July 2018 lunar eclipse
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node on 27 July 2018. The Moon passed through the center of Earth's shadow in what was the first central lunar eclipse since 15 June 2011. It was also the second total lunar eclipse in 2018, after the one on 31 January. It was the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, but not the longest in the 3rd millennium. The longest total lunar eclipse of the 3rd millennium will occur on May 12, 2264, lasting 106 minutes and 13.2 seconds, which will be the longest total lunar eclipse since 2000, and the longest one until 3107.
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
Oria, Italy at 21:09 UTC, end of totality | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | 27 July 2018 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.1168 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.6087 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 129 (38 of 71) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 102 minutes, 57 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 234 minutes, 33 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 373 minutes, 48 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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The eclipse occurred when the Moon was near its maximum distance from Earth, which caused the Moon to appear smaller than normal (a phenomenon sometimes called a micromoon), and to travel at its slowest speed in its orbit around Earth. This was the longest total lunar eclipse that occurred in the 21st century, but not the longest in the 3rd millennium. Totality lasted one hour and 42.955 minutes, a period "just short of the theoretical limit of a lunar eclipse (one hour and 46.605 minutes)". The Moon remained at least partially in Earth's shadow for three hours 54.55 minutes.
This lunar eclipse coincided with Mars being nearly as close as possible to Earth, a concurrence that happens once every 25,000 years.