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.
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
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. [1]
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.
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.
| 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 | |||||
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 |
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It is a member of Saros cycle 121.
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 128.
| April 29, 1976 | May 10, 1994 |
|---|---|
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