A lunar eclipse is an eclipse which occurs whenever the Moon passes through some

portion of the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are
aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, there is always a
full moon the night of a lunar eclipse. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the
Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes. The next total lunar eclipse occurs on
December 21, 2010. The next eclipse of the Moon is a penumbral eclipse on July 7, 2009.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Types of lunar eclipses

o 1.1 Danjon scale
• 2 Eclipse cycles
• 3 Recent and upcoming lunar eclipse events
o 3.1 2002-2005
o 3.2 2006-2009
o 3.3 2009-2013
o 3.4 2013-2016
o 3.5 2016-2020
• 4 See also
• 5 References

• 6 External links

[edit] Types of lunar eclipses

The shadow of the Earth can be divided into two distinctive parts: the umbra 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),
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.[1] 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 of light through the Earth's atmosphere causes objects near
the horizon to appear higher in the sky than their true geometric position.[2]

The Moon does not completely disappear as it passes through the umbra because of the
refraction of sunlight 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. Shorter wavelengths 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.
This is the same effect that causes sunsets and sunrises 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.

[edit] Danjon scale

The following scale (the Danjon scale) was devised by André Danjon for rating the
overall darkness of lunar eclipses:[3]

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.

[edit] Eclipse cycles

See also: Saros cycle and Eclipse cycle

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 like the Saros cycle. Unlike
a solar eclipse, 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.

[edit] 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, Asia and Australia.
The complete event was visible throughout Africa and Europe. The event lasted
01h:15m, began at 20:16 UTC, and reached totality at 22:43 UTC.[4]
• August 2007 lunar eclipse - August 28, 2007, saw the second total lunar eclipse of
the year. The initial stage began at 07:52 UTC, and reached totality at 09:52 UTC.
This eclipse was viewable form Eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand the
Pacific, and the Americas.[5]
• 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.[6]
• 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.

[edit] 2002-2005

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2002-2005

Descending node Ascending node

Saros Date Type Saros Date Type

Photo View Chart Photo View Chart

111 2002 May 26 penumbral 116 2002 Nov 20 penumbral

 121 total 126 total
2003 May 16 2003 Nov 09

131 total total

2004 May 04 136 2004 Oct 28

141 2005 Apr 24 penumbral 2005 Oct 17 partial

146

Last set 2002 Jun 24 Last set 2001 Dec 30

Next set 2006 Mar 14 Next set 2006 Sep 7

[edit] 2006-2009

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2006-2009

Descending node Ascending node

Saros Date Type Saros Date Type

Photo Viewing Chart Photo Viewing Chart

113 2006 Mar 14 penumbral 118 2006 Sep 7 partial

 123 total 128 total
2007 Mar 03 2007 Aug 28

133 total 138 2008 Aug 16 partial

2008 Feb 21

143 2009 Feb 9 penumbral 2009 Aug 06 penumbral

148

Last set 2005 Apr 24 Last set 2005 Oct 17

Next set 2009 Dec 31 Next set 2009 Jul 07

[edit] 2009-2013

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2009-2013

 Ascending node Descending node

Saros Date Type Saros Date Type

Viewing chart Viewing chart

2009 July 07 penumbral 2009 Dec 31 partial

110 115

2010 June 26 partial 2010 Dec 21 total

120 125

2011 June 15 total 2011 Dec 10 total

130 135

2012 June 04 partial 2012 Nov 28 penumbral

140 145

2013 May 25 penumbral

150
Last set 2009 Aug 06 Last set 2009 Feb 9

Next set 2013 Apr 25 Next set 2013 Oct 18

[edit] 2013-2016

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2013-2016

Ascending node Descending node

Saros Date Type Saros Date Type

Viewing Viewing

2013 Apr 25 Partial 2013 Oct 18 Penumbral

112 117

2014 Apr 15 Total 2014 Oct 08 Total

122 127

2015 Apr 04 Total 2015 Sep 28 Total

132 137

142 2016 Mar 23 Penumbral 147 2016 Sep 16 Penumbral

Last set 2013 May 25 Last set 2012 Nov 28

Next set 2017 Feb 31 Next set 2016 Aug 08

[edit] 2016-2020

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2016-2020

Descending node Ascending node

Saros Date Type Saros Date Type

Viewing Viewing Chart

2016 Aug 18 Penumbral 2017 Feb 11 Penumbral

109 114

119 2017 Aug 07 Partial 124 2018 Jan 31 Total

 2018 Jul 27 Total 2019 Jan 21 Total

129 134

2019 Jul 16 Partial 2020 Jan 10 Penumbral

139 144

2020 Jul 05 Penumbral

149

Last set 2016 Sep 16 Last set 2016 Mar 23

Next set 2020 Jun 05 Next set 2020 Nov 30