| Type: | penumbral |
| Date: | 14 April 1987 |
| Axis: | 1.0994° |
| Gamma: | -1.13641 |
| Magnitude: | 0.77703 |
| Saros Ser: | 141 |
| Saros No: | 22 of 73 |
| Penumbral: | 234 minutes, 12.8 seconds |
| P1: | 00:21:50.5 |
| Greatest: | 02:18:53.0 |
| P4: | 04:16:03.3 |
| Previous: | October 1986 |
| Next: | October 1987 |
A penumbral lunar eclipse took place on Tuesday, April 14, 1987, the first of two lunar eclipses in 1987, the second being on October 7, 1987. This subtle penumbral eclipse may have been visible to a skilled observer at maximum eclipse. 77.703% of the Moon's disc was partially shaded by the Earth (none of it was in total shadow), which caused a gentle shadow gradient across its disc at maximum; the eclipse as a whole lasted 3 hours, 54 minutes and 12.8 seconds. The Moon was just 4.6 days before perigee (Perigee on Saturday, April 18, 1987), making it 0.5% larger than average.[1]
It was completely visible over North America, South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa and west in Asia, seen rising over the Pacific Ocean and North America and setting over South Asia and the Indian Ocean.
This is the 22nd member of Lunar Saros 141. The previous event was the April 1969 lunar eclipse. The next event is the April 2005 lunar eclipse.
Lunar Saros 141, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, has a total of 72 lunar eclipse events including 26 total lunar eclipses.
First Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1608 Aug 25
First Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2041 May 16
First Total Lunar Eclipse: 2167 Aug 01
First Central Lunar Eclipse: 2221 Sep 02
Greatest Eclipse of the Lunar Saros 141: 2293 Oct 16
Last Central Lunar Eclipse: 2546 Mar 18
Last Total Lunar Eclipse: 2618 May 01
Last Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2744 Jul 16
Last Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2888 Oct 11
1901-2100
March 1915 lunar eclipse
April 1987 lunar eclipse
May 2059 lunar eclipse
June 2077 lunar eclipse
June 2095 lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[2] This lunar eclipse is related to two partial solar eclipses of Solar Saros 148.