Early bird gets the worms, and a full lunar ecipse!

If you get out of bed early on December 10th you can see the moon turn blood-red during a total lunar eclipse between 04:06 and 04:57 AM

Lunar eclipses have a rich role in history. According to Chinese  folklore a dragon ate the moon during a lunar eclipse, and Christopher Columbus used a lunar eclipse in 1504 to scare the Jamaicans into giving him and his men provisions. Now we know better of course: a lunar eclipse happens as the moon passes through earths shadow. This happens on average twice a year, but is still a spectacle to watch.

The fact that the moon becomes red in stead of disappearing (it floats through earths shadow) is caused by the same effect that turns sunsets red and the sky blue. It is called "Rayleigh scattering", which describes the scattering of sunlight by very small particles. For a more in depth explanation have a look at this lunar eclipse 101 (http://www.lovebigisland.com/hawaii-blog/lunar-eclipse-101/
).

Where to watch the lunar eclipse on Hawaii
The lunar eclipse will be visible everywhere in the united states before and during sunrise on December 10th. The moon will be already low on the western sky so the best place to watch would be any Hawaiian islands west coast. The moon is between 28° and 17° (hold out your arm straight in front of you and make a fist.. One fist is about 10°) above the horizon during the eclipse, so even if there is a mountain in the way, it might not be a bad thing. Think about how a red moon above Mauna Kea will look like!

If you cannot wait and already want to see what the lunar eclipse will look like you are in luck! Here  (http://www.lovebigisland.com/hawaii-blog/lunar-eclipse-hawaii-december-10th-2011/ or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqWf0t8SIY8) you can see a 3  minute video that shows how the lunar eclipse will look like from Hilo.

For more information see lovebigislands lunar eclipse blog

What will you be watching the lunar eclipse? In a beach chair in your garden with a hot cup of coffee or on your surfboard in the ocean? Give us your best suggestions in the comments!