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Partial lunar eclipse will occur in Hong Kong's night sky on 26 June

17 June 2010

A partial lunar eclipse will occur in Hong Kong's night sky on 26June (Saturday), and can be viewed by the public if the weather permits.

The Scientific Officer of the Hong Kong Observatory, Mr Woo Wang-chun, said, "When the moon rises at 7:08pm that night, the partial lunar eclipse should have already begun. It will reach its maximum at 7:39pm and end around 10:21pm The eclipse has an umbral magnitude of 0.542, meaning that 54.2% of the moon's diameter will enter the umbra (total shadow) of the Earth at maximum eclipse." Please refer to the attached diagram for the path of the moon during the eclipse.

Details of the partial lunar eclipse are as follows:

Hong Kong Time

Azimuth

Elevation

Moon rise

7:08pm

East-southeast

-1 degrees

Maximum eclipse

7:39pm

East-southeast

5 degrees

Moon leaves umbra

9pm

Southeast

21 degrees

Moon leaves penumbra

10:21pm

Southeast

33 degrees


"As the elevation of the moon is rather low at maximum eclipse, the event is best observed at places with an unobstructed view to the horizon at east-southeast, such as Shek O, Cheung Chau, the east dam of High Island Reservoir and on top of Tai Mo Shan," said Mr Woo.

The next lunar eclipse observable in Hong Kong will occur on 21 December, 2010. It will be a partial eclipse.

Please refer to the Observatory's website for a detailed explanation of the technical terms used for different stages of the eclipse:
http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astron2010/lunar_eclipse_e.htm

The path of the moon during partial eclipse over Hong Kong on 26 June, 2010

The path of the moon during partial eclipse over Hong Kong on 26 June, 2010