Partial Lunar Eclipse Over Cleveland
The Next Eclipse Season after the Total Solar Eclipse
Here in Cleveland we're very excited for the pennant race with our Cleveland Guardians (nee' the Cleveland Indians). The team has been in first place in the American League Central for most of the season, which started with the Eclipse Over Cleveland back on April 8.
To commemorate this winning season, there will be a partial lunar eclipse on the evening of Tuesday, September 17!
Eclipses always occur in pairs. This is an eclipse season in which a solar eclipse always occurs within two weeks of a lunar eclipse. There are always at least two eclipse seasons in every calendar year, separated by 6 lunar months. However, not all of these eclipses are visible everywhere in the world so you don't get a clear sense of the eclipse seasons unless you follow them closely.
The September 17 lunar eclipse will be
partial since the Moon will not fully align with the
umbra or
full shadow of the Earth. At maximum eclipse, the edge of the Moon will only graze the umbra, resulting in a very brief and shallow partial phase.
As always, the partial phase will be preceded by a penumbral phase, where the Moon passes through the penumbra, or partial shadow of the Earth. During this period, there will be a degree of shading upon the Moon. The penumbral phase is not the same for every eclipse. Sometimes it's a lot of shading, sometimes not much. But for most lunar eclipses there's not a whole lot to see during the penumbral phase.
The penumbral phase begins at 8:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)on September 17. This is P1, when the limb of the Moon makes first contact with the penumbra. The show gets better at U1, first contact with the Earth's umbra, at 10:11 PM EDT. The partial phase is best at MID eclipse, 10:44 PM. The partial phase ends at U4, 11:16 PM EDT, followed by an egressing penumbral phase until after midnight, 12:49 AM.
This lunar eclipse will be best visible to Americans east of the Mississippi as it will be fairly high in the sky, though later at night. In the Rocky Mountain longitudes the Moon will rise during the penumbral phase following P1 -- not high in the sky but visible earlier in the evening, local time. Over the west coast the Moon will rise in the midst of the partial phase, between U1 and U4, which would be an intersting sight if viewed coming up over the Pacific Ocean.
That evening will be the second game in a 4-game homestand against division rival, the Minnesota Twins. This game will no doubt be hotly contested! The partial phase will begin long after the 6:30 games ends (hopefully not long extra innings!) It should be a great celestial celebration of this exciting Guardians season!
Even though this partial eclipse is rather feeble, it's still an Eclipse Over Cleveland! I'm hopeful that these two eclipses will bookend a championship baseball season here on the usually ice-entrusted shores of Lake Erie.
