"Lunar Eclipse" by Rich Anderson

If you have ever wanted to get a good lunar eclipse photograph, today might be your lucky day. Wednesday’s full moon will be the longest and deepest total lunar eclipse in more than ten years. Unfortunately for us folk in North America, we will not be able to see it. If you live in Europe, South America, or Africa, you may get to watch the eclipse, which is expected to last for more than 100 minutes.

Except for northern Scotland and Scandinavia, most of Europe as well as eastern South America and western Africa will see totality underway around moonrise—just as the sun begins to set on June 15.

From Indonesia to New Zealand, viewers will get to see the moon’s face slowly eaten away by the initial stages of the lunar eclipse just before the moon sets on June 16.

This celestial event won’t be visible from North America, unfortunately for Canadian, Mexican, and U.S. eclipse hunters, who will have to wait until December 10, when western parts of the continent will be treated to the next lunar eclipse. – National Geographic

Link: “Rare” Lunar Eclipse Wednesday June 15th, 2011

Image Credit: Lunar Eclipse by Rich Anderson used under Creative Commons licence