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原作者：
来源FoxNewscom - Will Tuesday Be the Darkest Day in 456 Years?
译者stardust
By Joe Rao
Joe Rao
Published December 18, 2010 | Space.com
2010年12月18日发表 | Space.com
A painting of a total lunar eclipse viewed from the surface of the moon, as imagined by Lucien Rudax in the 1920s.
一幅从月球表面观看月全食的绘画，法国天文科普大师吕都（Lucien Rudaux）在20世纪20年代的想像画作。
Break out the flashlights. When a full lunar eclipse takes place on the shortest day of the year, the planet may just get awfully dark.
拿出手电筒吧。当一年里最短的一天发生月全食，地球可能会变得一片漆黑。
The upcoming Dec. 21 full moon -- besides distinguishing itself from the others in 2010 by undergoing a total eclipse -- will also take place on the same date as the solstice (the winter solstice if you live north of the equator, and the summer solstice if you live to the south).
12月21日即将到来的满月 —— 将经历一次全食，从而使自己成为2010年与众不同的满月 —— 也将和"至日"发生在相同的日期（如果你生活在赤道以北就是冬至，以南就是夏至）。
Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the official beginning of winter. The sun is at its lowest in our sky because the North Pole of our tilted planet is pointing away from it.
冬至在北半球是一年里最短的一天，同时也标志着冬天正式开始。这一天太阳位于天空的最低点，因为地球倾斜的北极与它最远。
So, how often does the December full moon coincide with the solstice? To answer this question, let's use Universal Time (UT), also sometimes referred to as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). We do this because in answering this question, it's important to define a specific time zone.
那么，12月的满月与至日重合有多频繁呢？为了回答这个问题，我们要使用世界时间（UT），有时也被称为格林尼治标准时间（GMT）。这么做的原因是为了回答上述问题，定义一个特别的时区就很重要。
For example, if you live in Honolulu, this December's full moon does not fall on the date of the solstice. Hawaii Time runs 10 hours behind GMT and the full moon occurs on Dec. 20 at 10:13 p.m. local time, while the solstice comes the following day at 1:38 p.m. Alaska, too, will have the full moon and the solstice occur on these respective dates, but in a time zone one hour later than Hawaii.
例如，如果你生活在檀香山，12月的满月不会出现在至日这一天。夏威夷时间晚于格林尼治标准时间10个小时，满月出现在当地时间12月20日的晚上10点13分，而至日在第二天早上1点38分到来。还有阿拉斯加，满月和至日也出现在各自不同的时间，只不过时区上比夏威夷晚了一个小时。
But both the full moon and solstice do occur on the same date (Dec. 21) in Greenwich, as well across the contiguous United States and Canada.
但在康涅狄格州西南部的格林威治镇，满月和至日发生在同一日期（12月21日），附近的美国和加拿大地区也一样。
Prior to this year, there were solstice full moons in 1999 (Dec. 22) and 1980 (Dec. 21).
本年度以前的至日伴随满月出现在1999年（12月22日）和1980年（12月21日）。
Interestingly, after this year, we'll have a long time to wait until we have a December full moon occur on the same date as the solstice: Dec. 21, 2094! And even more interesting -- just like this year -- that same full moon will fall into Earth's shadow in a total lunar eclipse. However, unlike this year, the 2094 eclipse will not be visible from the Western Hemisphere, but will be able to be seen from Europe, Africa and much of Asia. [How to Watch the Dec. 20 Total Lunar Eclipse]
有趣地是，今年以后将会有相当长的一段时间我们才能再次等到12月满月和至日同时出现：2094年的12月21日！更有趣地是——和今年类似——同样是满月将完全落入地球阴影中的月全食。然而和今年不同的是，在西半球将无法见到2094年的月食，而在欧洲、非洲和大部分的亚洲将有幸目睹。[如何观看12月20日月全食（http://www.space.com/spacewatch/total-lunar-eclipse-moon-observing-tips-101215.html）]
Finally, this raises the question -- prior to 2010, when was the last time that we had a total lunar eclipse occur on the same calendar date as the winter solstice? The answer, incredibly, takes us back nearly four centuries.
最后，这又产生了一个问题——2010年以前，最后一次出现和冬至相同的日期发生月全食是什么时候呢？答案让人难以置信，我们要上溯几乎4个世纪。
On Dec. 21, 1638, the full moon was in total eclipse from 1:12 to 2:47 UT. And the solstice occurred later in the day at 16:05 UT. [Amazing photos of a total lunar eclipse]
在1638年12月21日这一天，满月月全食从格林尼治标准时间1点12分开始到2点47分终止。至日则是同一天稍晚的格林尼治标准时间16点05分。[叹为观止的月全食照片（http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?gid=368）]
Once again, it's important to note that this occurred at the Greenwich meridian. For the Americas, this eclipse actually occurred during the evening of Dec. 20, while the solstice occurred on the following day.
再说一遍，记住这发生在本初子午线很重要。对美国人来说，这次月全食实际上发生在12月20日夜间，而至日则在随后的一天来到。
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