February 2008 lunar eclipse

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Total lunar eclipse 2008/2/21 [1]
Saros (member)	133 (26)
Recent	<S <T < > T> S>
Telescopic view, greatest eclipse, from North Billerica, MA.
The moon passes right to left through the earth's southern shadow
Gamma^[1]	-0.3993
Duration (hr:mn:sc)
Totality	0:50:58
Partial	3:26:08
Penumbral	5:42:18
Contacts
P1	0:34:59 UTC
U1	1:42:59 UTC
U2	3:00:34 UTC
Greatest	3:26:05 UTC
U3	3:51:32 UTC
U4	5:09:07 UTC
P4	6:17:16 UTC
At descending node in Leo

A total lunar eclipse occurred on the evening of Wednesday, February 20, and morning of Thursday, February 21, 2008. It was visible in the eastern evening sky on February 20 for all of North and South America, and on February 21 in the predawn western sky from most of Africa and Europe.

The total lunar eclipse is the first of the two lunar eclipses in 2008, with the second, the August 16, 2008 event being partial.^[2] The next total lunar eclipse will occur on December 21, 2010.

1 Viewing
2 Relation to other lunar eclipses
- 2.1 Lunar year and Metonic cycles (354 days and 19 years)
3 Timing
4 Photo gallery
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Viewing

The eclipse was visible in the eastern evening sky on February 20 for all of North and South America, and on February 21 in the predawn western sky from most of Africa and Europe.

These simulated views of the earth from the center of the moon during the lunar eclipse show where the eclipse is visible on earth.

The penumbral eclipse began at 00:35 UTC (February 21), and ended at 6:17. A partial eclipse existed from 1:43 until 3:00, followed by 51 minutes of totality (3:00 - 3:51), and then partial again from 3:51 until 5:09. (For local times, see Timing.)

It is possible to mistake the appearance of partial eclipse as the moon being in a different phase, but the shadow from the eclipse changes much more rapidly.^[3]

The bright star Regulus of Leo and the planet Saturn were prominent very near the moon during the total eclipse portion. Shortly before the eclipse began, Regulus was occulted by the moon in parts of the far Southern Atlantic ocean and Antarctica.

[edit] Relation to other lunar eclipses

This lunar eclipse is part of series 133 of the Saros cycle, which repeats every 18 years and 11 days. Series 133 runs from the year 1557 until 2819. The previous eclipse of this series occurred on February 9, 1990 and the next will occur on March 3, 2026. ^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

It is the 6th of 21 total lunar eclipses in series 133. The first was on December 28, 1917. The last (21st) will be on August 3, 2278. The longest two occurrences of this series (14th and 15th) will last for a total of 1 hour and 42 minutes ^[7] on May 18, 2152 and May 30, 2170.

[edit] Lunar year and Metonic cycles (354 days and 19 years)

This eclipse is the one of two short-lived parallel series:

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.
The Metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the earth's shadow will in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.

March 14, 2006 - partial (Saros 113) March 3, 2007 - total (Saros 123) February 21, 2008 - total (Saros 133) February 9, 2009 - penumbral (Saros 143) Note: Lunar Saros 103 ended on February 21, 1951	February 21, 1951 - penumbral (Saros 103) February 21, 1970 - partial (Saros 113) February 20, 1989 - total (Saros series 123) February 21, 2008 - total (Saros 133) February 20, 2027 - penumbral (Saros 143)

These charts show the moon's path through the earth's shadow near its descending node. The path progresses southward through each sequential eclipse. The second and third are total.

[edit] Timing

The moon entered the penumbral shadow at 00:35 UTC, and the umbral shadow at 1:43. Totality lasted for 51 minutes, between 3:01 and 3:52. The moon left the umbra shadow at 5:09 and left the penumbra shadow at 6:17.^[8]

Total Lunar Eclipse ^[9]
Event		AKT (-9_h)	PST (-8_h)	MST (-7_h)	CST (-6_h)	EST (-5_h)	AST (-4_h)	GMT (0_h)	CET (+1_h)	EET (+2_h)
Event		North and South America Evening of February 20, 2008						Europe and Africa Morning of February 21, 2008
U1	Partial began	16:43	17:43	18:43	19:43	20:43	21:43	01:43	02:43	03:43
U2	Total began	18:01	19:01	20:01	21:01	22:01	23:01	03:01	04:01	05:01
	Mid-eclipse	18:26	19:26	20:26	21:26	22:26	23:26	03:26	04:26	05:26
U3	Total ended	18:51	19:51	20:51	21:51	22:51	23:51	03:51	04:51	05:51
U4	Partial ended	20:09	21:09	22:09	23:09	00:09	01:09	05:09	06:09	07:09

[edit] Photo gallery

[edit] Composites

Eclipse observed from Sandim, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. Lat:41º02'22" N Lon:8º30'50" W.	Eclipse observed from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Each image is roughly taken 5 minutes apart.	Images taken in 3-5 minute Intervals - from Bradley, Illinois.
Eclipse observed from Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. From 01:47 to 03:15 UTC, each image is roughly taken 5min apart.	Lunar eclipse observed from Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.
Eclipse observed from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Lunar eclipse observed from Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Observed from Baltimore, MD, USA from 2:30 to 3:01 UTC. Lunar north is near left.

[edit] North America

[edit] Canada

Eclipse observed from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada at 02:49 UTC. Lunar north is near top-left.	Eclipse observed from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada at 02:56 UTC, just prior to total. Lunar north is near top-left.	Eclipse observed from Calgary, Alberta, Canada at 03:17 UTC.
Eclipse observed from Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada at 4:11 UTC. Lunar north is near top-left.	Eclipse observed from Burlington, ON, Canada t 04:15 UTC.	Eclipse Observed from Burlington, Ontario, Canada at 2:00 UTC.

[edit] USA (west)

Eclipse observed from San Pedro, California, USA at 3:26 UTC. Lunar north is near top-left.	Observed from Boulder, CO, USA at 4:17 UTC. Lunar north is near top-left. Mare Humorum appears at bottom, Tycho's rays at bottom right.	Eclipse observed from Salem, Oregon, USA. Lunar north is near top-left.
Eclipse observed from St. Louis, Missouri, USA at 3:08 UTC.	Observed from Urbana, Illinois at 3:06 UTC. Lunar north is near top-left.

[edit] USA (east)

Moon observed from West Hartford, Connecticut, USA at 1:42 UTC. Lunar north is left.	Eclipse observed from Washington, DC, USA at 02:57:51 UTC. Lunar north is left.	Eclipse observed from Millersville, Pennsylvania, USA at 3:15 UTC. Lunar north is near left.	Eclipse observed from West Hartford, Connecticut, USA at 3:18 UTC. Lunar north is near top-left.
Telescopic view, greatest eclipse, from North Billerica, MA	Eclipse observed from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA at 03:31 UTC. Lunar north is top-left.	Eclipse observed from Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA at 3:57 UTC.	Wellesley Hills, MA, USA at 3:52 UTC

[edit] South America

Eclipse observed from Pichilemu, Chile. Image taken at 2:23 UTC.	Eclipse observed from Pisco Elqui, Valle de Elqui, Chile at 03:20 UTC.	Eclipse observed from São Joaquim, Santa Catarina (state), Brazil at 3:52 UTC.
Montevideo, Uruguay