August 1859 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | August 13, 1859 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.0038 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.8148 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 126 (36 of 70) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 106 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 236 minutes, 1 second | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 375 minutes, 1 second | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Saturday, August 13, 1869, with an umbral magnitude of 1.8148. 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 1.1 days after apogee (on August 12, 1859, at 17:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
Totality for this eclipse lasted 106 minutes and 28 seconds, the longest duration since May 3, 459 (106 minutes and 32 seconds). A totality of this length will not occur again until August 19, 4753 (106 minutes and 35 seconds). During the totality of this eclipse, the moon was in the constellation of Capricornus.