A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Sunday, April 2, 1950,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.0329. 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 only about 23 hours before perigee (on April 3, 1950, at 20:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
 The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | April 2, 1950 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −0.4599 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.0329 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 131 (30 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 26 minutes, 54 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 189 minutes, 35 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 306 minutes, 32 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
This lunar eclipse was the third of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on April 13, 1949; October 7, 1949; and September 26, 1950.
This was the first total lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 131.
Visibility
editThe eclipse was completely visible over much of Africa, Europe, and the western half of Asia, seen rising over South America and setting over east and northeast Asia and Australia.[3]
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Eclipse details
editShown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[4]
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Penumbral Magnitude | 1.99513 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.03288 |
| Gamma | −0.45987 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 00h46m07.6s |
| Sun Declination | +04°57'20.0" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'59.8" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.8" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 12h45m13.6s |
| Moon Declination | -05°21'58.0" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'37.5" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'00.8" |
| ΔT | 29.2 s |
Eclipse season
editThis 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.
| March 18 Ascending node (new moon) |
April 2 Descending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Annular solar eclipse Solar Saros 119 |
Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 131 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1950
edit- An annular solar eclipse on March 18.
- A total lunar eclipse on April 2.
- A total solar eclipse on September 12.
- A total lunar eclipse on September 26.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 14, 1946
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 19, 1954
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 20, 1943
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of May 13, 1957
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 27, 1941
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 8, 1959
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 3, 1939
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 2, 1961
Lunar Saros 131
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 22, 1932
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 13, 1968
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 22, 1921
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1979
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 1, 1863
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 31, 2037
Lunar eclipses of 1948–1951
editThis 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 February 21, 1951 and August 17, 1951 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Lunar eclipse series sets from 1948 to 1951 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||||
| Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | |
| 111 | 1948 Apr 23
|
Partial
|
1.0017 | 116 | 1948 Oct 18
|
Penumbral
|
−1.0245 | |
| 121 | 1949 Apr 13
|
Total
|
0.2474 | 126 | 1949 Oct 07
|
Total
|
−0.3219 | |
| 131 | 1950 Apr 02
|
Total
|
−0.4599 | 136 | 1950 Sep 26
|
Total
|
0.4101 | |
| 141 | 1951 Mar 23
|
Penumbral
|
−1.2099 | 146 | 1951 Sep 15
|
Penumbral
|
1.1187 | |
Saros 131
editThis eclipse is a part of Saros series 131, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 10, 1427. It contains partial eclipses from July 25, 1553 through March 22, 1932; total eclipses from April 2, 1950 through September 3, 2202; and a second set of partial eclipses from September 13, 2220 through April 9, 2563. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on July 7, 2707.
The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 38 at 100 minutes, 36 seconds on June 28, 2094. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[6]
| Greatest | First | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2094 Jun 28, lasting 100 minutes, 36 seconds.[7] |
Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| 1427 May 10 |
1553 Jul 25 |
1950 Apr 02
|
2022 May 16
| |
| Last | ||||
| Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral | |
| 2148 Jul 31 |
2202 Sep 03 |
2563 Apr 09 |
2707 Jul 07 | |
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.
| Series members 22–43 occur between 1801 and 2200: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 23 | 24 | |||
| 1806 Jan 05 | 1824 Jan 16 | 1842 Jan 26 | |||
| 25 | 26 | 27 | |||
| 1860 Feb 07 | 1878 Feb 17 | 1896 Feb 28 | |||
| 28 | 29 | 30 | |||
| 1914 Mar 12 | 1932 Mar 22 | 1950 Apr 02 | |||
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| 31 | 32 | 33 | |||
| 1968 Apr 13 | 1986 Apr 24 | 2004 May 04 | |||
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| 34 | 35 | 36 | |||
| 2022 May 16 | 2040 May 26 | 2058 Jun 06 | |||
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| 37 | 38 | 39 | |||
| 2076 Jun 17 | 2094 Jun 28 | 2112 Jul 09 | |||
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| 40 | 41 | 42 | |||
| 2130 Jul 21 | 2148 Jul 31 | 2166 Aug 11 | |||
| 43 | |||||
| 2184 Aug 21 | |||||
Half-Saros cycle
editA 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 138.
| March 27, 1941 | April 8, 1959 |
|---|---|
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See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "April 2–3, 1950 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1950 Apr 02" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1950 Apr 02". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 131". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
- ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 131
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
edit- 1950 Apr 02 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
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