William Atkins
Sunday, 08 February 2009 20:27
Science -
Space
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On Monday, February 9, 2009, see the northern half of the full Moon pass through the shadow of Earth, producing a penumbral lunar eclipse, the first lunar eclipse of 2009. The only things you need are your eyes and clear skies overhead!
If weather cooperates in your local sky, the eclipse of the upper portion of the Moon will be visible to upward looking skygazers between the hours of 1400 and 1520 Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).
On the western coast of the United States, these times correspond to 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST).
The times of the major phases of this eclipse occur at:
• 12:38:46 UTC (4:38:46 a.m. PST): Penumbral eclipse starts
• 14:38:15 UTC (6:38:15 a.m. PST): Greatest eclipse occurs
• 16:37:40 UTC (8:37:40 a.m. PST): Penumbral eclipse ends
During a lunar eclipse, the Earth is positioned on a line between the Sun and the Moon so that the light of the Sun is either fully blocked (which causes an umbra lunar eclipse) or partially (a penumbral lunar eclipse) blocked from illuminating the Moon.
For this one on February 9th, the penumbral lunar eclipse will be centered over the western Pacific Ocean.
The penumbra is the faint, partially shaded outer region of the shadow of the Earth as the Moon passes through it.
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