Sun and moon: Lunar eclipse, winter solstice

The question of the day for sky gazers in Las Vegas may be: "If the sky is full of clouds, does the lunar eclipse still happen?"

Yep.

Many of you will need to rely on news reports of the total lunar eclipse, as skies above Southern Nevada will probably be full of clouds and maybe leaking a bit, too. And, for the first time in 372 years a total lunar eclipse happens on the same day as winter solstice — Dec. 21 this year.

The eclipse begins at 1:32 a.m. EST, with the total phase starting at 2:40 a.m. EST Tuesday. That's 10:32 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. for us in the Pacific Standard Time zone. The moon will fall into the Earth's shadow for 72 minutes, 21 seconds.

The winter solstice, the time when the North Pole is tilted the farthest away from the sun, happens about 14 hours later, at 6:38 a.m. EST (3:38 a.m. PST). It's also the day with the shortest amount of sunlight. Most folks call it the start of winter.

Watch a Yahoo video on the eclipse and solstice:
http://whoknew.news.yahoo.com/?nc&vid=23549392

Read more about the solstice at timeanddate.com:
http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice.html

Maybe the skies will be clear on June 15, 2011, for the next total lunar eclipse. The catch? It will only be visible in Africa, southern Asia and Australia.

Vacation, anyone?