A partial eclipse of the Moon occurred on Monday 24 March, 1997 UT, with maximum eclipse at 04:39 UT. The Moon was almost covered by the Earth's shadow in a very deep partial eclipse, which lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes. With 92% of the Moon in shadow at maximum eclipse, this was quite a memorable event.

The penumbral eclipse lasted for 5 hours and 54 minutes. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 23 minutes. Maximum eclipse was at 04:39:26 UT.

During this eclipse the Moon was just 3 days past apogee, making it fairly small. At maximum eclipse it was 0.503° in apparent diameter, which is 5.3% smaller 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 29th eclipse in lunar Saros series 132.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, lunar Saros series 132, is linked to solar Saros series 139. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 04:39:26 on 24 Mar UT TDT Date/time (max) 04:40:28 on 24 Mar TDT
Saros Series 132 Number in Series 29
Penumbral Magnitiude 1.9994 Central Magnitiude 0.9195
Gamma 0.4899 Path Width (km)
Delta T 1m02s Error ± 0m00s (95%)
Penumbral Duration 5h54m Partial Duration 3h23m
Total Duration
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 149150585 km (42.5%) Moon Distance 402183 km (91.0%)
Sun Diameter 0.535° Moon Diameter 0.495° - 0.503°
Apogee 23:39 on 20 Mar UT Perigee 16:54 on 5 Apr 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.