A total

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth ...

took place on 15 April 2014. It was the first of two total lunar eclipses in 2014, and the first in a tetrad (four total lunar eclipses in a series). Subsequent eclipses in the tetrad are those of 8 October 2014, 4 April 2015, and 28 September 2015. Occurring 6.7 days after apogee (Apogee on 8 April 2014), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller. The Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. This was the last central lunar eclipse of

Lunar Saros 122 Saros cycle series 122 for lunar eclipses occurs at the moon's ascending node, every 18 years 11 and 1/3 days. It contains 74 events. This lunar saros is linked to Solar Saros 129. See also * List of lunar eclipses ** List of Saros series for ...

. The eclipse was visible in the Americas and the Pacific Ocean region, including Australia and New Zealand. This eclipse occurred during the ascending phase of the Moon's orbit, part of

lunar saros 122 Saros cycle series 122 for lunar eclipses occurs at the moon's ascending node, every 18 years 11 and 1/3 days. It contains 74 events. This lunar saros is linked to Solar Saros 129. See also * List of lunar eclipses ** List of Saros series for ...

. Mars was near opposition.

Background

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes within Earth's umbra (shadow). As the eclipse begins, the Earth's shadow first darkens the Moon slightly. Then, the shadow begins to "cover" part of the Moon, turning it a dark red-brown color (typically - the color can vary based on atmospheric conditions). The Moon appears to be reddish because of Rayleigh scattering (the same effect that causes sunsets to appear reddish) and the refraction of that light by the Earth's atmosphere into its umbra. The following simulation shows the approximate appearance of the Moon passing through the Earth's shadow. The Moon's brightness is exaggerated within the umbral shadow. The northern portion of the Moon was closest to the center of the shadow, making it darkest, and most red in appearance. Animation april 15 2014 lunar eclipse appearance

Animation april 15 2014 lunar eclipse appearance

Description

On 15 April 2014, the Moon passed through the southern part of the Earth's umbral shadow. It was visible over most of the Western Hemisphere, including east Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Ocean, and the Americas. In the western Pacific, the first half of the eclipse occurred before moonrise. In Europe and Africa, the eclipse began just before moonset. Mars, which had just passed its opposition, appeared at magnitude -1.5 about 9.5° northwest of the Moon. Spica was 2° to the west, while Arcturus was 32° north.

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

was 26° east and Antares 44° southeast. The Moon entered Earth's penumbral shadow at 4:53:40 UTC and the umbral shadow at 5:58:19. Totality lasted for 1 hour 17.8 minutes, from 7:06:46 to 8:24:34. The moment of greatest eclipse occurred at 7:45:39. At that point, the Moon's zenith was approximately southwest of the Galápagos Islands. The Moon left the umbra shadow at 9:33:02 and the penumbra shadow at 10:37:33. The peak umbral magnitude was 1.2962, at which moment the northern part of the moon was 1.7 arc-minutes south of the center of Earth's shadow, while the southern part was 40.0 arc-minutes from center. The

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of the eclipse was -0.3017. The eclipse was a member of

. It was the 56th such eclipse.

Timing

* The penumbral phase of the eclipse changes the appearance of the Moon only slightly and is generally not noticeable. Lunar eclipse contact diagram

Viewing events

Many museums and observatories planned special events for the eclipse. The United States National Park Service sponsored events at Great Basin National Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy held events at two locations on the islands. The Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California streamed the eclipse live on the Internet. NASA hosted two live question-and-answer sessions online. The first happened roughly 12 hours before the eclipse via Reddit's Ask Me Anything. The second was a web chat hosted on NASA's site just before the eclipse began. NASA also streamed the eclipse live on their website. NASA TV provided 3 hours of live coverage beginning at 2 a.m. EDT.

Gallery

File:Lunar eclipse from moon-2014Apr15.png, Simulation of Earth from the Moon, 7:47 UTC File:April 2014 Lunar Eclipse - Partial Phase - Albuquerque, NM.jpg, Albuquerque, NM, 6:02 UTC File:April-15-2014 Lunar Eclipse 0628 UTC Winnipeg MB.JPG, Winnipeg, MB, 6:28 UTC File:April 2014 Lunar Eclipse Partical Phase.jpg,

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, 6:30 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse (Partial Phase-4), Albuquerque, NM.jpg, Albuquerque, NM, 6:45 UTC File:Japanese Lantern Precedes Total Eclipse With a Splash of Color (13886488313).jpg, New Braunfels, TX, 7:02 UTC File:April 15, 2014 Lunar Eclipse with Spica.jpg,

West Valley City, UT West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 140,230 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns in ...

