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November 1956 lunar eclipse

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November 1956 lunar eclipse
Total eclipse
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
DateNovember 18, 1956
Gamma0.2917
Magnitude1.3172
Saros cycle125 (45 of 72)
Totality78 minutes, 22 seconds
Partiality209 minutes, 27 seconds
Penumbral332 minutes, 13 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P14:01:35
U15:03:02
U26:08:34
Greatest6:47:44
U37:26:56
U48:32:29
P49:33:49

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Sunday, November 18, 1956,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.3172. 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 3.4 days before perigee (on November 21, 1956, at 16:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]

This lunar eclipse was the second of an almost tetrad, with the others being on May 24, 1956 (partial); May 13, 1957 (total); and November 7, 1957 (total).

Visibility

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The eclipse was completely visible over North America and western South America, seen rising over northeast Asia and eastern Australia and setting over eastern South America, west and central Africa, and Europe.[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]

November 18, 1956 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 2.32849
Umbral Magnitude 1.31720
Gamma 0.29167
Sun Right Ascension 15h34m22.3s
Sun Declination -19°14'20.7"
Sun Semi-Diameter 16'11.0"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9"
Moon Right Ascension 03h34m12.2s
Moon Declination +19°31'18.5"
Moon Semi-Diameter 16'00.2"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°58'44.0"
ΔT 31.8 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 November–December 1956
November 18
Descending node (full moon)		 December 2
Ascending node (new moon)
Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 125		 Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 151
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Eclipses in 1956

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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 125

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 1955–1958

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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 eclipse on January 8, 1955 occurs in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the penumbral lunar eclipse on April 4, 1958 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1955 to 1958
Ascending node   Descending node
Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
110 1955 Jun 05
 Penumbral
 −1.2384 115 1955 Nov 29
 Partial
 0.9551
120 1956 May 24
 Partial
 −0.4726 125 1956 Nov 18
 Total
 0.2917
130 1957 May 13
 Total
 0.3046 135 1957 Nov 07
 Total
 −0.4332
140 1958 May 03
 Partial
 1.0188 145 1958 Oct 27
 Penumbral
 −1.1571

Saros 125

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 125, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 17, 1163. It contains partial eclipses from January 17, 1470 through June 6, 1686; total eclipses from June 17, 1704 through March 19, 2155; and a second set of partial eclipses from March 29, 2173 through June 25, 2317. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on September 9, 2443.

The longest duration of totality was produced by member 37 at 100 minutes, 23 seconds on August 22, 1812. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[6]

Greatest First
The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1812 Aug 22, lasting 100 minutes, 23 seconds.[7] Penumbral Partial Total Central
1163 Jul 17
 1470 Jan 17
 1704 Jun 17
 1758 Jul 20
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
1920 Oct 27
 2155 Mar 19
 2317 Jun 25
 2443 Sep 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.

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
1804 Jan 26
(Saros 111) 		1814 Dec 26
(Saros 112) 		1825 Nov 25
(Saros 113) 		1836 Oct 24
(Saros 114) 		1847 Sep 24
(Saros 115)
1858 Aug 24
(Saros 116) 		1869 Jul 23
(Saros 117) 		1880 Jun 22
(Saros 118) 		1891 May 23
(Saros 119) 		1902 Apr 22
(Saros 120)
1913 Mar 22
(Saros 121) 		1924 Feb 20
(Saros 122) 		1935 Jan 19
(Saros 123) 		1945 Dec 19
(Saros 124) 		1956 Nov 18
(Saros 125)
1967 Oct 18
(Saros 126) 		1978 Sep 16
(Saros 127) 		1989 Aug 17
(Saros 128) 		2000 Jul 16
(Saros 129) 		2011 Jun 15
(Saros 130)
2022 May 16
(Saros 131) 		2033 Apr 14
(Saros 132) 		2044 Mar 13
(Saros 133) 		2055 Feb 11
(Saros 134) 		2066 Jan 11
(Saros 135)
2076 Dec 10
(Saros 136) 		2087 Nov 10
(Saros 137) 		2098 Oct 10
(Saros 138) 		2109 Sep 09
(Saros 139) 		2120 Aug 09
(Saros 140)
2131 Jul 10
(Saros 141) 		2142 Jun 08
(Saros 142) 		2153 May 08
(Saros 143) 		2164 Apr 07
(Saros 144) 		2175 Mar 07
(Saros 145)
2186 Feb 04
(Saros 146) 		2197 Jan 04
(Saros 147)

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 132.

November 12, 1947 November 23, 1965

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "November 17–18, 1956 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1956 Nov 18" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1956 Nov 18". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  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 125". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  7. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 125
  8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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