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    Sky-watchers get rare treat: total lunar eclipse

    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Moon watchers in the western U.S., Hawaii and elsewhere across the globe were treated Saturday to a rare celestial phenomenon: a total lunar eclipse.

    For 51 minutes starting at 6:06 a.m. PST, the Earth's shadow completely blocked the moon.

    The moon took on a reddish glow, as some indirect sunlight continued to reach it after passing through the Earth's atmosphere. Since the atmosphere scatters blue light, only red light strikes the moon, giving it a crimson hue.

    David Sayre, who runs a public relations firm in Hawaii, said it had been cloudy and rainy around his house on Oahu, but the weather cleared just in time for the eclipse.

    He awoke, as he usually does, around 3 a.m. and remembered to step outside the house in time to catch the eclipse about a half hour later. No one else in the neighborhood was up.

    "Sure enough it was turning that orangy-red color," Sayre, 47, said. "I said, 'Gosh I better grab a camera.'"

    He added, "To be able to see it just right outside our house was really cool."

    At the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, some 300 people, many clutching coffee cups in the frigid morning air, sat with blankets and chairs on the observatory's great lawn.

    "It's a celestial festival out here," Capm Petersen, 39, told the Los Angeles Times as he set up his camera.

    Perched on a slope north of downtown near the Hollywood sign, the property offers clear views of the sky. Observatory officials alerted the crowd when the eclipse began and spontaneous applause erupted when the celestial event ended.

    A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon goes through the long shadow cast by the Earth and is blocked from the sunlight that illuminates it.

    The last total lunar eclipse was on June 15 although that was not visible from the U.S. The next one is on April 15, 2014, and will be seen in the U.S.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Chris Weber In Los Angeles contributed to this report.

     

    21 comments

    • T-Rex  •  Manila, Philippines  •  5 mths ago
      I got a clear view of the full lunar eclipse standing in a dark place in Villa a city in the Iloilo province Philippines. It was a very clear night that evening. I chuckled at the kids around me that did not know what was going on or even understood what it was about. Well they just thought I was a crazy Ati (an indigenous people of the Philippines) standing around staring at the sky. Yes I am African American but I am sure an Ati does not walk around in a golf shirt, kaki pants and Cole Haan shoes with tassels. Oh when I think about it no brotha from the hood walks around dressed like that either. My have I changed since my childhood days in the hood in Compton California. LOL!
    • GETOUT  •  Greensboro, United States  •  5 mths ago
      ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz
      zzzzzzzzzzz !!!!! zzzzz
    • Just another user  •  5 mths ago
      AP needs new science writers. Last time they didn't know what the heliopause was, now they refer to a lunar eclipse as a "celestial" event. Sad.
    • marco rubio  •  Medford, United States  •  5 mths ago
      hillary i told ju too quit bendin over bit***
    • jaw  •  Pleasanton, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Why wasn't this article posted Friday ( before the eclipse)? It would have actually been useful news.
    • Ralph M  •  Seattle, United States  •  5 mths ago
      That's funny. I got up this morning, went outside and saw an eclipse of over a half. And I thought... "Jesus... Wasn't it a full moon last night? How long have I been asleep?" I felt like Rumpelstiltskin. It was actually unnerving... My brain was NOT happy.
      I'm recently retired, my sleep schedule is completely upside down, I forget what day of the week it is. And now this?... Whew... Maybe I am NOT going mad... But then again...
    • southern discomfort  •  5 mths ago
      due to technical diffuculaties the moon might not shine right..so ask your local plumber if he can bend over when ya get the bill
    • Albert  •  5 mths ago
      Is that like pulling up your shorts?
    • Zack  •  Monterey, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Even articles about natural phenomena draw political criticism from morons. Amazing
      • Ralph M 5 mths ago
        As long as we all know that it was Bush's fault, I'm good.
    • L  •  5 mths ago
      More Liberal main stream media spin and hype. If it's not in the Bible it's not important. Stop looking at he stars, start praying.
    • Ray  •  5 mths ago
      My pictures are nice. Sort of different take of the skies in Las Vegas...
    • FREEDOM FIGHTER  •  Detroit, United States  •  5 mths ago
      It's all Hollyweird. Total Obummer #$%$
    • David  •  5 mths ago
      Was a time when this was considered a omen from God. Oh wait, that's the GOP base now. Sorry.
    • jim c  •  New York, United States  •  5 mths ago
      How many jobs did it create?
    • PatrickS  •  Milwaukee, United States  •  5 mths ago
      meh.
    • DrMallard  •  West Palm Beach, United States  •  5 mths ago
      So what's the big deal? We have a total looney eclipse every night. It's called the 2012 campaign.
    • old guy  •  5 mths ago
      Rare? Infrequent, yes.
    • i  •  5 mths ago
      Lunar eclipses are disappointing. I wouldn't waste my time looking for it. A full solar eclipse is something to see.
    • Ugochukwu  •  Accra, Ghana  •  5 mths ago
      more signs as the Bible prophecy.
    • Jakub  •  5 mths ago
      Lunar Eclipse 12/10/11 HD Time Lapse Imagery and Astrological significance!!!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8CyzAaDJlY
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