NASA reports that this is the last chance to view a total lunar eclipse until 2010, so you might wanna take a peek at the night sky tonight.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth lines up directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow over the moon’s surface. The February 20, 2008 eclipse will last for nearly 3 and a half hours. For a full 50 minutes of that time the moon will be in totality – the period when the lunar surface is completely covered by the Earth’s shadow.

During an eclipse the moon changes color, going from a light gray color to an orange or deep red shade. This is totality. The moon takes on this new color because indirect sunlight is still able to pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and cast a glow on the moon.

If it’s as clear tonight as it was last night, we should be in for quite a show. I sat in the hot tub in the middle of the night last night, the water bubbling at a toasty 105 degrees, and stared up at the moon and stars, pondering God’s creation and the divine order of our world. The sky was so clear and the moon was so bright that I was able to see it in a way that seemed closer and in more detail than ever before (even through the clouds of steam). We truly are just little specks, and the heavens do declare His glory. The eternal question: Will we listen?