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Lunar Eclipse

 
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A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
, Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
, and Moon
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth....
 are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, there is always a full moon
Full moon

Full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun....
 the night of a lunar eclipse. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital node
Lunar node

The lunar nodes are the orbital nodes of the Moon, that is, the points where the Planetary orbit of the Moon crosses the ecliptic . The ascending node is where the moon crosses to the north of the ecliptic....
s. The next total lunar eclipse occurs on December 21, 2010.






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A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun
Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
, Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
, and Moon
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth....
 are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, there is always a full moon
Full moon

Full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun....
 the night of a lunar eclipse. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital node
Lunar node

The lunar nodes are the orbital nodes of the Moon, that is, the points where the Planetary orbit of the Moon crosses the ecliptic . The ascending node is where the moon crosses to the north of the ecliptic....
s. The next total lunar eclipse occurs on December 21, 2010. The next eclipse of the Moon is a penumbral eclipse on July 7, 2009.

Types of lunar eclipses


The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two distinctive parts: the umbra
Umbra

For other uses of the word "umbra", see Umbra .'For other uses of the word "penumbra", see Penumbra .The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are the names given to three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source....
 and penumbra. Within the umbra, there is no direct solar radiation. However, as a result of the Sun's large angular size, solar illumination is only partially blocked in the outer portion of the Earth's shadow, which is given the name penumbra.

A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's penumbra. The penumbra does not cause any noticeable darkening of the Moon's surface, though some may argue it turns a little yellow. A special type of penumbral eclipse is a total penumbral eclipse, during which the Moon lies exclusively within the Earth's penumbra. Total penumbral eclipses are rare, and when these occur, that portion of the Moon which is closest to the umbra can appear somewhat darker than the rest of the Moon.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra. When the Moon travels completely into the Earth's umbra, one observes a total lunar eclipse. The Moon's speed through the shadow is about one kilometer per second (2,300 mph
MPH

mph is a three-letter acronym that refers to miles per hour, a measurement of speedMPH may also refer to:* Master of Public Health, a Master's degree in public health...
), and totality may last up to nearly 107 minutes. Nevertheless, the total time between the Moon's first and last contact with the shadow is much longer, and could last up to 3.8 hours. The relative distance of the Moon from the Earth at the time of an eclipse can affect the eclipse's duration. In particular, when the Moon is near its apogee, the farthest point from the Earth in its orbit, its orbital speed is the slowest. The diameter of the umbra does not decrease much with distance. Thus, a totally-eclipsed Moon occurring near apogee will lengthen the duration of totality.

A selenelion or selenehelion occurs when both the Sun and the eclipsed Moon can be observed at the same time. This can only happen just before sunset or just after sunrise, and both bodies will appear just above the horizon at nearly opposite points in the sky. This arrangement has led to the phenomenon being referred to as a horizontal eclipse. It happens during every lunar eclipse at all those places on the Earth where it is sunrise or sunset at the time. Indeed, the reddened light that reaches the Moon comes from all the simultaneous sunrises and sunsets on the Earth. Although the Moon is in the Earth's geometrical shadow, the Sun and the eclipsed Moon can appear in the sky at the same time because the refraction
Refraction

Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one optical medium to another....
 of light through the Earth's atmosphere
Earth's atmosphere

The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. Dry air contains roughly 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, and trace amounts of other gases....
 causes objects near the horizon
Horizon

The horizon is the apparent line that separates earth from sky.More precisely, it is the line that divides all of the directions one can possibly look into two categories: those which intersect the Earth's surface, and those which do not....
 to appear higher in the sky than their true geometric position.

The Moon does not completely disappear as it passes through the umbra because of the refraction
Refraction

Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one optical medium to another....
 of sunlight
Sunlight

Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total spectroscopy of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is Filter ed through the Earth's atmosphere, and the solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon....
 by the Earth's atmosphere into the shadow cone; if the Earth had no atmosphere, the Moon would be completely dark during an eclipse. The red colouring arises because sunlight reaching the Moon must pass through a long and dense layer of the Earth's atmosphere, where it is scattered
Rayleigh scattering

Rayleigh scattering is the elastic scattering of light or other electromagnetism radiation by particles much smaller than the wavelength of the light....
. Shorter wavelength
Wavelength

