Last full lunar eclipse for 3 years this weekend

[December 08, 2011]  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The last total lunar eclipse of the year is Saturday. And there won't be another one for three years.

Viewers in the western half of the United States will have the best views Saturday well before dawn, Pacific and Mountain Standard Time. The farther west the better.

The scene from the Pacific -- Australia and parts of Asia -- will be prime. The action will be unfolding there Saturday night, local time.

This is the second total lunar eclipse this year, when the entire moon is in Earth's darkest shadow and will appear red. The first was in June. That's it now until 2014. Until then, stargazers will have to settle for partial eclipses.

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Online:

NASA: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html

[Associated Press]

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