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August 2009 lunar eclipse

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August 2009 lunar eclipse
Penumbral eclipse
This subtle penumbral eclipse covered the southern part of the Moon as shown in this animation by John Walker, viewed from Lignières, Switzerland.
DateAugust 6, 2009
Gamma1.3572
Magnitude−0.6642
Saros cycle148 (3 of 71)
Penumbral189 minutes, 47 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P123:04:21
Greatest0:39:11
P42:14:08

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Thursday, August 6, 2009,[1] with an umbral magnitude of −0.6642. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon's near side passes into the Earth's penumbra. 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. Occurring about 2.1 days after apogee (on August 3, 2009, at 22:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]

This eclipse was the third of four lunar eclipses in 2009, with the others occurring on February 9 (penumbral), July 7 (penumbral), and December 31 (partial).

Visibility

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The eclipse was completely visible over South America, Africa, and Europe, seen rising over much of North America and setting over central and south Asia.[3]


Hourly motion shown right to left

The Moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation of Capricornus.

Visibility map
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Eclipse details

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Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[4]

August 6, 2009 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 0.40379
Umbral Magnitude −0.66417
Gamma 1.35724
Sun Right Ascension 09h04m42.0s
Sun Declination +16°42'38.9"
Sun Semi-Diameter 15'46.1"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7"
Moon Right Ascension 21h02m46.3s
Moon Declination -15°34'32.9"
Moon Semi-Diameter 14'45.9"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°54'11.4"
ΔT 66.0 s

Eclipse season

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This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.[5][6][7]

Eclipse season of July–August 2009
July 7
Ascending node (full moon)
July 22
Descending node (new moon)
August 6
Ascending node (full moon)
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 110
Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 136
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 148
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Eclipses in 2009

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Metonic

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Tzolkinex

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Half-Saros

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Tritos

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Lunar Saros 148

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 2006–2009

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This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of lunar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[8]

The lunar eclipses on July 7, 2009 (penumbral) and December 31, 2009 (partial) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2006 to 2009
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date
Viewing
Type
Chart
Gamma Saros Date
Viewing
Type
Chart
Gamma
113
2006 Mar 14
Penumbral
1.0211 118
2006 Sep 7
Partial
−0.9262
123
2007 Mar 03
Total
0.3175 128
2007 Aug 28
Total
−0.2146
133
2008 Feb 21
Total
−0.3992 138
2008 Aug 16
Partial
0.5646
143
2009 Feb 09
Penumbral
−1.0640 148
2009 Aug 06
Penumbral
1.3572

Saros 148

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 148, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 70 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 15, 1973. It contains partial eclipses from October 10, 2117 through May 5, 2460; total eclipses from May 17, 2478 through September 14, 2676; and a second set of partial eclipses from September 25, 2694 through May 25, 3091. The series ends at member 70 as a penumbral eclipse on August 9, 3217.

The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 37 at 104 minutes, 29 seconds on July 10, 2568. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[9]

Greatest First
The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2568 Jul 10, lasting 104 minutes, 29 seconds.[10] Penumbral Partial Total Central
1973 Jul 15
2117 Oct 10
2478 May 25
2514 Jun 08
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
2622 Aug 13
2676 Sep 14
3091 May 25
3217 Aug 09

Eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.

Half-Saros cycle

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A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[11] This lunar eclipse is related to two partial solar eclipses of Solar Saros 155.

July 31, 2000 August 11, 2018

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "August 5–6, 2009 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 2009 Aug 06" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 2009 Aug 06". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  5. ^ (AFP) – 6 days ago. "AFP: Solar eclipse sparks tourism fever in China". Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Wang, Hongjiang (22 July 2009). "Scientists: China the best place to observe longest solar eclipse in 2,000 years_English_Xinhua". News.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Indian students on solar eclipse 'odyssey' to China – Yahoo! India News". In.news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  8. ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  9. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 148". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  10. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 148
  11. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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