For those of you who weren't paying attention, last night (Dec. 21st, 2010) was the winter solstice; the shortest day/longest night of the year. And if that isn't enough to catch your attention, there was a total lunar eclipse as well. Not only was this the only total lunar eclipse of 2010, but the last time a total lunar eclipse occurred on the winter solstice was in the mid 1600's. It's been nearly 400 years since this last happened!
I stayed up to watch it with my siblings (it was about 2 a.m.), explained why aliens would look nothing like humans as well as the concept of the multyverse, and watched the earth's shadow creep across the moon.
This was my first lunar eclipse that I've ever seen and it was spectacular; the sky was clear, you could make out all the big constellations, and the moon was the most brilliant and beautiful crimson/gold/orange/bronze I have ever seen.
If you didn't stay up to watch it, you missed one hell of a show going on in our little corner of the galaxy.