August 2009 lunar eclipse

August 2009 lunar eclipse
Penumbral eclipse
This subtle penumbral eclipse covered the southern part of the Moon as shown in this animation by John Walker, viewed from Lignières, Switzerland.
DateAugust 6, 2009
Gamma1.3572
Magnitude−0.6642
Saros cycle148 (3 of 71)
Penumbral189 minutes, 47 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P123:04:21
Greatest0:39:11
P42:14:08

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Thursday, August 6, 2009,[1] with an umbral magnitude of −0.6642. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon's near side passes into the Earth's penumbra. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. Occurring about 2.1 days after apogee (on August 3, 2009, at 22:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]

This eclipse was the third of four lunar eclipses in 2009, with the others occurring on February 9 (penumbral), July 7 (penumbral), and December 31 (partial).

Visibility

The eclipse was completely visible over South America, Africa, and Europe, seen rising over much of North America and setting over central and south Asia.[3]


Hourly motion shown right to left
The Moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation of Capricornus.

Visibility map

Eclipse details

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[4]

August 6, 2009 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 0.40379
Umbral Magnitude −0.66417
Gamma 1.35724
Sun Right Ascension 09h04m42.0s
Sun Declination +16°42'38.9"
Sun Semi-Diameter 15'46.1"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7"
Moon Right Ascension 21h02m46.3s
Moon Declination -15°34'32.9"
Moon Semi-Diameter 14'45.9"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°54'11.4"
ΔT 66.0 s

Eclipse season

See also: Eclipse cycle

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.[5][6][7]

Eclipse season of July–August 2009
July 7
Ascending node (full moon)
 July 22
Descending node (new moon)
 August 6
Ascending node (full moon)
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 110		 Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 136		 Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 148

Eclipses in 2009

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Lunar Saros 148

Inex

Triad

Lunar eclipses of 2006–2009

The lunar year series repeats after 12 lunations or 354 days (Shifting back about 10 days in sequential years). Because of the date shift, the Earth's shadow will be about 11 degrees west in sequential events.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2006–2009
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros #
and photo 		Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros #
and photo 		Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
113
 2006 Mar 14
 penumbral
 1.0211 118
 2006 Sep 7
 partial
 −0.9262
123
 2007 Mar 03
 total
 0.3175 128
 2007 Aug 28
 total
 −0.2146
133
 2008 Feb 21
 total
 −0.3992 138
 2008 Aug 16
 partial
 0.5646
143
 2009 Feb 09
 penumbral
 −1.0640 148
 2009 Aug 06
 penumbral
 1.3572
Last set 2005 Apr 24 Last set 2005 Oct 17
Next set 2009 Dec 31 Next set 2009 Jul 07


Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[8] This lunar eclipse is related to two partial solar eclipses of Solar Saros 155.

July 31, 2000 August 11, 2018

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "August 5–6, 2009 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 2009 Aug 06" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 2009 Aug 06". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  5. ^ (AFP) – 6 days ago. "AFP: Solar eclipse sparks tourism fever in China". Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Wang, Hongjiang (22 July 2009). "Scientists: China the best place to observe longest solar eclipse in 2,000 years_English_Xinhua". News.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Indian students on solar eclipse 'odyssey' to China – Yahoo! India News". In.news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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