August_2009_lunar_eclipse
August 2009 lunar eclipse
Penumbral lunar eclipse 6 August 2009
A penumbral lunar eclipse took place on 6 August 2009, the third of four lunar eclipses in 2009. The Moon's small entry into the Earth's penumbral shadow produced an extremely subtle dimming of the Moon's southern edge, difficult to observe visually.
| Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 6 August 2009 | |
|---|---|
 This subtle penumbral eclipse covered the southern part of the Moon as shown in this animation by John Walker, viewed from Lignières, Switzerland. | |
 The Moon grazed the Earth's southern penumbral shadow. | |
| Series (and member) | 148 (3 of 71) |
| Gamma | 1.3572 |
| Magnitude | 0.4019 |
| Duration (hr:mn:sc) | |
| Penumbral | 3:09:47 |
| Contacts (UTC) | |
| P1 | 23:04:21 (Aug 5) |
| Greatest | 0:39:11 |
| P4 | 2:14:08 |
 The Moon's hourly motion west to east through the constellation of Capricornus and the northern edge of the Earth's penumbral shadow | |
The eclipse was completely visible over Africa and Europe and South America. It was seen rising over eastern North America and setting over Asia.
Eclipses of 2009
- An annular solar eclipse on 26 January.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on 9 February.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on 7 July.
- A total solar eclipse on 22 July.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on 6 August.
- A partial lunar eclipse on 31 December.
Lunar year cycles (354 days)
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 | |||||
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Half-Saros cycle
A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[1] This lunar eclipse is related to two partial solar eclipses of Solar Saros 155.
Eclipse season
This is the third eclipse this season.
First eclipse this season: 7 July 2009 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
Second eclipse this season: 22 July 2009 Total Solar Eclipse
- From France, 23:31 UTC
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- Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
- John Walker (7 August 2009). "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Imaged". Retrieved 23 August 2009. The eclipse was captured with two digital photographs and combined into one gif file.
- 2009 Aug 06 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
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