William Atkins
Friday, 15 August 2008 21:40
Science -
Space
Page 3 of 3
Later, at 19:36:07 GMT (10:36:07 p.m. Cairo), the Moon enters the darker part of the Earth’s shadow, the umbra, which is called the official time for the partial eclipse to begin.
At 21:10:09 GMT (12:10:09 p.m. Cairo), the maximum (or, greatest) eclipse occurs when 81.2% of the visible side of the Moon will be within the umbra and the remainder within the penumbra.
The eclipse will begin to end when the Moon leaves the umbra at 22:44:16 GMT (1:44:16 a.m. Sunday morning in Cairo), and the punumbra eclipse will be over with when the Moon exits the penumbra at 23:55:25 GMT (2:55:25 a.m. Cairo).
During the eclipse, the Moon is positioned in front of the stars of the constellation Capricorn.
In addition, the planet Jupiter is located to the right of the Moon in the night sky, while the planet Neptune will be southwest of the Moon.
See an animation of the partial lunar eclipse at: “
Partial Eclipse of the Moon Animated August 16, 2008.”
Since this is a lunar eclipse, there is no need for eye protection because you will not be directly looking into sunlight, as in a solar eclipse. So, enjoy your evening and/or morning of Moon gazing!