Infrared radiometric measurements of lunar disk temperatures during lunar eclipse on 15th June 2011

• Infrared measurements of the total lunar eclipse on 15th June 2011 were carried out.
• The lunar temperature curve for this eclipse was obtained.
• The results are comparable with previous observations.
• The lunar surface temperature decreased by about 147 K during the partial phase of the eclipse.
• The total lunar surface temperature decreased by about 220 K due to this eclipse.

Radiometric measurements of the total lunar eclipse on 15th June 2011 were carried out at the KACST observatory (lat. 21.25 N; long. 49.30 E), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, using a locally designed, constructed and calibrated infrared detector. The basic detector is a Heimann TPS 534 thermopile with a 3° field of view and operating at wavelengths between 8 μm and 14 μm. The total phase of this eclipse lasted about 100 min, making it one of the darkest eclipses this century. The lunar temperature curve of this eclipse was obtained and showed comparable behavior with previously established infrared observations. We found that the lunar surface temperature decreased by about 147 K and 220 K during the partial and total eclipse phases, respectively, in comparison with the lunar temperature before the eclipse.