February 2054 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | February 22, 2054 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | −0.3242 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.2781 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 124 (51 of 74) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 72 minutes, 8 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 200 minutes, 53 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 314 minutes, 45 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Sunday, February 22, 2054, with an umbral magnitude of 1.2781. 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 1.2 days before perigee (on February 21, 2054, at 2:55 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
This lunar eclipse will be the first of an almost tetrad, with the others being on August 18, 2054 (total); February 11, 2055 (total); and August 7, 2055 (partial).