In physics, wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a propagating wave of a given frequency. It is commonly designated by the Greek language letter lambda ....
s are more likely to be scattered by the small particles, and so by the time the light has passed through the atmosphere, the longer wavelengths dominate. This resulting light we perceive as red
Red

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 625?740 Nanometer....
. This is the same effect that causes sunset
Sunset

File:Sunset 2007-1.jpgSunset is the daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon as a result of the Earth's rotation. The atmospheric conditions created by the setting of the sun are also commonly referred to as "a sunset"....
s and sunrise
Sunrise

Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight....
s to turn the sky a reddish colour; an alternative way of considering the problem is to realise that, as viewed from the Moon, the Sun would appear to be setting (or rising) behind the Earth.

The amount of refracted light depends on the amount of dust or clouds in the atmosphere; this also controls how much light is scattered. In general, the dustier the atmosphere, the more that other wavelengths of light will be removed (compared to red light), leaving the resulting light a deeper red colour. This causes the resulting coppery-red hue of the Moon to vary from one eclipse to the next. Volcanoes are notable for expelling large quantities of dust into the atmosphere, and a large eruption shortly before an eclipse can have a large effect on the resulting colour.

Danjon scale

The following scale (the Danjon scale
Danjon scale

The Danjon Scale of lunar eclipse brightness is a five-point scale useful for measuring the appearance and luminosity of the Moon during a lunar eclipse....
) was devised by André Danjon
André Danjon

Andr?-Louis Danjon was a France astronomer born in Caen.Danjon devised a method to measure "Earthshine" on the Moon using a telescope in which a prism split the Moon's image into two identical side-by-side images....
 for rating the overall darkness of lunar eclipses:
L=0: Very dark eclipse. Moon almost invisible, especially at mid-totality.
L=1: Dark Eclipse, gray or brownish in colouration. Details distinguishable only with difficulty.
L=2: Deep red or rust-colored eclipse. Very dark central shadow, while outer edge of umbra is relatively bright.
L=3: Brick-red eclipse. Umbral shadow usually has a bright or yellow rim.
L=4: Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse. Umbral shadow is bluish and has a very bright rim.


Eclipse cycles

Every year there are usually at least two partial lunar eclipses, although total eclipses are significantly less common. If one knows the date and time of an eclipse, it is possible to predict the occurrence of other eclipses using an eclipse cycle
Eclipse cycle

Eclipses may occur repeatedly, separated by certain intervals of time: these intervals are called eclipse cycles. The series of eclipses separated by a repeat of one of these intervals is called an eclipse series....
 like the Saros cycle
Saros cycle

The Saros cycle is an eclipse cycle with a period of about 18 years 11 days 8 hours that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon. One cycle after an eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon return to approximately the same relative geometry, and a nearly identical eclipse will occur west of the original location....
. Unlike a solar eclipse
Solar eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is wholly or partially obscured. This can only happen during a new moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth....
, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth.

Recent and upcoming lunar eclipse events


  • March 3, 2007, lunar eclipse - The first total lunar eclipse of 2007 occurred on March 03, 2007, and was partially visible from the Americas
    Americas

    The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
    , Asia
    Asia

    Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
     and Australia
    Australia

    Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
    . The complete event was visible throughout Africa
    Africa

    Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
     and Europe
    Europe

    Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
    . The event lasted 01h:15m, began at 20:16 UTC
    Universal Time

    Universal Time is a timescale based on the rotation of the Earth. It is a modern continuation of Greenwich Mean Time , i.e., the mean solar time on the meridian of Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and GMT is sometimes used loosely as a synonym for UTC....
    , and reached totality at 22:43 UTC.
  • August 2007 lunar eclipse - August 28, 2007, saw the second total lunar eclipse of the year. The initial stage began at 07:52 UTC
    Universal Time

    Universal Time is a timescale based on the rotation of the Earth. It is a modern continuation of Greenwich Mean Time , i.e., the mean solar time on the meridian of Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and GMT is sometimes used loosely as a synonym for UTC....
    , and reached totality at 09:52 UTC. This eclipse was viewable form Eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand
    New Zealand

    New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
     the Pacific, and the Americas.
  • February 2008 lunar eclipse - The only total lunar eclipse of 2008 occurred on February 21, 2008, beginning at 01:43 UTC, visible from Europe, the Americas, and Africa.
  • The next partial eclipse of the Moon will occur on December 31, 2009.
  • The next total eclipse of the Moon will occur on December 21, 2010.


