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December 31, 2009–January 1, 2010 Partial Lunar Eclipse

Eclipse enthusiasts in Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia can celebrate New Year’s Eve by observing a partial lunar eclipse on December 31, 2009. The event’s duration is about four hours.

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What This Lunar Eclipse Looked Like

The curvature of the shadow's path and the apparent rotation of the Moon's disk is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.

Regions seeing, at least, some parts of the eclipse: Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Much of North America, East in South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic.

Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Map and Animation

The animation shows where this partial lunar eclipse is visible during the night (dark “wave” slowly moving across the Earth's surface).

Shades of darkness

Night, moon high up in sky.

Moon between 12 and 18 degrees above horizon.

Moon between 6 and 12 degrees above horizon. Make sure you have free line of sight.

Moon between 0 and 6 degrees above horizon. May be hard to see due to brightness and line of sight.

Day, moon and eclipse both not visible.

Note: Twilight will affect the visibility of the eclipse, as well as weather.

Eclipse was visible.

Only partial phase was visible. Missed partial phase.

Eclipse was not visible at all.

Note: Areas with lighter shadings left (West) of the center will experience the eclipse after moonrise/sunset. Areas with lighter shadings right (East) of the center will experience the eclipse until moonset/sunrise. Actual eclipse visibility depends on weather conditions and line of sight to the Moon.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

Lunar eclipses can be visible from everywhere on the night side of the Earth, if the sky is clear. From some places the entire eclipse will be visible, while in other areas the Moon will rise or set during the eclipse.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*Visible in Washington DC
Penumbral Eclipse beganDec 31 at 17:17:08Dec 31 at 12:17:08 pmNo, below the horizon
Partial Eclipse beganDec 31 at 18:52:48Dec 31 at 1:52:48 pmNo, below the horizon
Maximum EclipseDec 31 at 19:22:42Dec 31 at 2:22:42 pmNo, below the horizon
Partial Eclipse endedDec 31 at 19:52:38Dec 31 at 2:52:38 pmNo, below the horizon
Penumbral Eclipse endedDec 31 at 21:28:15Dec 31 at 4:28:15 pmNo, below the horizon

* The Moon was below the horizon during this eclipse, so it was not possible to view it in Washington DC.

Quick Facts About This Eclipse

DataValueComments
Magnitude0.076Fraction of the Moon’s diameter covered by Earth’s umbra
Obscuration3.0%Percentage of the Moon's area covered by Earth's umbra
Penumbral magnitude1.056Fraction of the Moon's diameter covered by Earth's penumbra
Overall duration4 hours, 11 minutesPeriod between the beginning and end of all eclipse phases
Duration of partial phase1 hourPeriod between the beginning and end of the partial phase
Duration of penumbral phases3 hours, 11 minutesCombined period of both penumbral phases

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
At least some of the penumbral phase5,390,000,00078.17%
At least some of the partial phase5,310,000,00076.99%
All of partial phase5,290,000,00076.80%
The entire eclipse from beginning to end5,040,000,00073.20%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the first eclipse this season.

Second eclipse this season: January 15, 2010 — Annular Solar Eclipse