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 4 April 2015. It is the former of two total lunar eclipses in 2015, and the third in a ''tetrad'' (four total lunar eclipses in series). Other eclipses in the tetrad are those of 15 April 2014, 8 October 2014, and 28 September 2015. This is the 30th member of

Lunar Saros 132 Saros cycle, Saros series 132 for lunar eclipses occurs at the moon's ascending node, repeating 18 years 11 and 1/3 days. It contains 71 member events, with 12 total eclipses, starting in 2015 and ending in 2213. List See also * List of lun ...

, and the first total eclipse. The previous event was the March 1997 lunar eclipse, being slightly partial.

Duration

Totality lasted only 4 minutes and 43 seconds, making it the shortest lunar totality in almost five centuries since 17 October 1529 (which lasted 1 minute and 42 seconds). It was claimed by some that due to the oblateness of the Earth, it may have actually just been a partial eclipse. It was the sixth total lunar eclipse out of nine with totality under 5 minutes in a five millennium period between 2,000 BC and 3,000 AD. The eclipsed moon was 12.9% smaller in apparent diameter than the supermoon

September 2015 lunar eclipse A total lunar eclipse took place between 27 and 28 September 2015. It was seen on Sunday evening, 27 September, in the Americas; while in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, it was seen in the early hours of Monday morning, 28 September. It was ...

, measured as 29.66' and 33.47' in diameter from the center of the earth. It occurred 3 days past

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

at 29.42'. : Supermoon lunar eclipse 2015

Visibility

The eclipse was visible across the Pacific, including all of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It was visible near sunrise for

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and after sunset for eastern Asia including

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Background

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes within Earth's

umbra The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source after impinging on an opaque object. Assuming no diffraction, for a collimated beam (such as a point source) of light, only the umbra is cast. Th ...

(shadow). As the eclipse begins, 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 Rayleigh scattering ( ), named after the 19th-century British physicist Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt), is the predominantly elastic scattering of light or other electromagnetic radiation by particles much smaller than the wavelength of the ...

(the same effect that causes sunsets to appear reddish) and the refraction of that light by Earth's atmosphere into its umbra. The following simulation shows the approximate appearance of the Moon passing through Earth's shadow. The Moon's brightness is exaggerated within the umbral shadow. The southern portion of the Moon will be closest to the center of the shadow, making it darkest, and most red in appearance.

Gallery

Blood moon full moon 1 (17006372266).jpg,

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

, 9:54 UTC Eclipse IMG 2484 (21723633221).jpg,

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, 9:54 UTC Partial Lunar Eclipse (17037101365).jpg,

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, 10:54 UTC Lunar eclipse of 2015 April 4 from Mexico City.jpg,

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...

, 10:59 UTC Lunar eclipse Apr04-2015-TLR2.png,

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, 11:09 UTC Partial Lunar Eclipse (17028424751).jpg,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 11:36 UTC Red moon (17029581355).jpg,

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, 11:46 UTC Lunar Eclipse, 2015-04-04 (9) (16418355164).jpg,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 11:50 UTC April 4th's Lunar Eclipse (17032923825).jpg,

Tai Po Tai Po is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui () (the original "Tai Po Market") on the north of Lam Tsue ...

, Hong Kong, 12:01 UTC Lunar Eclipse April 2015.JPG,

Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

, 12:02 UTC Lunar eclipse (16822666267).jpg,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, 12:03 UTC Lunar Eclipse 04-03-2015 (16859149379).jpg,

Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho ( es, Río Rancho) is the most populous and only city in Sandoval County, New Mexico, Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into north ...

, 12:13 UTC Lunar Eclipse 4 April 2015 bangkok.jpg,

Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population ...

, 12:37 UTC Hi again, Lunar. (16407602854).jpg,

Hirosaki, Aomori is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town for ...

, 12:56 UTC Lunar Eclipse 4th April 2015.JPG,

Pune, India Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, 13:38 UTC

Timing

† The Moon was not visible during this part of the eclipse in this time zone.

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 2015

* A total solar eclipse on 20 March. * A total lunar eclipse on 4 April. * A partial solar eclipse on 13 September. * A total lunar eclipse on 28 September.

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 total solar eclipses of

solar saros 139 Saros cycle series 139 for solar eclipses occurs at the Moon's ascending node, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 71 events. It has 16 partial solar eclipses, 12 will be hybrid and 43 will be total. The first total eclipse occurred o ...

Lunar year series

The eclipse is the one of four lunar eclipses in a short-lived series at the ascending node of the moon's orbit. The

lunar year A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Greg ...

series repeats after 12

lunation In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Europ ...

s, or 354 days (shifting back about 10 days in sequential years). Because of the date shift, the Earth's shadow will be about 11 degrees west in sequential events.

Saros series

Tzolkinex

* Preceded: Lunar eclipse of February 20-21, 2008 * Followed: Lunar eclipse of May 15-16, 2022

Notes

External links

*
Hermit Eclipse: Total Lunar Eclipse: April 4, 2015

Mattastro.com Total Lunar Eclipse: April 4, 2015

APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is a website provided by NASA and Michigan Technological University (MTU). According to the website, "Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written ...

2015 April 8 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunar eclipse 2015-04 2015-04 2015 in science April 2015 events