February 2008 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
Telescopic view, from North Billerica, Massachusetts at 3:25 UT, near greatest eclipse. | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | February 21, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −0.3992 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.1081 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 133 (26 of 71) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 49 minutes, 46 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 205 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 339 minutes, 3 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Thursday, February 21, 2008, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1081. 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. The Moon's apparent diameter was near the average diameter because it occurred 7.2 days after perigee (on February 13, 2008, at 20:00 UTC) and 6.8 days before apogee (on February 27, 2008, at 20:30 UTC).