This is the first of two lunar eclipses in 2010. The second will be a total eclipse on December 21, 2010.

This lunar eclipse is time for positive changes, renewal, when the most important personal goals come into focus. Problem may aggravate, but then dissolve. Thoughts of career and self-image, as well as home may become prevalent. Seclusion, fasting, meditation, planning and creative visualization is recommended.

The two lunar eclipses in 2011 will be total lunar eclipses:
On June 15, 2011 and December 10, 2011.

A lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on Earth (at night), and may last for a few hours.

Types of Lunar Eclipses

The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two distinctive parts: the umbra and penumbra. Within the umbra, there is no direct solar radiation. However, as a result of the Sun’s large angular size, solar illumination is only partially blocked in the outer portion of the Earth’s shadow, which is given the name penumbra.

A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s penumbra. The penumbra causes a subtle darkening of the Moon’s surface. A special type of penumbral eclipse is a total penumbral eclipse, during which the Moon lies exclusively within the Earth’s penumbra. Total penumbral eclipses are rare, and when these occur, that portion of the Moon which is closest to the umbra can appear somewhat darker than the rest of the Moon.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra. When the Moon travels completely into the Earth’s umbra, one observes a total lunar eclipse. The Moon’s speed through the shadow is about one kilometer per second (2,300 mph), and totality may last up to nearly 107 minutes. Nevertheless, the total time between the Moon’s first and last contact with the shadow is much longer, and could last up to 3.8 hours. The relative distance of the Moon from the Earth at the time of an eclipse can affect the eclipse’s duration. In particular, when the Moon is near its apogee, the farthest point from the Earth in its orbit, its orbital speed is the slowest. The diameter of the umbra does not decrease much with distance. Thus, a totally eclipsed Moon occurring near apogee will lengthen the duration of totality.

Every year there are at least two lunar eclipses, although total lunar eclipses are significantly less common. If one knows the date and time of an eclipse, it is possible to predict the occurrence of other eclipses using an eclipse cycle like the Saros cycle.

The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,403 km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The Moon’s diameter is 3,474 km, a little more than a quarter of that of the Earth. Thus, the Moon’s surface area is less than a tenth that of the Earth (about a quarter the Earth’s land area, approximately as large as Russia, Canada, and the United States combined), and its volume is about 2 percent that of Earth.

The pull of gravity at its surface is about 17 percent of that at the Earth’s surface. The Moon is the only celestial body to which humans have traveled and upon which humans have performed a manned landing.

Gravity of the Moon distorts surface of the Earth, and pulls the ocean’s tides. Moon affects all living organisms on the deepest levels, and rules human’s unconscious, and our emotions.