February 2009 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
Penumbral eclipse as viewed from Chennai, India, 14:29 UTC | |||||||||
| Date | February 9, 2009 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −1.0640 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.0863 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 143 (18 of 73) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 238 minutes, 49 seconds | ||||||||
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A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, February 9, 2009, with an umbral magnitude of −0.0863. 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 1.9 days after perigee (on February 7, 2009, at 15:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This eclipse was the first of four lunar eclipses in 2009, with the others occurring on July 7 (penumbral), August 6 (penumbral), and December 31 (partial).
It also happened on the Lantern Festival, the first since February 20, 1989.