(9 Jan 2001) English/Nat

Dozens of people braved the cold weather and gathered at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London to watch the 21st century's first total eclipse of the moon.

The moon came passing the Earth's shadow at 1842 GMT, and
progressively disappeared.

Although not of great scientific importance, a lunar eclipse is nonetheless a grand spectacle of nature.

It occurs when the Moon enters the shadow cast by the Earth in space.

As the Earth gets between the sun and the moon, a "bite" appears to
be taken from one side of the lunar disc.

Gradually the "bite" - the curved edge of the Earth's shadow -
creeps across the moon's face until the whole lunar surface is
covered.

When weather conditions are perfect, it is now known that during a
lunar eclipse sunlight filtered and bent by the Earth's atmosphere
can cause the moon to turn an orange or reddish colour.

The next lunar eclipse will take place in 2003.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Totality has happened because the moon is completely within the earth's shadow. That means it is the darkest bit of the shadow and that is why we are getting this beautiful red colour. The significance is it is the darkest part of the eclipse the bit that lasts an hour and the bit we have all been waiting for" SUPER CAPTION: Robert Massey, Astronomer Royal Observatory in Greenwich

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