| Title: |
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse |
| Location: |
Hawaiian Islands Viewing |
| Date / Time: |
Feb.9th; Moon darkest at 04:30AM |
| Comments: |
There will be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, viewable from Hawaii, in the early morning hours of February 9th. (Monday MORNING). In a penumbral eclipse, the full Moon passes into the outer or penumbral shadow of the Earth. While many penumbral eclipses have few observable effects, the February 9th lunar eclipse will carry the Moon far enough into the light gray shadow to produce a distinctive darkening of the northern half of the Moon. While we will NOT see the Moon turn a deep copper color, as we often experience during a full lunar eclipse, a dusky shading of the Moon's northern half should be easily visible to the naked eye.
The darkening will start around 2:45 AM on Monday morning. The Moon will appear darkest at around 4:30AM, & the eclipse will be over about 6:30 as dawn begins to break. Keep in mind that the beginning & end of a penumbral eclipse are not visible to the eye. In fact, no shading can be detected until about 2/3 of the Moon's disk is immersed in the penumbra. Best viewing then would be between 4AM and 5:20. (While you're out there observing the eclipse, look to the southern horizon for the Southern Cross (Crux) - See notes below).
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Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii
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