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A penumbral eclipse of the moon will occur on Sunday (April 24). Weather permitting, the penumbral eclipse can be observed by local residents after moonrise that evening.

The so-called "penumbral eclipse" means that the moon only passes through the penumbra (partial shadow) of the earth's shadow without entering the umbra (total shadow).  During the event, the moon will become only slightly dimmer.

The penumbral eclipse will occur between 3.50pm and 8pm Hong Kong Time and last for around four hours.  However, since the time of moonrise in Hong Kong on that day is 6.46pm, the penumbral eclipse will be visible only for around 1 hour and 14 minutes.  Please refer to the attached diagram for the path of the moon during the eclipse.

Details of the eclipse are as follows:

                            HK Time   	Azimuth Direction	Elevation
                                                                (Degrees)
			
Moon enters penumbra	 3.50pm(April 24)	East	             -39
Middle of eclipse	 5.55pm(April 24)	East	             -11
Moonrise	            6.46pm(April 24)	East-southeast	    0
Moon leaves penumbra	 8pm(April 24)	East-southeast	   15

The best places to observe the eclipse will be those with unobstructed view to the east-southeast such as Shek O, Sai Kung, etc.

The next lunar eclipse observable in Hong Kong will occur on October 17, 2005.  It will be a partial eclipse.

Please refer to the Hong Kong Observatory website for detailed explanation of the technical terms used for different stages of the eclipse: http.//www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astron2005/lunar_eclipse_e.htm.

Ends/Friday, April 22, 2005

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