September 1950 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | September 26, 1950 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | 0.4101 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.0783 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 136 (16 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 44 minutes, 16 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 209 minutes, 45 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 350 minutes, 4 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, September 26, 1950, with an umbral magnitude of 1.0783. 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 5.1 days before apogee (on October 1, 1950, at 5:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This lunar eclipse was the last of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on April 13, 1949; October 7, 1949; and April 2, 1950.