March 1951 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||
| Date | March 23, 1951 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −1.2099 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.3660 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 141 (20 of 73) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 214 minutes, 19 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Friday, March 23, 1951, with an umbral magnitude of −0.3660. 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 3.9 days before perigee (on March 27, 1951, at 8:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This eclipse was the second of four penumbral lunar eclipses in 1951, with the others occurring on February 21, August 17, and September 15.