Winter Solstice

I just found out today that tomorrow night's total Lunar eclipse will also coincide with the Winter Solstice and it's the first time in 456 years.  That's kind of neat, isn't it?  I plan on going outside and viewing for a while if the sky is clear around here.  For those of us on the east coast of the US, it will take place starting at 1:33 am.  Another thing is that the moon will appear as a coppery red color instead of being totally obliterated by the shadow of the earth.  This is because, according to NASA, the only sunlight visible is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/12/17/lunar-eclipse-winter-solstice-coincide.html#ixzz18auWl1vI

 

Things like this really fascinate me.  I remember getting up in the middle of the night and going outside with my daughter to watch a meteor shower back in 2001 and being totally awestruck. 

 

Personally, I believe that we should look up to the heavens more often to get some perspective on things in our lives.  

 

Further reading about the Winter Solstice reminded me that this is the time when the Earth is tilted the farthest away from the Sun.  Actually, we are just about at the closest distance to the Sun around this time of year, but God is smart enough to shield us by having the axis slanted so we get indirect sunlight instead of the excess of solar radiation.

 

 

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE!