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A partial lunar eclipse will occur in Hong Kong's night sky on June 26 (Saturday), and can be viewed by the public if the weather permits.
The Scientific Officer of the Hong Kong Observatory, Mr Woo Wang-chun, said, "When the moon rises at 7.08pm that night, the partial lunar eclipse should have already begun. It will reach its maximum at 7.39pm and end around 10.21pm. The eclipse has an umbral magnitude of 0.542, meaning that 54.2% of the moon's diameter will enter the umbra (total shadow) of Earth at maximum eclipse." Please refer to the attached diagram for the path of the moon during the eclipse.
Details of the partial lunar eclipse are as follows:
Hong Kong Azimuth Elevation
time
---------- -------- ----------
Moon rise 7.08pm East-southeast -1 degrees
Maximum 7.39pm East-southeast 5 degrees
eclipse
Moon leaves 9pm Southeast 21 degrees
umbra
Moon leaves 10.21pm Southeast 33 degrees
penumbra
"As the elevation of the moon is rather low at maximum eclipse, the event is best observed at places with an unobstructed view to the horizon at east-southeast, such as Shek O, Cheung Chau, the east dam of High Island Reservoir and on top of Tai Mo Shan," said Mr Woo.
The next lunar eclipse observable in Hong Kong will occur on December 21, 2010. It will be a partial eclipse.
Please refer to the Observatory's website for a detailed explanation of the technical terms used for different stages of the eclipse: www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astron2010/lunar_eclipse_e.htm.
Ends/Thursday, June 17, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:43
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