A total eclipse of the Moon occurred on Tuesday 16 September, 1997 UT, with maximum eclipse at 18:46 UT. A shallow total eclipse saw the Moon in relative darkness for 1 hour and 2 minutes. The Moon was 19% of its diameter into the Earth's umbral shadow, and should have been significantly darkened. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 16 minutes in total.

The penumbral eclipse lasted for 5 hours and 8 minutes. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 16 minutes. The total eclipse lasted for 1 hour and 2 minutes. Maximum eclipse was at 18:46:39 UT.

During this eclipse the Moon was at perigee, making it extremely large. At maximum eclipse it was 0.568° in apparent diameter, which is 6.9% 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 25th eclipse in lunar Saros series 137.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, lunar Saros series 137, is linked to solar Saros series 144. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 18:46:39 on 16 Sep UT TDT Date/time (max) 18:47:42 on 16 Sep TDT
Saros Series 137 Number in Series 25
Penumbral Magnitiude 2.1417 Central Magnitiude 1.1909
Gamma -0.3768 Path Width (km)
Delta T 1m03s Error ± 0m00s (95%)
Penumbral Duration 5h08m Partial Duration 3h16m
Total Duration 1h02m
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 150367582 km (67.7%) Moon Distance 356984 km (1.2%)
Sun Diameter 0.530° Moon Diameter 0.558° - 0.568°
Perigee 15:24 on 16 Sep UT Apogee 23:30 on 29 Sep 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.