October 1986 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | October 17, 1986 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | 0.3189 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.2455 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 136 (18 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 73 minutes, 41 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 216 minutes, 48 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 353 minutes, 12 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Friday, October 17, 1986, with an umbral magnitude of 1.2455. 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 5.5 days before apogee (on October 23, 1986, at 6:35 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This lunar eclipse was the last of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on May 4, 1985; October 28, 1985; and April 24, 1986.