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August 2008 lunar eclipse

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August 2008 lunar eclipse
Partial eclipse
Partiality as viewed from Cape Town, South Africa.
DateAugust 16, 2008
Gamma0.5646
Magnitude0.8095
Saros cycle138 (28 of 82)
Partiality188 minutes, 8 seconds
Penumbral330 minutes, 31 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P118:24:50
U119:36:05
Greatest21:10:06
U422:44:13
P423:55:21

A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Saturday, August 16, 2008,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 0.8095. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when one part of the Moon is in the Earth's umbra, while the other part is in 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 6.2 days before apogee (on August 10, 2008, at 16:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]

Visibility

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

The planet Neptune was 2 days past opposition, visible in binoculars as an 8th magnitude "star" just two degrees west and slightly south of the Moon.


Hourly motion shown right to left
The Moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation of Capricornus.

Visibility map

Images

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NASA chart of the eclipse
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Progression from Oslo, Norway

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]

August 16, 2008 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 1.83849
Umbral Magnitude 0.80946
Gamma 0.56463
Sun Right Ascension 09h46m37.2s
Sun Declination +13°24'18.2"
Sun Semi-Diameter 15'47.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7"
Moon Right Ascension 21h45m41.8s
Moon Declination -12°55'29.2"
Moon Semi-Diameter 15'21.1"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°56'20.6"
ΔT 65.7 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 August 2008
August 1
Descending node (new moon)
 August 16
Ascending node (full moon)
Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 126		 Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 138
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Eclipses in 2008

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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 138

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 2006–2009

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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 lunar eclipses on July 7, 2009 (penumbral) and December 31, 2009 (partial) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2006 to 2009
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
113
 2006 Mar 14
 Penumbral
 1.0211 118
 2006 Sep 7
 Partial
 −0.9262
123
 2007 Mar 03
 Total
 0.3175 128
 2007 Aug 28
 Total
 −0.2146
133
 2008 Feb 21
 Total
 −0.3992 138
 2008 Aug 16
 Partial
 0.5646
143
 2009 Feb 09
 Penumbral
 −1.0640 148
 2009 Aug 06
 Penumbral
 1.3572

Saros 138

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 138, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 82 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on October 15, 1521. It contains partial eclipses from June 24, 1918 through August 28, 2026; total eclipses from September 7, 2044 through June 8, 2495; and a second set of partial eclipses from June 19, 2513 through August 13, 2603. The series ends at member 82 as a penumbral eclipse on March 30, 2982.

The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 48 at 105 minutes, 24 seconds on March 24, 2369. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[6]

Greatest First
The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2369 Mar 24, lasting 105 minutes, 24 seconds.[7] Penumbral Partial Total Central
1521 Oct 15
 1918 Jun 24
 2044 Sep 07
 2116 Oct 21
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
2441 May 06
 2495 Jun 08
 2603 Aug 13
 2982 Mar 30

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.

Metonic series

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The Metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the Earth's shadow will in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.

Metonic lunar eclipse sets 1951–2027
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date Type Saros Date Type
103 1951 Feb 21.88 Penumbral 108 1951 Aug 17.13 Penumbral
113 1970 Feb 21.35 Partial 118 1970 Aug 17.14 Partial
123 1989 Feb 20.64 Total 128 1989 Aug 17.13 Total
133 2008 Feb 21.14 Total 138 2008 Aug 16.88 Partial
143 2027 Feb 20.96 Penumbral 148 2027 Aug 17.30 Penumbral

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 total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 145.

August 11, 1999 August 21, 2017

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "August 16–17, 2008 Partial Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2008 Aug 16" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2008 Aug 16". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 14 November 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 138". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  7. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 138
  8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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