A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Thursday, February 21, 2008, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1081. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. The Moon's apparent diameter was near the average diameter because it occurred 7.2 days after perigee (on February 13, 2008, at 20:00 UTC) and 6.8 days before apogee (on February 27, 2008, at 20:30 UTC).
This eclipse fell on the Lantern Festival, the first since March 4, 2007 local time in Asia.
Visibility The eclipse was completely visible over North and South America, west Africa, and western Europe, seen rising over much of the Pacific Ocean and setting over much of Africa, eastern Europe, and west, central, and south Asia.
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.
Hourly motion shown right to leftThe Moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation of Leo. Visibility map
Timing The Moon entered the penumbral shadow at 0:36 UTC, and the umbral shadow at 1:43. Totality lasted for 50 minutes, between 3:01 and 3:51. The Moon left the umbra shadow at 5:09 and left the penumbra shadow at 6:16. Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC
+ Total Lunar Eclipse Event North and South America Europe and Africa Evening of February 20thMorning of February 21st AKST(-9h) PST(-8h) MST(-7h) CST(-6h) EST(-5h) AST(-4h) GMT(0h) CET(+1h) EET(+2h)P1 Penumbral began Under Horizon Under Horizon Under Horizon 18:36 19:36 20:36 0:36 1:36 2:36U1 Partial began Under Horizon Under Horizon 18:43 19:43 20:43 21:43 1:43 2:43 3:43U2 Total began Under Horizon 19:01 20:01 21:01 22:01 23:01 3:01 4:01 5:01 Mid-eclipse 18:26 19:26 20:26 21:26 22:26 23:26 3:26 4:26 5:26U3 Total ended 18:51 19:51 20:51 21:51 22:51 23:51 3:51 4:51SetU4 Partial ended 20:09 21:09 22:09 23:09 0:09 1:09 5:09SetSet
Images
Gallery
Composites
Eclipse observed from Sandim, Portugal. .Eclipse observed from Regina, Saskatchewan. Each image is roughly taken 5 minutes apart.Images taken in 3-5 minute Intervals - from Bradley, Illinois.Eclipse observed from Halton Hills, Ontario. From 01:47 to 03:15 UTC, each image is roughly taken 5min apart.Eclipse observed from Winnipeg, ManitobaLunar eclipse observed from Burlington, OntarioObserved from Baltimore, Maryland, from 2:30 to 3:01 UTC. Lunar north is near left.
North America
Canada
USA (west)
USA (east)
South America
Europe and Africa
Eclipse details Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular lunar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+February 21, 2008 Lunar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Penumbral Magnitude 2.14698 Umbral Magnitude 1.10809 Gamma -0.39923 Sun Right Ascension 22h15m30.0s Sun Declination -10°48'31.3" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'10.5" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 10h14m48.5s Moon Declination +10°28'07.6" Moon Semi-Diameter 15'34.2" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°57'08.5" ΔT 65.5 s
Eclipse season
This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
+ Eclipse season of February 2008 February 7Ascending node (new moon) February 21Descending node (full moon) Annular solar eclipseSolar Saros 121 Total lunar eclipseLunar Saros 133
Related eclipses Eclipses in 2008 An annular solar eclipse on February 7. A total lunar eclipse on February 21. A total solar eclipse on August 1. A partial lunar eclipse on August 16.
Metonic Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 4, 2004 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 10, 2011
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 9, 2001 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 2015
Half-Saros Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 1999 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 26, 2017
Tritos Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 24, 1997 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 21, 2019
Lunar Saros 133 Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 9, 1990 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 2026
Inex Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1979 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 31, 2037
Triad Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 22, 1921 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 21, 2094
Lunar eclipses of 2006–2009
Metonic series
Saros 133
Tritos series
Inex series
Half-Saros cycle A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 140.
February 16, 1999February 26, 2017
See also List of lunar eclipses in the 21st century Lists of lunar eclipses Solar eclipse :File:2008-02-21 Lunar Eclipse Sketch.gif Chart
Notes
External links
NASA: Total Lunar Eclipse: February 20, 2008 NASA Saros series 133
Hermit eclipse (Ian Cameron Smith) Total Lunar Eclipse: February 21, 2008 Photos Astronet: Information and live webcasts of the February 20-21 total lunar eclipse from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Argentina NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: February 20, 2008, February 22, 2008 March 1, 2008
Example Images from Dr. Eric S. Ackerman - Fort Lauderdale, Florida Various Animations of the Eclipse Astronight Observatory - Billerica MA SpaceWeather Lunar Eclipse Photo Gallery: February 20, 2008 Philadelphia, PA: A timelapse of the total lunar eclipse on February 20th, 2008. Recorded with still images. Feature No Longer Available | Weather Underground