April 1987 lunar eclipse

April 1987 lunar eclipse

Penumbral eclipse
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
Date	April 14, 1987
Gamma	−1.1364
Magnitude	−0.2312
Saros cycle	141 (22 of 73)
Penumbral	234 minutes, 8 seconds
Contacts (UTC) P1 0:21:55 Greatest 2:18:54 P4 4:16:03

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, April 14, 1987,[1] with an umbral magnitude of −0.2312. 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 4.6 days before perigee (on April 18, 1987, at 17:35 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]

Visibility

The eclipse was completely visible over eastern North America, South America, western Europe, west and central Africa, and Antarctica, seen rising over western and central North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean and setting over east Africa, eastern Europe, and west, central, and south Asia.[3]

Eclipse details

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

April 14, 1987 Lunar Eclipse Parameters

Parameter	Value
Penumbral Magnitude	0.77703
Umbral Magnitude	−0.23122
Gamma	−1.13641
Sun Right Ascension	01h27m26.1s
Sun Declination	+09°10'16.8"
Sun Semi-Diameter	15'56.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax	08.8"
Moon Right Ascension	13h25m23.5s
Moon Declination	-10°08'55.4"
Moon Semi-Diameter	15'49.1"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax	0°58'03.2"
ΔT	55.4 s

Eclipse season

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 March–April 1987

March 29 Ascending node (new moon)	April 14 Descending node (full moon)
Hybrid solar eclipse Solar Saros 129	Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 141

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1987

• A hybrid solar eclipse on March 29.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on April 14.
• An annular solar eclipse on September 23.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on October 7.

Metonic

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 25, 1983
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 30, 1991

Tzolkinex

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 1, 1980
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of May 25, 1994

Half-Saros

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 7, 1978
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 17, 1996

Tritos

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 13, 1976
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1998

Lunar Saros 141

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 2, 1969
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 24, 2005

Inex

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 3, 1958
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 23, 2016

Triad

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 13, 1900
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 11, 2074

Lunar eclipses of 1984–1987

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 June 13, 1984 occurs in the previous lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1984 to 1987
Descending node					Ascending node
Saros	Date Viewing	Type Chart	Gamma		Saros	Date Viewing	Type Chart	Gamma
111	1984 May 15	Penumbral	1.1131		116	1984 Nov 08	Penumbral	−1.0900
121	1985 May 04	Total	0.3520		126	1985 Oct 28	Total	−0.4022
131	1986 Apr 24	Total	−0.3683		136	1986 Oct 17	Total	0.3189
141	1987 Apr 14	Penumbral	−1.1364		146	1987 Oct 07	Penumbral	1.0189

Saros 141

Lunar Saros 141, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, has a total of 72 lunar eclipse events including 26 total lunar eclipses.

First Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1608 Aug 25

First Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2041 May 16

First Total Lunar Eclipse: 2167 Aug 01

First Central Lunar Eclipse: 2221 Sep 02

Greatest Eclipse of the Lunar Saros 141: 2293 Oct 16

Last Central Lunar Eclipse: 2546 Mar 18

Last Total Lunar Eclipse: 2618 May 01

Last Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2744 Jul 16

Last Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2888 Oct 11

1901-2100

March 1915 lunar eclipse

March 1933 lunar eclipse

March 1951 lunar eclipse

April 1969 lunar eclipse

April 1987 lunar eclipse

April 2005 lunar eclipse

May 2023 lunar eclipse

May 2041 lunar eclipse

May 2059 lunar eclipse

June 2077 lunar eclipse

June 2095 lunar eclipse

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[6] This lunar eclipse is related to two partial solar eclipses of Solar Saros 148.

April 7, 1978	April 17, 1996

See also

• List of lunar eclipses
• List of 20th-century lunar eclipses

Notes

1. "April 13–14, 1987 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
2. "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
3. "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1987 Apr 14" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
4. "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1987 Apr 14". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 6 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. Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros

External links

• 1987 Apr 14 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC