August 2008 lunar eclipse

A partial lunar eclipse took place on August 16, 2008, the second of two lunar eclipses in 2008, with the first being a total eclipse on February 20, 2008. The next lunar eclipse will be a penumbral eclipse occurring on February 9, 2009, while the next total lunar eclipse will occur on December 21, 2010 [http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2008.html#2008Aug16P] .

Viewing

Parts of Australia will see it begin before sunrise, while parts of South America will see it end just after sunset.

The penumbral eclipse will begin at 18:23 UTC, with the partial eclipse beginning at 19:36. The time of greatest eclipse is 21:10. The partial eclipse will end at 22:44, and the penumbral eclipse will finally at 23:57.

The planet Neptune will be 2 days past opposition, visible in binoculars as an 8th magnitude "star" just two degrees west and slightly south of the moon.

Photo gallery

Relation to other lunar eclipses

The eclipse belongs to Saros series 138, and is the 29th of 83 lunar eclipses in the series. The first penumbral eclipse of saros cycle 138 began on October 5, 1503, first partial eclipse on June 13, 1900, and total first will be on September 7, 2044. The last total eclipse will occur on June 8, 2495, last partial on August 13, 2603, and last penumbral eclipse on March 30, 2982. [ [http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/gen_stats.cgi?mode=query&page=full&qtype=type&body=L&saros=138 Hermit Eclipse: Eclipse Search ] ]

Lunar year and Metonic cycles (354 days and 19 years)

This eclipse is the one of four or five lunar eclipses in two short-lived parallel series:
*The lunar year series repeats after 12 lunations or 354 days (Shifting back about 10 days in sequential years). Because of the date shift, the earth's shadow will be about 11 degrees west in sequential events.
*The Metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the earth's shadow will be in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.

See also

* List of lunar eclipses and List of 21st century lunar eclipses
* Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008
* 3 March 2007 lunar eclipse
* 28 August 2007 lunar eclipse
* 21 February 2008 lunar eclipse

Notes

External links

* [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2008.html#2008Aug16P NASA: Partial Lunar Eclipse: August 16, 2008]
** [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2008Aug16P.gifEclipse chart]
* [http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2008-08-16 Hermit eclipse (Ian Cameron Smith) Partial Lunar Eclipse: August 16, 2008]
* [http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/12886312.html Sky&Telescope, Eclipses of 2008]
* [http://www.shadowandsubstance.com/ Animation of lunar eclipse 08/16/2008]
* APOD August 20, 2008, [http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080820.html]

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