Hong Kong Space Museum During the lunar eclipse on February 10–11, 2017, the Moon skirts just outside Earth's dark umbra. A penumbral lunar eclipse not quite as deep as the one we're about to see occurred over the Far East on November 28, 2012. Permission is granted for nonexclusive use in print and broadcast media, as long as appropriate credit (as noted in the caption) is included. Sky & Telescope is making publication-quality illustrations available to our colleagues in the news media. "You can even use this event to check the acuteness of your visual perception," notes S&T senior editor Kelly Beatty. With luck, a careful observer will be able to detect a trace of shading by eye for about an hour - perhaps a little longer - after mid-eclipse. This is the part of the eclipse that most Americans will be able to see best. Watch the shading shift and become more concentrated toward the northern limb, the portion of the Moon that is passing closest to the umbra.Īs the Moon rises higher and any remaining twilight fades down, the process runs in reverse. With time, the dusky shading will become more prominent, and as mid-eclipse approaches, the lopsidedness of the Moon’s illumination will be totally obvious. Any haze or thin cloudiness will make seeing this early onset more difficult. and eastern Canada will the Moon be well up in time to watch for this. In North America, only from the northeastern U.S. The shading will begin to show on the Moon’s left side. "So start looking about 90 minutes before mid-eclipse." "The outer part of Earth’s penumbra is so pale that you won’t notice anything until the Moon’s edge has slid at least halfway in," cautions Alan MacRobert, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine. Eastern Standard Time (0:44 Universal Time on February 11th). This one lasts nearly 4½ hours, with its midpoint at 7:44 p.m. Key Times for the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse on Febru(* February 11) In Europe, Africa, and western Asia, the event takes place early on February 11th, with the Moon high in a dark sky. As seen from the Midwest, the eclipse will be at its maximum near or soon after moonrise and sunset in the Far West, moonrise and sunset don't occur until after the eclipse has peaked. The farther west you live, however, the lower the Moon will be in the eastern sky. Those in eastern North America (and all of South America) can observe the eclipse in its entirety. The table below provides key times for this event. Although no portion of the Moon will become really dark, anyone who looks up when the eclipse is near its maximum will easily see the dusky penumbral shading. So a penumbral lunar eclipse is essentially a tease - but this week's will be about the best one possible. In fact, were the Moon to slide just 27 miles (44 km) closer, the entire lunar disk would briefly lie inside the penumbra. Its northern edge will miss the umbra by only about 100 miles (160 km), or 3% of the Moon’s diameter. Instead of plunging into the dark inner core of Earth's shadow (called the umbra), the Moon will pass deeply into Earth's dusky outer shadow, the penumbra. In the meantime, skygazers can enjoy a special kind of lunar eclipse taking place on Friday night, February 10th. But we haven't experienced a total lunar blackout since September 2015, and the next one won't come until January 31, 2018. Lunar eclipses are enjoyable celestial events that can be seen from a wide geographic area. Note to Editors / Producers: This release is accompanied by publication-quality illustrations.
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