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A partial eclipse of the moon will occur on January 1 (Friday). In Hong Kong, even with good weather conditions, people will only see the moon darkened with just a small part eclipsed owing to the small magnitude of the eclipse.
The lunar eclipse will occur between 1.15am and 5.30am with maximum eclipse at 3.23am. The eclipse has an umbral magnitude of just 0.082, meaning that only 8.2% of the moon's diameter will enter the umbra (total shadow) of the 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 Time Azimuth Elevation
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Moon enters 1.15am West-northwest 77 degrees
penumbra
Moon enters 2.52am West 56 degrees
umbra
Maximum 3.23am West-northwest 49 degrees
eclipse
Moon leaves 3.54am West-northwest 42 degrees
umbra
Moon leaves 5.30am West-northwest 22 degrees
penumbra
The next lunar eclipse visible in Hong Kong will occur on June 26, 2010. It will be more observable with a magnitude of 0.542.
Please refer to the Observatory's website for a detailed explanation of the technical terms used for different stages of the eclipse:
http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astron2010/lunar_eclipse_e.htm
Ends/Friday, December 18, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:01
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