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January 1972 lunar eclipse

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January 1972 lunar eclipse
Total eclipse
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
DateJanuary 30, 1972
Gamma−0.4273
Magnitude1.0497
Saros cycle133 (24 of 71)
Totality34 minutes, 48 seconds
Partiality203 minutes, 23 seconds
Penumbral340 minutes, 19 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P18:03:16
U19:11:39
U210:35:57
Greatest10:53:23
U311:10:45
U412:35:03
P413:43:35

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Sunday, January 30, 1972,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.0497. 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 6.6 days before apogee (on February 6, 1972, at 0:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]

Visibility

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The eclipse was completely visible over northeast Asia, western and central North America, and the central Pacific Ocean, seen rising over much of Asia and Australia and setting over eastern North America and South America.[3]

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]

January 30, 1972 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 2.09866
Umbral Magnitude 1.04971
Gamma −0.42729
Sun Right Ascension 20h48m23.2s
Sun Declination -17°50'13.7"
Sun Semi-Diameter 16'14.2"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9"
Moon Right Ascension 08h47m46.4s
Moon Declination +17°27'35.5"
Moon Semi-Diameter 15'28.8"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°56'48.6"
ΔT 42.3 s

Eclipse season

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See also: Eclipse cycle

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.

Eclipse season of January 1972
January 16
Ascending node (new moon)
 January 30
Descending node (full moon)
Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 121		 Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 133
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Eclipses in 1972

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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 133

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 1969–1973

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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.[5]

The penumbral lunar eclipses on April 2, 1969 and September 25, 1969 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the lunar eclipses on June 15, 1973 (penumbral) and December 10, 1973 (partial) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1969 to 1973
Ascending node   Descending node
Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
108 1969 Aug 27
 Penumbral
 −1.5407 113 1970 Feb 21
 Partial
 0.9620
118 1970 Aug 17
 Partial
 −0.8053 123 1971 Feb 10
 Total
 0.2741
128 1971 Aug 06
 Total
 −0.0794 133 1972 Jan 30
 Total
 −0.4273
138 1972 Jul 26
 Partial
 0.7117 143 1973 Jan 18
 Penumbral
 −1.0845
148 1973 Jul 15
 Penumbral
 1.5178

Saros 133

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 133, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 13, 1557. It contains partial eclipses from August 7, 1683 through December 17, 1899; total eclipses from December 28, 1917 through August 3, 2278; and a second set of partial eclipses from August 14, 2296 through March 11, 2639. The series ends at member 71 as a penumbral eclipse on June 29, 2819.

The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 35 at 101 minutes, 41 seconds on May 30, 2170. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[6]

Greatest First
The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2170 May 30, lasting 101 minutes, 41 seconds.[7] Penumbral Partial Total Central
1557 May 13
 1683 Aug 07
 1917 Dec 28
 2098 Apr 15
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
2224 Jul 01
 2278 Aug 03
 2639 Mar 11
 2819 Jun 29

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.

Tritos series

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This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Series members between 1801 and 2200
1808 May 10
(Saros 118) 		1819 Apr 10
(Saros 119) 		1830 Mar 09
(Saros 120) 		1841 Feb 06
(Saros 121) 		1852 Jan 07
(Saros 122)
1862 Dec 06
(Saros 123) 		1873 Nov 04
(Saros 124) 		1884 Oct 04
(Saros 125) 		1895 Sep 04
(Saros 126) 		1906 Aug 04
(Saros 127)
1917 Jul 04
(Saros 128) 		1928 Jun 03
(Saros 129) 		1939 May 03
(Saros 130) 		1950 Apr 02
(Saros 131) 		1961 Mar 02
(Saros 132)
1972 Jan 30
(Saros 133) 		1982 Dec 30
(Saros 134) 		1993 Nov 29
(Saros 135) 		2004 Oct 28
(Saros 136) 		2015 Sep 28
(Saros 137)
2026 Aug 28
(Saros 138) 		2037 Jul 27
(Saros 139) 		2048 Jun 26
(Saros 140) 		2059 May 27
(Saros 141) 		2070 Apr 25
(Saros 142)
2081 Mar 25
(Saros 143) 		2092 Feb 23
(Saros 144) 		2103 Jan 23
(Saros 145) 		2113 Dec 22
(Saros 146) 		2124 Nov 21
(Saros 147)
2135 Oct 22
(Saros 148) 		2146 Sep 20
(Saros 149) 		2157 Aug 20
(Saros 150) 		2168 Jul 20
(Saros 151) 		2179 Jun 19
(Saros 152)
2190 May 19
(Saros 153)

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).[8] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 140.

January 25, 1963 February 4, 1981

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "January 29–30, 1972 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1972 Jan 30" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1972 Jan 30". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 133". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  7. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 133
  8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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