March 1942 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | March 3, 1942 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | −0.1545 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.5612 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 122 (52 of 75) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 95 minutes, 54 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 219 minutes, 40 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 344 minutes, 18 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 3, 1942, with an umbral magnitude of 1.5612. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 5.5 days before perigee (on March 8, 1942, at 11:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.