2011 Lunar

2002 2003 2005H 2005A 2006 2007L 2008 2009 2010 2011L 2012A 2012T

Total Lunar Eclipse

West Coast, United States - December 10, 2011

In the early morning hours of Saturday, December 10, 2011, the full moon glowed in the clear pre-dawn western sky. Equal degrees below the horizon in the east, the sun projected Earth’s shadow or penumbra onto the moon. At 4:45 AM Pacific Standard Time, the moon entered Earth’s darker central shadow or umbra.

Carlsbad, California - 12/10/11 4:45 a.m. (11:45 UTC)

5:05 a.m.

5:25 a.m.

The moon appears rusty red. Most of the moon is now in Earth's umbra. The thin white cresent is still in Earth's penumbra.

6:00 a.m.

In this photo, the moon is completely in Earth's umbra. Iota Tauri, a star in the constellation Taurus, is visible.

6:05 a.m.

Observing the lunar eclipse before dawn

A palm tree, the Pacific Ocean and the lunar eclipse. This eclipse was also observed in Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Asia.

6:10 a.m.

Animation of this eclipse: http://shadowandsubstance.com/