The current lunar year eclipse cycle has 8 events, each event separated by 6 lunation
Lunation

Lunation is the mean time for one lunar phase cycle .  It is on average 29.530589 days, or 29 d 12 h 44 min 3 s.  The length of this cycle is linked to many phenomena in nature....
s (177 days):

Descending nodeAscending node
  1. March 14, 2006 - partial
  2. March 3, 2007 - total
  3. February 21, 2008 - total
  4. February 9, 2009 - penumbral
  • September 7, 2006 - partial
  • August 28, 2007 - total
  • August 16, 2008 - partial
  • August 6, 2009 - penumbral
    • These charts show the Moon's path through the Earth's shadow near its ascending and descending nodes.


    The next lunar year eclipse cycle has 9 events, each event separated by 6 lunation
    Lunation

    Lunation is the mean time for one lunar phase cycle .  It is on average 29.530589 days, or 29 d 12 h 44 min 3 s.  The length of this cycle is linked to many phenomena in nature....
    s (177 days):

    Descending nodeAscending node
    1. December 31, 2009 - partial
    2. December 21, 2010 - total
    3. December 10, 2011 - total
    4. November 28, 2012 - penumbral
    1. July 7, 2009 - penumbral
    2. June 26, 2010 - partial
    3. June 15, 2011 - total
    4. June 4, 2012 - partial
    5. May 25, 2013 - penumbral

    See also


    • List of lunar eclipses
      List of lunar eclipses

      List of lunar eclipses may refer to:* List of 16th century lunar eclipses* List of 17th century lunar eclipses* List of 18th century lunar eclipses...
      • List of central lunar eclipses
        List of central lunar eclipses

        File:Lunareclipsediagram.svgCentral lunar eclipses are defined as eclipses where part of the moon passes through the center of the earth's shadow. They are the darkest eclipses and relatively rare....
      • List of 16th century lunar eclipses
        List of 16th century lunar eclipses

        See also: List of lunar eclipses and List of 17th century lunar eclipses...
      • List of 17th century lunar eclipses
        List of 17th century lunar eclipses

        See also: List of lunar eclipses, List of 16th century lunar eclipses, and List of 18th century lunar eclipses...
      • List of 18th century lunar eclipses
        List of 18th century lunar eclipses

        See also: List of lunar eclipses, List of 17th century lunar eclipses, and List of 19th century lunar eclipses...
      • List of 19th century lunar eclipses
        List of 19th century lunar eclipses

        See also: List of lunar eclipses, List of 18th century lunar eclipses, and List of 20th century lunar eclipses...
      • List of 20th century lunar eclipses
        List of 20th century lunar eclipses

        A total of 230 lunar eclipses took place in the 20th century: 83 penumbral, 66 partial and 81 total.See also: List of lunar eclipses and List of 21st century lunar eclipses...
      • List of 21st century lunar eclipses
        List of 21st century lunar eclipses

        There will be 230 lunar eclipses during in the 21st century : 87 penumbral, 58 partial and 85 total.Eclipses are listed in sets by lunar years, repeating every 12 months for each node....
      • List of 22nd century lunar eclipses
        List of 22nd century lunar eclipses

        See also: List of lunar eclipses, List of 21th century lunar eclipses, and List of 23rd century lunar eclipses...
      • List of 23rd century lunar eclipses
        List of 23rd century lunar eclipses

        See also: List of lunar eclipses, List of 22nd century lunar eclipses, and List of 24th century lunar eclipses...
      • List of 24th century lunar eclipses
        List of 24th century lunar eclipses

        See also: List of lunar eclipses, List of 23rd century lunar eclipses, and List of 25th century lunar eclipses...
      • List of 25th century lunar eclipses
        List of 25th century lunar eclipses

        See also: List of lunar eclipses and List of 24th century lunar eclipses...
    • Eclipse
      Eclipse

