Total Lunar Eclipse on June 15, 2011

A total lunar eclipse will be visible in areas such as Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia on June 15, 2011. This will be one of the darkest eclipses this century, and for 100 minutes the Moon will appear as a dark red orb in the sky.

Can I see the Eclipse?

The June 15 total lunar eclipse will be visible to observers in Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australia. This will be one of the darkest eclipses this century, second only to the total lunar eclipse on July 16, 2000. During the totality of the eclipse, the moon will pass through the center of the Earth’s shadow.

The best location to view the eclipse will be in the northernmost region of the “entire-eclipse zone” in central Asia, as well as Eastern Europe and northeastern Africa.

Many people in South America, Western Africa and Europe will view the eclipse at moon rise, while observers in Eastern Asia and Australia will see the eclipse at moonset.

The moon will appear as a dark red orb during the eclipse.

©iStockphoto.com/Matthew Meier

Western Europe will see the moon rise already totally eclipsed and covering a portion of the ninth-magnitude global cluster NGC 6401, while those in southern Africa and Australia will see the moon slip past the cluster untouched. It is important to note that in order to see the cluster, you will need at least a 100-mm telescope.

When will the Eclipse Occur?

Check out when the Eclipse starts all over the world!

The eclipse’s total phase lasts for 100 minutes.

The penumbral eclipse (“P1”) begins at 17:24:37 Universal Time (UT) and the partial eclipse (“U1”) begins at 18:22:57 UT.

The total eclipse (“U2”) begins at 19:22:29 UT and the point of the greatest eclipse occurs at 20:13:43 UT.

The umbral eclipse magnitude will reach 1.71 at the instant of greatest eclipse, making it one of the darkest eclipses in history.

The total eclipse (“U3”) ends at 21:02:42, followed by the end of the partial eclipse (“U4”) at 22:02:14 UT. The penumbral eclipse (“P4”) ends at 23:00:41 UT.

Who can see the Eclipse?

Time of start of the partial eclipse:	Time of start of the total eclipse:
Time of the end of the total eclipse:	Time of the end of the partial eclipse:

Eclipses in 2011

The total lunar eclipse on June 15, 2011 is one of six eclipses that occur in 2011. The full list of eclipses in 2011 includes:

• A partial solar eclipse on January 4.
• A partial solar eclipse on June 1.
• A partial solar eclipse on July 1.
• A partial solar eclipse on November 25.
• A total lunar eclipse on December 10.

Lunar Eclipses in a Nutshell

The lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow and can only happen at full moon. One of the major differences between a lunar and solar eclipse is that a lunar eclipse can be viewed from across the entire night side of the Earth (depending on the weather).

timeanddate.com will provide information on more eclipses close to the time of their occurrence.

Note: Universal Time (UT) is a timescale based on the Earth’s rotation. UT is expected to be about 0.27 seconds behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) during most of June. Eclipse information courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and P. Harrington, author of Eclipse! The What, Where, When, Why & How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses.