Live Lunar Eclipse

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth so that the earth blocks the sun’s rays from striking the moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, there is always a full moon the night of a lunar eclipse. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon’s location relative to its orbital nodes. The most recent total lunar eclipse occurred on December 21, 2000, at 08:17 UTC. The next total lunar eclipse on June 15, 2011 will be a central eclipse, visible over Europe and south America after sunset, over Africa and most of Asia, and Australia before sunrise.