Short-duration penumbral lunar eclipse in Hong Kong on 19 October

8 October 2013

A short-duration penumbral lunar eclipse will occur on 19 October (Saturday).

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the moon only passes through the penumbra (partial shadow) of the earth without entering the umbra (total shadow). During the event, the moon will become only slightly dimmer. The lunar eclipse will begin at 5:48am and the observable period will end at 6:22am when the moon descends below the horizon. The duration will be about half an hour. As the moon will have already set before the eclipse completes, the part that the moon leaves the penumbra will be invisible in Hong Kong. Please refer to the attached diagram for the path of the moon during the eclipse.

Details of the penumbral lunar eclipse are as follows:

	Hong Kong Time	Direction (Azimuth)	Elevation
Moon enters penumbra	5:48am	West (279 degrees)	7 degrees
Moonset	6:22am	West-northwest (282 degrees)	-1 degrees

As the elevation of the moon will be rather low during eclipse, the event will be best observed at places with an unobstructed view to the horizon in the west, such as western Kowloon, Tuen Mun and Cheung Chau.

The next lunar eclipse observable in Hong Kong will be a total lunar eclipse on 8 October 2014.

Please refer to the Observatory's website for a detailed explanation of a lunar eclipse:
http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/event/event-lunar-eclps12_e.htm

Penumbral eclipse of the moon on 19 October