( CNN ) -- Stargazers who were willing to give up a little sleep got to catch the last lunar eclipse of 2010 early Tuesday . The total lunar eclipse lasted about three and a half hours , starting as a partial eclipse about 1:33 a.m . ET and finishing at 5:01 a.m . ET , according to NASA . As a coincidence , the eclipse fell on the same date as the 2010 winter solstice . The last lunar eclipse to happen on the day of the winter solstice was in 1638 . `` For eclipse watchers , this means that the moon will appear very high in the night sky , as the solstice marks the time when Earth 's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun , '' NASA said . In areas with clear skies , only watchers across North America , Greenland and Iceland were able to see the eclipse . Those in western Europe could see the beginning stages before the moon set , and stargazers in western Asia saw the later stages after moonrise , according to NASA . Share your lunar eclipse images , videos . The Twitter universe was aglow as the eclipse reached its peak . `` Moon fully covered , appears red - very cool , '' said Adam Goodman in Toronto , Ontario . The weather did n't cooperate for everyone though . `` Thank you cloudy sky for ruining the eclipse for me , apparently I woke up 3 for no reason , '' Seth Pelletier in Utah tweeted . The most recent lunar eclipse occurred June 26 . A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth lines up between the sun and the moon , blocking the sun 's rays and casting its shadow on the moon , according to NASA . As the moon moves into the Earth 's shadow , it appears to change color , turning from gray to orange or deep red . The new color stems from indirect sunlight that passes through Earth 's atmosphere and casts a glow on the moon , NASA said . `` Our atmosphere filters out most of the blue colored light , leaving the red and orange hues , '' the agency said . Lunar eclipses differ from their solar counterparts , as no special equipment is needed for viewing . NASA will stream a live video feed of the eclipse from a camera mounted at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville , Alabama . Tuesday was the last chance for those in the continental United States to see a total lunar ecllipse until April 15 , 2014 , according to NASA . CNN 's Emmanuella Grinberg contributed to this report .
The eclipse was visible to North America , Greenland and Iceland . The United States would n't see another total lunar eclipse until 1950 . The last lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the winter solstice was in 1638 .