2011 Lunar
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.