December 1983 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||
| Date | December 20, 1983 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 1.0747 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.1167 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 144 (14 of 71) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 242 minutes, 15 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, December 20, 1983, with an umbral magnitude of −0.1167. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon's near side passes into 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 about 2.7 days before perigee (on December 22, 1983, at 18:25 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.