September 1996 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The mid-infrared image of the Moon taken by the SPIRIT-III instrument aboard the orbiting Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) satellite. | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | September 27, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | 0.3426 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.2395 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 127 (41 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 69 minutes, 12 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 203 minutes, 17 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 320 minutes, 52 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Friday, September 27, 1996, with an umbral magnitude of 1.2395. 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 2.2 days after perigee (on September 24, 1996, at 22:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This lunar eclipse was the second of an almost tetrad, with the others being on April 4, 1996 (total); March 24, 1997 (partial); and September 16, 1997 (total).