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March 1978 lunar eclipse

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March 1978 lunar eclipse
Total eclipse
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
DateMarch 24, 1978
Gamma−0.2140
Magnitude1.4518
Saros cycle122 (54 of 75)
Totality90 minutes, 40 seconds
Partiality218 minutes, 33 seconds
Penumbral344 minutes, 56 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P113:29:51
U114:33:07
U215:37:03
Greatest16:22:22
U317:07:43
U418:11:40
P419:14:47

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Friday, March 24, 1978,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.4518. 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. The Moon's apparent diameter was near the average diameter because it occurred 7.1 days after apogee (on March 17, 1978, at 14:25 UTC) and 6.6 days before perigee (on March 31, 1978, at 5:45 UTC).[2]

Visibility

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The eclipse was completely visible over much of Asia and Australia, seen rising over Africa, Europe, and west and central Asia and setting over western North America and the central Pacific Ocean.[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]

March 24, 1978 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 2.47900
Umbral Magnitude 1.45179
Gamma −0.21402
Sun Right Ascension 00h13m28.3s
Sun Declination +01°27'32.7"
Sun Semi-Diameter 16'02.4"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.8"
Moon Right Ascension 12h13m13.4s
Moon Declination -01°39'13.7"
Moon Semi-Diameter 15'36.9"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°57'18.4"
ΔT 48.8 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 March–April 1978
March 24
Ascending node (full moon)
 April 7
Descending node (new moon)
Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 122		 Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 148
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Eclipses in 1978

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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 122

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 1977–1980

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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 July 27, 1980 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1977 to 1980
Ascending node   Descending node
Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
112 1977 Apr 04
 Partial
 −0.9148 117 1977 Sep 27
 Penumbral
 1.0768
122 1978 Mar 24
 Total
 −0.2140 127 1978 Sep 16
 Total
 0.2951
132 1979 Mar 13
 Partial
 0.5254 137 1979 Sep 06
 Total
 −0.4305
142 1980 Mar 01
 Penumbral
 1.2270 147 1980 Aug 26
 Penumbral
 −1.1608

Saros 122

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 122, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 74 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on August 14, 1022. It contains partial eclipses from April 10, 1419 through June 24, 1545; total eclipses from July 5, 1563 through May 6, 2050; and a second set of partial eclipses from May 17, 2068 through July 21, 2176. The series ends at member 74 as a penumbral eclipse on October 29, 2338.

The longest duration of totality was produced by member 39 at 100 minutes, 5 seconds on October 11, 1707. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[6]

Greatest First
The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1707 Oct 11, lasting 100 minutes, 5 seconds.[7] Penumbral Partial Total Central
1022 Aug 14
 1419 Apr 10
 1563 Jul 05
 1617 Aug 16
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
1996 Apr 04
 2050 May 06
 2176 Jul 21
 2338 Oct 29

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 1801 and 2200
1803 Aug 03
(Saros 106) 		1814 Jul 02
(Saros 107) 		1825 Jun 01
(Saros 108) 		1836 May 01
(Saros 109) 		1847 Mar 31
(Saros 110)
1858 Feb 27
(Saros 111) 		1869 Jan 28
(Saros 112) 		1879 Dec 28
(Saros 113) 		1890 Nov 26
(Saros 114) 		1901 Oct 27
(Saros 115)
1912 Sep 26
(Saros 116) 		1923 Aug 26
(Saros 117) 		1934 Jul 26
(Saros 118) 		1945 Jun 25
(Saros 119) 		1956 May 24
(Saros 120)
1967 Apr 24
(Saros 121) 		1978 Mar 24
(Saros 122) 		1989 Feb 20
(Saros 123) 		2000 Jan 21
(Saros 124) 		2010 Dec 21
(Saros 125)
2021 Nov 19
(Saros 126) 		2032 Oct 18
(Saros 127) 		2043 Sep 19
(Saros 128) 		2054 Aug 18
(Saros 129) 		2065 Jul 17
(Saros 130)
2076 Jun 17
(Saros 131) 		2087 May 17
(Saros 132) 		2098 Apr 15
(Saros 133) 		2109 Mar 17
(Saros 134) 		2120 Feb 14
(Saros 135)
2131 Jan 13
(Saros 136) 		2141 Dec 13
(Saros 137) 		2152 Nov 12
(Saros 138) 		2163 Oct 12
(Saros 139) 		2174 Sep 11
(Saros 140)
2185 Aug 11
(Saros 141) 		2196 Jul 10
(Saros 142)

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 129.

March 18, 1969 March 29, 1987

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "March 24–25, 1978 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1978 Mar 24" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1978 Mar 24". 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. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 122". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  7. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 122
  8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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