      An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object moves into the shadow of another. The term is derived from the ancient Greek noun , from verb , "I cease to exist," a combination of prefix , from preposition , "out," and of verb , "I am absent"....
    • Solar eclipse
      Solar eclipse

      A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is wholly or partially obscured. This can only happen during a new moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth....
    • Umbra
      Umbra

      For other uses of the word "umbra", see Umbra .'For other uses of the word "penumbra", see Penumbra .The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are the names given to three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source....
    • Orbit of the Moon
    • Columbus' lunar eclipse
      Christopher Columbus

      Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
    • Moon illusion
      Moon illusion

      The Moon illusion is an optical illusion in which the Moon appears larger near the horizon than it does while higher up in the sky. This optical illusion also occurs with the sun and constellation....


    Lunar eclipse photo galleries


    Eclipse are grouped by their Saros
    Saros

    Saros or S?ros may refer to:*Saros cycle, a method for predicting solar eclipses*SS Saros, a shipwreck off the southeast coast of Australia...
     series which repeat every 18 years, 10 days. There are currently 48 active Saros series (for lunar eclipses), indexed as 109 to 150.

    Lunar eclipses from all 48 active saros series are represented below, grouped by their lunar year cycles (12 lunations), and subgrouped by their ocurrences at either the ascending or descending nodes of the Moon's orbit.

     Lunation series 1995-1998
    Ascending node
    April 15, 1995
    Partial
    Series 112    		April 4, 1996
    Total
    Series 122    		March 24, 1997
    Partial
    Series 132    		March 13, 1998
    Penumbral
    Series 142
    (No photo)(No photo)(No photo)(No photo)
    Descending node
    October 8, 1995
    Penumbral
    Series 117    		September 27, 1996
    Total
    Series 127    		September 16, 1997
    Total
    Series 137    		September 6, 1998
    Penumbral
    Series 147
    (No photo)(No photo)(No photo)(No photo)


     Lunation series 1998-2002
    Ascending node
     January, 31, 1999
    Penumbral
    Saros 114    		January 21, 2000
    Total
    Saros 124    		January 9, 2001
    Total
    Saros 134    		December 30, 2001
    Penumbral
    Saros 144
     (No photo)(No photo)(No photo)(No photo)
    Descending node
    August 8, 1998
    Penumbral
    Saros 109    		July 28, 1999
    Partial
    Saros 119    		July 16, 2000
    Total
    Saros 129    		July 5, 2001
    Partial
    Saros 139    		June 24, 2002
    Penumbral
    Saros 149
    (No photo)(No photo)(No photo)(No photo)(No photo)


     Lunation series 2002-2005
    Descending node
    May 26, 2002
    Penumbral
    Saros 111    		May 16, 2003
    Total
    Saros 121    		May 4, 2004
    Total
    Saros 131    		April 24, 2005
    Penumbral
    Saros 141
    (No photo)  
    Ascending node
    November 20, 2002
    Penumbral
    Saros 116    		November 7, 2003
    Total
    Saros 126    		October 28, 2004
    Total
    Saros 136    		October 17, 2005
    Partial
    Saros 146
    (No photo) (No photo)


     Lunation series 2006-2009
    Descending node
    March 14, 2006
    Penumbral
    Saros 113    		March 3, 2007
    Total
    Saros 123    		February 21, 2008
    Total
    Saros 133    		February 9, 2009
    Penumbral
    Saros 143
      
    Ascending node
    September 7, 2006
    Partial
    Saros 118    		August 28, 2007
    Total
    Saros 128    		August 16, 2008
    Partial
    Saros 138    		August 6, 2009
    Penumbral
    Saros 148
     (Future)


     Lunation series 2009-2013
    Ascending node
    July 7, 2009
    Penumbral
    Saros 110    		June 26, 2010
    Partial
    Saros 120    		June 15, 2011
    Total
    Saros 130    		June 4, 2012
    Partial
    Saros 140    		May 25, 2013
    Penumbral
    Saros 150
    (Future)(Future)(Future)(Future)(Future)
    Descending node
    December 31, 2009
    Partial
    Saros 115    		December 21, 2010
    Total
    Saros 125    		December 10, 2011
    Total
    Saros 135    		November 28, 2012
    Penumbral
    Saros 145    		 
    (Future)(Future)(Future)(Future) 


    External links

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