A total eclipse of the Moon occurred on Saturday 4 April, 2015 UT, lasting from 09:01–14:58 UT. The Moon barely edged into total eclipse for a very brief 4 minutes and 42 seconds. With the Moon just barely inside the Earth's umbral shadow, the Moon may have been quite bright, but even so, this should have been worth seeing for observers from east Asia, Australia, and western North America. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours and 29 minutes in total and was visible from most of Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
The timings of the phases of the eclipse are as
follows. You would have been able to see each phase of the
eclipse if the Moon was up at the corresponding time as
seen from your location; however the penumbral phase
would have been very difficult to see in practice:
| Penumbral eclipse began: |
09:01:27 UT |
| Partial eclipse began: |
10:15:45 UT |
| Total eclipse began: |
11:57:54 UT |
| Maximum eclipse: |
12:00:15 UT |
| Total eclipse ended: |
12:02:37 UT |
| Partial eclipse ended: |
13:44:46 UT |
| Penumbral eclipse ended: |
14:58:58 UT |
During this eclipse the Moon was just 3 days past apogee, making it fairly small.
At maximum eclipse it was 0.502° in apparent
diameter, which is 5.5% 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.
Viewing
Most of eastern Asia will see the total eclipse; however, in China, Indonesia, and Malaysia it will be happening soon after sunset, and the Moon will be low in the East, so have a clear view to the horizon. Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific should have a clear view.
The total eclipse is visible in the western USA; however, it will be happening in the early morning just before sunrise, so again the Moon will be low and close to the horizon in the west. From the Dakotas and Oklahoma west, it will be difficult or impossible to see the total eclipse.
From north and west of Los Angeles, it will technically be possible to see the entire eclipse, including the final partial stages; but only technically, since the sun will be rising as the partial eclipse ends. The total eclipse should be great here, though the Moon will be quite low. In San Francisco, the Moon will be 21.2° above the horizon, at an azimuth of 244° (west-south-west) at maximum eclipse.
The Event — SF Bay Area
The sky was pretty clear in the Bay Area, although the Moon did get into a little haze towards the end. Still, I captured a fairly decent movie of the event; and here it is:
The total lunar eclipse of 4 April 2015, filmed from the foothills of Mount Hamilton, and sped up 30-60 times.
Interactive Map
This map shows the visibility of the eclipse at various stages.
The bright area in the middle saw the whole eclipse; the coloured
bands to the right saw the start of the eclipse, and those on the
left saw the end. 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. Hover your mouse over the
tags to see what was visible from each area on the map. The green
marker in the centre shows where the Moon was 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)
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 30th 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) | 12:00:15 on 4 Apr UT |
TDT Date/time (max) | 12:01:24 on 4 Apr TDT |
| Saros Series | 132 |
Number in Series | 30 |
| Penumbral Magnitiude | 2.0792 |
Central Magnitiude | 1.0008 |
| Gamma | 0.446 |
Path Width (km) | |
| Delta T | 1m09s |
Error | ± 0m03s (95%) |
| Penumbral Duration | 5h58m |
Partial Duration | 3h29m |
| Total Duration | 4m42s |
| |
| Partial Rating | |
Total Rating | |
| Sun Distance | 149602880 km (51.9%) |
Moon Distance | 402841 km (92.3%) |
| Sun Diameter | 0.533° |
Moon Diameter | 0.494° - 0.502° |
| Apogee | 13:00 on 1 Apr UT |
Perigee | 03:54 on 17 Apr UT |
| Contact p1 | 09:01:27 on 4 Apr UT |
Contact p2 | |
| Contact u1 | 10:15:45 on 4 Apr UT |
Contact u2 | 11:57:54 on 4 Apr UT |
| Max eclipse | 12:00:15 on 4 Apr UT |
| Contact u3 | 12:02:37 on 4 Apr UT |
Contact u4 | 13:44:46 on 4 Apr UT |
| Contact p3 | |
Contact p4 | 14:58:58 on 4 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)
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.
