Rare Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse in Skies This Morning

At 3:17 this morning, the Moon looked like a blood red ball in the sky.  It was the absolute midpoint of a rare December Solstice total lunar eclipse.

The lunar eclipse and the winter solstice rarely occur on the same date. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the last time was in 1638.  The next time will be on December 21, 2094.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon in space, blocking the sun's rays from the Moon's surface.  During the process, the Moon moves through Earth's shadow.  It completely emerged this morning shortly after 5.

The December solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its lowest point in the Northern sky.  This traditionally marks the  beginning of winter in the Northern hemisphere, and the beginning of summer in the Southern hemisphere.

According to the Naval Observatory, the solstice will locally occur at 6:38 p.m.

For us in the Northern hemisphere, it will be the shortest day of the year.  Weather.com reports today's local sunrise at 7:25:29 EST and sunset at 16:51:29 (4:51:29 p.m.).

The date of the December solstice varies from December 20 through December 23, depending on the year in the Gregorian calendar.