May 2022 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, May 16, 2022, with an umbral magnitude of 1.4155. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, 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 solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night 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 shadow is smaller. Occurring about 1.5 days before perigee (15:23 UTC, May 17), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger than average. Because this event occurred near lunar perigee, it was referred in media coverage as a "super flower blood moon" and elsewhere as a "super blood moon": a supermoon that coincides with a total lunar eclipse. This was the longest total lunar eclipse visible from nearly all of North America since August 17, 1989 until the next eclipse on November 8. The eclipse was a dark one with the northern limb of the Moon passing through the center of Earth's shadow. This was the first central eclipse of Lunar Saros 131. This lunar eclipse was the third of an almost tetrad, with the others being on May 26, 2021 (total); November 19, 2021 (partial); and November 8, 2022 (total).