December 1973 lunar eclipse
| Partial eclipse | |||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||
| Date | December 10, 1973 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.9644 | ||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 0.1007 | ||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 115 (55 of 72) | ||||||||||||
| Partiality | 68 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 252 minutes, 1 second | ||||||||||||
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A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, December 10, 1973, with an umbral magnitude of 0.1007. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when one part of the Moon is in the Earth's umbra, while the other part is in 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 only about 21 hours before perigee (on December 10, 1973, at 22:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This eclipse was the last of four lunar eclipses in 1973, with the others occurring on January 18 (penumbral), June 15 (penumbral), and July 15 (penumbral).