May 1939 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | May 3, 1939 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | 0.3693 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.1765 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 130 (30 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 62 minutes, 23 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 207 minutes, 3 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 333 minutes, 31 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Wednesday, May 3, 1939, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1765. 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 5.2 days after perigee (on April 28, 1939, at 11:05 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This lunar eclipse was the third of an almost tetrad, with the others being on May 14, 1938 (total); November 7, 1938 (total); and October 28, 1939 (partial).