May 1985 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse took place on Saturday, May 4, 1985, the first of two total lunar eclipses in 1985, the second being on October 28, 1985.

May 1985 lunar eclipse

Total eclipse
Date	4 May 1985
Gamma	0.35197
Magnitude	1.23687
Saros cycle	121 (54 of 84)
Totality	67 minutes, 41.5 seconds
Partiality	198 minutes, 57.6 seconds
Penumbral	310 minutes, 20.4 seconds
Contacts (UTC) P1 17:21:14.4 U1 18:16:54.8 U2 19:22:33.0 Greatest 19:56:24.1 U3 20:30:14.5 U4 21:35:52.4 P4 22:31:34.8

This lunar eclipse is the first of a tetrad, four total lunar eclipses in series. The last series was in 1967 and 1968, starting with an April 1967 lunar eclipse, while the next was in 2003 and 2004, starting with a May 2003 lunar eclipse.

Visibility

It is seen rising over the whole of Africa, Middle East, Europe and Asia. The eclipse was sighted over the Philippines at night. The second also followed on October 28, 1985.

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 1985

• A total lunar eclipse on May 4.
• A partial solar eclipse on May 19.
• A total lunar eclipse on October 28.
• A total solar eclipse on November 12.

Lunar year series

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1984–1987
Descending node					Ascending node
Saros	Date Viewing	Type Chart	Gamma		Saros	Date Viewing	Type Chart	Gamma
111	1984 May 15	Penumbral	1.11308		116	1984 Nov 08	Penumbral	−1.08998
121	1985 May 04	Total	0.35197		126	1985 Oct 28	Total	−0.40218
131	1986 Apr 24	Total	−0.36826		136	1986 Oct 17	Total	0.31887
141	1987 Apr 14	Penumbral	−1.13641		146	1987 Oct 07	Penumbral	1.01890
Last set	1984 Jun 13				Last set	1983 Dec 20
Next set	1988 Mar 03				Next set	1988 Aug 27

Metonic series

This eclipse is the second of four Metonic cycle lunar eclipses on the same date, May 4–5, 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 in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.

Metonic events: May 4 and October 28
Descending node	Ascending node
1966 May 4 - Penumbral (111) 1985 May 4 - Total (121) 2004 May 4 - Total (131) 2023 May 5 - Penumbral (141)	1966 Oct 29 - Penumbral (116) 1985 Oct 28 - Total (126) 2004 Oct 28 - Total (136) 2023 Oct 28 - Partial (146) 2042 Oct 28 - Penumbral (156)

Saros series

It is a member of Saros cycle 121.

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros). This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 128.

April 29, 1976	May 10, 1994

See also

• List of lunar eclipses
• List of 20th-century lunar eclipses

External links

• 1985 May 04 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC