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 ...

occurred at the Moon's descending node on 27 July 2018. The Moon passed through the center of

Earth's shadow Earth's shadow (or Earth shadow) is the shadow that Earth itself casts through its atmosphere and into outer space, toward the antisolar point. During the twilight period (both early dusk and late dawn), the shadow's visible fringe – sometimes ...

in what was the first

central lunar eclipse A central lunar eclipse is a lunar eclipse in which part of the Moon passes through the center of Earth's shadow. This type of lunar eclipse typically appears darker than other lunar eclipses. It is relatively rare. Central lunar eclipses are ...

since 15 June 2011. It was also the second total lunar eclipse in 2018, after the one on 31 January. It was the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, but not the longest in the 3rd millennium. The longest total lunar eclipse of the 3rd millennium will occur on May 12, 2264, lasting 106 minutes and 13.2 seconds, which will be the longest total lunar eclipse since 2000, and the longest one until 3107. The eclipse occurred when the Moon was near its maximum distance from Earth, which caused the Moon to appear smaller than normal (a phenomenon sometimes called a micromoon), and to travel at its slowest speed in its orbit around Earth. This was the longest total lunar eclipse that occurred in the 21st century, but not the longest in the 3rd millennium. Totality lasted one hour and 42.955 minutes, a period "just short of the theoretical limit of a lunar eclipse (one hour and 46.605 minutes)". The Moon remained at least partially in Earth's shadow for three hours 54.55 minutes. This lunar eclipse coincided with Mars being nearly as close as possible to Earth, a concurrence that happens once every 25,000 years.

Background

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes within Earth's umbra (shadow). As the eclipse begins, Earth's shadow first darkens the Moon slightly. Then, the Earth's shadow begins to cover part of the Moon, typically turning it a dark red-brown color (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 daytime sky to appear blue) and the refraction of that light by Earth's atmosphere into its umbra. The Moon's brightness is exaggerated within the umbral shadow. The southern portion of the Moon was closest to the center of the shadow, making it the darkest, and most red in appearance. Animation July 27 2018 lunar eclipse appearance

Animation July 27 2018 lunar eclipse appearance

Visibility

The lunar eclipse was completely visible over Eastern Africa, Southern Africa,

Southern Asia Southern Asia may refer to: * South Asia, a geopolitical macroregion of SAARC countries * Southern Asia, a geographical subregion in Asia spanning the Iranian Plateau and the Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the phy ...

and Central Asia, seen rising over South America, Western Africa, and Europe, and setting over

Eastern Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

, and

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 ...

Observations

File:2018 Lunar Eclipse.gif, Animation of the eclipse from

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

File:Лунное затмение 27 июля 2018 года в Екатеринбурге.ogv, Video of the eclipse from Yekaterinburg, Russia File:Partial Lunar Eclipse of July 28, 2018.jpg, Nanjing, China, 18:25 UTC File:Eclipse lunar (42793807485).jpg, Asunción, Paraguay 19:10 UTC File:Lunar eclipse 2018 07 27-1915.jpg, Rethymnon, Greece 19:14 UTC File:Lunar eclipse with red moon (41869598430).jpg, Johannesburg, South Africa, 19:16 UTC File:Lunar eclipse 28 July 2018 03 20 31 Guangzhou China.jpg, Guangzhou, China, 19:20 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse 2018.jpg, Limassol, Cyprus, 19:27 UTC File:Лунное затмение в Ташкенте.jpg, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 19:32 UTC File:Maale Adumim 14 27-07-18 22-33.jpg,

Jerusalem, Israel Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, 19:33 UTC File:Total Lunar Eclipse with the Mars (43631697262).jpg, Eclipse with Mars,

Fukuoka, Japan is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

, 19:46 UTC File:Total eclipse davao.jpg, Davao City, Philippines, 19:52 UTC File:Eclipse of the moon 2 (29810132768).jpg, Cracow, Poland, 20:05 UTC File:20180728 06-07 Chelsea, total lunar eclipse 10.jpg, Chelsea, Victoria, Australia, 20:07 UTC File:Total Lunar Eclipse 2018-07-28 At Maximum, Banjarmasin Indonesia.jpg, Maximum from Banjarmasin, Indonesia, 20:21 UTC File:Total Lunar Eclipse 2018 (41976695380).jpg, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, 20:47 UTC File:2018.07.28 0005 300mm Lunar Total Eclipse 1 (43633067452).jpg, Huittinen, Finland, 21:05 UTC File:Lunar eclipse (43680756561).jpg, Graz, Austria, 21:12 UTC File:Une belle Lune de Sang (beautiful Bloody Moon) (42991774724).jpg, Toulouse, France, 21:17 UTC File:Blutmond.27.7.2018.nach.Austritt.aus.Kernschatten.jpg,

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent ...

, 21:19 UTC File:Eclisse di Luna 27 7 18 (29816914738).jpg, Torino, Italy, 21:19 UTC File:Mondfinsternis Juli 2018 II (43695158571).jpg,

Hamburg, Germany (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, 21:23 UTC File:Blood moon over Brastad old cemetery.jpg, Brastad, Sweden, 21:24 UTC File:Eclipse parcial (43648377492).jpg,

León, Spain León (; ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the province of León, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It has a population of 124,303 (2019), ...

, 21:27 UTC

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 2018

* A total lunar eclipse on 31 January. * A partial solar eclipse on 15 February. * A partial solar eclipse on 13 July. * A total lunar eclipse on 27 July. * A partial solar eclipse on 11 August.

Lunar year series

Saros series

It last occurred on July 16, 2000 and will next occur on August 7, 2036. This is the 38th member of

Lunar Saros 129 Saros cycle series 129 for lunar eclipses occurs at the moon's descending node, repeats every 18 years days. The 129th lunar saros is associated with Solar Saros 136. Lunar saros 129 contains 71 member events, with ...

. The previous event was the

July 2000 lunar eclipse A total lunar eclipse took place on Sunday 16 July 2000, the second of two total lunar eclipses in 2000. The Moon passed through the very center of the Earth's shadow. Totality lasted for 106 minutes and 25 seconds, the longest duration since ...

. The next event is the August 2036 lunar eclipse.

contains 11 total lunar eclipses between 1910 and 2090.

Solar Saros 136 Saros cycle series 136 for solar eclipses occurs at the Moon's descending node, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 71 events. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon's descending node. This solar saros is linked to Lunar Sa ...

interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.

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

Related eclipses

Inex

* Preceded: Lunar eclipse of August 17, 1989 * Followed: Lunar eclipse of July 7, 2047

Tritos

* Preceded: Lunar eclipse of August 28, 2007 * Followed: Lunar eclipse of June 26, 2029

Tzolkinex

* Preceded: Lunar eclipse of June 15, 2011 * Followed: Lunar eclipse of September 7, 2025

Half-Saros cycle

* Preceded:

Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of the orbit on July 22, 2009, with a magnitude of 1.07991. It was the longest total solar eclipse during the 21st century, the longest total solar eclipse during the 3rd millennium wil ...

* Followed:

Solar eclipse of August 2, 2027 A total solar eclipse will occur over much of the central Eastern Hemisphere on Monday, August 2, 2027. It will commence over the eastern Atlantic Ocean and travel past the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco. Totality will be visible in ...

Notes

External links

Where to see the eclipse and public events (Go Stargazing)
*
Hermit eclipse: 2018-07-27
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunar eclipse 2018-07 2018-07 2018-07 2018 in science July 2018 events

Background

Visibility

Observations

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 2018

Lunar year series

Saros series

Half-Saros cycle

Related eclipses

Inex

Tritos

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros cycle

See also

Notes

External links