This week Earth dwellers had the opportunity to view a celestial event that will not happen again in our lifetime (unless of course science quickly discovers a way to extend the human lifespan by about 450 years).

If you didn’t see the total lunar eclipse that coincided with the Winter Solstice this week you can see pictures here.

It was truly spectacular. I set my iPhone alarm for 2:00AM and got up anxiously—hoping the cloud cover that had been present around midnight had dissipated—and to my delight the sky was very clear, complete with an above-average number of visible and brightly shining stars. Read more