April 1986 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse took place on April 24, 1986.

Visibility

It is seen rising over eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and western North America and South America, the eclipse is also seen setting over the whole of Europe, Africa and Western Asia. The eclipse was seen very visible over the Philippines, it becomes the first lunar eclipse after the EDSA Revolution since the two lunar eclipses happened between May 4, 1985 and October 28, 1985 and the second followed on October 17, 1986. It also followed on February 20, 1989.

It also followed the passage of Halley's comet in the same year.

Related lunar eclipses

Lunar year series

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1984-1987
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date
Viewing		 Type
Chart		 Saros Date
Viewing		 Type
Chart
111 1984 May 15
 Penumbral
 116 1984 Nov 08
 Penumbral
121 1985 May 04
 Total
 126 1985 Oct 28
 Total
131 1986 Apr 24
 Total
 136 1986 Oct 17
 Total
141 1987 Apr 14
 Penumbral
 146 1987 Oct 07
 Penumbral
Last set 1984 Jun 13 Last set 1983 Dec 20
Next set 1988 Mar 03 Next set 1988 Aug 27

Saros series

Lunar Saros series 131, has 72 lunar eclipses.

This eclipse series began in AD 1427 with a partial eclipse at the southern edge of the Earth's shadow when the Moon was close to its descending node. Each successive Saros cycle, the Moon's orbital path is shifted northward with respect to the Earth's shadow, with the first total eclipse occurring in 1950. For the following 252 years, total eclipses occur, with the central eclipse being predicted to occur in 2078. The first partial eclipse after this is predicted to occur in the year 2220, and the final partial eclipse of the series will occur in 2707. The total lifetime of the lunar Saros series 131 is 1280 years.

Because of the ⅓ fraction of days in a Saros cycle, the visibility of each eclipse will differ for an observer at a given fixed locale. For the lunar Saros series 131, the first total eclipse of 1950 had its best visibility for viewers in Eastern Europe and the Middle East because mid-eclipse was at 20:44 UT. The following eclipse in the series occurred approximately 8 hours later in the day with mid-eclipse at 4:47 UT, and was best seen from North America and South America. The third total eclipse occurred approximately 8 hours later in the day than the second eclipse with mid-eclipse at 12:43 UT, and had its best visibility for viewers in the Western Pacific, East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This cycle of visibility repeats from the initiation to termination of the series, with minor variations.

Greatest First

The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2094 Jun 28, lasting 102 minutes.[1]		 Penumbral Partial Total Central
1427 May 10 1553 July 25 1950 Apr 2 2022 May 16
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
2148 Jul 31 2202 Sep 3 2563 Apr 9 2707 Jul 7
1901–2100
1914 Mar 12 1932 Mar 22 1950 Apr 2
1968 Apr 13 1986 Apr 24 2004 May 4
2022 May 16 2040 May 26 2058 Jun 6
2076 Jun 17 2094 Jun 28

It is the third total lunar eclipse of the series. The next occurrence will be on May 4, 2004. The previous occurrence was April 13, 1968.

Metonic series

This eclipse is the third of four Metonic cycle lunar eclipses on the same date, April 23–24, each separated by 19 years:

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 lunar eclipse sets 1948–2005
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date Type Saros Date Type
111 1948 Apr 23 Partial 116 1948 Oct 18 Penumbral
121 1967 Apr 24 Total 126 1967 Oct 18 Total
131 1986 Apr 24 Total 136 1986 Oct 17 Total
141 2005 Apr 24 Penumbral 146 2005 Oct 17 Partial

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Listing of Eclipses of cycle 131

External links