May 2004 lunar eclipse
A total lunar eclipse took place on May 4, 2004, the first of two total lunar eclipses in 2004, the second being on October 28, 2004.
Visibility
It was visible throughout most of Europe and Asia, eastern Africa, Indian Ocean and western South America including the Pacific Ocean. The eclipse seen in eastern Asia before sunrise and western South America after sunset. The eclipse was seen over and the Philippines at dawn. Mid Eclipse was visible during moonset in Eastern Australia.
Related lunar eclipses
Lunar year series
It is the third of four lunar year cycles, repeating every 354 days.
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros Photo |
Date View |
Type Chart |
Saros Photo |
Date View |
Type Chart | |
| 111 | 2002 May 26 |
penumbral |
116 | 2002 Nov 20 |
penumbral | |
121 |
2003 May 16 |
total |
126 |
2003 Nov 09 |
total | |
131 |
2004 May 04 |
total |
136 |
2004 Oct 28 |
total | |
141 |
2005 Apr 24 |
penumbral |
146 | 2005 Oct 17 |
partial | |
| Last set | 2002 Jun 24 | Last set | 2001 Dec 30 | |||
| Next set | 2006 Mar 14 | Next set | 2006 Sep 7 | |||
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 | |
| 1914 Mar 12 | 1932 Mar 22 | 1950 Apr 2 | |||
 |
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| 1968 Apr 13 | 1986 Apr 24 | 2004 May 4 | |||
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| 2022 May 16 | 2040 May 26 | 2058 Jun 6 | |||
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| 2076 Jun 17 | 2094 Jun 28 | ||||
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Metonic series
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.
| Ascending node | Descending node |
|---|---|
|
|
 |
 |
See also
- List of lunar eclipses and List of 21st-century lunar eclipses
- May 2003 lunar eclipse
- November 2003 lunar eclipse
- October 2004 lunar eclipse
Notes
External links
- NASA
- 2004 May 04 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
- APOD 2004 May 6, A Lunar Eclipse Mosaic, from Greece
- APOD 2004 May 8, Good Morning Sydney, Sydney Australia
- Photos
- Spaceweather.com: Lunar eclipse gallery
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lunar eclipse of 2004 May 4. |