November 1956 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | November 18, 1956 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | 0.2917 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.3172 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 125 (45 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 78 minutes, 22 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 209 minutes, 27 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 332 minutes, 13 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Sunday, November 18, 1956, with an umbral magnitude of 1.3172. 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 3.4 days before perigee (on November 21, 1956, at 16:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This lunar eclipse was the second of an almost tetrad, with the others being on May 24, 1956 (partial); May 13, 1957 (total); and November 7, 1957 (total).