There was a hype about the occurrence of a Lunar Penumbral Eclipse on the 9th of February 2009. This coincided with the last day (15th day) of the Chinese New Year “Chap Goh Meh” or “Yuan Xiao Jie” (元宵节). Some Chinese beliefs this to be the Valentine’s Day of the Lunar Calendar.
Above is a picture taken of the moon at the time when it was illuminated in midst of the clouds. I’m not too sure as to whether this is what a Penumbral Eclipse should look like.
Above is a close up picture of the moon at around 10.30pm (+8 GMT). Reliable sources indicated that the Greatest Eclipse was meant to occur at 10.28pm (+8 GMT).
Below is a little background info of what a Lunar Eclipse is:
During a lunar eclipse, the Earth is positioned on a line between the Sun and the Moon so that the light of the Sun is either fully blocked (which causes an umbra lunar eclipse) or partially (a penumbral lunar eclipse) blocked from illuminating the Moon.
For this one on February 9th, the penumbral lunar eclipse will be centered over the western Pacific Ocean.
The penumbra is the faint, partially shaded outer region of the shadow of the Earth as the Moon passes through it.
Posts
Post a Comment