Eclipse - Dec 20/21, 2010

 The picture above shows what the sky will look like at the START of the eclipse - about 10:30 pm pacific standard time on Dec 20, 2010.  The full moon will be shining brightly above the constellation Orion - who faces Taurus the bull.  You should be able to see the Pleiades as well.

Key points of the eclipse are (these are universal times, subtract 8 hours to convert to pacific standard time):

Penumbral Eclipse Begins:   05:29:17 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins:     06:32:37 UT
Total Eclipse Begins:       07:40:47 UT
Greatest Eclipse:           08:16:57 UT (this is 12:16am, PST)
Total Eclipse Ends:         08:53:08 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends:       10:01:20 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends:     11:04:31 UT

But the real action won't occur until around 11:30 pm when the moon will enter the earths umbral shadow - and slowly turn a deep gauzy red.  It's an amazing sight.  Once the moon is fully eclipsed, the full glory of the night-time sky will be revealed with stars and stars and stars!

I made this video to give you an idea of what the eclipse could look like - and it only takes less than a minute to watch the entire sequence.  The music is La Volta, from Elizabethan times.  The Queen was said to enjoy dancing to the Volta.

My video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQi5WzaK6V0
 And if you need a lot more information, here is a link to NASA's official website on the eclipse:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2010.html#LE2010Dec21T

 Hope for clear weather wherever you are!