February 1970 lunar eclipse
| Partial eclipse | |||||||||||||
 The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||
| Date | February 21, 1970 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.9620 | ||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 0.0464 | ||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 113 (61 of 71) | ||||||||||||
| Partiality | 52 minutes, 40 seconds | ||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 298 minutes, 32 seconds | ||||||||||||
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A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, February 21, 1970,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 0.0464. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when one part of the Moon is in the Earth's umbra, while the other part is in 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 2.4 days after apogee (on February 18, 1970, at 23:05 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]
Visibility
[edit]The eclipse was completely visible over northeast Asia, North America, and northwestern South America, seen rising over east Asia and Australia and setting over much of South America, western Europe, and west Africa.[3]
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Eclipse details
[edit]Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[4]
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Penumbral Magnitude | 1.14027 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 0.04639 |
| Gamma | 0.96198 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 22h17m07.7s |
| Sun Declination | -10°39'28.9" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'10.2" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 10h18m43.4s |
| Moon Declination | +11°26'05.5" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 14'47.0" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°54'15.2" |
| ΔT | 40.3 s |
Eclipse season
[edit]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.
| February 21 Descending node (full moon) |
March 7 Ascending node (new moon) |
|---|---|
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| Partial lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 113 |
Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 139 |
Related eclipses
[edit]Eclipses in 1970
[edit]- A partial lunar eclipse on February 21.
- A total solar eclipse on March 7.
- A partial lunar eclipse on August 17.
- An annular solar eclipse on August 31.
Metonic
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 4, 1966
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 10, 1973
Tzolkinex
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 9, 1963
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 1977
Half-Saros
[edit]- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 15, 1961
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 26, 1979
Tritos
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 24, 1959
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 20, 1981
Lunar Saros 113
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 11, 1952
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 1988
Inex
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1941
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 31, 1999
Triad
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 22, 1883
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 22, 2056
Lunar eclipses of 1969–1973
[edit]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 eclipses on April 2, 1969 and September 25, 1969 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the lunar eclipses on June 15, 1973 (penumbral) and December 10, 1973 (partial) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Lunar eclipse series sets from 1969 to 1973 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||||
| Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | |
| 108 | 1969 Aug 27
|
Penumbral
|
−1.5407 | 113 | 1970 Feb 21
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Partial
|
0.9620 | |
| 118 | 1970 Aug 17
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Partial
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−0.8053 | 123 | 1971 Feb 10
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Total
|
0.2741 | |
| 128 | 1971 Aug 06
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Total
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−0.0794 | 133 | 1972 Jan 30
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Total
|
−0.4273 | |
| 138 | 1972 Jul 26
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Partial
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0.7117 | 143 | 1973 Jan 18
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Penumbral
|
−1.0845 | |
| 148 | 1973 Jul 15
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Penumbral
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1.5178 | |||||
Metonic series
[edit]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.
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Date | Type | Saros | Date | Type | |
| 103 | 1951 Feb 21.88 | Penumbral | 108 | 1951 Aug 17.13 | Penumbral | |
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| 113 | 1970 Feb 21.35 | Partial | 118 | 1970 Aug 17.14 | Partial | |
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| 123 | 1989 Feb 20.64 | Total | 128 | 1989 Aug 17.13 | Total | |
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| 133 | 2008 Feb 21.14 | Total | 138 | 2008 Aug 16.88 | Partial | |
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| 143 | 2027 Feb 20.96 | Penumbral | 148 | 2027 Aug 17.30 | Penumbral | |
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Saros 113
[edit]This eclipse is a part of Saros series 113, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on April 29, 888 AD. It contains partial eclipses from July 14, 1014 through March 10, 1411; total eclipses from March 20, 1429 through August 7, 1645; and a second set of partial eclipses from August 18, 1663 through February 21, 1970. The series ends at member 71 as a penumbral eclipse on June 10, 2150.
The longest duration of totality was produced by member 38 at 103 minutes, 6 seconds on June 5, 1555. 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 1555 Jun 05, lasting 103 minutes, 6 seconds.[7] | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| 888 Apr 29 |
1014 Jul 14 |
1429 Mar 20 |
1483 Apr 22 | |
| Last | ||||
| Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral | |
| 1609 Jul 16 |
1645 Aug 07 |
1970 Feb 21
|
2150 Jun 10 | |
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.
| Series members 52–71 occur between 1801 and 2150: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 53 | 54 | |||
| 1807 Nov 15 | 1825 Nov 25 | 1843 Dec 07 | |||
| 55 | 56 | 57 | |||
| 1861 Dec 17 | 1879 Dec 28 | 1898 Jan 08 | |||
| 58 | 59 | 60 | |||
| 1916 Jan 20 | 1934 Jan 30 | 1952 Feb 11 | |||
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| 61 | 62 | 63 | |||
| 1970 Feb 21 | 1988 Mar 03 | 2006 Mar 14 | |||
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| 64 | 65 | 66 | |||
| 2024 Mar 25 | 2042 Apr 05 | 2060 Apr 15 | |||
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| 67 | 68 | 69 | |||
| 2078 Apr 27 | 2096 May 07 | 2114 May 19 | |||
| 70 | 71 | ||||
| 2132 May 30 | 2150 Jun 10 | ||||
Tritos series
[edit]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 1817 and 2200 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1817 May 01 (Saros 99) |
1828 Mar 31 (Saros 100) |
1839 Feb 28 (Saros 101) |
1850 Jan 28 (Saros 102) |
1860 Dec 28 (Saros 103) | |||||
| 1893 Sep 25 (Saros 106) |
1915 Jul 26 (Saros 108) | ||||||||
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| 1926 Jun 25 (Saros 109) |
1937 May 25 (Saros 110) |
1948 Apr 23 (Saros 111) |
1959 Mar 24 (Saros 112) |
1970 Feb 21 (Saros 113) | |||||
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| 1981 Jan 20 (Saros 114) |
1991 Dec 21 (Saros 115) |
2002 Nov 20 (Saros 116) |
2013 Oct 18 (Saros 117) |
2024 Sep 18 (Saros 118) | |||||
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| 2035 Aug 19 (Saros 119) |
2046 Jul 18 (Saros 120) |
2057 Jun 17 (Saros 121) |
2068 May 17 (Saros 122) |
2079 Apr 16 (Saros 123) | |||||
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| 2090 Mar 15 (Saros 124) |
2101 Feb 14 (Saros 125) |
2112 Jan 14 (Saros 126) |
2122 Dec 13 (Saros 127) |
2133 Nov 12 (Saros 128) | |||||
| 2144 Oct 11 (Saros 129) |
2155 Sep 11 (Saros 130) |
2166 Aug 11 (Saros 131) |
2177 Jul 11 (Saros 132) |
2188 Jun 09 (Saros 133) | |||||
| 2199 May 10 (Saros 134) | |||||||||
Half-Saros cycle
[edit]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 120.
| February 15, 1961 | February 26, 1979 |
|---|---|
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See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "February 20–21, 1970 Partial Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 1970 Feb 21" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 1970 Feb 21". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 113". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
- ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 113
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
[edit]- 1970 Feb 21 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
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