The total lunar eclipse of May 4 2004 will be visible over South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The penumbral eclipse -- the least exciting, and hardest to see part -- will begin at 17:50:54 UT and end at 23:09:37 UT. It will be visible from Australia and east Asia when it begins around Moonset, then most of Asia, Africa and Europe, and finally South America as it ends at around Moonrise.
The partial eclipse will begin at 18:48:20 UT and end just under 3½ hours later at 22:12:15 UT, and will be visible from a slightly smaller area. The total eclipse lasts for over one hour; it begins at 19:52:07 UT and ends at 21:08:27 UT, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 20:30:16 UT. It is visible over most of Australia, southern and western Asia, Europe and Africa.
The total eclipse should be a spectacular sight; the Moon will be well within the Earth's shadow, and should 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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