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May 1966 lunar eclipse

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May 1966 lunar eclipse
Penumbral eclipse
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
DateMay 4, 1966
Gamma1.0554
Magnitude−0.0727
Saros cycle111 (64 of 71)
Penumbral245 minutes, 57 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P119:08:27
Greatest21:11:29
P423:14:24

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Wednesday, May 4, 1966,[1] with an umbral magnitude of −0.0727. 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 2.75 days after perigee (on May 1, 1966, at 15:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]

Visibility

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The eclipse was completely visible over Africa, Europe, the western half of Asia, and Antarctica, seen rising over South America and the Atlantic Ocean and setting over east Asia and Australia.[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]

May 4, 1966 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 0.91576
Umbral Magnitude −0.07272
Gamma 1.05536
Sun Right Ascension 02h45m54.8s
Sun Declination +16°01'34.2"
Sun Semi-Diameter 15'51.5"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7"
Moon Right Ascension 14h47m34.9s
Moon Declination -15°04'18.1"
Moon Semi-Diameter 16'02.6"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°58'52.9"
ΔT 36.8 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 May 1966
May 4
Descending node (full moon)
 May 20
Ascending node (new moon)
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 111		 Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 137
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Eclipses in 1966

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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 111

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 1966–1969

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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 August 27, 1969 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1966 to 1969
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
111 1966 May 04
 Penumbral
 1.0554 116 1966 Oct 29
 Penumbral
 −1.0600
121 1967 Apr 24
 Total
 0.2972 126 1967 Oct 18
 Total
 −0.3653
131 1968 Apr 13
 Total
 −0.4173 136 1968 Oct 06
 Total
 0.3605
141 1969 Apr 02
 Penumbral
 −1.1765 146 1969 Sep 25
 Penumbral
 1.0656

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 events: May 4 and October 28
Descending node Ascending node
  1. 1966 May 4 - Penumbral (111)
  2. 1985 May 4 - Total (121)
  3. 2004 May 4 - Total (131)
  4. 2023 May 5 - Penumbral (141)
  1. 1966 Oct 29 - Penumbral (116)
  2. 1985 Oct 28 - Total (126)
  3. 2004 Oct 28 - Total (136)
  4. 2023 Oct 28 - Partial (146)
  5. 2042 Oct 28 - Penumbral (156)

Saros 111

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 111, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on June 10, 830 AD. It contains partial eclipses from September 14, 992 AD through April 8, 1335; total eclipses from April 19, 1353 through August 4, 1533; and a second set of partial eclipses from August 16, 1551 through April 23, 1948. The series ends at member 71 as a penumbral eclipse on July 19, 2092.

The longest duration of totality was produced by member 35 at 106 minutes, 14 seconds on June 12, 1443. 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 1443 Jun 12, lasting 106 minutes, 14 seconds.[7] Penumbral Partial Total Central
830 Jun 10
 992 Sep 14
 1353 Apr 19
 1389 May 10
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
1497 Jul 14
 1533 Aug 04
 1948 Apr 23
 2092 Jul 19

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 1835 and 2200
1835 May 12
(Saros 99) 		1846 Apr 11
(Saros 100) 		1868 Feb 08
(Saros 102) 		1879 Jan 08
(Saros 103)
1933 Aug 05
(Saros 108)
1944 Jul 06
(Saros 109) 		1955 Jun 05
(Saros 110) 		1966 May 04
(Saros 111) 		1977 Apr 04
(Saros 112) 		1988 Mar 03
(Saros 113)
1999 Jan 31
(Saros 114) 		2009 Dec 31
(Saros 115) 		2020 Nov 30
(Saros 116) 		2031 Oct 30
(Saros 117) 		2042 Sep 29
(Saros 118)
2053 Aug 29
(Saros 119) 		2064 Jul 28
(Saros 120) 		2075 Jun 28
(Saros 121) 		2086 May 28
(Saros 122) 		2097 Apr 26
(Saros 123)
2108 Mar 27
(Saros 124) 		2119 Feb 25
(Saros 125) 		2130 Jan 24
(Saros 126) 		2140 Dec 23
(Saros 127) 		2151 Nov 24
(Saros 128)
2162 Oct 23
(Saros 129) 		2173 Sep 21
(Saros 130) 		2184 Aug 21
(Saros 131) 		2195 Jul 22
(Saros 132)

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 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 118.

April 30, 1957 May 11, 1975

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "May 4–5, 1966 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1966 May 04" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1966 May 04". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 2 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. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 111". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  7. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 111
  8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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