| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
 Telescopic view, fromNorth Billerica, Massachusetts at 3:25 UT, near greatest eclipse. | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | February 21, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −0.3992 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.1081 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 133 (26 of 71) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 49 minutes, 46 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 205 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 339 minutes, 3 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
A totallunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’sdescending node of orbit on Thursday, February 21, 2008,[1] with an umbralmagnitude of 1.1081. A lunar eclipse occurs when theMoon moves into theEarth'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 asolar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on thenight 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'sshadow is smaller. The Moon's apparent diameter was near the average diameter because it occurred 7.2 days afterperigee (on February 13, 2008, at 20:00 UTC) and 6.8 days beforeapogee (on February 27, 2008, at 20:30 UTC).[2]
The eclipse was completely visible overNorth andSouth America,west Africa, andwestern Europe, seen rising over much of thePacific Ocean and setting over much ofAfrica,eastern Europe, andwest,central, andsouth Asia.[3]
The bright starRegulus ofLeo and the planetSaturn were prominent very near the Moon during the total eclipse portion. Shortly before the eclipse began, Regulus wasocculted by the Moon in parts of the far Southern Atlantic Ocean and Antarctica.
 |  Hourly motion shown right to left |  The Moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation ofLeo. |
 Visibility map | ||
The Moon entered thepenumbral shadow at 0:36UTC, and theumbral shadow at 1:43. Totality lasted for 50 minutes, between 3:01 and 3:51. The Moon left the umbra shadow at 5:09 and left the penumbra shadow at 6:16.[4]
| Event | North and South America | Europe and Africa | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evening of February 20th | Morning of February 21st | |||||||||
| AKST (-9h) | PST (-8h) | MST (-7h) | CST (-6h) | EST (-5h) | AST (-4h) | GMT (0h) | CET (+1h) | EET (+2h) | ||
| P1 | Penumbral began | Under Horizon | Under Horizon | Under Horizon | 18:36 | 19:36 | 20:36 | 0:36 | 1:36 | 2:36 |
| U1 | Partial began | Under Horizon | Under Horizon | 18:43 | 19:43 | 20:43 | 21:43 | 1:43 | 2:43 | 3:43 |
| U2 | Total began | Under Horizon | 19:01 | 20:01 | 21:01 | 22:01 | 23:01 | 3:01 | 4:01 | 5:01 |
| Mid-eclipse | 18:26 | 19:26 | 20:26 | 21:26 | 22:26 | 23:26 | 3:26 | 4:26 | 5:26 | |
| U3 | Total ended | 18:51 | 19:51 | 20:51 | 21:51 | 22:51 | 23:51 | 3:51 | 4:51 | Set |
| U4 | Partial ended | 20:09 | 21:09 | 22:09 | 23:09 | 0:09 | 1:09 | 5:09 | Set | Set |
 These simulated views of the Earth from the center of the Moon during the lunar eclipse show where the eclipse is visible on Earth. |
 Eclipse observed fromSandim, Portugal.41°02′22″N8°30′50″W / 41.03944°N 8.51389°W /41.03944; -8.51389. |  Eclipse observed fromRegina, Saskatchewan. Each image is roughly taken 5 minutes apart. |
 Images taken in 3-5 minute Intervals - fromBradley, Illinois. |  Eclipse observed fromHalton Hills, Ontario. From 01:47 to 03:15 UTC, each image is roughly taken 5min apart. |
Eclipse observed fromWinnipeg, Manitoba | |
Lunar eclipse observed fromBurlington, Ontario | |
 Observed fromBaltimore, Maryland, from 2:30 to 3:01 UTC. Lunar north is near left. | |
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Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular lunar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[6]
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Penumbral Magnitude | 2.14698 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.10809 |
| Gamma | -0.39923 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 22h15m30.0s |
| Sun Declination | -10°48'31.3" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'10.5" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 10h14m48.5s |
| Moon Declination | +10°28'07.6" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'34.2" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°57'08.5" |
| ΔT | 65.5 s |
This eclipse is part of aneclipse 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 afortnight.
| February 7 Ascending node (new moon) | February 21 Descending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
 | |
| Annular solar eclipse Solar Saros 121 | Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 133 |
This eclipse is a member of asemester series. An eclipse in a semester series of lunar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternatingnodes of the Moon's orbit.[7]
The lunar eclipses onJuly 7, 2009 (penumbral) andDecember 31, 2009 (partial) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Lunar eclipse series sets from 2006 to 2009 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||||
| Saros | Date Viewing | Type Chart | Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing | Type Chart | Gamma | |
113.jpg) | 2006 Mar 14 | Penumbral | 1.0211 | 118 | 2006 Sep 7 | Partial | −0.9262 | |
123 | 2007 Mar 03 | Total | 0.3175 | 128 | 2007 Aug 28 | Total | −0.2146 | |
| 133 | 2008 Feb 21 | Total | −0.3992 | 138 | 2008 Aug 16 | Partial | 0.5646 | |
143 | 2009 Feb 09 | Penumbral | −1.0640 | 148 | 2009 Aug 06 | Penumbral | 1.3572 | |
TheMetonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents aSaros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the Earth's shadow will in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Date | Type | Saros | Date | Type | |
| 103 | 1951 Feb 21.88 | Penumbral | 108 | 1951 Aug 17.13 | Penumbral | |
 |  | |||||
| 113 | 1970 Feb 21.35 | Partial | 118 | 1970 Aug 17.14 | Partial | |
 |  | |||||
| 123 | 1989 Feb 20.64 | Total | 128 | 1989 Aug 17.13 | Total | |
 |  | |||||
| 133 | 2008 Feb 21.14 | Total | 138 | 2008 Aug 16.88 | Partial | |
 |  | |||||
| 143 | 2027 Feb 20.96 | Penumbral | 148 | 2027 Aug 17.30 | Penumbral | |
 |  | |||||
This eclipse is a part ofSaros series 133, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 13, 1557. It contains partial eclipses from August 7, 1683 through December 17, 1899; total eclipses fromDecember 28, 1917 through August 3, 2278; and a second set of partial eclipses from August 14, 2296 through March 11, 2639. The series ends at member 71 as a penumbral eclipse on June 29, 2819.
