December 31, 2009 will bring not only celebrations but a partial lunar eclipse. This is the last eclipse of the year. It will be viewable in Europe, most of Africa, and Asia. It is common belief that India and Pakistan are the prime viewing regions.
This is considered a minor partial umbral lunar eclipse. The duration of the umbral eclipse is almost 60 minutes. The greatest eclipse occurs at 19:23 UT time. The penumbral magnitude will be 1.0556 and the umbral magnitude is estimated to be .0763. These magnitudes are the fraction of the diameter of the moon that is within the shadows during the greatest eclipse.
Lunar eclipses occur when the moon moves into the earth’s shadows. The earth has two kinds of shadows which are known as the penumbra and the umbra. Lunar eclipses can only occur during a full moon as the moon opposes the sun in the sky. During a partial lunar eclipse a small portion of the moon passes through the umbral shadow. This will block out a chunk of the moon.
No special equipment is needed to view umbral lunar eclipses. It is readily seen with the unaided eye. Why not take a little night stroll on New Year’s Eve and glance up at the moon? Wondering when the next lunar eclipse will be? The chart below lists lunar eclipses that will occur for the next two years.
| Date | Type of Lunar Eclipse | Location |
| 2010 June 26 | Partial | Asia, Australia, Pacific, Western Americas |
| 2010 Dec 21 | Total | Asia, Australia, Pacific, Americas, Europe |
| 2011 June 15 | Total | South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia |
| 2011 Dec 10 | Total | Europe, East Africa, Asia, Australia, Pacific |
