fact: lunar eclipses are common

Once again the media has gotten their wires crossed, creating hype, confusion, mythology, and falsehoods, which are already finding their way back to me.

Randy sent an email (with an excellent lunar eclipse camera phone photo) but said to his recipient list that "this [was a] rare occurance" (sic) and that the last one happened "400 years ago." Out of context, this makes it seem that lunar eclipses are rare.

Malcolm phoned during some volunteering seasonal stuff. Wasn't sure, at first, if he pocket phoned me... We caught up on things. He asked if I had gotten up in the middle of the night to view the eclipse. Then he said he heard that these only happen every 250 years. Eclipses? No.

Lunar eclipses during the solstice? Yes, that's rare. Lunar eclipses are common and there are usually a couple per year. The next one is due December 2011.