October 1985 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | October 28, 1985 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −0.4022 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.0736 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 126 (44 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 43 minutes, 52 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 214 minutes, 57 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 365 minutes, 3 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Monday, October 28, 1985, with an umbral magnitude of 1.0736. 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 1.2 days before apogee (on October 29, 1985, at 21:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This lunar eclipse was the second of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on May 4, 1985; April 24, 1986; and October 17, 1986.