Partial Lunar Eclipse – August 7, 2017
Some phase of this lunar eclipse is visible from the eastern tip of South America to Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. All phases are visible in the region encompassing east Africa, Central Asia, and most of Australia. This means most of the Americas will not see this event. (Don’t fret! Our consolation prize will be the total solar eclipse in just two weeks after!) The eclipse is “partial” because the moon just clips the deepest part of the Earth’s shadows — the “umbra”.
First contact with the umbra (U1) is at about 17:23 UT. By this time the lunar limb entering the umbra should show obvious darkening and color changes. By maximum phase (about 18:22 UT) that limb can show orange to reddish shading (each eclipse is different). The moon exists the umbra at about 18:18 UT (U4).
(For those outside the USA), this is a great naked-eye event to point out to your friends and neighbors. You can create a close-up video of this event by using just your smartphone camera/video app and a FoneMate™ mounted on a short focal-length refractor.
- A FoneMate™ (mobile version) fits many Tele Vue eyepiece to record the event on your smart phone.
- See our Eyepiece Specs chart (mobile version) for FoneMate™ recommended eyepieces.
