Big Picture: Eclipse

Lunar Eclipse of December 10, 2011

The longest lunar eclipse in over ten years animated the night sky on December 10. The red hue resulted from the sun's light passing through the earth's atmosphere. Viewers in Asia had the best view of the total eclipse, while those watching in Europe saw part of it at moonrise, and North Americans caught part of it as the moon set. It was not visible in South America or Antarctica. The next total eclipse will occur in 2014. -- Lane Turner (27 photos total)

The moon casts a reddish hue over Lake Pend Oreille during a lunar eclipse as it begins to set behind the Selkirk Mountain Range near Sandpoint, Idaho on December 10, 2011. (Matt Mills McKnight/Reuters)

A composite of 12 pictures shows a full lunar eclipse over the skies in Hefei, China on December 10, 2011. The moon turns red as the shadow falls on it during the eclipse. (Stringer/Reuters)

A lunar eclipse is seen in the sky beside a statue of Buddha in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka on December 10, 2011. (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)

A partial lunar eclipse is seen from the Roman pillars of the Temple of Hercules in Amman December 2011. (Ali Jarekji/Reuters)

The earth's shadow falls on the moon as it undergoes a total lunar eclipse viewed through the arch supports of the Sydney Harbor Bridge December 11, 2011. (Tim Wimborne/Reuters)

The Earth casts its shadow across the moon during the lunar eclipse in New Delhi on December 10, 2011. (Saurabh Das/AP)

A full moon lunar eclipse passes over Karachi on December 10, 2011. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)

The moon sets above the Golden Gate Bridge during an eclipse on December 10, 2011, in San Francisco. (Frederic Larson/San Francisco Chronicle/AP)

The partially eclipsed moon rises above Cologne on December 10, 2011. Only the end of the eclipse could be seen in Germany due to the late rise of the moon. (Kaiser Henning/AFP/Getty Images)

As dawn breaks over the tall ships at the San Diego, Calif. Maritime Museum, the setting moon begins to emerge from Earth's shadow following a total eclipse on December 10, 2011. (Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times/AP)

Sumber : Boston.com - Big Picture