April 1940 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||
| Date | April 22, 1940 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 1.0741 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.0945 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 140 (21 of 80) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 232 minutes, 31 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Monday, April 22, 1940, with an umbral magnitude of −0.0945. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon's near side passes into the Earth's penumbra. 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. Occurring about 2.7 days after perigee (on April 20, 1940, at 20:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.