[双语] 研究:前天是近400年来最黑暗的一天

　　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.

　　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。

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前天是近400年来最黑暗的一天？

　　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.

　　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。

　　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! However, the 2094 eclipse will not be visible from the Western Hemisphere, but will be able to be seen from Europe, Africa and much of Asia.

　　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！但是，2094年的月全食在西半球无法观测到，但在欧洲、非洲和亚洲的大部分地球都可以看到。

　　Then when was the last time that we had a total lunar eclipse occur on the same date as the winter solstice? The answer is nearly four centuries ago - December 21, 1638.

　　那么上一次人类在冬至时节看到月全食是什么时候呢？答案是近4个世纪以前——1638年12月21日。

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