A total lunar eclipse will occur at the MoonâÂÂs ascending node of orbit on Friday, May 6, 2050, with an umbral magnitude of 1.0779. 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 about 6.5 days after apogee (on April 30, 2050, at 11:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be smaller.
This lunar eclipse is the first of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on October 30, 2050; April 26, 2051; and October 19, 2051.
The eclipse will be completely visible over Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Antarctica, seen rising over eastern North America and South America and setting over much of Asia and Australia.
Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular luanr eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros). This lunar eclipse is related to two partial solar eclipses of Solar Saros 129.