Why party? For one thing — if you’re of drinking age anyway — this is the last time you’ll have the opportunity to celebrate the union of a full moon and the Winter Solstice in your lifetime. (This won’t happen until Dec 21, 2094.)
Not only that, but if you’re in North or South America, you can look forward to a full eclipse of the moon. Totality begins around midnight Pacific time if you stay up late on Monday. See:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=moon+eclipse+dec+2010
HOWL! Dance! Celebrate the return of the sun and the antics of the moon…
Hope you had a *great* 2010. Drop me a note to tell me how your party went.
– Canton Becker
canton@gmail.com
This is the only total lunar eclipse for 2010. Visible from your area? Check here:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=total+lunar+eclipse+2010
“The entire event is visible from North America and western South America. Observers along South America’s east coast miss the late stages of the eclipse because they occur after moonset. Likewise much of Europe and Africa experience moonset while the eclipse is in progress. Only northern Scandinavians can catch the entire event from Europe. For observers in eastern Asia the Moon rises in eclipse. None of the eclipse is visible from south and east Africa, the Middle East or South Asia.”
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2010.html#LE2010Dec21T
See: