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March 2007 lunar eclipse

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March 2007 lunar eclipse
Total eclipse
Totality as viewed from Denmark, 23:31 UTC
DateMarch 3, 2007
Gamma0.3175
Magnitude1.2347
Saros cycle123 (52 of 73)
Totality73 minutes, 21 seconds
Partiality221 minutes, 4 seconds
Penumbral365 minutes, 26 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P120:18:11
U121:30:20
U222:44:12
Greatest23:20:53
U323:57:33
U401:11:24
P402:23:37

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, March 3, 2007,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.2347. 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. Occurring about 2.9 days before apogee (on March 6, 2007, at 22:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]

Visibility

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The eclipse was completely visible over Africa, Europe, and west Asia, seen rising over much of North and South America and setting over much of Asia and Australia.[3]


Hourly motion shown right to left

The Moon's hourly motion across the Earth's shadow in the constellation of Leo.

Visibility map

Images

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NASA chart of the eclipse
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Collages

From Leeds, England.

Stevenage, England

From Madrid, Spain

From Degania A, Israel.

Persian Gulf

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 3, 2007 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 2.32076
Umbral Magnitude 1.23474
Gamma 0.31749
Sun Right Ascension 22h57m19.2s
Sun Declination -06°40'46.3"
Sun Semi-Diameter 16'08.0"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9"
Moon Right Ascension 10h57m52.2s
Moon Declination +06°56'00.7"
Moon Semi-Diameter 14'51.3"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°54'31.1"
ΔT 65.2 s

Eclipse season

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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 2007
March 3
Descending node (full moon)
March 19
Ascending node (new moon)
Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 123
Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 149
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Eclipses in 2007

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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 123

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 2006–2009

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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 lunar eclipses on July 7, 2009 (penumbral) and December 31, 2009 (partial) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2006 to 2009
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date
Viewing
Type
Chart
Gamma Saros Date
Viewing
Type
Chart
Gamma
113
2006 Mar 14
Penumbral
1.0211 118
2006 Sep 7
Partial
−0.9262
123
2007 Mar 03
Total
0.3175 128
2007 Aug 28
Total
−0.2146
133
2008 Feb 21
Total
−0.3992 138
2008 Aug 16
Partial
0.5646
143
2009 Feb 09
Penumbral
−1.0640 148
2009 Aug 06
Penumbral
1.3572

Metonic series

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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 be in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.

  1. 1988 Mar 03.675 – Partial (113)
  2. 2007 Mar 03.972 – Total (123)
  3. 2026 Mar 03.481 – Total (133)
  4. 2045 Mar 03.320 – Penumbral (143)
  1. 1988 Aug 27.461 – partial (118)
  2. 2007 Aug 28.442 – total (128)
  3. 2026 Aug 28.175 – partial (138)
  4. 2045 Aug 27.578 – penumbral (148)

Saros 123

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 123, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on August 16, 1087. It contains partial eclipses from May 2, 1520 through July 6, 1610; total eclipses from July 16, 1628 through April 4, 2061; and a second set of partial eclipses from April 16, 2079 through July 2, 2205. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on October 8, 2367.

The longest duration of totality was produced by member 37 at 105 minutes, 58 seconds on September 20, 1736. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[6]

Greatest First
The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1736 Sep 20, lasting 105 minutes, 58 seconds.[7] Penumbral Partial Total Central
1087 Aug 16
1520 May 02
1628 Jul 16
1682 Aug 18
Last
Central Total Partial Penumbral
1953 Jan 29
2061 Apr 04
2205 Jul 02
2367 Oct 08

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
1810 Sep 13
(Saros 105)
1821 Aug 13
(Saros 106)
1832 Jul 12
(Saros 107)
1843 Jun 12
(Saros 108)
1854 May 12
(Saros 109)
1865 Apr 11
(Saros 110)
1876 Mar 10
(Saros 111)
1887 Feb 08
(Saros 112)
1898 Jan 08
(Saros 113)
1908 Dec 07
(Saros 114)
1919 Nov 07
(Saros 115)
1930 Oct 07
(Saros 116)
1941 Sep 05
(Saros 117)
1952 Aug 05
(Saros 118)
1963 Jul 06
(Saros 119)
1974 Jun 04
(Saros 120)
1985 May 04
(Saros 121)
1996 Apr 04
(Saros 122)
2007 Mar 03
(Saros 123)
2018 Jan 31
(Saros 124)
2028 Dec 31
(Saros 125)
2039 Nov 30
(Saros 126)
2050 Oct 30
(Saros 127)
2061 Sep 29
(Saros 128)
2072 Aug 28
(Saros 129)
2083 Jul 29
(Saros 130)
2094 Jun 28
(Saros 131)
2105 May 28
(Saros 132)
2116 Apr 27
(Saros 133)
2127 Mar 28
(Saros 134)
2138 Feb 24
(Saros 135)
2149 Jan 23
(Saros 136)
2159 Dec 24
(Saros 137)
2170 Nov 23
(Saros 138)
2181 Oct 22
(Saros 139)
2192 Sep 21
(Saros 140)

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 total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 130.

February 26, 1998 March 9, 2016

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "March 3–4, 2007 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2007 Mar 03" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2007 Mar 03". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  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 123". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
  7. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 123
  8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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