April 2051 lunar eclipse

April 2051 lunar eclipse
Total eclipse
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
DateApril 26, 2051
Gamma0.3371
Magnitude1.2034
Saros cycle132 (32 of 71)
Totality69 minutes, 35 seconds
Partiality220 minutes, 51 seconds
Penumbral364 minutes, 48 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P123:12:27
U10:24:27
U21:40:05
Greatest2:14:52
U32:49:40
U44:05:18
P45:17:14

A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Wednesday, April 26, 2051,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.2034. 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 2.6 days after apogee (on April 23, 2051, at 12:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be smaller.[2]

This lunar eclipse is the third of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on May 6, 2050; October 30, 2050; and October 19, 2051.

Visibility

The eclipse will be completely visible over South America and west Africa, seen rising over North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean and setting over central and east Africa, 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 26, 2051 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 2.27848
Umbral Magnitude 1.20339
Gamma 0.33710
Sun Right Ascension 02h14m06.4s
Sun Declination +13°27'39.8"
Sun Semi-Diameter 15'53.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7"
Moon Right Ascension 14h14m24.0s
Moon Declination -13°09'52.9"
Moon Semi-Diameter 14'47.3"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°54'16.4"
ΔT 85.9 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 April 2051
April 11
Descending node (new moon)
 April 26
Ascending node (full moon)
Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 120		 Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 132

Eclipses in 2051

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Lunar Saros 132

Inex

Triad

Lunar eclipses of 2049–2052

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 15, 2049 occurs in the previous lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2049 to 2052
Ascending node   Descending node
Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
112 2049 May 17
 Penumbral
 −1.1337 117 2049 Nov 09
 Penumbral
 1.1964
122 2050 May 06
 Total
 −0.4181 127 2050 Oct 30
 Total
 0.4435
132 2051 Apr 26
 Total
 0.3371 137 2051 Oct 19
 Total
 −0.2542
142 2052 Apr 14
 Penumbral
 1.0628 147 2052 Oct 08
 Partial
 −0.9726

Saros 132

Lunar saros series 132, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, has a total of 71 lunar eclipse events including 44 umbral lunar eclipses (32 partial lunar eclipses and 12 total lunar eclipses).

Greatest First

The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2123 Jun 9, lasting 106 minutes.[6] 		Penumbral Partial Total Central
1492 May 12
 1636 Aug 16
 2015 Apr 4
 2069 May 6
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
2177 Jul 11
 2213 Aug 2
 2429 Dec 11
 2754 Jun 26

There are 11 series events between 1901 and 2100, grouped into threes (called an exeligmos), each column with approximately the same viewing longitude on earth.

1901–2100
1907 Jan 29 1925 Feb 8 1943 Feb 20
1961 Mar 2 1979 Mar 13 1997 Mar 24
2015 Apr 4 2033 Apr 14 2051 Apr 26
2069 May 6 2087 May 17

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[7] This lunar eclipse is related to two total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 139.

April 20, 2042 April 30, 2060

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "April 25–26, 2051 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2051 Apr 26" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2051 Apr 26". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 12 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. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 132
  7. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros