February 1990 lunar eclipse

<p>A total <a href="/facts/Lunar_eclipse/cGSjtf1A">lunar eclipse</a> occurred at the Moon’s <a href="/facts/Lunar_node/Q3SstDoh">descending node</a> of orbit on Friday, February 9, 1990, with an umbral <a href="/facts/Magnitude_of_eclipse/qAGeIA5l">magnitude</a> of 1.0750. A lunar eclipse occurs when the <a href="/facts/Moon/zKHqEMPb">Moon</a> moves into the <a href="/facts/Earth%27s_shadow/WeBpSyfX">Earth's shadow</a>, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a <a href="/facts/Solar_eclipse/2XsCFG1a">solar eclipse</a>, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the <a href="/facts/Night/aeJtffky">night</a> side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's <a href="/facts/Umbra,_penumbra_and_antumbra/JhPRXQ21">shadow</a> is smaller. The Moon's apparent diameter will be near the average diameter because it will occur 7.7 days after <a href="/facts/Apsis/VaL6ow9w">perigee</a> (on February 2, 1990, at 2:40 UTC) and 6.75 days before <a href="/facts/Apsis/VaL6ow9w">apogee</a> (on February 16, 1990, at 13:05 UTC).
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February 1990 lunar eclipse open-in-new

February 1990 lunar eclipse