A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, September 5, 1960,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.4239. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 2.5 days after perigee (on September 2, 1960, at 22:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
 The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | September 5, 1960 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.2422 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.4239 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 127 (39 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 86 minutes, 40 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 210 minutes, 50 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 326 minutes, 44 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Visibility
editThe eclipse was completely visible over eastern Australia, northeast Asia, and northwestern North America, seen rising over western Australia and the eastern half of Asia and setting over North and South America.[3]
|
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 | 2.40311 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.42386 |
| Gamma | 0.24219 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 10h56m53.2s |
| Sun Declination | +06°43'28.1" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'52.0" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 22h56m36.4s |
| Moon Declination | -06°29'41.1" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'12.2" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°59'28.1" |
| ΔT | 33.5 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.
| September 5 Descending node (full moon) |
September 20 Ascending node (new moon) |
|---|---|
| |
|
| Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 127 |
Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 153 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1960
edit- A total lunar eclipse on March 13.
- A partial solar eclipse on March 27.
- A total lunar eclipse on September 5.
- A partial solar eclipse on September 20.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 18, 1956
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 25, 1964
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 26, 1953
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 18, 1967
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 1, 1951
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 11, 1969
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 7, 1949
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 6, 1971
Lunar Saros 127
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 26, 1942
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 16, 1978
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 26, 1931
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 17, 1989
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 4, 1873
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 7, 2047
Lunar eclipses of 1958–1962
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 lunar eclipses on May 3, 1958 (partial) and October 28, 1958 (penumbral) occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the penumbral lunar eclipse on July 17, 1962 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Lunar eclipse series sets from 1958 to 1962 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||||
| Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | |
| 102 | 1958 Apr 04
|
Penumbral
|
−1.5381 | |||||
| 112 | 1959 Mar 24
|
Partial
|
−0.8757 | 117 | 1959 Sep 17
|
Penumbral
|
1.0296 | |
| 122 | 1960 Mar 13
|
Total
|
−0.1799 | 127 | 1960 Sep 05
|
Total
|
0.2422 | |
| 132 | 1961 Mar 02
|
Partial
|
0.5541 | 137 | 1961 Aug 26
|
Partial
|
−0.4895 | |
| 142 | 1962 Feb 19
|
Penumbral
|
1.2512 | 147 | 1962 Aug 15
|
Penumbral
|
−1.2210 | |
Saros 127
editThis eclipse is a part of Saros series 127, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 9, 1275. It contains partial eclipses from November 4, 1473 through May 18, 1780; total eclipses from May 29, 1798 through November 9, 2068; and a second set of partial eclipses from November 20, 2086 through June 17, 2429. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on September 2, 2555.
The longest duration of totality was produced by member 35 at 101 minutes, 46 seconds on July 23, 1888. 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 1888 Jul 23, lasting 101 minutes, 46 seconds.[7] | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| 1275 Jul 09 |
1473 Nov 04 |
1798 May 29 |
1834 Jun 21 | |
| Last | ||||
| Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral | |
| 1960 Sep 05
|
2068 Nov 09
|
2429 Jun 17 |
2555 Sep 02 | |
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 31–52 occur between 1801 and 2200: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 32 | 33 | |||
| 1816 Jun 10 | 1834 Jun 21 | 1852 Jul 01 | |||
| 34 | 35 | 36 | |||
| 1870 Jul 12 | 1888 Jul 23 | 1906 Aug 04 | |||
|
| ||||
| 37 | 38 | 39 | |||
| 1924 Aug 14 | 1942 Aug 26 | 1960 Sep 05 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 40 | 41 | 42 | |||
| 1978 Sep 16 | 1996 Sep 27 | 2014 Oct 08 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 43 | 44 | 45 | |||
| 2032 Oct 18 | 2050 Oct 30 | 2068 Nov 09 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 46 | 47 | 48 | |||
| 2086 Nov 20 | 2104 Dec 02 | 2122 Dec 13 | |||
| 49 | 50 | 51 | |||
| 2140 Dec 23 | 2159 Jan 04 | 2177 Jan 14 | |||
| 52 | |||||
| 2195 Jan 26 | |||||
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 134.
| September 1, 1951 | September 11, 1969 |
|---|---|
|
|
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "September 4–5, 1960 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1960 Sep 05" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1960 Sep 05". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 29 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 127". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
- ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 127
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
edit- 1960 Sep 05 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
 | This lunar eclipse-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |