The total lunar eclipse of April 4 2015 will be visible over western North America, the Pacific, east Asia, and Australia.
The penumbral eclipse -- the least exciting, and hardest to see part -- will begin at 08:59:38 UT and end at 15:00:46 UT. It will be visible from western South America and most of North America when it begins around Moonset, then the Pacific and Australia, and finally east/central Asia as it ends at around Moonrise. While subtle, the penumbral phases should be visible before and after the partial eclipse as a shading across the Moon.
The partial eclipse will begin at 10:15:24 UT and end 3½ hours later at 13:45:05 UT, and will be visible from a slightly smaller area. The total eclipse is very brief, lasting for just 12 minutes; it begins at 11:54:16 UT and ends at 12:06:12 UT, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 12:00:13 UT. It is visible over western North America, the Pacific, east Asia, and Australia.
The total eclipse should be a spectacular sight; although the Moon will be only just be within the Earth's shadow, the umbral magnitude being only 1.005, it should still be deeply coloured by the Earth's atmosphere. Don't miss it!
More information on this eclipse may be found at Fred Espenak's site.
The following map shows the areas where the partial eclipse will be visible:
Visibility of the partial eclipse.
This map shows the position of the Moon (the cross in the centre) at the time of maximum eclipse. The darkened area sees the whole partial eclipse; the pink areas to the right see only the beginning; and the blue areas on the left see the end.
The following map shows the areas where the total eclipse will be visible:
Visibility of the total eclipse.
This map shows the position of the Moon (the cross in the centre) at the time of maximum eclipse. The darkened area sees the whole total eclipse; the pink areas to the right see only the beginning; and the blue areas on the left see the end. The moment of maximum eclipse will be visible from the darker pink and blue areas, and the whole of the darkened area.
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Copyright (C) 1995-2005 Ian Cameron Smith.
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