The total lunar eclipse of December 10 2011 will be visible over Asia, Australia, and north-west North America.
The penumbral eclipse -- the least exciting, and hardest to see part -- will begin at 11:31:48 UT and end at 17:31:41 UT. It will be visible from most of North America when it begins around Moonset, then Asia and Australia, and finally most of Europe, the Middle East, and north-eastern Africa 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 12:45:21 UT and end just over 3½ hours later at 16:18:15 UT, and will be visible from a slightly smaller area. The total eclipse lasts for just under one hour; it begins at 14:05:40 UT and ends at 14:57:55 UT, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 14:31:46 UT. It is visible over Asia, Australia, and north-west North America.
The total eclipse should be a spectacular sight; the Moon will be well within the Earth's shadow, the umbral magnitude being 1.111, 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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