A total eclipse of the Moon occurred on Saturday 4 April, 2015 UT, lasting from 09:01–14:58 UT. The Moon barely edged into total eclipse for a very brief 4 minutes and 42 seconds. With the Moon just barely inside the Earth's umbral shadow, the Moon may have been quite bright, but even so, this should have been worth seeing for observers from east Asia, Australia, and western North America. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 29 minutes in total and was visible from most of Asia, Australia, and the Americas.

The timings of the phases of the eclipse are as follows. You would have been able to see each phase of the eclipse if the Moon was up at the corresponding time as seen from your location; however the penumbral phase would have been very difficult to see in practice:

Penumbral eclipse began: 09:01:27 UT
Partial eclipse began: 10:15:45 UT
Total eclipse began: 11:57:54 UT
Maximum eclipse: 12:00:15 UT
Total eclipse ended: 12:02:37 UT
Partial eclipse ended: 13:44:46 UT
Penumbral eclipse ended: 14:58:58 UT

During this eclipse the Moon was just 3 days past apogee, making it fairly small. At maximum eclipse it was 0.502° in apparent diameter, which is 5.5% smaller than average. The statistics page has information on the ranges of the sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Viewing

Most of eastern Asia will see the total eclipse; however, in China, Indonesia, and Malaysia it will be happening soon after sunset, and the Moon will be low in the East, so have a clear view to the horizon. Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific should have a clear view.

The total eclipse is visible in the western USA; however, it will be happening in the early morning just before sunrise, so again the Moon will be low and close to the horizon in the west. From the Dakotas and Oklahoma west, it will be difficult or impossible to see the total eclipse.

From north and west of Los Angeles, it will technically be possible to see the entire eclipse, including the final partial stages; but only technically, since the sun will be rising as the partial eclipse ends. The total eclipse should be great here, though the Moon will be quite low. In San Francisco, the Moon will be 21.2° above the horizon, at an azimuth of 244° (west-south-west) at maximum eclipse.

The Event — SF Bay Area

The sky was pretty clear in the Bay Area, although the Moon did get into a little haze towards the end. Still, I captured a fairly decent movie of the event; and here it is:


The total lunar eclipse of 4 April 2015, filmed from the foothills of Mount Hamilton, and sped up 30-60 times.

Interactive Map

This map shows the visibility of the eclipse at various stages. The bright area in the middle saw the whole eclipse; the coloured bands to the right saw the start of the eclipse, and those on the left saw the end. Note that the map is approximate, and if you were near the edge of the area of visibility, the moon was very close to the horizon and may not have been practically visible.

You can use the zoom controls to zoom in and out, and pan to see areas of interest. Hover your mouse over the tags to see what was visible from each area on the map. The green marker in the centre shows where the Moon was directly overhead at maximum eclipse.

The interactive map is currently not available.

Overview Map

This map sourced from NASA Goddard Space flight Center: GSFC Eclipse Web SiteGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
shows the visibility of the eclipse. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 2 eclipses:

This was the 30th eclipse in lunar Saros series 132.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, lunar Saros series 132, is linked to solar Saros series 139. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 12:00:15 on 4 Apr UT TDT Date/time (max) 12:01:24 on 4 Apr TDT
Saros Series 132 Number in Series 30
Penumbral Magnitiude 2.0792 Central Magnitiude 1.0008
Gamma 0.446 Path Width (km)
Delta T 1m09s Error ± 0m03s (95%)
Penumbral Duration 5h58m Partial Duration 3h29m
Total Duration 4m42s
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 149602880 km (51.9%) Moon Distance 402841 km (92.3%)
Sun Diameter 0.533° Moon Diameter 0.494° - 0.502°
Apogee 13:00 on 1 Apr UT Perigee 03:54 on 17 Apr UT
Contact p1 09:01:27 on 4 Apr UT Contact p2
Contact u1 10:15:45 on 4 Apr UT Contact u2 11:57:54 on 4 Apr UT
Max eclipse 12:00:15 on 4 Apr UT
Contact u3 12:02:37 on 4 Apr UT Contact u4 13:44:46 on 4 Apr UT
Contact p3 Contact p4 14:58:58 on 4 Apr UT

Note that while all dates and times on this site (except where noted) are in UT, which is within a second of civil time, the dates and times shown in NASA's eclipse listingsGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
are in the TDT timescale.

The Sun and Moon distances are shown in km, and as a percentage of their minimum - maximum distances; hence 0% is the closest possible (Earth's perihelion, or the Moon's closest possible perigee) and 100% is the farthest (aphelion, the farthest apogee). The statistics page has information on the ranges of sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Data last updated: 2015-06-21 22:11:46 UTC.