March 1997 lunar eclipse
Encyclopedia
Lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a...
took place on March 24, 1997, the first of two lunar eclipses in 1997.
This partial lunar eclipse is nearly total, however it occurred 3 days after the lunar apogee, so the umbral shadow shadow is smaller.
Visibility
This eclipse was completely visible from North and South America, and visible setting over Western Europe and Africa.| This simulated view of the earth from the moon at greatest eclipse shows the visibility. |
Lunar year series
This is the third of four lunar year eclipses at the descending node of the moon's orbit.The lunar year series repeats after 12 lunations or 354 days (Shifting back about 10 days in sequential years). Because of the date shift, the Earth's shadow will be about 11 degrees west in sequential events.