August 1970 lunar eclipse

A partial lunar eclipse took place on Monday, August 17, 1970, the second of two lunar eclipses in 1970, the first was on February 21 of that year. The Earth's shadow on the Moon was clearly visible in this eclipse, with 41% of the Moon in shadow; the partial eclipse lasted for 2 hours and 11 minutes. It was the second of two lunar eclipses in 1970.[1]

August 1970 lunar eclipse
Partial eclipse
Date17 August 1970
Gamma−0.80534
Magnitude0.40797
Saros cycle118 (49 of 74)
Partiality131 minutes, 22.5 seconds
Penumbral270 minutes, 41.5 seconds
Contacts (UTC)
P101:08:04.9
U102:17:44.6
Greatest03:23:25.6
U404:29:07.1
P405:38:46.4

More details about the Partial Lunar Eclipse of 17 August 1970.

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Penumbral Magnitude: 1.35215

Umbral Magnitude: 0.40797

Gamma: -0.80534

Date: Monday, 17 August 1970

Saros Series: 118th (49 of 73)

Greatest Eclipse: 1970 August 17 at 03:23:25.6 UTC

Sun Right Ascension: 9.74

Sun Declination: 13.6

Sun Diameter: 1895.8 arc-seconds

Moon Right Ascension: 21.77

Moon Declination: -14.3

Moon Diameter: 2007.8 arc-seconds

The total duration of the eclipse was 4 hours, 31 minutes.

The duration of the partial eclipse was 2 hours, 11 minutes.

Visibility

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Relation to other lunar eclipses

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Lunar year series

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Lunar eclipse series sets from 1969–1973
Ascending node   Descending node
Saros Date
Viewing
Type
Chart
Gamma Saros Date
Viewing
Type
Chart
Gamma
108 1969 Aug 27
 
Penumbral
 
−1.54066 113 1970 Feb 21
 
Partial
 
0.96198
118 1970 Aug 17
 
Partial
 
−0.80534 123 1971 Feb 10
 
Total
 
0.27413
128 1971 Aug 06
 
Total
 
−0.07944 133 1972 Jan 30
 
Total
 
−0.42729
138 1972 Jul 26
 
Partial
 
0.71167 143 1973 Jan 18
 
Penumbral
 
−1.08446
148 1973 Jul 15
 
Penumbral
 
1.51782
Last set 1969 Sep 25 Last set 1969 Apr 02
Next set 1973 Jun 15 Next set 1973 Dec 10

Metonic cycle

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This is the third of five Metonic lunar eclipses.

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.

Metonic lunar eclipse sets 1951–2027
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Date Type Saros Date Type
103 1951 Feb 21.88 Penumbral 108 1951 Aug 17.13 Penumbral
   
113 1970 Feb 21.35 Partial 118 1970 Aug 17.14 Partial
   
123 1989 Feb 20.64 Total 128 1989 Aug 17.13 Total
   
133 2008 Feb 21.14 Total 138 2008 Aug 16.88 Partial
   
143 2027 Feb 20.96 Penumbral 148 2027 Aug 17.30 Penumbral
   

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).[2] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 125.

August 11, 1961 August 22, 1979
   

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Saros series 118
  2. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
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