Image: The Earth and Moon during the total lunar eclipse of 27.10.2004 Additional images

A total lunar eclipse will be visible from Europe and a large part of the world in the night of Saturday, 3 March. The Moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow, with the greatest eclipse occuring at around 23:21 UT. The totality will last for 73 minutes.

The eclipse will be visible in all of Europe, Africa, South America, and in nearly all of North America, Asia and Australia. The partial eclipse phase starts at 21:30:22 UT, when the Moon enters the Earth’s Penumbra. The totality will last from 22:44:13 UT until 23:57:37 UT, when the Moon is entirely within the Earth’s Umbral shadow. The following partial eclipse phase will last another 74 minutes, ending at 01:11:28 UT.

Event Time (UT)
Penumbral Eclipse Begins 20:18:11
Partial Eclipse Begins 21:30:22
Total Eclipse Begins 22:44:13
Greatest Eclipse 23:20:56
Total Eclipse Ends 23:57:37
Partial Eclipse Ends 01:11:28
Penumbral Eclipse Ends 02:23:44

SMART-1 Search During Lunar Eclipse

The last total lunar eclipse occured on 27 October 2004. At that time, the SMART-1 probe was still en route from Earth to the Moon, two weeks before its lunar capture on 15 November 2004. SMART-1 observed the first family portrait of the Earth-Moon system during a lunar eclipse and obtained the time series of pictures seen here on the right, using the AMIE instrument.

On 3 September 2006, the SMART-1 mission ended by a controlled impact with the lunar surface.

We call the community and public to observe the site of the SMART-1 lunar impact flash and debris in Lacus Excellentiae (lake of Excellence). In particular during the total lunar eclipse. The coordinates of the SMART-1 impact site are longitude 46.2° West, latitude 34.4° South.

See also the links on the right-hand side for more information on the SMART-1 impact site.

You are invited to share your pictures of this total lunar eclipse, by sending them to scitech.editorialesa.int or the below contact.

Lunar Geography

A lunar eclipse also gives an opportunity to observe the Moon and learn more about the lunar geography, as various craters will be immerged into or emerge from shadow at well defined times. The below table lists crater immersion and emersion times (UT) for the total lunar eclipse of 3 March 2007 (from Fred Espenak)

Immersion
Time (UT)		 Crater

Emersion
Time (UT)

Crater
21:35 Grimaldi 00:06 Grimaldi
21:37 Billy 00:06 Aristarchus
21:43 Campanus 00:13 Kepler
21:49 Kepler 00:13 Billy
21:49 Tycho 00:17 Plato
21:54 Aristarchus 00:19 Pytheas
21:57 Copernicus 00:22 Timocharis
22:02 Pytheas 00:22 Copernicus
22:08 Timocharis 00:26 Campanus
22:13 Dionysius 00:28 Aristoteles
22:13 Manilius 00:30 Eudoxus
22:17 Menelaus 00:36 Tycho
22:21 Plinius 00:37 Manilius
22:22 Goclenius 00:41 Menelaus
22:23 Plato 00:45 Dionysius
22:27 Taruntius 00:45 Plinius
22:27 Langrenus 00:56 Proclus
22:28 Eudoxus 00:59 Taruntius
22:31 Aristoteles 01:01 Goclenius
22:31 Proclus 01:07 Langrenus

Contact

Bernard H. Foing
SMART-1 Project scientist
Bernard.Foingesa.int