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Longest total lunar eclipse in 11 years
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CNTV, June 16, 2011
A celestial blackout has taken place over certain areas of the world. It was a 100-minute total lunar eclipse, the longest since 2000.
The lunar eclipse started at 18:22 GMT. The prime observing positions were eastern Africa, the Middle East, central Asia and western Australia.
The period when the earth's shadow completely blocks the moon, known as totality, lasted an hour and forty minutes.
In Moscow, a cloudy sky couldn't cloak the excitement.
And in Johannesburg, people gathered at the Witwatersrand Planetarium to enjoy the clear view.
Kobi Van Zyl, Witwatersrand Planetarium, said, "This eclipse tonight is especially important for us because it's a 100 minute totality so at 21:20, 21:22 when it goes into totality, it's gonna stay like that until 23:02 before it will start opening up again, it's one of the longest total moon eclipses, it's also visible through the whole of Africa."
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth, which blocks the sun's rays from striking the moon.
In Italy, people gathered to watch the eclipse over the capital's stunning landmarks.
Thick clouds gave Singaporean sky watchers merely a short glimpse.
Students at the University of the Philippines Astronomical Society took their cameras to the rooftop of the observatory.
Thursdays's lunar eclipse was the longest one since July 16, 2000, which lasted 107 minutes. The next total lunar eclipse of 2011 will occur on December 10th, visible from the western United States and Canada.
