A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Thursday, October 28, 2004, with an umbral magnitude of 1.3100. 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 5.4 days before apogee (on November 2, 2004, at 13:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This lunar eclipse is the last of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on May 16, 2003; November 9, 2004; and May 4, 2004.