LUNAR ECLIPSE

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth's shadow falls on the moon. Lunar eclipses occur, on average, about every 6 months.

Types of Lunar Eclipses
* Total Eclipse - When the entire moon enters the Earth's umbra (the darkest part of its shadow), this is called a total eclipse.
* Partial Eclipse - When only part of the moon enters the Earth's umbra, this is called a partial eclipse.

Duration of Lunar Eclipses
During an average total lunar eclipse, the moon is within the Earth's umbra for about an hour. This is called totality.

Frequency of Lunar Eclipses
Since the plane of the moon's orbit is inclined about 5° from the plane of the Earth's orbit, lunar eclipses are relatively infrequent. There are about two lunar eclipses each year (visible somewhere on Earth).

Upcoming Total Lunar Eclipses
Date Type
March 14, 2006 Penumbral-Total
September 7, 2006 Partial
March 3, 2007 Total
August 28, 2007 Total
February 21, 2008 Total
August 16, 2008 Partial
February 9, 2009 Penumbral-Partial
July 7, 2009 Penumbral-Partial

 Eclipse info from NASA
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.htmlhttp://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html