, 7:29 UTC
Moon with Spica File:Lunar eclipse April 15 2014 Minneapolis Tomruen3.jpg, Minneapolis, MN, 7:40 UTC
wide angle with Mars File:April 15 2014 Tustin CA.JPG, Tustin, CA, 7:40 UTC File:4 15 2014 lunar eclipse tustin.JPG, Tustin, CA, 7:40 UTC File:Lunar eclipse 04-15-2014 by R Jay GaBany.jpg, Charleston, WV, 7:44 UTC
The full eclipse by

R. Jay GaBany Robert Jay GaBany (born September 17, 1954, in Charleston, West Virginia) is an American amateur astronomer and astrophotographer who is also known for his work with an international team of astrophysicists led by Dr. David Martínez-Delgado (M ...

File:Lunar eclipse April 15 2014 Minneapolis Tomruen2.jpg, Minneapolis, MN, 7:46 UTC File:Near Greatest Eclipse 20140415.jpg, San Jose, CA, 7:46 UTC File:April 2014 Lunar Eclipse - Totality Phase with Stars- Albuquerque, NM.jpg, Albuquerque, NM, 7:49 UTC File:Eclipse lunar 15 de Abril - Iglesia de Dolores, Soriano, Uruguay.jpg,

Dolores, Uruguay Dolores is a city in the Soriano Department of western Uruguay. Location The city is located in the west part of the Soriano's department, on the left banks of San Salvador River, about before it discharges into the Uruguay River. It is almost ...

between the church's tower. File:Near Total Eclipse 20140415.jpg, San Jose, CA, 8:23 UTC
End of totality File:Eclipse lunar del 15 de abril de 2014.jpg, Montevideo, Uruguay, 8:43 UTC File:Eclipsed moon casts an orange moon beam over Port Phillip Bay.jpg, Queenscliff, Victoria, 9:14 UTC File:Eclipse lunar 15 de Abril, Montevideo, Uruguay.jpg, Montevideo, Uruguay

Relation to prophecy

Starting in 2008, Christian pastors John Hagee and Mark Biltz began teaching "blood moon prophecies": Biltz said the Second Coming of Jesus would occur at the end of the tetrad that began with the April 2014 eclipse, while Hagee said only that the tetrad is a sign of something significant. The idea gained popular media attention in the United States, and prompted a response from the scientific radio show '' Earth & Sky''. According to '' Christian Today'', only a "small group of Christians" saw the eclipse as having religious significance, despite the attention.

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 2014

* A total lunar eclipse on 15 April. * A non-central annular solar eclipse on 29 April. * A total lunar eclipse on 8 October. * A partial solar eclipse on 23 October. The 15 April 2014 eclipse was the first eclipse in a tetrad; that is, four consecutive total eclipses with no partial eclipses in between. There will be another eclipse every six lunar cycles during the tetrad – on 8 October 2014, 4 April 2015, and 28 September 2015. The lunar year series repeats after 12 cycles, or 354 days, causing a date shift when compared to the solar calendar. This shift means the Earth's shadow will move about 11 degrees west in each subsequent eclipse. This tetrad started during the ascending node of the Moon's orbit. It is the first tetrad since the 2003–04 series, which started in May. The next series will be from 2032 to 2033, starting in April.

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, ''The half-saros'' This lunar eclipse is related to two hybrid total/annualar solar eclipses of

solar saros 129 Saros cycle The saros () is a period of exactly 223 synodic months, approximately 6585.3211 days, or 18 years, 10, 11, or 12 days (depending on the number of leap years), and 8 hours, that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon. On ...

References

External links

*
NASA LRO April 2014 Lunar Eclipse Animations

Hermit eclipse: 2014-04-15

'' Sky and Telescope''
Animation of the April 14/15 2014 eclipse
at shadowandsubstance.com
Online live view of the Eclipse
at virtualtelescope.eu * APODbr>Spica, Mars, and Eclipsed Moon
4/16/2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunar eclipse 2014-04 2014 in science 2014-04 April 2014 events