September 2015 lunar eclipse

{{Infobox lunar eclipse

| type = total

| image = Lunar eclipse September 27 2015 greatest Alfredo Garcia Jr.jpg

| caption = Totality as viewed from Murrieta, California, 2:52 UTC

| date = September 28, 2015

| gamma = −0.3296

| magnitude = 1.2774

| saros_ser = 137

| saros_no = 28 of 81

| totality = 71 minutes, 55 seconds

| partiality = 199 minutes, 52 seconds

| penumbral = 310 minutes, 41 seconds

| p1 = 0:11:47

| u1 = 1:07:11

| u2 = 2:11:10

| greatest = 2:47:08

| u3 = 3:23:05

| u4 = 4:27:03

| p4 = 5:22:27

| previous = April 2015

| next = March 2016

}}

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, September 28, 2015,{{cite web|title=September 27–28, 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2015-september-28|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=16 November 2024}} with an umbral magnitude of 1.2774. 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 only about 5 hours after perigee (on September 27, 2015, at 21:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=2015&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=16 November 2024}}

This lunar eclipse is the last of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; and April 4, 2015.

The Moon appeared larger than normal, because the Moon was just 1 hour past its closest approach to Earth in 2015 at mid-eclipse, sometimes called a supermoon. The Moon's apparent diameter was larger than 34' viewed straight overhead, just off the coast of northeast Brazil.[http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/get-ready-for-septembers-total-lunar-eclipse-091420155/ Sky and Telescope][http://astrobob.areavoices.com/2015/09/21/heres-the-scoop-on-sundays-supermoon-eclipse Here’s the Scoop on Sunday’s Supermoon Eclipse], Bob King

The total lunar eclipse was darker than expected, possibly due to ash left behind from eruptions of the Calbuco volcano in April 2015.{{Cite news|url=http://www.universetoday.com/122666/why-was-septembers-lunar-eclipse-so-dark/|title=Why Was September's Lunar Eclipse So Dark? - Universe Today|date=2015-10-05|work=Universe Today|access-date=2017-08-08|language=en-US}}

Background

File:Supermoon Lunar Eclipse.webm

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes within Earth's umbra (shadow). As the eclipse begins, Earth's shadow first darkens the Moon slightly. Then, the shadow begins to "cover" part of the Moon, turning it a dark red-brown color (typically – the color can vary based on atmospheric conditions). The Moon appears to be reddish because of Rayleigh scattering (the same effect that causes sunsets to appear reddish) and the refraction of that light by Earth's atmosphere into its umbra.{{cite web|title=Visual Appearance of Lunar Eclipses|work=NASA|author=Fred Espenak|author2=Jean Meeus|name-list-style=amp|url=http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEcat5/appearance.html|access-date=April 13, 2014}}

The following simulation shows the approximate appearance of the Moon passing through Earth's shadow. The Moon's brightness is exaggerated within the umbral shadow. The northern portion of the Moon was closest to the center of the shadow, making it darkest, and most red in appearance.

File:Animation September 28 2015 lunar eclipse appearance.gif

Supermoon

This eclipsed Moon appeared 12.9% larger in diameter than the April 2015 lunar eclipse, measured as 29.66' and 33.47' in diameter from Earth's center, as compared in these simulated images.

A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. This was the last supermoon lunar eclipse until January 31, 2018.

File:Supermoon_lunar_eclipse_2015.png

Visibility

The eclipse was completely visible over eastern North America, South America, west Africa, and western Europe, seen rising over western North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean and setting over east Africa, eastern Europe, and west and central Asia.{{cite web|title=Total Lunar Eclipse of 2015 Sep 28|url=https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2015Sep28T.pdf|publisher=NASA|access-date=16 November 2024}}

class=wikitable width=480

|240px

|240px
Hourly motion shown right to left

|240px
Simulated appearance of Earth and atmospheric ring of sunlight

|250px
The Moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation of Pisces.

align=center

|colspan=4| 640px
Visibility map

Timing

class="wikitable"

|+ Local times of contacts

valign=top

! colspan=2 rowspan=2| Time Zone
adjustments from
UTC

7_h

6_h

5_h

4_h

3_h

2_h

1_h

! 0_h

! +1_h

! +2_h

! +3_h

valign=top

! PDT
MST

! MDT

! CDT
PET

! EDT
BOT

! ADT
AMST
ART

! GMT
WET

! WEST
CET
BST

! CEST
EET
MSK−1

! EEST
FET
MSK

align=center

!colspan=2|Event

|colspan=7|Evening 27 September

colspan=4 BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"|Morning 28 September

align=center

!P1

! Penumbral begins*

| N/A†

| 7:12 pm

| 8:12 pm

| 9:12 pm

| 10:12 pm

| 11:12 pm

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 12:12 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 1:12 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 2:12 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 3:12 am

align=center

!U1

! Partial begins

| N/A†

| 7:07 pm

| 8:07 pm

| 9:07 pm

| 10:07 pm

| 11:07 pm

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 12:07 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 1:07 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 2:07 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 3:07 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 4:07 am

align=center

!U2

! Total begins

| 7:11 pm

| 8:11 pm

| 9:11 pm

| 10:11 pm

| 11:11 pm

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 12:11 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 1:11 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 2:11 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 3:11 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 4:11 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 5:11 am

