A rare Winter Solstice coming our way

On the 21st, a lunar eclipse will fall on the winter solstice for the first time in centuries and it will happen very early Tuesday morning. I’m thinking of setting my alarm if it’s going to be a clear night.

Here’s the moon as it looked while it was rising late this afternoon here in Maryland.



The December moon is called The Full Cold Moon, the Full Long Nights Moon, or my favorite: the Moon before Yule. The moon is above the horizon for a long time and, according to the Farmers’ Almanac, it has a high trajectory across the sky because it’s opposite a low sun.

A total lunar eclipse during winter in the northern hemisphere is somewhat common, according to NASA. But a lunar eclipse falling directly on the date of the winter solstice is extremely rare.

With the full moon high in the winter sky, the lunar eclipse will be visible from four continents, with the best views from North America and Central America if weather permits, scientists say.

This year's event will take 3 hours and 38 minutes. The eclipse begins on Tuesday at 1:33 a.m. ET, when the Earth's dark-red shadow will turn up on the edge of the moon, according to NASA. It will take about an hour for the shadow to cover the entire moon. Totality begins at 2:41 a.m. and lasts for 72 minutes. (courtesy AOL News/Lisa Holewa contributor).

I don’t know about you, but we’re sort of psyched here at the old manor house on the hill. Even George is all a-twitter.

To view a quick graphic slide show of the lunar eclipse, visit this link:

Lunar Eclipse Slide Show

In other good news: the season finale of Survivor is on tonight. And I went out today and bought a little artificial tree. I can’t begin to tell you how comforting it is to see its tiny white lights and some of our ornaments hanging on it. It’s only 4 1/2 feet tall, so I put it in one of the big windows in our living room.



I know the angel is too big for the little tree, but I am fine with it.

Until tomorrow, my friends.