December 1963 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 30, 1963 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | −0.2889 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.3350 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 124 (46 of 74) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 78 minutes, 7 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 204 minutes, 18 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 319 minutes, 57 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Monday, December 30, 1963, with an umbral magnitude of 1.3350. 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 about 1.5 days after perigee (on December 29, 1963, at 0:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.