A total eclipse of the Moon occurred on Sunday 18 November, 1956 UT, with maximum eclipse at 06:47 UT. The Moon was plunged into darkness for 1 hour and 18 minutes, in a deep total eclipse which saw the Moon 32% of its diameter inside the Earth's umbral shadow. The visual effect of this depends on the state of the Earth's atmosphere, but the Moon may have been stained a deep red colour. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 30 minutes in total.

The penumbral eclipse lasted for 5 hours and 32 minutes. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 30 minutes. The total eclipse lasted for 1 hour and 18 minutes. Maximum eclipse was at 06:47:44 UT.

During this eclipse the Moon was just 3 days before perigee, making it relatively large. At maximum eclipse it was 0.542° in apparent diameter, which is 2.1% larger than average. The statistics page has information on the ranges of the sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Interactive Map

This map shows the visibility of the eclipse at maximum eclipse, when it was visible within the bright area on the map. Note that the map is approximate, and if you were near the edge of the area of visibility, the moon was very close to the horizon and may not have been practically visible.

You can use the zoom controls to zoom in and out, and pan to see areas of interest. The green marker in the centre shows where the Moon will be directly overhead at maximum eclipse.

The interactive map is currently not available.

Overview Map

This map sourced from NASA Goddard Space flight Center: GSFC Eclipse Web SiteGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
shows the visibility of the eclipse. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 2 eclipses:

This was the 45th eclipse in lunar Saros series 125.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, lunar Saros series 125, is linked to solar Saros series 132. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 06:47:44 on 18 Nov UT TDT Date/time (max) 06:48:16 on 18 Nov TDT
Saros Series 125 Number in Series 45
Penumbral Magnitiude 2.3285 Central Magnitiude 1.3172
Gamma 0.2917 Path Width (km)
Delta T 0m32s Error ± 0m00s (95%)
Penumbral Duration 5h32m Partial Duration 3h30m
Total Duration 1h18m
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 147840800 km (15.4%) Moon Distance 373343 km (33.7%)
Sun Diameter 0.539° Moon Diameter 0.533° - 0.542°
Apogee 19:23 on 9 Nov UT Perigee 16:49 on 21 Nov UT

Note that while all dates and times on this site (except where noted) are in UT, which is within a second of civil time, the dates and times shown in NASA's eclipse listingsGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
are in the TDT timescale.

The Sun and Moon distances are shown in km, and as a percentage of their minimum - maximum distances; hence 0% is the closest possible (Earth's perihelion, or the Moon's closest possible perigee) and 100% is the farthest (aphelion, the farthest apogee). The statistics page has information on the ranges of sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Data last updated: 2015-06-21 22:11:46 UTC.