![]() ![]() Thus, the concurrence of a totally eclipsed Moon near apogee will lengthen the duration of totality.Ī central lunar eclipse is a total lunar eclipse during which the Moon passes through the centre of Earth's shadow, contacting the antisolar point. The diameter of Earth's umbra does not decrease appreciably within the changes in the Moon's orbital distance. In particular, when the Moon is near apogee,the farthest point from Earth in its orbit, its orbital speed is the slowest. The relative distance of the Moon from Earth at the time of an eclipse can affect the eclipse's duration. Nevertheless, the total time between the first and the last contacts of the Moon's limb with Earth's shadow is much longer and could last up to four hours. The Moon's average orbital speed is about 2,300 mph (1.03 km/s), or a little more than its diameter per hour, so totality may last up to nearly 107 minutes. Total penumbral eclipses are rare, and when these occur, the portion of the Moon closest to the umbra may appear slightly darker than the rest of the lunar disk.Ī partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a portion of the Moon enters Earth's umbra, while a total lunar eclipse occurs when the entire Moon enters the planet's umbra. A special type of penumbral eclipse is a total penumbral lunar eclipse, during which the Moon lies exclusively within Earth's penumbra. The penumbra causes a subtle dimming of the lunar surface. Lunar eclipses are safe to view with just your eyes and also with telescopes.Ī penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through Earth's penumbra. A partial eclipse occurs when only part of the moon passes through Earth's shadow and so only part of the moon appears reddish-brown. There are total eclipses, where the moon passes completely through Earth's shadow and all of the moon appears reddish-brown. ![]() Like solar eclipses, there are different types of lunar eclipses. It may be thought that the Moon is completely black because of the Earth's shadow, but the reddish-brown color is because of the fact that some of the Sun's light bends through the Earth's atmosphere and reflects off the moon. Lunar eclipses can last for a few hours, but solar eclipses may last only a few minutes.ĭuring a lunar eclipse, the Moon looks red-brown. Lunar eclipses happen about twice a year and can be seen from a much larger portion of the Earth compared to solar eclipses. It happens when the moon passes through the shadow of the Earth which can only occur during a full moon. A solar eclipse occurs in the day-time at new moon, when the Moon is between the Earth and the SunĪ lunar eclipse occurs at night when the Earth passes between the Sun and the MoonĪ lunar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon. ![]()
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