Lunar eclipse

Photographer John Church stayed up Monday night/Tuesday morning to capture these and other images of the lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth so that the earth blocks the sun’s rays from striking the moon. This can occur only when the sun, earth, and moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. A lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the earth. This eclipse coincided with the winter solstice — making it that much more rare.