A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, November 7, 1938,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.3525. 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 3.2 days before perigee (on November 11, 1938, at 3:25 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
 The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | November 7, 1938 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.2739 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.3525 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 125 (44 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 81 minutes, 26 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 210 minutes, 11 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 331 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
This lunar eclipse was the second of an almost tetrad, with the others being on May 14, 1938 (total); May 3, 1939 (total); and October 28, 1939 (partial).
Visibility
editThe eclipse was completely visible over Africa, Europe, and west and central Asia, seen rising over North and South America and setting over east Asia and western Australia.[3]
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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 | 2.35850 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.35251 |
| Gamma | 0.27386 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 14h49m34.6s |
| Sun Declination | -16°17'56.2" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'08.6" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 02h49m21.3s |
| Moon Declination | +16°33'44.7" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'02.9" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°58'53.8" |
| ΔT | 24.1 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.
| November 7 Descending node (full moon) |
November 21 Ascending node (new moon) |
|---|---|
| |
|
| Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 125 |
Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 151 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1938
edit- A total lunar eclipse on May 14.
- A total solar eclipse on May 29.
- A total lunar eclipse on November 7.
- A partial solar eclipse on November 21.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 19, 1935
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 26, 1942
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 26, 1931
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 19, 1945
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 1, 1929
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 12, 1947
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 8, 1927
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 7, 1949
Lunar Saros 125
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 27, 1920
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 18, 1956
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 27, 1909
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 18, 1967
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 7, 1852
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 7, 2025
Lunar eclipses of 1937–1940
editThis eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of lunar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[5]
The penumbral lunar eclipse on March 23, 1940 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Lunar eclipse series sets from 1937 to 1940 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||||
| Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing |
Type Chart |
Gamma | |
| 110 | 1937 May 25
|
Penumbral
|
−1.1582 | 115 | 1937 Nov 18
|
Partial
|
0.9421 | |
| 120 | 1938 May 14
|
Total
|
−0.3994 | 125 | 1938 Nov 07
|
Total
|
0.2739 | |
| 130 | 1939 May 03
|
Total
|
0.3693 | 135 | 1939 Oct 28
|
Partial
|
−0.4581 | |
| 140 | 1940 Apr 22
|
Penumbral
|
1.0741 | 145 | 1940 Oct 16
|
Penumbral
|
−1.1925 | |
Saros 125
editThis eclipse is a part of Saros series 125, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 17, 1163. It contains partial eclipses from January 17, 1470 through June 6, 1686; total eclipses from June 17, 1704 through March 19, 2155; and a second set of partial eclipses from March 29, 2173 through June 25, 2317. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on September 9, 2443.
The longest duration of totality was produced by member 37 at 100 minutes, 23 seconds on August 22, 1812. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[6]
| Greatest | First | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1812 Aug 22, lasting 100 minutes, 23 seconds.[7] | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| 1163 Jul 17 |
1470 Jan 17 |
1704 Jun 17 |
1758 Jul 20 | |
| Last | ||||
| Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral | |
1920 Oct 27
|
2155 Mar 19 |
2317 Jun 25 |
2443 Sep 09 | |
Eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
| Series members 37–58 occur between 1801 and 2200: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 38 | 39 | |||
| 1812 Aug 22 | 1830 Sep 02 | 1848 Sep 13 | |||
| 40 | 41 | 42 | |||
| 1866 Sep 24 | 1884 Oct 04 | 1902 Oct 17 | |||
|
| ||||
| 43 | 44 | 45 | |||
| 1920 Oct 27 | 1938 Nov 07 | 1956 Nov 18 | |||
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|
|
|
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| 46 | 47 | 48 | |||
| 1974 Nov 29 | 1992 Dec 09 | 2010 Dec 21 | |||
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|
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|
| 49 | 50 | 51 | |||
| 2028 Dec 31 | 2047 Jan 12 | 2065 Jan 22 | |||
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||
| 52 | 53 | 54 | |||
| 2083 Feb 02 | 2101 Feb 14 | 2119 Feb 25 | |||
| 55 | 56 | 57 | |||
| 2137 Mar 07 | 2155 Mar 19 | 2173 Mar 29 | |||
| 58 | |||||
| 2191 Apr 09 | |||||
Half-Saros cycle
editA lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[8] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 132.
| November 1, 1929 | November 12, 1947 |
|---|---|
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See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "November 7–8, 1938 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1938 Nov 07" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1938 Nov 07". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 125". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
- ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 125
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
edit- 1938 Nov 07 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
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