align=center

! Mid-eclipse

| 7:47 pm

| 8:47 pm

| 9:47 pm

| 10:47 pm

| 11:47 pm

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 12:47 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 1:47 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 2:47 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 3:47 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 4:47 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 5:47 am

align=center

!U3

! Total ends

| 8:23 pm

| 9:23 pm

| 10:23 pm

| 11:23 pm

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 12:23 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 1:23 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 2:23 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 3:23 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 4:23 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 5:23 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 6:23 am

align=center

!U4

! Partial ends

| 9:27 pm

| 10:27 pm

| 11:27 pm

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 12:27 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 1:27 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 2:27 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 3:27 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 4:27 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 5:27 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 6:27 am

| Set

align=center

!P4

! Penumbral ends

| 10:22 pm

| 11:22 pm

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 12:22 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 1:22 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 2:22 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 3:22 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 4:22 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 5:22 am

| BGCOLOR="#e0e0f0"| 6:22 am

| Set

† The Moon was not visible during this part of the eclipse in this time zone.

* The penumbral phase of the eclipse changes the appearance of the Moon only slightly and is generally not noticeable.{{cite web|last=Espenak|first=Fred|title=Lunar Eclipses for Beginners|url=http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/LEprimer.html|publisher=MrEclipse|access-date=April 7, 2014}}

File:Lunar eclipse contact diagram.svg]]

Gallery

File:Eclipse Compilation smaller.jpg|The stages of the Lunar eclipse from Staffordshire, UK

File:Lunareclipse - Måneformørkelse.png|Time-lapse images from Oslo, Norway

File:Total Lunar Eclipse 28 09 2015.JPG|Time-lapse images from Bregenz, Austria

File:Moon-seq-6764-6780.gif|Warsaw, Poland, 2:01 - 2:16 UTC

File:Supermoon Eclipse in Denver, Colorado.jpg|Denver, Colorado, 2:15 UTC

File:Luna roja en Fray.JPG|Fray Bentos, Uruguay 2:28 UTC

File:9-27-15 Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon).jpg|Tampa, Florida, 2:30 UTC

File:Lunar eclipse - September 28, 2015 (Edward Blake).jpg|New York City, New York, 2:36 UTC

File:Blood moon.jpg|Wrocław, Poland, 2:36 UTC

File:2015-09-28-Sangoluno (Foto Dietrich Michael Weidmann-023).jpg|Zürich, Switzerland, 2:36 UTC

File:Lunar Eclipse 2015.JPG|Coralville, Iowa, 2:52 UTC

File:Mondfinsternis-München-20150928045527.jpg|Munich, Germany, 2:55 UTC

File:Bloody moon.jpg|Sitia, Greece, 3:01 UTC

File:Lunar eclipse 28 September 2015.jpg|Berlin, Germany, 3:05 UTC

File:September 2015 Lunar Eclipse (as seen from Marin County, CA).jpg|Mill Valley, California, 3:07 UTC

File:Mondfinsternis-München-20150928052309.jpg|Munich, Germany, 3:23 UTC

File:Lunar eclipse 2015-09-28 042428 UTC.png|Boston, Massachusetts, 3:24 UTC

File:2015-09-28lunareclipse.jpg|Germany, 3:37 UTC

File:Lunar eclipse of 2015 September 28 (as seen from Nièvre, France, 4.02 UTC).jpg|Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, France, 4:02 UTC

File:September 2015 lunar eclipse.JPG|California, 4:07 UTC

Eclipse details

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular lunar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.{{cite web|title=Total Lunar Eclipse of 2015 Sep 28|url=https://eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2001-2100/LE2015Sep28Tprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=16 November 2024}}

class="wikitable" align="{{{align|left}}}" style="margin:{{#ifeq:{{{align}}}|right|0 0 0.5em 1em|0 1em 0.5em 0}}"

|+September 28, 2015 Lunar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Penumbral Magnitude

| 2.23071

Umbral Magnitude

| 1.27744

Gamma

| −0.32960

Sun Right Ascension

| 12h17m08.9s

Sun Declination

| -01°51'20.9"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 15'57.6"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.8"

Moon Right Ascension

| 00h17m33.6s

Moon Declination

| +01°32'03.6"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 16'44.5"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 1°01'26.6"

ΔT

| 67.8 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.

class="wikitable"

|+ Eclipse season of September 2015

! September 13
Ascending node (new moon)
!! September 28
Descending node (full moon)

200px

align=center

| Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 125

Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 137

Related eclipses

= Eclipses in 2015 =

A total solar eclipse on March 20.
A total lunar eclipse on April 4.
A partial solar eclipse on September 13.
A total lunar eclipse on September 28.

= Metonic =

Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 10, 2011
Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 16, 2019

= Tzolkinex =

Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 16, 2008
Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 8, 2022

= Half-Saros =

Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 22, 2006
Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 2, 2024

= Tritos =

Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 28, 2004
Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 28, 2026

= Lunar Saros 137 =

Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 16, 1997
Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 8, 2033

= Inex =

Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 17, 1986
Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 7, 2044

= Triad =

Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 27, 1928
Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 30, 2102

= Lunar eclipses of 2013–2016 =

= Saros 137 =

= Tritos series =

= Inex series =

= Half-Saros cycle =

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of solar saros 144.

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