The final full moon of 2010 concided both with the winter solstice and a total lunar eclipse viewable from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the surrounding communities. This compilation of photos shows the full moon and traces its changes as the Earth's shadow darkens its face throughout the night of Dec. 20. When fully in the shadow, the moon turned red until it began emerging later that night. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration/John Pennell)
The full moon as seen at 9:14 p.m. before the eclipse began. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Pennell)
The effects of the earth's shadow can be seen at 9:39 p.m. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Pennell)
By 10:01 p.m. the moon is almost half covered by the earth's shadow. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Pennell)
By 10:16 p.m. the eclipse was well under way. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Pennell)
By 10:25 most of the moon was covered by the earth's shadow. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Pennell)
Only a small sliver of moon still reflects sunlight as the earth's shadow overtakes the orb at 10:37 p.m. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Pennell)
The moon glows red in the earth's shadow at 11:39 p.m. Note the moon's luminescence is decresed to the point that stars are now visible in the background. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Pennell)