December 2029 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 20, 2029 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | −0.3811 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.1190 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 135 (24 of 71) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 53 minutes, 44 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 213 minutes, 18 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 358 minutes, 0 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Thursday, December 20, 2029, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1190. 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 4.6 days before apogee (on Sunday, December 16, 2029, at 9:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be smaller.
During the eclipse, NGC 2129 will be occulted by the Moon over the South America, the Atlantic Ocean and Africa. Deep-sky objects are rarely occulted during a total eclipse from any given spot on Earth.: 161