The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 35 at 101 minutes, 41 seconds onMay 30, 2170. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’sdescending node of orbit.[8]
| Greatest | First | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on2170 May 30, lasting 101 minutes, 41 seconds.[9] | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| 1557 May 13 | 1683 Aug 07 | 1917 Dec 28 | 2098 Apr 15 | |
| Last | ||||
| Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral | |
| 2224 Jul 01 | 2278 Aug 03 | 2639 Mar 11 | 2819 Jun 29 | |
Eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is oneexeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
| Series members 15–36 occur between 1801 and 2200: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 16 | 17 | |||
| 1809 Oct 23 | 1827 Nov 03 | 1845 Nov 14 | |||
| 18 | 19 | 20 | |||
| 1863 Nov 25 | 1881 Dec 05 | 1899 Dec 17 | |||
| 21 | 22 | 23 | |||
| 1917 Dec 28 | 1936 Jan 08 | 1954 Jan 19 | |||
|  |  |  |  |  |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | |||
| 1972 Jan 30 | 1990 Feb 09 | 2008 Feb 21 | |||
 |  |  |  | | |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | |||
| 2026 Mar 03 | 2044 Mar 13 | 2062 Mar 25 | |||
 |  |  |  | ||
| 30 | 31 | 32 | |||
| 2080 Apr 04 | 2098 Apr 15 | 2116 Apr 27 | |||
 |  | |  | ||
| 33 | 34 | 35 | |||
| 2134 May 08 | 2152 May 18 | 2170 May 30 | |||
| 36 | |||||
| 2188 Jun 09 | |||||
This eclipse is a part of atritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with theanomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1811 Sep 02 (Saros 115) | 1822 Aug 03 (Saros 116) | 1833 Jul 02 (Saros 117) | 1844 May 31 (Saros 118) | 1855 May 02 (Saros 119) | |||||
| 1866 Mar 31 (Saros 120) | 1877 Feb 27 (Saros 121) | 1888 Jan 28 (Saros 122) | 1898 Dec 27 (Saros 123) | 1909 Nov 27 (Saros 124) | |||||
 |  | ||||||||
| 1920 Oct 27 (Saros 125) | 1931 Sep 26 (Saros 126) | 1942 Aug 26 (Saros 127) | 1953 Jul 26 (Saros 128) | 1964 Jun 25 (Saros 129) | |||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 1975 May 25 (Saros 130) | 1986 Apr 24 (Saros 131) | 1997 Mar 24 (Saros 132) | 2008 Feb 21 (Saros 133) | 2019 Jan 21 (Saros 134) | |||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | | |  |  |
| 2029 Dec 20 (Saros 135) | 2040 Nov 18 (Saros 136) | 2051 Oct 19 (Saros 137) | 2062 Sep 18 (Saros 138) | 2073 Aug 17 (Saros 139) | |||||
 |  |  |  |  |  | ||||
| 2084 Jul 17 (Saros 140) | 2095 Jun 17 (Saros 141) | 2106 May 17 (Saros 142) | 2117 Apr 16 (Saros 143) | 2128 Mar 16 (Saros 144) | |||||
| 2139 Feb 13 (Saros 145) | 2150 Jan 13 (Saros 146) | 2160 Dec 13 (Saros 147) | 2171 Nov 12 (Saros 148) | 2182 Oct 11 (Saros 149) | |||||
| 2193 Sep 11 (Saros 150) | |||||||||
This eclipse is a part of the long periodinex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with theanomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1805 Jul 11 (Saros 126) | 1834 Jun 21 (Saros 127) | 1863 Jun 01 (Saros 128) | |||
| 1892 May 11 (Saros 129) | 1921 Apr 22 (Saros 130) | 1950 Apr 02 (Saros 131) | |||
 |  |  |  | ||
| 1979 Mar 13 (Saros 132) | 2008 Feb 21 (Saros 133) | 2037 Jan 31 (Saros 134) | |||
 |  | | |  |  |
| 2066 Jan 11 (Saros 135) | 2094 Dec 21 (Saros 136) | 2123 Dec 03 (Saros 137) | |||
 |  |  |  | ||
| 2152 Nov 12 (Saros 138) | 2181 Oct 22 (Saros 139) | ||||
A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (ahalf saros).[10] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses ofSolar Saros 140.
| February 16, 1999 | February 26, 2017 |
|---|---|
 |  |
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