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April 1987 lunar eclipse

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April 1987 lunar eclipse
Penumbral eclipse
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
DateApril 14, 1987
Gamma−1.1364
Magnitude−0.2312
Saros cycle141 (22 of 73)
Penumbral234 minutes, 8 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P10:21:55
Greatest2:18:54
P44:16:03

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, April 14, 1987,[1] with an umbral magnitude of −0.2312. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when part or all of the Moon's near side passes into the Earth's penumbra. 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. Occurring about 4.6 days before perigee (on April 18, 1987, at 17:35 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]

Visibility

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The eclipse was completely visible over eastern North America, South America, western Europe, west and central Africa, and Antarctica, seen rising over western and central North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean and setting over east Africa, eastern Europe, and west, central, and south Asia.[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]

April 14, 1987 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 0.77703
Umbral Magnitude −0.23122
Gamma −1.13641
Sun Right Ascension 01h27m26.1s
Sun Declination +09°10'16.8"
Sun Semi-Diameter 15'56.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.8"
Moon Right Ascension 13h25m23.5s
Moon Declination -10°08'55.4"
Moon Semi-Diameter 15'49.1"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°58'03.2"
ΔT 55.4 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 1987
March 29
Ascending node (new moon)
 April 14
Descending node (full moon)
Hybrid solar eclipse
Solar Saros 129		 Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 141
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Eclipses in 1987

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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 141

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 1984–1987

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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 June 13, 1984 occurs in the previous lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1984 to 1987
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros Date
Viewing 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
111 1984 May 15
 Penumbral
 1.1131 116 1984 Nov 08
 Penumbral
 −1.0900
121 1985 May 04
 Total
 0.3520 126 1985 Oct 28
 Total
 −0.4022
131 1986 Apr 24
 Total
 −0.3683 136 1986 Oct 17
 Total
 0.3189
141 1987 Apr 14
 Penumbral
 −1.1364 146 1987 Oct 07
 Penumbral
 1.0189

Saros 141

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 141, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on August 25, 1608. It contains partial eclipses from May 16, 2041 through July 20, 2149; total eclipses from August 1, 2167 through May 1, 2618; and a second set of partial eclipses from May 12, 2636 through July 16, 2744. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on October 11, 2888.

The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 39 at 104 minutes, 36 seconds on October 16, 2293. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[6]

Greatest First
The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2293 Oct 16, lasting 104 minutes, 36 seconds.[7] Penumbral Partial Total Central
1608 Aug 25
 2041 May 16
 2167 Aug 01
 2221 Sep 02
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
2546 Mar 18
 2618 May 01
 2744 Jul 16
 2888 Oct 11

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 2183
1801 Sep 22
(Saros 124) 		1812 Aug 22
(Saros 125) 		1823 Jul 23
(Saros 126) 		1834 Jun 21
(Saros 127) 		1845 May 21
(Saros 128)
1856 Apr 20
(Saros 129) 		1867 Mar 20
(Saros 130) 		1878 Feb 17
(Saros 131) 		1889 Jan 17
(Saros 132) 		1899 Dec 17
(Saros 133)
1910 Nov 17
(Saros 134) 		1921 Oct 16
(Saros 135) 		1932 Sep 14
(Saros 136) 		1943 Aug 15
(Saros 137) 		1954 Jul 16
(Saros 138)
1965 Jun 14
(Saros 139) 		1976 May 13
(Saros 140) 		1987 Apr 14
(Saros 141) 		1998 Mar 13
(Saros 142) 		2009 Feb 09
(Saros 143)
2020 Jan 10
(Saros 144) 		2030 Dec 09
(Saros 145) 		2041 Nov 08
(Saros 146) 		2052 Oct 08
(Saros 147) 		2063 Sep 07
(Saros 148)
2074 Aug 07
(Saros 149) 		2085 Jul 07
(Saros 150) 		2096 Jun 06
(Saros 151) 		2107 May 07
(Saros 152)
2151 Jan 02
(Saros 156) 		2172 Oct 31
(Saros 158)
2183 Oct 01
(Saros 159)

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 partial solar eclipses of Solar Saros 148.

April 7, 1978 April 17, 1996

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "April 13–14, 1987 Penumbral Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1987 Apr 14" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1987 Apr 14". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 6 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 141". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  7. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 141
  8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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