That was a partially interesting lunar eclipse

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

That was a partially interesting lunar eclipse

The full moon on September 17/18, 2024 was both a Supermoon and a Harvest Moon and if that wasn't exciting enough it also had a partial lunar eclipse. As a bonus the skies over the GTA was fairly clear so you could actually see the moon. This lunar eclipse is described as having a bite taken out of the earth's moon (about 3.5% coverage by the umbra, or the darkest part of earth's shadow) so it was just a partial eclipse and one of two lunar eclipses taking place in 2024. You can see the eclipse in all its glory in the photo at top.

The Supermoon, Harvest moon before the eclipse

A Supermoon happens when Superman drops his drawers or, more likely, when the moon is at the closest point to earth. A Harvest moon occurs when the full moon is closest to the Autumn Equinox which is on Sun, Sep 22, 2024, 8:43 a.m.

From NASA's website, "The full Moon will be Tuesday night, September 17, 2024, at 10:35 PM EDT. This will be on Wednesday from Newfoundland and Greenland Time eastward across Eurasia, Africa, and Australia to the International Date Line. Most commercial calendars will show this full Moon on Wednesday based on Greenwich or Universal Time. The Moon will appear full for about three days, from Monday evening through Thursday morning.

This will be a partial lunar eclipse. The Moon will start entering the Earth's partial shadow at 8:41 PM EDT. The slight dimming of the Moon will be difficult to notice until the top edge of the Moon starts entering the full shadow at 10:13 PM. The peak of the eclipse will be at 10:44 PM with only the top 8 percent of the Moon in full shadow. The Moon will finish exiting the full shadow at 11:16 PM and the partial shadow on Wednesday morning at 12:47 AM."