Partial lunar eclipse 2008/8/16 [1]
Saros (member)	138 (29)
Recent	<S <T < > T> S>
Cape Town, South Africa
The Moon passes right to left through the Earth's northern shadow
Gamma^[1]	0.5647
Duration (hr:mn:sc)
Partial	3:08:08
Penumbral	5:30:31
Contacts
P1	18:24:50 UTC
U1	19:36:05 UTC
Greatest	21:10:06 UTC
U4	22:44:13 UTC
P4	23:55:21 UTC
At ascending node in Capricornus

A partial lunar eclipse took place on 16 August 2008, the second of two lunar eclipses in 2008, with the first being a total eclipse on 20 February 2008. The next lunar eclipse was a penumbral eclipse occurring on 9 February 2009, while the next total lunar eclipse occurred on 21 December 2010.

The Moon's apparent diameter was 26.2 arcseconds smaller than the 21 February 2008 total lunar eclipse.

Eclipse season

This is the second eclipse this season.

First eclipse this season: 1 August 2008 Total Solar Eclipse

Viewing

These simulated views of the Earth from the center of the Moon during the lunar eclipse show where the eclipse is visible on Earth.

Parts of Australia saw it begin before sunrise, while parts of South America saw it end just after sunset. The eclipse is also seen in the Philippines and other parts of Asia at moonset. Parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa saw it when it is visible.

The penumbral eclipse began at 18:23 UTC, with the partial eclipse beginning at 19:36. The time of greatest eclipse was 21:10. The partial eclipse ended at 22:44, and the penumbral eclipse will ended at 23:57.

The planet Neptune was 2 days past opposition, visible in binoculars as an 8th magnitude "star" just two degrees west and slightly south of the Moon.

Map

Relation to other lunar eclipses

Eclipses of 2008

Lunar year series

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2006–2009
Descending node				Ascending node
Saros # and photo	Date Viewing	Type Chart	Gamma	Saros # and photo	Date Viewing	Type Chart	Gamma
113	2006 Mar 14	penumbral	1.0211	118	2006 Sep 7	partial	−0.9262
123	2007 Mar 03	total	0.3175	128	2007 Aug 28	total	−0.2146
133	2008 Feb 21	total	−0.3992	138	2008 Aug 16	partial	0.5646
143	2009 Feb 09	penumbral	−1.0640	148	2009 Aug 06	penumbral	1.3572

Last set	2005 Apr 24			Last set	2005 Oct 17

Next set	2009 Dec 31			Next set	2009 Jul 07

Saros series

Lunar saros series 138 has 26 total eclipses between September 7, 2044 and March 24, 2369. The longest eclipse will be on January 7, 2243, and last for 102 minutes.

Partial eclipses will occur between June 24, 1918 and August 13, 2603. Penumbral eclipses will occur between October 15, 1521 and March 30, 2982. ^[2]

Metonic cycle (19 years)

The Metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the Earth's shadow will in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.

Metonic lunar eclipse sets 1951–2027
Descending node			Ascending node
Saros	Date	Type	Saros	Date	Type
103	1951 Feb 21.88	Penumbral	108	1951 Aug 17.13	Penumbral

113	1970 Feb 21.35	Partial	118	1970 Aug 17.14	Partial

123	1989 Feb 20.64	Total	128	1989 Aug 17.13	Total

133	2008 Feb 21.14	Total	138	2008 Aug 16.88	Partial

143	2027 Feb 20.96	Penumbral	148	2027 Aug 17.30	Penumbral

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).^[3] This lunar eclipse is related to two total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 145.