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]
Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
Date | March 3, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||
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Gamma | 0.3175 | ||||||||||||||||
Magnitude | 1.2347 | ||||||||||||||||
Saros cycle | 123 (52 of 73) | ||||||||||||||||
Totality | 73 minutes, 21 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
Partiality | 221 minutes, 4 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
Penumbral | 365 minutes, 26 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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Visibility
editThe 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
editGallery
edit From Leeds, England. | |
Stevenage, England | |
From Madrid, Spain | |
From Degania A, Israel. | |
Persian Gulf |
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From Kirchberg, St. Gallen, 23:30 UTC
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From Huddersfield, UK, 23:52 UTC
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From Augsburg, Germany, 23:53 UTC
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From Huddersfield, UK, 0:01 UTC
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From Kirchberg, St. Gallen, 0:15 UTC
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From Cambridge, UK
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Timelapse movie in Bülach, Switzerland
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Timelapse movie in Belfort, France
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Humacao, Puerto Rico, 07:43 EST
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Humacao, Puerto Rico, 08:30:16 EST
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 | 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
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.
March 3 Descending node (full moon) |
March 19 Ascending node (new moon) |
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Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 123 |
Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 149 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 2007
edit- A total lunar eclipse on March 3.
- A partial solar eclipse on March 19.
- A total lunar eclipse on August 28.
- A partial solar eclipse on September 11.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 16, 2003
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 21, 2010
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 21, 2000
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 15, 2014
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 26, 1998
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 1996
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 31, 2018
Lunar Saros 123
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 20, 1989
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 14, 2025
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 24, 1978
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 11, 2036
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 3, 1920
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 1, 2094
Lunar eclipses of 2006–2009
editLunar eclipse series sets from 2006–2009 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Descending node | Ascending node | |||||||
Saros # and photo |
Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | Saros # and photo |
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 | |
Last set | 2005 Apr 24 | Last set | 2005 Oct 17 | |||||
Next set | 2009 Dec 31 | Next set | 2009 Jul 07 |
Metonic series
editThe 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.
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Saros 123
editLunar saros series 123, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, has 25 total lunar eclipses. The first total lunar eclipse of this series was on July 16, 1628, and last will be on April 4, 2061. The two longest occurrence of this series were on September 20, 1736 and October 1, 1754 when totality lasted 106 minutes.
It last occurred on 20 February 1989 and will next occur on 14 March 2025.
Half-Saros cycle
editA 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 total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 130.
February 26, 1998 | March 9, 2016 |
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See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "March 3–4, 2007 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2007 Mar 03" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 2007 Mar 03". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
edit- 2007 Mar 03 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
- Hermit eclipse: Total lunar eclipse: March 3, 2007
- NASA Saros series 123
- Photos
- Photos from the Netherlands lunar eclipse 3 March
- Flickr: Lunar Eclipse 3/3/2007: pictures of the eclipse, many of which CC-licensed, from Flickr members
- Live webcast of the total lunar eclipse 3/4 March 2007 by Astronet (The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain)
- Video of the March 3, 2007 eclipse as seen from the UK
- Lunar Eclipse 3/3/2007 Archived 7 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Animated sequence
- photo