November 1976 lunar eclipse

November 1976 lunar eclipse

Penumbral eclipse
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
Date	November 6, 1976
Gamma	−1.1276
Magnitude	−0.2593
Saros cycle	145 (9 of 71)
Penumbral	265 minutes, 47 seconds
Contacts (UTC) P1 20:48:18 Greatest 23:01:12 P4 1:14:05

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, November 6, 1976,[1] with an umbral magnitude of −0.2593. 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 only about 8 hours after apogee (on November 6, 1976, at 14:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]

Visibility

The eclipse was completely visible over Africa, Europe, and west and central Asia, seen rising over North and South America and setting over east, northeast, and south Asia and western Australia.[3]

Eclipse details

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

November 6, 1976 Lunar Eclipse Parameters

Parameter	Value
Penumbral Magnitude	0.83827
Umbral Magnitude	−0.25934
Gamma	−1.12760
Sun Right Ascension	14h48m49.1s
Sun Declination	-16°14'19.9"
Sun Semi-Diameter	16'08.5"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax	08.9"
Moon Right Ascension	02h49m39.2s
Moon Declination	+15°14'41.2"
Moon Semi-Diameter	14'42.3"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax	0°53'58.2"
ΔT	47.4 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 October–November 1976

October 23 Ascending node (new moon)	November 6 Descending node (full moon)
Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 133	Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 145

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1976

• An annular solar eclipse on April 29.
• A partial lunar eclipse on May 13.
• A total solar eclipse on October 23.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on November 6.

Metonic

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 18, 1973
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 26, 1980

Tzolkinex

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 25, 1969
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 20, 1983

Half-Saros

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 2, 1967
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 12, 1985

Tritos

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 8, 1965
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 7, 1987

Lunar Saros 145

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 27, 1958
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 18, 1994

Inex

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 28, 1947
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 17, 2005

Triad

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 6, 1890
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 7, 2063

Lunar eclipses of 1973–1976

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 January 18, 1973 and July 15, 1973 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1973 to 1976
Ascending node					Descending node
Saros	Date Viewing	Type Chart	Gamma		Saros	Date Viewing	Type Chart	Gamma
110	1973 Jun 15	Penumbral	−1.3217		115	1973 Dec 10	Partial	0.9644
120	1974 Jun 04	Partial	−0.5489		125	1974 Nov 29	Total	0.3054
130	1975 May 25	Total	0.2367		135	1975 Nov 18	Total	−0.4134
140	1976 May 13	Partial	0.9586		145	1976 Nov 06	Penumbral	−1.1276

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 total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 152.

November 2, 1967	November 12, 1985

See also

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

Notes

1. "November 6–7, 1976 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
2. "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
3. "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1976 Nov 06" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
4. "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1976 Nov 06". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 4 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

• 1976 Nov 06 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC