Winter solstice - full moon - full lunar eclipse - Monday, Dec. 21, 2010. Lucky us! The last time this happened was nearly four centuries ago, on December 21, 1638.
The eclipse will be visible in the Western Hemisphere. The first definitive change in the moon's appearance will come on the moon's upper left edge. At 1:33 a.m. EST (10:33 p.m. PST), the partial phase of the eclipse will begin as the Earth's dark shadow – called the umbra – starts to slowly creep over the face of the full moon.
At 2:41 a.m. EST (11:41 p.m. PST) the eclipse will reach totality, but sunlight bent by our atmosphere around the curvature of the Earth should produce a coppery glow on the moon.
At this time, the moon, if viewed with binoculars or a small telescope, will present the illusion of seemingly glowing from within by its own light.
At 3:18 a.m. EST (12:18 a.m. PST), the sun, Earth and moon will be almost exactly in line and the light of the moon – assuming clear skies – will appear at its dimmest.
Totality ends at 3:53 a.m. EST (12:53 a.m. PST) and the moon will completely emerge from the umbra at 5:01 a.m. EST (2:01 a.m. PST). About 15 or 20 minutes later, the last vestige of the fainter penumbral shadow will disappear from the moon's upper right edge and it will return to its normal brilliance.
Source
And this excerpt from an email on the solstice that I got this morning from a friend, more chatter about 2012, the Mayan calendar, harmonic convergence and all that for your entertainment.
It seems that some interesting astrological things are happening on the Winter's Solstice and also something else. The Sirius is sending a "test pulse" on that day, as a forerunner to the 2012 harmonic completion on the Winter's Solstice of that year. It should be something gentle and a fairly usual day, entering through the crown chakra, more easily felt if we are receptive at 3rd eye and heart. It is to help the Earth move into more balance so that the latter date will have smoother transition. Depending on what ripples happen on Earth, other test pulses may be happening at key astrological junctures. It is to help balance the five elements. Nothing to worry about.
Naturally all this fits into my personal cosmology but that's a subject for a different time. For now, suffice it to say...
Happy upcoming Solstice!
Exact moment of solstice (sun stop):
7:22 p.m. EST - December 21, 2010