November 2012 lunar eclipse

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Wednesday, November 28, 2012, with an umbral magnitude of −0.1859. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon's near side passes into the Earth's penumbra. 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. Occurring only about 3 minutes before apogee (on November 28, 2012, at 14:36 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.

The eclipse was completely visible over much of Asia and Australia, seen rising over Europe, the Middle East, and east Africa and setting over North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar 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.

• An annular solar eclipse on May 20.
• A partial lunar eclipse on June 4.
• A total solar eclipse on November 13.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on November 28.

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 9, 2009
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 16, 2016

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 17, 2005
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 10, 2020

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 23, 2003
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 4, 2021

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 30, 2001
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 28, 2023

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 18, 1994
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 9, 2030

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 20, 1983
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 8, 2041

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 28, 1926
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 29, 2099

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of lunar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.

The penumbral lunar eclipses on February 9, 2009 and August 6, 2009 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the lunar eclipses on April 25, 2013 (partial) and October 18, 2013 (penumbral) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 145, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on August 11, 1832. It contains partial eclipses from February 24, 2157 through June 3, 2319; total eclipses from June 14, 2337 through November 13, 2589; and a second set of partial eclipses from November 25, 2607 through June 21, 2950. The series ends at member 71 as a penumbral eclipse on September 16, 3094.

The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 34 at 104 minutes, 21 seconds on August 7, 2427. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.

Eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.

This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

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 total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 152.

• List of lunar eclipses and List of 21st-century lunar eclipses
• File:2012-11-28 Lunar Eclipse Sketch.gif Chart

• 2012 Nov 28 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
• Penumbral lunar eclipse on 28 November 2012
• NASA: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 28 November