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A total lunar eclipse occurred on the evening of Wednesday, February 20, and morning of Thursday, February 21, 2008. It was visible in the eastern evening sky on February 20 for all of North and South America, and on February 21 in the predawn western sky from most of Africa and Europe.
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The total lunar eclipse was the first of the two lunar eclipses in 2008, with the second, the August 16, 2008 event being partial. The next total lunar eclipse occurred on December 21, 2010.
Viewing
The eclipse was visible in the eastern evening sky on February 20 for all of North and South America, and on February 21 in the predawn western sky from most of Africa and Europe.
The penumbral eclipse began at 00:35 UTC (February 21), and ended at 6:17. A partial eclipse existed from 1:43 until 3:00, followed by 51 minutes of totality (3:00 - 3:51), and then partial again from 3:51 until 5:09. (For local times, see Timing.)
It is possible to mistake the appearance of partial eclipse as the moon being in a different phase, but the shadow from the eclipse changes much more rapidly.
The bright star Regulus of Leo and the planet Saturn were prominent very near the moon during the total eclipse portion. Shortly before the eclipse began, Regulus was occulted by the moon in parts of the far Southern Atlantic ocean and Antarctica.
Saros series
This lunar eclipse is part of series 133 of the Saros cycle, which repeats every 18 years and 11 days. Series 133 runs from the year 1557 until 2819. The previous eclipse of this series occurred on February 9, 1990 and the next will occur on March 3, 2026.
It is the 6th of 21 total lunar eclipses in series 133. The first was on December 28, 1917. The last (21st) will be on August 3, 2278. The longest two occurrences of this series (14th and 15th) will last for a total of 1 hour and 42 minutes on May 18, 2152 and May 30, 2170.
Metonic cycle (19 years)
This is the fourth of five Metonic lunar eclipses.
The Metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the earth's shadow will in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.
Timing
The moon entered the penumbral shadow at 0:36 UTC, and the umbral shadow at 1:43. Totality lasted for 50 minutes, between 3:01 and 3:51. The moon left the umbra shadow at 5:09 and left the penumbra shadow at 6:16.