December 2009 lunar eclipse

Partial Lunar Eclipse December 31, 2009
Near max. eclipse from Munster, Ireland
The southern edge of the moon will completely darken as the moon moves through the Earth's umbral shadow
Series (and member)	115 (57 of 72)
Duration (hr:mn:sc)
Partial	0:59:58
Penumbral	4:11:03
Contact times (UTC)
P1	17:17:08
U1	18:52:43
Greatest	19:22:39
U4	19:52:41
P4	21:28:11
The moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation of Gemini

A partial lunar eclipse was visible on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2009. It was the last and largest of four minor lunar eclipses in 2009. This lunar eclipse is also notable, because it occurred during a blue moon (a second full moon in December). The next eclipse on New Year's Eve and blue moon will occur on December 31, 2028.

Only a small portion of the Moon entered the Earth's umbral shadow, but there was a distinct darkening visible over the Moon's southern surface at greatest eclipse.

Visibility

It was visible from all of Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia. In the Philippines, the lunar eclipse was started last January 1, 2010, when it was very visible at mid-dawn until before sunrise.

This simulation shows the view of the earth as viewed from the center of the moon at greatest eclipse. The partially eclipsed sun is visible above the north pole.

Map

Photos

Asia

• 
  Degania Alef, Israel, at the maximum
• 
  Chennai, India
• 
  Nonthaburi, Thailand
• 
  Shibei District, Qingdao, China
• 
  Haidian District, Beijing, China, at the greatest moment

Degania Alef, Israel

Europe

• 
  Munster, Ireland
• 
  Sheffield, United Kingdom
• 
  Animation from Belfort, France
• 
  Helsinki, Finland

Related eclipses

Lunar year (354 days)

This eclipse is the one of four lunar eclipses in a short-lived series. The lunar year series repeats after 12 lunations or 354 days (Shifting back about 10 days in sequential years). Because of the date shift, the Earth's shadow will be about 11 degrees west in sequential events.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2009–2013
Ascending node					Descending node
Saros # Photo	Date Viewing	Type chart	Gamma		Saros # Photo	Date Viewing	Type chart	Gamma
110	2009 Jul 07	penumbral	−1.4916		115	2009 Dec 31	partial	0.9766
120	2010 Jun 26	partial	−0.7091		125	2010 Dec 21	total	0.3214
130	2011 Jun 15	total	0.0897		135	2011 Dec 10	total	−0.3882
140	2012 Jun 04	partial	0.8248		145	2012 Nov 28	penumbral	−1.0869
150	2013 May 25	penumbral	1.5351
Last set	2009 Aug 06				Last set	2009 Feb 9
Next set	2013 Apr 25				Next set	2013 Oct 18

See also

• List of lunar eclipses and List of 21st-century lunar eclipses
• File:2009-12-31 Lunar Eclipse Sketch.gif Chart

External links

• 2009 Dec 31 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
• Hermit eclipse: 2009-12-31
• [1] Eclipse enthusiasts in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia can celebrate New Year’s Eve by observing a partial lunar eclipse on December 31, 2009. The event’s duration will be about four hours.