- 5 Feb 2005
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Total eclipse of the moon
There has not been an eclipse of the moon as good as this one from start to finish since July 16, 2000, according to the Japan National Observatory. On December 10, starting from about 9:45 p.m. the moon will slowly enter a full eclipse, reaching a total eclipse by around 11:05 p.m., and slowly ending at about 1:10 a.m. on Dec. 11. A lunar eclipse lasts for several hours due to the large size of the Earth relative to the moon. A solar eclipse only lasts a few minutes at any given place, due to the smaller size of the moon's shadow blocking the sun when seen from the Earth. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be seen in limited parts of the earth, a lunar eclipse can be seen from the entire side of the earth facing the moon.
source
You can see it now if you are in Japan (not sure about other countries). I have never seen it before so I am pretty excited about it (watching it with our telescope).