August 1980 lunar eclipse
Penumbral lunar eclipse August 26, 1980
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Tuesday, August 26, 1980, with an umbral magnitude of −0.2531. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon's near side passes into the Earth's penumbra. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. Occurring about 1.7 days before perigee (on August 27, 1980, at 20:05 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Visibility
The eclipse was completely visible over central and eastern North America, South America, and west Africa, seen rising over western North America and the central Pacific Ocean and setting over central and eastern Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
Eclipse details
Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular lunar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
Eclipse season
This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year.
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