April 1986 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Thursday, April 24, 1986, with an umbral magnitude of 1.2022. 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 1.25 days before perigee (on April 25, 1986, at 18:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

This lunar eclipse was the third of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on May 4, 1985; October 28, 1985; and October 17, 1986.

Visibility

The eclipse was completely visible over Australia, east and northeast Asia, Antarctica, and the western and central Pacific Ocean, seen rising over much of Asia and setting over North America and western South America.

Eclipse details

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.

Eclipse season

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.

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1986

• A partial solar eclipse on April 9.
• A total lunar eclipse on April 24.
• A hybrid solar eclipse on October 3.
• A total lunar eclipse on October 17.

Metonic

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 6, 1982
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 9, 1990

Tzolkinex

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1979
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 4, 1993

Half-Saros

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 18, 1977
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 29, 1995

Tritos

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 25, 1975
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 24, 1997

Lunar Saros 131

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 13, 1968
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of May 4, 2004

Inex

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 13, 1957
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 2015

Triad

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 23, 1899
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 22, 2073

Lunar eclipses of 1984–1987

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.

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

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.

Saros 131

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 131, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on May 10, 1427. It contains partial eclipses from July 25, 1553 through March 22, 1932; total eclipses from April 2, 1950 through September 3, 2202; and a second set of partial eclipses from September 13, 2220 through April 9, 2563. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on July 7, 2707.

The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 38 at 100 minutes, 36 seconds on June 28, 2094. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.

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

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.

Inex series

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros). This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 138.

See also

• List of lunar eclipses
• List of 20th-century lunar eclipses
• Blood Moon
• Orbit of the Moon

Notes

External links

• Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC