Look north for tonight's eclipse

Shore area night owls, rejoice. Many local locations will offer excellent viewing opportunities for tonight's lunar eclipse.

Tomorrow morning's so-called "Christmas eclipse," as it happens a few days before Christmas, is expected to last three hours and 28 minutes. Unlike a solar eclipse, it is safe to view with the naked eye.

Although this is the second lunar eclipse of 2010, it is the first total lunar eclipse since Feb. 20, 2008. The last total lunar eclipse that occurred simultaneously with the Winter Solstice, as it does Tuesday morning, last happened in 1638.

The last lunar eclipse of 2010 is especially well-placed for observers throughout North America, according to NASA's eclipse website.

Local eclipse times:

The last eclipse this year, which happened on June 26, was nowhere near as vivid as Tuesday morning's is expected to be.

The color and brightness of the totally eclipsed moon, according to NASA, should be a dark eclipse because of eruptions at Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano. Dark eclipses are caused by volcanic gas and dust that filter and block much of the sun's light from reaching the moon, according to the website.

The total eclipse phase is going to be bright red and orange.

When the moon is completely concealed by Earth, this is known by space experts as totality. Tuesday morning's totality will last just slightly more 72 minutes, something NASA officials says is quite a bit longer than the last total lunar eclipse.

According to EarthSky.org, a Web site that features daily accounts of the coming night's sky, the moon will be high in sky and to the north, since it is opposite the low, winter sun. That means locations with an unobstructed view of the north sky will be the prime viewing locations. Most beaches will fit the bill, as will the pathway over the south jetty at Manasquan Inlet in Pt. Pleasant Beach. The fishing pier at Mantoloking Bridge in Brick should also offer an elevated platform from which the north sky should be visible. Toms River and Berkeley residents can head to Pelican Island's north shore, which will also be an excellent viewing spot.