美国福克斯新闻网报道称，2010年12月21日正午时分（格林尼治时间），月全食和冬至时间偶遇，于是372年来最“黑暗”的日子就此诞生。

众所周知，北半球在冬至这一天白日最短，因为地球北极距离太阳最远。而太阳、地球和月亮又几乎处于一条线上，月全食出现，导致满月比往常晦暗许多。

有意思的是，今年过后，要想再看到12月满月、月全食和冬至赶到一起，人们就得等很长一段时间了：2094年12月21日！

The rare lunar eclipse has fallen on the winter solstice at the Greenwich meridian of December 21, 2010, making the day the "darkest" ever in 372 years.

It is well known that winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere because the North Pole of the Earth is pointing away from the sun. A total lunar eclipse also occurs when the sun, Earth and moon are almost exactly in line, leaving the full moon appear much dimmer than usual.

Interestingly, after this year, people have a long time to wait until we have a December full moon and then a lunar eclipse occur on the same date as the solstice: December 21, 2094!