September 1977 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||
| Date | September 27, 1977 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 1.0768 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.1361 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 117 (50 of 72) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 257 minutes, 30 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, September 27, 1977, with an umbral magnitude of −0.1361. 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 6.25 days before apogee (on October 3, 1977, at 14:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.