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]