Total penumbral lunar eclipse

A total penumbral lunar eclipse is a lunar eclipse that occurs when the Moon becomes completely immersed in the penumbral cone of the Earth without touching the umbra.[1]

The penumbral lunar eclipse on March 14, 2006 was a total penumbral eclipse.

The path for the Moon to pass within the penumbra and outside the umbra is very narrow. It can only happen on the Earth's northern or southern penumbral edges. In addition, the size of the penumbra is sometimes too small where the Moon enters it to contain the Moon. The width of the Earth's penumbra is determined by the Sun's angular diameter at the time of the eclipse, and the Moon's angular diameter is larger than the Sun over part of its elliptical orbit, depending on whether the eclipse occurs at the nearest (perigee) or farthest point (apogee) in its orbit around the Earth. The majority of the time, the size of the Moon and the size of the Earth's penumbra where the Moon crosses it mean that most eclipses will not be total penumbral in nature.

Frequency

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Total penumbral eclipses constitute a relatively small fraction of lunar eclipses, and the distribution of these events is uneven, occurring between 0 and 9 times per century. The period of this variation is approximately 600 years and also correlates with the frequency of total umbral eclipses and tetrads.[1]

The maximum number in Fred's 5K canon[N 1] is eight for saros 19.[2] Saros 32 and 132 have seven.[3][4] Saros 58, 95, and 114 have six.[5][6][7]

Saros 114 is the only saros in the canon to have a total of seven total penumbral lunar eclipses that are not all in a row.[7] Likewise, saros 169 has five total penumbral eclipses, but only four of them occur consecutively.[8]

Saros series with multiple consecutive total penumbral eclipses

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This table summarizes which saros series contain four or more consecutive total penumbral eclipses.

Saros
series
Consecutive total
penumbral eclipses
-339 7[9]
-266 13[9]
-258 9[9]
-247 10[9]
-237 10[9]
-226 10[9]
-218 12[9]
-157 6[9]
-118 4[9]
-116 7[9]
-105 11[9]
-39 9[9]
-37 6[9]
-26 9[9]
19[N 1] 8[2]
32[N 1] 7[3]
58[N 1] 6[5]
95[N 1] 6[6]
114[N 1][N 2] 6[7]
132[N 1] 7[4]
169[N 1][N 3] 4[8]
187 5[9]
255 4[9]

Summary frequency of total penumbral, total umbral and tetrad events 501–2500

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The frequency of total penumbral lunar eclipses varies by century with the frequency of total umbral eclipses.
A tetrad is a set of four total umbral eclipses within two years.
Century Total
penumbral
Total
umbral
Tetrads
501–600 1 63 0
601–700 2 58 0
701–800 2 69 3
801–900 5 88 8
901–1000 3 78 6
1001–1100 3 62 0
1101–1200 0 60 0
1201–1300 1 60 0
1301–1400 8 77 6
1401–1500 4 83 4
1501–1600 2 76 6
1601–1700 2 61 0
1701–1800 0 60 0
1801–1900 2 62 0
1901–2000 9 81 5
2001–2100 5 84 7
2101–2200 5 69 4
2201–2300 1 61 0
2301–2400 0 60 0
2401–2500 6 69 4

List of total penumbral lunar eclipse events 1901–2200

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Ascending nodes Descending nodes
Saros Date Viewing Chart Saros Date Viewing Chart
110 1901 May 03    
114 1908 Dec 07    
114 1926 Dec 19    
114 1944 Dec 29    
116 1948 Oct 18    
114 1963 Jan 09    
114 1981 Jan 20     113 1988 Mar 03    
114 1999 Jan 31     113 2006 Mar 14    
119 2053 Aug 29  
142 2070 Apr 25    
120 2082 Aug 08    
148 2099 Sep 29    
145 2103 Jan 23
145 2121 Feb 02
145 2139 Feb 13

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Total penumbral lunar eclipses are indicated by the Nx eclipse type in Fred Espenak's Lunar Eclipse canon.
  2. ^ Saros 114 has seven total penumbral eclipses, but only six of them occur consecutively.
  3. ^ Saros 169 has five total penumbral eclipses, but only four of them occur consecutively.

References

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  1. ^ a b Meeus, Jean (1980). "Total Penumbral lunar eclipses, Jean Meeus, 1980" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 74: 291. Bibcode:1980JRASC..74..291M.
  2. ^ a b "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 19". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  3. ^ a b "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 32". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  4. ^ a b "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 132". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  5. ^ a b "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 58". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  6. ^ a b "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 95". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  7. ^ a b c "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 114". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  8. ^ a b "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 169". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p John Irwin (2017). "Consecutive penumbral total lunar eclipses". Archived from the original (PNG) on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2018-09-08. The dot color indicates the sign (positive/negative) of the eclipse gamma.