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The Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of August 18th, 2016

This second lunar eclipse of the year is a penumbral lunar eclipse, the August 18th, 2016 penumbral lunar eclipse. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon is gliding inside the 'penumbra' of the Earth only, instead of the darker 'umbra.' for more about Moon eclipses, theoretically, see our tutorial: Moon Eclipses. A penumbral Moon eclipse, generally, is less spectacular than a total or partial one, as the dimming of the Moon may be harder to observe. It's a good show, worth the observation however. That lunar eclipse of August 18th, 2016, however, albeit considered a eclipse by some softwares -like 'Cartes du Ciel' by Patrick Chevalley, for example- is considered not a one by others as the southern regions of Moon will just barely skim Earth's umbra. Which is better termed a partial penumbral lunar eclipse. Hence mostly no data are available for the eclipse. We only give below data given by 'Cartes du Ciel,' as of Dec. 26th, 2015. for more about how to observe a lunar eclipse, see our tutorial 'Observing a Moon Eclipse':
- umbral magnitude (fraction of Moon's diameter immersed in the penumbra at greatest): 0.017
- greatest eclipse: 09:42 UT
- eclipse duration (penumbral): na
- eclipse duration (umbral): -
- eclipse contacts (in UT): na

. for more about this eclipse and for more about solar and lunar eclipses generally, you may see at NASA Eclipse Web Site or at Eclipse Wise, Espenak's new personal website