Total Lunar Eclipse Jan. 20-21 Is First of Two 2019 Lunar Eclipses

Summary: The total lunar eclipse Jan. 20-21 is the first of two 2019 lunar eclipses and also is the second of the year’s five eclipses.

graphics and details of total lunar eclipse Sunday, Jan. 20, to Monday, Jan. 21, 2019: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC Emeritus, via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The total lunar eclipse Jan. 20-21 is the first of two 2019 lunar eclipses and occurs as the second of the year’s lineup of five eclipses, of which three are solar.

The total lunar eclipse Jan. 20-21, 2019, is an event for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The entire event is visible in North America and South America. Entire visibility skims northwestern Africa; parts of western and northwest Europe; northernmost Russia. Oceanically, January’s lunar event favors the eastern Pacific Ocean and much of the Atlantic Ocean with entire eclipse visibility.

Varying amounts of visibility are available for Africa; Europe; a small portion of Antarctica; western, central and northern Asia. Apart from the northern stretch of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica mostly misses January’s lunar eclipse.

Maritime Southeast Asia is excluded from the event’s visibility regions. January 2019’s lunar eclipse also disfavors much of the Indian Ocean and much of Oceania. Australia has no eclipse experience while New Zealand’s North Island experiences some visibility.

January 2019’s total lunar eclipse begins with a penumbral eclipse. The instant of first exterior contact between the moon and Earth’s penumbra (shadow’s lighter, outer region) takes place Monday, Jan. 21, at 02:36:30 Universal Time, according to NASA’s Eclipse Web Site. Local occurrences of January 2019’s lunar start the penumbral portion of the eclipse Sunday, Jan. 20, at 5:36 p.m. Alaska Standard Time and 9:36 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; Monday, Jan. 21, at 2:36 a.m. Western European Time and 5:36 a.m. Moscow Standard Time.

The partial eclipse segment of January’s lunar event begins at the instant of first exterior contact between the moon and Earth’s umbra (shadow’s darker, inner region). The event’s partial eclipse starts Monday, Jan. 21, at 03:33:54 UT. According to local time zones, the partial segment commences Sunday, Jan. 20, at 6:33 p.m. AKST and 10:33 p.m. EST; Monday, Jan. 21, at 3:33 a.m. WET and 6:33 a.m. MSK.

The instant of first interior contact between the moon and Earth’s umbra initiates totality. The full eclipse begins Monday, Jan. 21, at 04:41:17 UT. Local time zones place totality’s start Sunday, Jan. 20, at 7:41 p.m. AKST and 11:41 p.m. EST; Monday, Jan. 21, at 4:41 a.m. WET and 7:41 a.m. MSK.

Greatest eclipse takes place Monday, Jan. 21, at 05:12:16.0 UT. Locally, greatest eclipse occurs Sunday, Jan. 20, at 8:12 p.m. AKST; Monday, Jan. 21, at 12:12 a.m. EST, 5:12 a.m. WET and 8:12 a.m. MSK. For lunar eclipses, greatest eclipse indicates the instant of the moon’s closest passage to the axis of Earth’s shadow cone. Retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak’s EclipseWise website places the lunar position during greatest eclipse at a point near eastern Cuba.

Totality ends Monday, Jan. 21, at 5:43:16 UT, with the instant of last interior contact between the moon and Earth’s umbra. Local times for the full eclipse’s ending include Sunday, Jan. 20, at 8:43 p.m. AKST; Monday, Jan. 21, at 12:43 a.m. EST, 5:43 a.m. WET and 8:43 a.m. MSK.

The partial segment ends at the instant of last exterior contact between the moon and Earth’s umbra. Universal Time places partiality’s end Monday, Jan. 21, at 06:50:39. According to local time zones, partiality ends Sunday, Jan. 20, at 9:50 p.m. AKST; Monday, Jan. 21, at 1:50 a.m. EST, 6:50 a.m. WET and 9:50 a.m. MSK.

January’s lunar event ends with the last exterior contact between the moon and Earth’s penumbra. The penumbral eclipse ends Monday, Jan. 21, at 07:48:00 UT. Local time zone conversions place the eclipse’s end Sunday, Jan. 20, at 10:48 p.m. AKST; Monday, Jan. 21, at 2:48 a.m. EST, 7:48 a.m. WET and 10:48 a.m. MSK.

NASA’s Eclipse Web Site tallies the total duration of January 2019’s lunar eclipse at 5 hours 11 minutes 30 seconds. The eclipse’s partial segment endures for 3 hours 16 minutes 45 seconds. The full eclipse has a duration of 1 hour 1 minute 59 seconds.

January’s total lunar eclipse shares the month with 2019’s first solar eclipse. January’s partial solar eclipse took place from Saturday, Jan. 5, at 23:34 to Sunday, Jan. 6, at 03:48 Universal Time.

January’s two eclipses usher in 2019’s lineup of five eclipses. The month’s solar eclipse is the first of three solar eclipses. January’s lunar eclipse is the first of two lunar eclipses. Another pairing of solar and lunar eclipses happens in July. The year’s third solar eclipse closes 2019’s ecliptic quintet Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019.

The takeaway for the total lunar eclipse Jan. 20-21, 2019, is that the month’s lunar event occurs as the first of 2019’s two lunar eclipses and as the second of the year’s total lineup of five eclipses.

Earth as viewed from the center of the moon during January 2019’s total lunar eclipse’s greatest eclipse: Tom Ruen (SockPuppetForTomruen at English Wikipedia), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

graphics and details of total lunar eclipse Sunday, Jan. 20, to Monday, Jan. 21, 2019: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC Emeritus, via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2019Jan21T.pdf

Earth as viewed from the center of the moon during January 2019’s total lunar eclipse’s greatest eclipse: Tom Ruen (SockPuppetForTomruen at English Wikipedia), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lunar_eclipse_from_moon-2019Jan21.png

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses During 2019.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2019.html

Espenak, Fred. “Glossary of Lunar Eclipse Terms.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEhelp/LEglossary.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Lunar Eclipse of 2019 Jan 21.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019 > Total Lunar Eclipse of January 21.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/oh-figures/ec2019-Fig02.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Total Lunar Eclipse of 2019 Jan 21.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Decade Tables of Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipses : 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2019Jan21T.GIF

Marriner, Derdriu. “Partial Solar Eclipse Jan. 5-6 Is First of Three 2019 Solar Eclipses.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, January 2, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/partial-solar-eclipse-jan-5-6-is-first.html