December 1946 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 8, 1946 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | 0.3864 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.1639 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 134 (23 of 73) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 57 minutes, 15 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 194 minutes, 54 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 309 minutes, 29 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Sunday, December 8, 1946, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1639. 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 6.5 hours before perigee (on December 9, 1946, at 0:15 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.