A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Thursday, March 12, 1914,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 0.9111. 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 only about 18 hours before perigee (on March 12, 1914, at 22:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
| Partial eclipse | |||||||||||||
 The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||
| Date | March 12, 1914 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −0.5254 | ||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 0.9111 | ||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 131 (28 of 72) | ||||||||||||
| Partiality | 181 minutes, 29 seconds | ||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 301 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Visibility
editThe eclipse was completely visible over North America, South America, and west Africa, seen rising over northwestern North America and the central Pacific Ocean and setting over much of Africa, Europe, and west and central Asia.[3]
|
Eclipse details
editShown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[4]
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Penumbral Magnitude | 1.87639 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 0.91108 |
| Gamma | −0.52543 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 23h26m01.9s |
| Sun Declination | -03°39'56.2" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'05.6" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.8" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 11h24m59.9s |
| Moon Declination | 03°11'46.2" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'40.3" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'11.2" |
| ΔT | 16.0 s |
Eclipse season
editThis 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 25 Ascending node (new moon) |
March 12 Descending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Annular solar eclipse Solar Saros 119 |
Partial lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 131 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1914
edit- An annular solar eclipse on February 25.
- A partial lunar eclipse on March 12.
- A total solar eclipse on August 21.
- A partial lunar eclipse on September 4.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 24, 1910
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 28, 1917
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 29, 1907
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 22, 1921
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 6, 1905
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 17, 1923
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 12, 1903
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 8, 1925
Lunar Saros 131
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 28, 1896
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 22, 1932
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 30, 1885
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 20, 1943
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 11, 1827
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 9, 2001
Lunar eclipses of 1912–1915
editThis section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2024) |
Saros 131
editLunar Saros series 131, has 72 lunar eclipses. Solar Saros 138 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.
This eclipse series began in AD 1427 with a partial eclipse at the southern edge of the Earth's shadow when the Moon was close to its descending node. Each successive Saros cycle, the Moon's orbital path is shifted northward with respect to the Earth's shadow, with the first total eclipse occurring in 1950. For the following 252 years, total eclipses occur, with the central eclipse being predicted to occur in 2078. The first partial eclipse after this is predicted to occur in the year 2220, and the final partial eclipse of the series will occur in 2707. The total lifetime of the lunar Saros series 131 is 1280 years. Solar Saros 138 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.
Because of the ⅓ fraction of days in a Saros cycle, the visibility of each eclipse will differ for an observer at a given fixed locale. For the lunar Saros series 131, the first total eclipse of 1950 had its best visibility for viewers in Eastern Europe and the Middle East because mid-eclipse was at 20:44 UT. The following eclipse in the series occurred approximately 8 hours later in the day with mid-eclipse at 4:47 UT, and was best seen from North America and South America. The third total eclipse occurred approximately 8 hours later in the day than the second eclipse with mid-eclipse at 12:43 UT, and had its best visibility for viewers in the Western Pacific, East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This cycle of visibility repeats from the initiation to termination of the series, with minor variations. Solar Saros 138 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.
Lunar Saros series 131, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, has a total of 72 lunar eclipse events including 57 umbral lunar eclipses (42 partial lunar eclipses and 15 total lunar eclipses). Solar Saros 138 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.
| Greatest | First | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2094 Jun 28, lasting 102 minutes.[5] |
Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| 1427 May 10 | 1553 July 25 | 1950 Apr 2 | 2022 May 16 | |
| Last | ||||
| Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral | |
| 2148 Jul 31 | 2202 Sep 3 | 2563 Apr 9 | 2707 Jul 7 | |
| 1914 Mar 12 | 1932 Mar 22 | 1950 Apr 2 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1968 Apr 13 | 1986 Apr 24 | 2004 May 4 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2022 May 16 | 2040 May 26 | 2058 Jun 6 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2076 Jun 17 | 2094 Jun 28 | ||||
|
|
|
| ||
Half-Saros cycle
editA lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[6] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 138.
| March 6, 1905 | March 17, 1923 |
|---|---|
|
|
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "March 11–12, 1914 Partial Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 1914 Mar 12" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 1914 Mar 12". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ Listing of Eclipses of cycle 131
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
edit- 1914 Mar 12 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC