of December 20.[7] Observers along South America's east coast missed the late stages of the eclipse because they occurred after moon-set.[8]
Likewise much of Europe and Africa experienced moon-set while the eclipse was in progress. In Europe, only those observers in northern Scandinavia (including Iceland), Ireland and Britain could observe the entire event. For observers in eastern Asia the moon rose in eclipse. The eclipse was not visible from southern and eastern Africa, the Middle East or South Asia. In Japan and northeastern Asia, the eclipse's end was visible, with the moon rising at sunset. In the Philippines it was observable as a partial lunar eclipse just after sunset.[8]
Predictions suggested that the total eclipse may appear unusually orange or red, as a result of the eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia on October 26.[9]
Local times
Local times of eclipse over North America Event HAST
(UTC-10)AKST
(UTC-9)PST
(UTC-8)MST
(UTC-7)CST
(UTC-6)EST
(UTC-5)AST
(UTC-4)Start penumbral (P1) 7:27 pm(*) 8:27 pm(*) 9:27 pm(*) 10:27 pm(*) 11:27 pm(*) 12:27 am 1:27 am Start umbral (U1) 8:32 pm(*) 9:32 pm(*) 10:32 pm(*) 11:32 pm(*) 12:32 am 1:32 am 2:32 am Start total (U2) 9:40 pm(*) 10:40 pm(*) 11:40 pm(*) 12:40 am 1:40 am 2:40 am 3:40 am Greatest eclipse 10:17 pm(*) 11:17 pm(*) 12:17 am 1:17 am 2:17 am 3:17 am 4:17 am End total (U3) 10:53 pm(*) 11:53 pm(*) 12:53 am 1:53 am 2:53 am 3:53 am 4:53 am End umbral (U4) 12:02 am 1:02 am 2:02 am 3:02 am 4:02 am 5:02 am 6:02 am End penumbral (P4) 1:06 am 2:06 am 3:06 am 4:06 am 5:06 am 6:06 am 7:06 am (*) before midnight on Monday night, December 20 
These simulated views of the earth from the center of the moon during the lunar eclipse show where the eclipse is visible on earth.Photo gallery
Progressions 
Progression from Raleigh, North Carolina
Progression from São Paulo, Brazil
Progression from Anchorage, Alaska
Sequence from Toronto, Ontario
(Sequence is in 15 minute increments, with 5 minute increments up until totality at 8:17am UTC)
Progression from Toronto, Canada
From Jacksonville, Florida, 8:29 UTC - 10:06 UTC
From Easton, PennsylvaniaIndividual shots, sorted by time:
-
From Arlington, Virginia, ~7:30 UTC
-
From the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada before totality, 7:46 UTC
-
From Miami, Florida, 07:52 UTC
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From Richardson, Texas, 7:53 UTC
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From Dover, Delaware, 7:54 UTC
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From San Jose, California, 8:11 UTC
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Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada during totality, 8:21 UTC
-
From Orlando, Florida, 8:28 UTC
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From Taiwan, 9:45 UTC
Animations:
-
Animated Simulation -
Time-lapsed animation
Miami, Florida
Panorama showing the view from the site of the VLT.
Related eclipse events
Lunar year series
The lunar year series repeats after 12 lunations or 354 days (Shifting back about 10 days in sequential years). Because of the date shift, the Earth's shadow will be about 11 degrees west in sequential events.
Lunar eclipse series sets from 2009–2013 Ascending node Descending node Saros #
-----
PhotoDate
ViewingType
chartSaros #
-----
PhotoDate
ViewingType
chart110 2009 July 07
penumbral
115
2009 Dec 31
partial
120
2010 June 26
partial
125
2010 Dec 21
total
130
2011 June 15
total
135 2011 Dec 10
total
140 2012 June 04
partial
145 2012 Nov 28
penumbral
150 2013 May 25
penumbral
Last set 2009 Aug 06 Last set 2009 Feb 9 Next set 2013 Apr 25 Next set 2013 Oct 18 Metonic cycles (19 years)
The Metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the earth's shadow will be in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.
Ascending node Descending node - 1991 Jun 27 - penumbral (110)
- 2010 Jun 26 - partial (120)
- 2029 Jun 26 - total (130)
- 2048 Jun 26 - partial (140)
- 2067 Jun 27 - penumbral (150)
- 1991 Dec 21 - partial (115)
- 2010 Dec 21 - total (125)
- 2029 Dec 20 - total (135)
- 2048 Dec 20 - partial (145)
Tritos series
The tritos series repeats 31 days short of 11 years at alternating nodes. Sequential events have incremental Saros cycle indices.
This series produces 20 total eclipses between April 24, 1967 and August 1, 2167, only being partial on November 19, 2021.
Tritos eclipse series (subset 1901–2100) Descending node Ascending node Saros Date
ViewingType
chartSaros Date
ViewingType
chart115 1901 Oct 27
Partial
116 1912 Sep 26
Partial
117 1923 Aug 26
Partial
118 1934 Jul 26
Partial
119 1945 Jun 25
Partial
120 1956 May 24
Partial
121 1967 Apr 24
Total
122 1978 Mar 24
Total
123 1989 Feb 20
Total
124 2000 Jan 21
Total
125 2010 Dec 21
Total
126 2021 Nov 19
Partial
127 2032 Oct 18
Total
128 2043 Sep 19
Total
129 2058 Jun 6
Total
130 2069 May 6
Total
131 2080 Apr 4
Total
132 2091 Mar 5
Total
Saros series
Lunar saros series 125, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, has 26 total lunar eclipses. The first was on June 17, 1704 and the last will be on March 19, 2155. The longest totality occurrence of this series (7th) was on August 22, 1812 when totality lasted one hour and 42 minutes.[11]
See also
- List of lunar eclipses
- List of 21st century lunar eclipses
- June 2011 lunar eclipse
- December 2011 lunar eclipse
- File:2010-12-21 Lunar Eclipse Sketch.gif Chart
- 2010 12 21 – Lunar Eclipse in Jacksonville, FL
- 2010 12 21 – Lunar Eclipse Sequence
Notes
- ^ Gamma is the minimum distance of the Moon's shadow axis from Earth's centre in Earth radii at greatest eclipse.
- ^ Beatty, J. Kelly (2009-12-30). "Eclipses in 2010". Sky & Telescope. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/80386602.html. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse on June 26, 2010". Timeanddate.com. http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar-eclipse-june-26-2010.html. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ "NASA Science News: Solstice Lunar Eclipse". Science.nasa.gov. 2010-12-17. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/17dec_solsticeeclipse/. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ "Lunar eclipse, winter solstice to coincide". Cbc.ca. 2010-12-17. http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/12/17/lunar-eclipse-winter-solstice-coincide.html. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of December 21, 2010". Outer Space Universe. http://www.outerspaceuniverse.org/total-lunar-eclipse-of-december-21-2010.html. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- ^ 2010 Dec 21 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
- ^ a b "What Time is the Lunar Eclipse 2010 Tonight?". City State Times. http://www.citystatetimes.com/1888/what-time-is-the-lunar-eclipse-2010-tonight/. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ A historic eclipse: Volcano will tint the moon in rare Dec. 21 celestial dance by Chris Roberts, El Paso Times
- ^ Total Eclipse of the Moon in Seattle - December 21, 2010
- ^ Listing of Eclipses of cycle 125
External links
- Worldwide viewing times for the December 2010 Total Lunar Eclipse
- How to Photograph the Lunar Eclipse from the NY Institute of Photography
- Full & Last Lunar Eclipse Of 2010 On December 21st
- NASA: Total Lunar Eclipse: December 21, 2010
- Hermit eclipse (Ian Cameron Smith) Total Lunar Eclipse: December 21 2010
- Animation of the December 21 2010 eclipse at shadowandsubstance.com
- Astronomical Society of the Pacific eclipse times and questions & answers
- Spaceweather.com lunar eclipse Gallery: December 21, 2010
- [2]
Lunar eclipses Lists of
eclipsesAll: Central total eclipses · Total penumbral eclipses
By century: 20th BCE · 19th BCE · 18th BCE · 17th BCE · 16th BCE · 15th BCE · 14th BCE · 13th BCE · 12th BCE · 11th BCE · 10th BCE · 9th BCE · 8th BCE · 7th BCE · 6th BCE · 5th BCE · 4th BCE · 3rd BCE · 2nd BCE · 1st BCE · 1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th · 6th · 7th · 8th · 9th · 10th · 11th · 12th · 13th · 14th · 15th · 16th · 17th · 18th · 19th · 20th · 21st · 22nd · 23rd · 24th · 25th · 26th · 27th · 28th · 29th · 30th
Saros cycles: 100 · 101 · 102 · 103 · 104 · 105 · 106 · 107 · 108 · 109 · 110 · 111 · 112 · 113 · 114 · 115 · 116 · 117 · 118 · 119 · 120 · 121 · 122 · 123 · 124 · 125 · 126 · 127 · 128 · 129 · 130 · 131 · 132 · 133 · 134 · 135 · 136 · 137 · 138 · 139 · 140 · 141 · 142 · 143 · 144 · 145 · 146 · 147 · 148 · 149 · 150 · 151 · 152 · 153 · 154 · 155 · 156 · 157 · 158 · 169 · 160 · 161 · 162 · 163
Total
eclipsesPast1910 May 24 · 1913 Sep 15 · 1920 May 03 · 1921 Apr 22 · 1928 Jun 3 · 1939 May 3 · 1946 Jun 14 · 1950 Apr 2 · 1953 Jan 29 · 1953 Jul 26 · 1954 Jan 19 · 1956 Nov 18 · 1957 May 13 · 1957 Nov 7 · 1960 Mar 13 · 1960 Sep 5 · 1963 Dec 30 · 1964 Jun 25 · 1964 Dec 19 · 1967 Apr 24 · 1967 Oct 18 · 1968 Apr 13 · 1968 Oct 6 · 1971 Feb 10 · 1971 Aug 6 · 1972 Jan 30 · 1974 Nov 29 · 1975 May 25 · 1975 Nov 18 · 1978 Mar 24 · 1978 Sep 16 · 1979 Sep 6 · 1982 Jan 9 · 1982 Jul 6 · 1982 Dec 30 · 1985 May 4 · 1985 Oct 28 · 1986 Apr 24 · 1986 Oct 17 · 1989 Feb 20 · 1989 Aug 17 · 1990 Feb 9 · 1992 Dec 9 · 1993 Jun 4 · 1993 Nov 29 · 1996 Apr 4 · 1996 Sep 27 · 1997 Sep 16 · 2000 Jan 21 · 2000 Jul 16 · 2001 Jan 9 · 2003 May 16 · 2003 Nov 9 · 2004 May 4 · 2004 Oct 28 · 2007 Mar 3 · 2007 Aug 28 · 2008 Feb 21 · 2010 Dec 21 · 2011 Jun 15
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Partial
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Categories:- Lunar eclipses
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