September 1979 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | September 6, 1979 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | −0.4305 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.0936 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 137 (26 of 81) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 44 minutes, 25 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 191 minutes, 52 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 305 minutes, 9 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Thursday, September 6, 1979, with an umbral magnitude of 1.0936. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. 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. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Occurring only about 5 hours after perigee (on September 6, 1979, at 6:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.