March 23 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Bypasses Africa and Europe

Summary: The March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse sweeps excludes Africa and Europe from its visibility path as the first of 2016's two penumbral eclipses.

March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse specifics: Fred Espenak, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Public Domain, via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Wednesday, March 23, penumbral lunar eclipse in 2016 bypasses Africa and Europe but offers a considerable viewing sweep across Earth’s oceans and five other continents.

The March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse begins at 9:39:31 Coordinated Universal Time (5:39:31 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). Greatest eclipse, the instant of closest lunar passage to the axis of Earth's shadow, occurs at 11:47:14 UTC (7:27:14 a.m. EDT). The March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse ends at 13:54:53 UTC (9:54:53 a.m. EDT). The eclipse has a total duration of 4 hours 15 minutes.

The eclipse’s non-visibility swatch extends longitudinally from 60 degrees west to 60 degrees east. Africa, Europe and South America’s eastern bulge are excluded from the March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse’s viewing sweep. The March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse’s path encompasses all of North America, except for most of Greenland and the eastern part of Canada’s island of Newfoundland.

The March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse crosses all five of Earth’s oceans. All of the Pacific Ocean lies within the eclipse’s viewing sweep. The western Indian Ocean and much of the Southern Ocean are excluded. The eclipse also bypasses the Atlantic Ocean’s central and eastern swaths.

The Moon’s full phase offers 100 percent visibility of the lunar disk, but clouds emerge as the deciding factor in viewability of the March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse. The graphical forecast of the continental United States (CONUS) issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service (NOAA NWS) for Tuesday, March 22, shows extensive sky cover over the northern United States, from the Pacific Northwest to New England. A trail of patchy cloudiness trails over the Midwestern states southward across East Texas. Clear skies are forecast for most of the southeastern and southwestern states.

The moon’s passage through the light outer portion of Earth’s shadow, known as the penumbra, sparks a penumbral lunar eclipse that is viewable from Earth. A penumbral lunar eclipse expresses the shadow passage as a slight darkening of a small portion of the Moon’s surface.

The March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse involves the moon’s southern portion. In comparison to the moon’s southern smudginess, the upper, or northern, part shines with a full moon’s bright luminosity.

Passage of the March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse over the International Date Line in the mid-Pacific Ocean means that the eclipse occurs in Far East Asia during moonrise on Wednesday night. The eclipse takes place over the Americas during moonset on Wednesday morning.

Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses do not require viewing with protective devices for eye safety. Lunar eclipses offer safe viewing throughout their duration.

The March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse appears as the first of 2016’s two penumbral lunar eclipses. The year’s second penumbral lunar eclipse takes place Friday, Sept. 16, and Saturday, Sept. 17.

March 23, 2016, penumbral lunar eclipse takes place during the moon's full phase: EarthSky @earthskyscience via Twitter March 18, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse specifics: Fred Espenak, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Public Domain, via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html

March 23, 2016, penumbral lunar eclipse takes place during the moon's full phase: EarthSky @earthskyscience via Twitter March 18, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/earthskyscience/status/710873842336538624

For further information:

EarthSky @earthskyscience. "Penumbral lunar eclipse MORNING March 23." Twitter. March 18, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/earthskyscience/status/710873842336538624

GabeHashTV. "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse This Coming March 23, 2016." YouTube. March 15, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv6ZWQwJtc4

“Lunar eclipses of 2016.” NASA Eclipse Web Site.
Available @ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html

“March 23, 2016 -- Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.” Time and Date.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2016-march-23

Marriner, Derdriu. “2016 Eclipse Lineup Features Two Lunar and Two Solar Eclipses.” Earth and Space News. Tuesday, March 8, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/2016-eclipse-lineup-features-two-lunar.html

National Digital Forecast Database. “Sky Cover (%)for Wed Mar 23 2016 5AM EDT.” Graphical Forecasts CONUS Area. Created March 22, 2016 at 10:29 AM EDT.
Available @ http://graphical.weather.gov/sectors/conus.php?element=Sky