February 2017 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
Penumbral eclipse as viewed from Rabka-Zdrój, Poland, 0:51 UTC | |||||||||
| Date | February 11, 2017 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −1.0254 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.0342 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 114 (59 of 71) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 259 minutes, 10 seconds | ||||||||
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A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Saturday, February 11, 2017, with an umbral magnitude of −0.0342. It was not quite a total penumbral lunar eclipse. 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 4.6 days before perigee (on February 6, 2017, at 9:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This eclipse occurred the same day as comet 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková made a close approach to Earth (0.08318 AU). It also occurred on the Lantern Festival, the first eclipse to do so since February 9, 2009.