August 2017 lunar eclipse


A partial lunar eclipse took place at the Moon’s descending node on the evening of Monday, August 7 and the morning pre-dawn on Tuesday, August 8, 2017, the second of two lunar eclipses in 2017. The Moon was only slightly covered by the Earth's umbral shadow at maximum eclipse. The Moon's apparent diameter was smaller because the eclipse occurred only 5 days after apogee.
The moon inside the umbral shadow was a subtle red, but hard to see in contrast to the much brighter moon in the outer penumbral shadow.
The moon looks red because it is illuminated by sunlight refracted through earth's atmosphere. The blue light is scattered and absorbed by the atmosphere, leaving red light to shine onto the lunar surface.
The solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 occurred fourteen days later, in the same eclipse season. It was the first total solar eclipse visible in the contiguous United States since the solar eclipse of February 26, 1979.
The eclipse season started on July 30, 2017 and ended on September 2, 2017.

Visibility

It was visible over eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia with maximal visibility centered on Indian Ocean.

Visibility map

Gallery

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 2017

Saros series

It is part of Saros series 119.

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days. This lunar eclipse is related to two total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 126.
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