A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, February 21, 1970,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 0.0464. 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 about 2.4 days after apogee (on February 18, 1970, at 23:05 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]
| Partial eclipse | |||||||||||||
 The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||
| Date | February 21, 1970 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.9620 | ||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 0.0464 | ||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 113 (61 of 71) | ||||||||||||
| Partiality | 52 minutes, 40 seconds | ||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 298 minutes, 32 seconds | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Visibility
editThe eclipse was completely visible over northeast Asia, North America, and northwestern South America, seen rising over east Asia and Australia and setting over much of South America, western Europe, and west Africa.[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 | 1.14027 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 0.04639 |
| Gamma | 0.96198 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 22h17m07.7s |
| Sun Declination | -10°39'28.9" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'10.2" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 10h18m43.4s |
| Moon Declination | +11°26'05.5" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 14'47.0" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°54'15.2" |
| ΔT | 40.3 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 21 Descending node (full moon) |
March 7 Ascending node (new moon) |
|---|---|
| |
|
| Partial lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 113 |
Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 139 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1970
edit- A partial lunar eclipse on February 21.
- A total solar eclipse on March 7.
- A partial lunar eclipse on August 17.
- An annular solar eclipse on August 31.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 4, 1966
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 10, 1973
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 9, 1963
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 1977
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 15, 1961
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 26, 1979
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 24, 1959
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 20, 1981
Lunar Saros 113
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 11, 1952
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 1988
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1941
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 31, 1999
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 22, 1883
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 22, 2056
Lunar eclipses of 1969–1973
edit| 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 series
editThis 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.
| 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
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 120.
| February 15, 1961 | February 26, 1979 |
|---|---|
|
|
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "February 20–21, 1970 Partial Lunar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 1970 Feb 21" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 1970 Feb 21". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
edit- 1970 Feb 21 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
 | This lunar eclipse-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |