A friend of mine believes that there is some significance to the lunar eclipse occurring at the same time as the winter solstice. At first I thought not since the solstice has to do with the Earth's tilt and the eclipse has to do with alignment between sun, Earth, and moon. However, I am beginning to wonder if the tilt puts the northern hemisphere closer to the moon's orbit. If this was the case, I think it would please her because she thinks that gravitational alignments have some astrological effect on terrestrial life. Thanks in advance for your support of astrological musings on the basis of legitimate astronomical facts.

I would have to say technically yes, but not close enough to make any real difference.