September 1998 lunar eclipse
| Penumbral eclipse | |||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||
| Date | September 6, 1998 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −1.1058 | ||||||||
| Magnitude | −0.1544 | ||||||||
| Saros cycle | 147 (8 of 71) | ||||||||
| Penumbral | 227 minutes, 46 seconds | ||||||||
| |||||||||
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Sunday, September 6, 1998, with an umbral magnitude of −0.1544. 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 1.8 days before perigee (on September 8, 1998, at 7:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.