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Lunar eclipse

Tuesday 28 August 2007, 10:56PM

By Infonews Editor

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The Lunar Eclipse - August 28 2007
The Lunar Eclipse - August 28 2007 Credit: Infonews Editor
Eclipsed - August 28, 2007 10pm
Eclipsed - August 28, 2007 10pm Credit: Infonews Editor
The start of the eclipse - 9pm tonight
The start of the eclipse - 9pm tonight Credit: Infonews Editor
Ecliptic orbit
Ecliptic orbit Credit: Wikipedia
And back again
And back again Credit: Infonews Editor
Super massive moon
Super massive moon Credit: Infonews Editor
And almost complete
And almost complete Credit: Infonews Editor

A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlHmatpsXEI

This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle.

Hence, the Moon is always full during 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 was on 28 August 2007[1] where the sun, earth and moon were in total alignment; see 28 August 2007 lunar eclipse.

The initial stage started at 07:52 UTC, while the total eclipse began at 09:52 UTC turning it bronze, with reddish to blood red at its peak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOviv0UcLR4

Sydney and New Zealand were in the perfect zone to view the 1st total lunar rare eclipse since July 2000. The latest blood moon appeared on 6.15p.m. on August 28, 2007.[2]