French
DeutschMay 1975 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
 The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | May 25, 1975 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 0.2367 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.4253 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 130 (32 of 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 88 minutes, 18 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 215 minutes, 11 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 335 minutes, 54 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Sunday, May 25, 1975,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.4253. 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 4.4 days after perigee (on May 20, 1975, at 20:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
This was the first central lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 130.
Visibility
[edit]The eclipse was completely visible over much of North America, South America, and Antarctica, seen rising over eastern Australia, northwestern North America, and the central Pacific Ocean and setting over western Europe and Africa.[3]
 |
Eclipse details
[edit]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 | 2.42179 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.42533 |
| Gamma | 0.23674 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 04h05m34.7s |
| Sun Declination | +20°50'24.7" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'47.5" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 16h05m40.2s |
| Moon Declination | -20°36'42.2" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'50.9" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°58'09.7" |
| ΔT | 45.9 s |
Eclipse season
[edit]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.
| May 11 Descending node (new moon) | May 25 Ascending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
 | |
| Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 118 | Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 130 |
Related eclipses
[edit]Eclipses in 1975
[edit]- A partial solar eclipse on May 11.
- A total lunar eclipse on May 25.
- A partial solar eclipse on November 3.
- A total lunar eclipse on November 18.
Metonic
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 6, 1971
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1979
Tzolkinex
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 13, 1968
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 6, 1982
Half-Saros
[edit]- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 20, 1966
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 30, 1984
Tritos
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 25, 1964
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 24, 1986
Lunar Saros 130
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 13, 1957
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 4, 1993
Inex
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 14, 1946
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of May 4, 2004
Triad
[edit]- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 23, 1888
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 25, 2062
Lunar eclipses of 1973–1976
[edit]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 January 18, 1973 and July 15, 1973 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set.
| Lunar eclipse series sets from 1973 to 1976 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||||
| Saros | Date Viewing | Type Chart | Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing | Type Chart | Gamma | |
| 110 | 1973 Jun 15 | Penumbral | −1.3217 | 115 | 1973 Dec 10 | Partial | 0.9644 | |
| 120 | 1974 Jun 04 | Partial | −0.5489 | 125 | 1974 Nov 29 | Total | 0.3054 | |
| 130 | 1975 May 25 | Total | 0.2367 | 135 | 1975 Nov 18 | Total | −0.4134 | |
| 140 | 1976 May 13 | Partial | 0.9586 | 145 | 1976 Nov 06 | Penumbral | −1.1276 | |
Saros 130
[edit]This eclipse is a part of Saros series 130, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on June 10, 1416. It contains partial eclipses from September 4, 1560 through April 12, 1903; total eclipses from April 22, 1921 through September 11, 2155; and a second set of partial eclipses from September 21, 2173 through May 10, 2552. The series ends at member 71 as a penumbral eclipse on July 26, 2678.
The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 35 at 101 minutes, 53 seconds on June 26, 2029. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[6]
| Greatest | First | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2029 Jun 26, lasting 101 minutes, 53 seconds.[7] | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| 1416 Jun 10 | 1560 Sep 04 | 1921 Apr 22 | 1975 May 25 | |
| Last | ||||
| Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral | |
2083 Jul 29 | 2155 Sep 11 | 2552 May 10 | 2678 Jul 26 | |
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 23–44 occur between 1801 and 2200: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 24 | 25 | |||
| 1813 Feb 15 | 1831 Feb 26 | 1849 Mar 09 | |||
| 26 | 27 | 28 | |||
| 1867 Mar 20 | 1885 Mar 30 | 1903 Apr 12 | |||
 |  | ||||
| 29 | 30 | 31 | |||
| 1921 Apr 22 | 1939 May 03 | 1957 May 13 | |||
| |  |  |  |  |  |
| 32 | 33 | 34 | |||
| 1975 May 25 | 1993 Jun 04 | 2011 Jun 15 | |||
| | |  |  |  |  |
| 35 | 36 | 37 | |||
| 2029 Jun 26 | 2047 Jul 07 | 2065 Jul 17 | |||
| |  |  |  |  |  |
| 38 | 39 | 40 | |||
| 2083 Jul 29 | 2101 Aug 09 | 2119 Aug 20 | |||
| |  | ||||
| 41 | 42 | 43 | |||
| 2137 Aug 30 | 2155 Sep 11 | 2173 Sep 21 | |||
| 44 | |||||
| 2191 Oct 02 | |||||
Half-Saros cycle
[edit]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 annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 137.
| May 20, 1966 | May 30, 1984 |
|---|---|
 |  |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "May 24–25, 1975 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1975 May 25" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1975 May 25". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ 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 130". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
- ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 130
- ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros
External links
[edit]- 1975 May 25 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
- The Total Lunar Eclipse of May 24-25, 1975, Feinstein, A., Forte, J. C., & Cabrera, A.
_(cropped).jpg)
 | This lunar eclipse-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |