July 1973 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||
| Date | July 15, 1973 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 1.5178 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.9581 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 148 (1 of 71) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 99 minutes, 5 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Sunday, July 15, 1973, with an umbral magnitude of −0.9581. 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 3 days after apogee (on July 12, 1973, at 22:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This eclipse was the third of four lunar eclipses in 1973, with the others occurring on January 18 (penumbral), June 15 (penumbral), and December 10 (partial).
This was the first lunar eclipse of Saros series 148.