A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, September 28, 2015, with an umbral magnitude of 1.2774. 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. Occurring only about 5 hours after perigee (on September 27, 2015, at 21:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This lunar eclipse is the last of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; and April 4, 2015.
The Moon appeared larger than normal, because the Moon was just 1 hour past its closest approach to Earth in 2015 at mid-eclipse, sometimes called a supermoon. The Moon's apparent diameter was larger than 34' viewed straight overhead, just off the coast of northeast Brazil.Sky and TelescopeHere’s the Scoop on Sunday’s Supermoon Eclipse, Bob King
The total lunar eclipse was darker than expected, possibly due to ash left behind from eruptions of the Calbuco volcano in April 2015.
Background
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes within Earth's umbra (shadow). As the eclipse begins, Earth's shadow first darkens the Moon slightly. Then, the shadow begins to "cover" part of the Moon, turning it a dark red-brown color (typically – the color can vary based on atmospheric conditions). The Moon appears to be reddish because of Rayleigh scattering (the same effect that causes sunsets to appear reddish) and the refraction of that light by Earth's atmosphere into its umbra.
The following simulation shows the approximate appearance of the Moon passing through Earth's shadow. The Moon's brightness is exaggerated within the umbral shadow. The northern portion of the Moon was closest to the center of the shadow, making it darkest, and most red in appearance.
Supermoon
This eclipsed Moon appeared 12.9% larger in diameter than the April 2015 lunar eclipse, measured as 29.66' and 33.47' in diameter from Earth's center, as compared in these simulated images.
A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. This was the last supermoon lunar eclipse until January 31, 2018.
Visibility The eclipse was completely visible over eastern North America, South America, west Africa, and western Europe, seen rising over western North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean and setting over east Africa, eastern Europe, and west and central Asia.
Hourly motion shown right to leftSimulated appearance of Earth and atmospheric ring of sunlightThe Moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation of Pisces. Visibility map
Timing + Local times of contacts Time Zoneadjustments fromUTC -7h -6h -5h -4h -3h -2h -1h 0h +1h +2h +3h PDTMST MDT CDTPET EDTBOT ADTAMSTART GMTWET WESTCETBST CESTEETMSK−1 EESTFETMSKEventEvening 27 SeptemberMorning 28 SeptemberP1 Penumbral begins* N/A† N/A† 7:12 pm 8:12 pm 9:12 pm 10:12 pm 11:12 pm 12:12 am 1:12 am 2:12 am 3:12 amU1 Partial begins N/A† 7:07 pm 8:07 pm 9:07 pm 10:07 pm 11:07 pm 12:07 am 1:07 am 2:07 am 3:07 am 4:07 amU2 Total begins 7:11 pm 8:11 pm 9:11 pm 10:11 pm 11:11 pm 12:11 am 1:11 am 2:11 am 3:11 am 4:11 am 5:11 am Mid-eclipse 7:47 pm 8:47 pm 9:47 pm 10:47 pm 11:47 pm 12:47 am 1:47 am 2:47 am 3:47 am 4:47 am 5:47 amU3 Total ends 8:23 pm 9:23 pm 10:23 pm 11:23 pm 12:23 am 1:23 am 2:23 am 3:23 am 4:23 am 5:23 am 6:23 amU4 Partial ends 9:27 pm 10:27 pm 11:27 pm 12:27 am 1:27 am 2:27 am 3:27 am 4:27 am 5:27 am 6:27 am SetP4 Penumbral ends 10:22 pm 11:22 pm 12:22 am 1:22 am 2:22 am 3:22 am 4:22 am 5:22 am 6:22 am Set Set † The Moon was not visible during this part of the eclipse in this time zone.
* The penumbral phase of the eclipse changes the appearance of the Moon only slightly and is generally not noticeable.
Gallery
Eclipse details Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular lunar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+September 28, 2015 Lunar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Penumbral Magnitude 2.23071 Umbral Magnitude 1.27744 Gamma −0.32960 Sun Right Ascension 12h17m08.9s Sun Declination -01°51'20.9" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'57.6" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.8" Moon Right Ascension 00h17m33.6s Moon Declination +01°32'03.6" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'44.5" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'26.6" ΔT 67.8 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 September 2015 September 13Ascending node (new moon) September 28Descending node (full moon) Partial solar eclipseSolar Saros 125 Total lunar eclipseLunar Saros 137
Related eclipses Eclipses in 2015 A total solar eclipse on March 20. A total lunar eclipse on April 4. A partial solar eclipse on September 13. A total lunar eclipse on September 28.
Metonic Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 10, 2011 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 16, 2019
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 16, 2008 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 8, 2022
Half-Saros Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 22, 2006 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 2, 2024
Tritos Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 28, 2004 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 28, 2026
Lunar Saros 137 Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 16, 1997 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 8, 2033
Inex Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 17, 1986 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 7, 2044
Triad Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 27, 1928 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 30, 2102
Lunar eclipses of 2013–2016
Saros 137
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 144.
September 22, 2006October 2, 2024
See also List of lunar eclipses and List of 21st-century lunar eclipses
References
External links
Hermit eclipse: 2015-09-28