June 1973 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||
| Date | June 15, 1973 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −1.3217 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.6020 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 110 (69 of 72) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 204 minutes, 36 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Friday, June 15, 1973, with an umbral magnitude of −0.6020. 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 only about 3 hours after apogee (on June 15, 1973, at 18:05 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This eclipse was the second of four lunar eclipses in 1973, with the others occurring on January 18 (penumbral), July 15 (penumbral), and December 10 (partial).