| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
| The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | August 26, 1942 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.1818 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.5344 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 127 (38 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 93 minutes, 23 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 214 minutes, 11 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 329 minutes, 32 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Wednesday, August 26, 1942, [1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.5344. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 2.7 days after perigee (on August 23, 1942, at 9:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger. [2]
The eclipse was completely visible over eastern North America, South America, west Africa, and Antarctica, seen rising over western North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean and setting over Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. [3]
| |
Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse. [4]
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Penumbral Magnitude | 2.51418 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.53440 |
| Gamma | 0.18180 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 10h17m03.7s |
| Sun Declination | +10°39'49.6" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'49.7" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 22h16m52.1s |
| Moon Declination | -10°29'26.0" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'09.3" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°59'17.3" |
| ΔT | 25.7 s |
This 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. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.
| August 12 Ascending node (new moon) | August 26 Descending node (full moon) | September 10 Ascending node (new moon) |
|---|---|---|
| | | |
| Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 115 | Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 127 | Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 153 |
This 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 eclipses on April 22, 1940 and October 16, 1940 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the penumbral lunar eclipses on July 6, 1944 and December 29, 1944 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Lunar eclipse series sets from 1940 to 1944 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||||
| Saros | Date Viewing | Type Chart | Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing | Type Chart | Gamma | |
| 102 | 1940 Mar 23 | Penumbral | −1.5034 | 107 | ||||
| 112 | 1941 Mar 13 | Partial | −0.8437 | 117 | 1941 Sep 05 | Partial | 0.9747 | |
| 122 | 1942 Mar 03 | Total | −0.1545 | 127 | 1942 Aug 26 | Total | 0.1818 | |
| 132 | 1943 Feb 20 | Partial | 0.5752 | 137 | 1943 Aug 15 | Partial | −0.5534 | |
| 142 | 1944 Feb 09 | Penumbral | 1.2698 | 147 | 1944 Aug 04 | Penumbral | −1.2843 | |
This eclipse is a part of Saros series 127, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 9, 1275. It contains partial eclipses from November 4, 1473 through May 18, 1780; total eclipses from May 29, 1798 through November 9, 2068; and a second set of partial eclipses from November 20, 2086 through June 17, 2429. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on September 2, 2555.
The longest duration of totality was produced by member 35 at 101 minutes, 46 seconds on July 23, 1888. 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 1888 Jul 23, lasting 101 minutes, 46 seconds. [7] | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| 1275 Jul 09 | 1473 Nov 04 | 1798 May 29 | 1834 Jun 21 | |
| Last | ||||
| Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral | |
| 1960 Sep 05 | 2068 Nov 09 | 2429 Jun 17 | 2555 Sep 02 | |
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 31–52 occur between 1801 and 2200: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 32 | 33 | |||
| 1816 Jun 10 | 1834 Jun 21 | 1852 Jul 01 | |||
| 34 | 35 | 36 | |||
| 1870 Jul 12 | 1888 Jul 23 | 1906 Aug 04 | |||
| | | ||||
| 37 | 38 | 39 | |||
| 1924 Aug 14 | 1942 Aug 26 | 1960 Sep 05 | |||
| | | | | | |
| 40 | 41 | 42 | |||
| 1978 Sep 16 | 1996 Sep 27 | 2014 Oct 08 | |||
| | | | | | |
| 43 | 44 | 45 | |||
| 2032 Oct 18 | 2050 Oct 30 | 2068 Nov 09 | |||
| | | | | | |
| 46 | 47 | 48 | |||
| 2086 Nov 20 | 2104 Dec 02 | 2122 Dec 13 | |||
| 49 | 50 | 51 | |||
| 2140 Dec 23 | 2159 Jan 04 | 2177 Jan 14 | |||
| 52 | |||||
| 2195 Jan 26 | |||||
The inex series repeats eclipses 20 days short of 29 years, repeating on average every 10571.95 days. This period is equal to 358 lunations (synodic months) and 388.5 draconic months. Saros series increment by one on successive Inex events and repeat at alternate ascending and descending lunar nodes.
This period is 383.6734 anomalistic months (the period of the Moon's elliptical orbital precession). Despite the average 0.05 time-of-day shift between subsequent events, the variation of the Moon in its elliptical orbit at each event causes the actual eclipse time to vary significantly. It is a part of Lunar Inex series 40.
