August 1961 lunar eclipse
| Partial eclipse | |||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||
| Date | August 26, 1961 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −0.4895 | ||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 0.9863 | ||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 137 (25 of 81) | ||||||||||||
| Partiality | 185 minutes, 58 seconds | ||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 301 minutes, 22 seconds | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, August 26, 1961, with an umbral magnitude of 0.9863. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when one part of the Moon is in the Earth's umbra, while the other part is in the Earth's penumbra. 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. Occurring only about 7.5 hours after perigee (on August 25, 1961, at 19:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This nearly total lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 137 preceded the first total eclipse on September 6, 1979. It was also the largest partial lunar eclipse since October 28, 1939, making it the second largest partial lunar eclipse of the 20th century.