May 2023 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
| Date | May 5, 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −1.0349 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.0438 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 141 (24 of 73) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 257 minutes, 31 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Friday, May 5, 2023, with an umbral magnitude of −0.0438. 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 5.2 days before perigee (on May 11, 2023, at 1:05 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This was the deepest penumbral eclipse (with –0.0438 magnitude) since February 2017 and until August 2053.