Following a Moon Shadow Image courtesy PHL/UPR Arecibo Seen from one of Japan’s MTSAT meteorological satellites, the shadow of the moon darkens part of the North Pacific during the annular solar eclipse last Sunday and Monday. Despite the diminutive shadow shown, the moon is actually a little bigger than a quarter the size of Earth. An annular eclipse happens when the moon lines up between Earth and the sun, and when the dark moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than the visible disk of the sun, leaving a ring—or annulus—of fiery light around the edges.
Canadian Eclipse Photograph by Yuichi Takasaka, TWAN The stages of an eclipsing moon cut across the sky over Lumby, British Columbia, in a composite made of pictures taken over two hours in February 2008. Although people in Europe and Africa won’t be able to see the entire event, part of the December 10 lunar eclipse will be visible in the evening, local time, as the moon rises.
Lunar Eclipse at Dawn

Photograph by Babak A. Tafreshi, TWAN

Light seems to pool at the bottom of the full moon in a picture of a lunar eclipse taken from Iran in 2008.

This weekend sky-watchers in western North America will be able to catch a similar sight during the last total lunar eclipse until 2014. The moon show will be visible from the Pacific coast on Saturday at dawn, appearing low in the western horizon.
The entire lunar eclipse will be visible from East Asia, Australia, and the far western part of North America, including Alaska as well as Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories.

The eclipse will last for three and a half hours, starting at 4:45 a.m. Pacific time.

(Source: National Geographic)