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May 2003 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Friday, May 16, 2003,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.1294. 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 only about 15 hours after perigee (on May 15, 2003, at 11:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]

May 2003 lunar eclipse
Total eclipse
Totality as viewed from Minneapolis, MN, 3:17 UTC
DateMay 16, 2003
Gamma0.4123
Magnitude1.1294
Saros cycle121 (54 of 82)
Totality51 minutes, 12 seconds
Partiality193 minutes, 53 seconds
Penumbral306 minutes, 31 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P11:06:53
U12:03:11
U23:14:26
Greatest3:40:09
U34:05:51
U45:17:05
P46:13:24

This lunar eclipse marks the beginning of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on November 9, 2003; May 4, 2004; and October 28, 2004. The previous series was in 1985 and 1986, starting with the May 1985 lunar eclipse. The next series was in 2014 and 2015, starting with the April 2014 lunar eclipse.

Visibility

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The eclipse was completely visible over eastern North America, South America, the Caribbean, Antarctica, and west Africa, seen rising over western North America and the Pacific Ocean and setting over Europe, west Asia, and much of Africa.[3]

   
Hourly motion shown right to left
 
The moon's path across the Earth's shadow near its descending node in Libra.
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  •  
    Wide Angle view from Minneapolis at 3:35 UTC, near greatest eclipse

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]

May 16, 2003 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 2.07649
Umbral Magnitude 1.12938
Gamma 0.41234
Sun Right Ascension 03h30m07.2s
Sun Declination 18°59'20.2"
Sun Semi-Diameter 15'49.2"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7"
Moon Right Ascension 15h30m43.0s
Moon Declination -18°35'31.7"
Moon Semi-Diameter 16'42.2"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'18.2"
ΔT 64.4 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 May 2003
May 16
Descending node (full moon)
 May 31
Ascending node (new moon)
   
Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 121		 Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 147
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Eclipses in 2003

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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 121

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Inex

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Triad

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Lunar eclipses of 2002–2005

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Lunar eclipse series sets from 2002–2005
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros
Photo 		Date
View 		Type
Chart 		Gamma Saros
Photo 		Date
View 		Type
Chart 		Gamma
111 2002 May 26
  		penumbral
  		1.1759 116 2002 Nov 20
  		penumbral
  		−1.1127
121
  		2003 May 16
  		total
  		0.4123 126
  		2003 Nov 09
  		total
  		−0.4319
131
  		2004 May 04
  		total
  		−0.3132 136
  		2004 Oct 28
  		total
  		0.2846
141 2005 Apr 24
  		penumbral
  		−1.0885 146
  		2005 Oct 17
  		partial
  		0.9796
Last set 2002 Jun 24 Last set 2001 Dec 30
Next set 2006 Mar 14 Next set 2006 Sep 07


Metonic series

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This eclipse is the second of four Metonic cycle lunar eclipses on the same date, 15–16 May, each separated by 19 years.

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. 1984 May 15.19 - penumbral (111)
  2. 2003 May 16.15 - total (121)
  3. 2022 May 16.17 - total (131)
  4. 2041 May 16.03 - penumbral (141)
  1. 1984 Nov 08.75 - penumbral (116)
  2. 2003 Nov 09.05 - total (126)
  3. 2022 Nov 08.46 - total (136)
  4. 2041 Nov 08.19 - partial (146)
  5. 2060 Nov 08.17 - penumbral (156)
   

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).[5] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 128.

May 10, 1994 May 20, 2012
   

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "May 15–16, 2003 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2003 May 16" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2003 May 16". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  5. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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