All events in this series shown (from 1000 to 2500) are central total lunar eclipses.
| Descending node | Ascending node | Descending node | Ascending node | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Date | Saros | Date | Saros | Date | Saros | Date |
| 95 | 1016 May 24 | 96 | 1045 May 3 | 97 | 1074 Apr 14 | 98 | 1103 Mar 25 |
| 99 | 1132 Mar 3 | 100 | 1161 Feb 12 | 101 | 1190 Jan 23 | 102 | 1219 Jan 2 |
| 103 | 1247 Dec 13 | 104 | 1276 Nov 23 | 105 | 1305 Nov 2 | 106 | 1334 Oct 13 |
| 107 | 1363 Sep 23 | 108 | 1392 Sep 2 | 109 | 1421 Aug 13 | 110 | 1450 Jul 24 |
| 111 | 1479 Jul 4 | 112 | 1508 Jun 13 | 113 | 1537 May 24 | 114 | 1566 May 4 |
| 115 | 1595 Apr 24 | 116 | 1624 Apr 3 | 117 | 1653 Mar 14 | 118 | 1682 Feb 21 |
| 119 | 1711 Feb 3 | 120 | 1740 Jan 13 | 121 | 1768 Dec 23 | 122 | 1797 Dec 4 |
| 123 | 1826 Nov 14 | 124 | 1855 Oct 25 | 125 | 1884 Oct 4 | 126 | 1913 Sep 15 |
| 127 | 1942 Aug 26 | 128 | 1971 Aug 6 | 129 | 2000 Jul 16 | 130 | 2029 Jun 26 |
| 131 | 2058 Jun 6 | 132 | 2087 May 17 | 133 | 2116 Apr 27 | 134 | 2145 Apr 7 |
| 135 | 2174 Mar 18 | 136 | 2203 Feb 26 | 137 | 2232 Feb 7 | 138 | 2261 Jan 17 |
| 139 | 2289 Dec 27 | 140 | 2318 Dec 9 | 141 | 2347 Nov 19 | 142 | 2376 Oct 28 |
| 143 | 2405 Oct 8 | 144 | 2434 Sep 18 | 145 | 2463 Aug 29 | 146 | 2492 Aug 8 |
A 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 total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 134.
| August 21, 1933 | September 1, 1951 |
|---|---|
| | |
A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1526. 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. The Moon's apparent diameter will be near the average diameter because it will occur 6.7 days after perigee and 6.9 days before apogee.
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Sunday, July 16, 2000, with an umbral magnitude of 1.7684. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 1.1 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.

A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Monday, March 24, 1997, with an umbral magnitude of 0.9195. 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 3.2 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, May 26, 2040, with an umbral magnitude of 1.5365. It will be a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 1.4 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, June 26, 2029, with an umbral magnitude of 1.8452. It will be a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 3.7 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, July 6, 1982, with an umbral magnitude of 1.7180. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 1.2 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Wednesday, May 3, 1939, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1765. 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 5.2 days after perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, April 13, 1968, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1116. 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 1.1 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Thursday, June 6, 2058, with an umbral magnitude of 1.6628. It will be a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 1.6 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Monday, September 5, 1960, with an umbral magnitude of 1.4239. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 2.5 days after perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Sunday, July 26, 1953, with an umbral magnitude of 1.8629. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 2.1 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Monday, September 15, 1913, with an umbral magnitude of 1.4304. It was a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 only about 30 minutes after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Saturday, May 17, 2087, with an umbral magnitude of 1.4568. It will be a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be smaller.
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, May 24, 1910, with an umbral magnitude of 1.0950. 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 2.4 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Thursday, February 11, 2055, with an umbral magnitude of 1.2258. 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 only about 15 hours before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Monday, May 6, 2069, with an umbral magnitude of 1.3242. It will be a central lunar eclipse, in which part of the Moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow. 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 2.3 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be smaller.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Sunday, April 16, 1893, with a magnitude of 1.0556. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 1.3 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, April 6, 1875, with a magnitude of 1.0547. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 1.2 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Wednesday, March 25 and Thursday, March 26, 1857, with a magnitude of 1.0534. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 1.1 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.