November 1938 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | November 7, 1938 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | 0.2739 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.3525 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 125 (44 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 81 minutes, 26 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 210 minutes, 11 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 331 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, November 7, 1938, with an umbral magnitude of 1.3525. 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 3.2 days before perigee (on November 11, 1938, at 3:25 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This lunar eclipse was the second of an almost tetrad, with the others being on May 14, 1938 (total); May 3, 1939 (total); and October 28, 1939 (partial).