Oct. 18, 2013, Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 117

Summary: The Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, penumbral lunar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 117, a series of 71 similar lunar eclipses.

Penumbral lunar eclipse of Tuesday, April 3, 1094, opened Saros 117’s lineup of 71 lunar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, penumbral lunar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 117, which comprises 71 lunar eclipses with similar geometries.

October’s penumbral lunar eclipse begins Friday, Oct. 18, at 21:50:38 Universal Time, according to NASA’s Eclipse Web Site. Greatest eclipse takes place Friday, Oct. 18, at 23:50:17 UT. Greatest eclipse indicates the instant of the moon’s closest passage to the axis of Earth’s shadow. The eclipse ends Saturday, Oct. 19, at 01:49:49 UT.

October 2013’s penumbral lunar eclipse appears as number 52 in the lineup of 71 lunar eclipses that compose Saros cycle 117. Similar geometries unify the 71 lunar eclipses as a family, known as a series.

Retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak’s EclipseWise website describes Saros 117 lunar eclipses as sharing the geometry of occurring at the moon’s descending node. With each succeeding eclipse in Saros 117, the lunar movement is northward with respect to the descending node.

An ascending node and a descending node signal the intersections of Earth’s orbit by the moon’s orbit. The two nodes express the approximately 5.1 degree tilt of the lunar orbit with respect to Earth’s orbit. The ascending node marks the moon’s orbital crossing to the north of Earth’s orbit. The descending node announces the lunar orbital crossing to the south of Earth’s orbit.

Saros lunar series 117’s number attests to the occurrence of the series’ eclipses at the descending node. Odd-numbered lunar Saros series are associated with the descending node. Even numbers are assigned to the ascending node's lunar eclipses.

A Saros cycle of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours) governs the periodicity and recurrence of eclipses. A Saros series yields 70 or more lunar eclipses, with each separated from its predecessor by a Saros cycle. A Saros series typically spans 12 to 15 centuries.

Saros series 117 lasts for 1,262.11 years, according to NASA Eclipse Web Site. Saros series 117 encompasses 14 centuries. Saros series 117 spans the 11th through 24th centuries.

Lunar eclipses in Saros cycle 117 observe a sequence order of eight penumbral lunar eclipses, nine partial lunar eclipses, 24 total lunar eclipses, seven partial lunar eclipses and 23 penumbral lunar eclipses. Penumbral lunar eclipses occur with the most frequency in Saros series 117, with a total of 31 occurrences. Total lunar eclipses appear as the second most frequent lunar eclipse type in the series, with a total of 24 occurrences.

The 12th century’s penumbral lunar eclipse of Tuesday, April 3, 1094, initiated Saros series 117. This eclipse occurred near the southern edge of the penumbra (shadow’s lighter, outer region). This event’s greatest eclipse took place over the southeastern Indian Ocean, southwest of western Indonesia’s island of Sumatra, northwest of Australia’s Territory of Christmas Island and northeast of Australia’s Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

The 24th century’s penumbral eclipse of Tuesday, May 15, 2356, ends Saros series 117. This eclipse will occur near the penumbra’s northern edge. This event will reach its greatest eclipse over the southwestern Pacific Ocean, southwest of the Republic of Fiji’s third largest island, Taveuni, and northeast of the Fijian island of Lamiti.

The Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, penumbral lunar eclipse occurs as number four in Saros series 117’s closing sequence of 23 penumbral lunar eclipses. This event will stage its greatest eclipse over Ghana’s Upper West Region, northwest of Wuru and Pudo, near the Ghana-Burkina Faso border.

The penumbral eclipse of Sunday, Oct. 8, 1995, is the predecessor of October 2013’s penumbral lunar eclipse. This event’s greatest eclipse took place over the South China Sea, west of Malaysia’s Kudat Peninsula, northern Borneo Island.

The October 1995 penumbral eclipse occurs as number three in Saros series 117’s closing sequence of 23 penumbral lunar eclipse. This eclipse appears as number 51 in the series’ lineup of 71 lunar eclipses.

The penumbral lunar eclipse of Thursday, Oct. 30, 2031, is the successor of the Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, penumbral lunar eclipse in Saros series 117. This event’s greatest eclipse will take place over the northeastern Pacific Ocean, southwest of Mexico’s Isla Clarión and northwest of Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands (Archipiélago de Colón).

The October 2031 eclipse occurs as the number five in Saros series 117’s closing sequence of 23 penumbral lunar eclipses. This eclipse appears as number 53 in the series’ lineup of 71 lunar eclipses.

The takeaway for the Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, penumbral lunar eclipse is that the astronomical event occurs as number 52 in Saros series 117’s lineup of 71 lunar eclipses and as number four in the series’ closing sequence of 23 penumbral lunar eclipses.

Penumbral lunar eclipse of Tuesday, May 15, 2356, will close Saros series 117’s lineup of 71 lunar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Penumbral lunar eclipse of Tuesday, April 3, 1094, opened Saros 117’s lineup of 71 lunar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1001-1100/LE1094-04-03N.gif

Penumbral lunar eclipse of Tuesday, May 15, 2356, will close Saros series 117’s lineup of 71 lunar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/2301-2400/LE2356-05-15N.gif

For further information:

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1001-1100/LE1094-04-03N.gif

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1901-2000/LE1995-10-08N.gif

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/2001-2100/LE2013-10-18N.gif

Espenak, Fred. “Penumbral 2031 Oct 30.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Page: Lunar Eclipse Catalogs: Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series > Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series: Lunar Eclipses of Saros Series 1 to 180: Summary of Saros Series 100 to 125: 117 > Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series: Saros Series 117: 53 18 2031 Oct 30.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/2001-2100/LE2031-10-30N.gif

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/2301-2400/LE2356-05-15N.gif

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