In a penumbral lunar eclipse, the moon passes through the outer shadow of the earth, not our planet's full shadow, or umbra (see another animation for today's eclipse, here). The effect is a subtle darkening of the moon. The above video demonstrates the point of view from the USA. Video Source: Larry Koehn (hat tips: Shadow and Substance and Earth Sky).
Today, there is a partial penumbral lunar eclipse, visible from Asia, Australia and the Americas. This post accompanies my 8 March 2016 post on the total solar eclipse, and provides background on a series of posts on the impact of unprecedented techno-social conditions on global emotions and unconscious behaviours. The moon is a mirror. But perhaps we see her true nature only when she is shrouded in darkness, as on today's eclipse. Upcoming posts will ask how our cultural understanding of the moon and mirrors can help to explain today's interactions with technology.
Area of visibility of penumbral lunar eclipse on 23 March 2016. It begins at 9:39:31 a.m. UTC and reaches its maximum at 11:47:14 UTC. Image Source: Time and Date.
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