Jan. 20-21, 2019, Total Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 134

Summary: The Jan. 20-21, 2019, total lunar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 134, a series of 72 similar lunar eclipses.

diagram of ascending and descending nodes, used for grouping lunar and solar eclipses into respective Saros series: Emmanuel Boutet (SuperManu), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Jan. 20-21, 2019, total lunar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 134, which comprises 72 lunar eclipses displaying similar geometries.

According to NASA’s Eclipse Web Site, January 2019’s total lunar eclipse begins Monday, Jan. 21, at 02:36:30 Universal Time (Sunday, Jan. 20, at 5:36 p.m. Alaska Standard Time and 9:36 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; Monday, Jan. 21, at 2:36 a.m. Western European Time and 5:36 a.m. Moscow Standard Time). The eclipse ends Monday, Jan. 21, at 07:48:00 UT (Sunday, Jan. 20, at 10:48 p.m. AKST; Monday, Jan. 21, at 2:48 a.m. EST, 7:48 a.m. WET and 10:48 a.m. MSK).

NASA’s Eclipse Web Site totals the duration of January 2019’s lunar eclipse at 5 hours 11 minutes 30 seconds. The eclipse’s partial segment has a duration of 3 hours 16 minutes 45 seconds. The full eclipse’s duration tallies at 1 hour 1 minute 59 seconds.

The total lunar eclipse Jan. 20-21, 2019, is an event that offers varying amounts of visibility in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Entire visibility is available for North America and South America. Entire visibility also skims western Africa; western and northwestern Europe; Russia’s northernmost extents in Europe and Asia. Much of the Atlantic Ocean and much of the eastern Pacific Ocean fall within the entire visibility regions.

The Saros cycle groups eclipses according to such geometric similarities as occurrence at the same lunar node, or point of the lunar orbit’s crossing of Earth’s orbit. Eclipses in the same Saros cycle also occur at approximately the same distance from Earth and at about the same time of year. Families, known as series, comprise similar eclipses.

Saros 134 lunar eclipses share occurrence at the moon’s ascending node, which represents the point of the lunar crossing to the north of Earth’s orbit. Each Saros 134 lunar eclipse reveals the moon’s movement southward.

A Saros cycle is approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Saros 134 specifically endures for 1,280.14 years. Saros 134’s first eclipse occurred as a penumbral eclipse April 1, 1550, with the moon’s passage through the lighter, outer region of Earth’s shadow. Saros 134’s final eclipse will occur May 28, 2830, as a penumbral eclipse. Saros 134’s first eclipse took place near the penumbra’s northern edge. Saros 134’s last eclipse will concern the penumbra’s southern edge.

Saros 134’s 72 lunar eclipses exhibit an order of eight penumbral eclipses, 10 partial eclipses, 26 total eclipses, 10 partial eclipses and 18 penumbral eclipses. Saros 134’s first eight lunar eclipses occurred as penumbral eclipses, beginning April 1, 1550, and ending June 25, 1676. Eclipses nine through 18 of the series occurred as partials, beginning July 7, 1694, and ending Oct. 13, 1856.

January 2019’s lunar eclipse falls within Saros 134’s sequence of total lunar eclipses. The Jan. 20-21, 2019, total lunar eclipse numbers as 27 in Saros 134’s membership of 72 eclipses and as ninth in Saros 134’s sequence of 26 total lunar eclipses. A total lunar eclipse Oct. 25, 1874, opened Saros 134’s totality sequence. The sequence closes July 26, 2325, with Saros 134’s 44th eclipse.

The January 2019’s total lunar eclipse succeeds the most recent Saros 134 lunar occurrence, which took place Jan. 9, 2001. January 2019’s successor in Saros 134’s total lunar eclipse sequence appears Jan. 31, 2037.

Retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak’s predictions on NASA’s Eclipse Web Site recognize Saros 134’s 38th eclipse as the longest total lunar eclipse in the series. The May 22, 2217, total lunar eclipse expects a totality phase duration of 1 hour 40 minutes 23 seconds.

Saros 134’s 19th eclipse, which opened the total lunar eclipse sequence, claims the sequence’s shortest duration. The Oct. 25, 1874, total lunar eclipse’s totality lasted 32 minutes 42 seconds.

With a full eclipse duration of 1 hour 1 minutes 59 seconds, January 2019’s total lunar eclipse has a totality phase that is 38 minutes 24 seconds shorter than Saros 134’s longest totality. The January 2019 total lunar eclipse’s totality exceeds Saros 134’s shortest totality by 29 minutes 17 seconds.

January 2019’s total lunar eclipse occurs as the third of three consecutive total lunar eclipses. The total lunar eclipse of Jan. 31, 2018, initiated the trio. The trio’s second total lunar eclipse happened July 27, 2018. The January 2018 total lunar eclipse belonged to Saros 124. The July 2018 total lunar eclipse participated in Saros 129.

The takeaway for the total lunar eclipse Jan. 20-21, 2019, is that the event occurs as number nine in Saros series 134’s sequence of 26 total lunar eclipses.

The total lunar eclipse May 22, 2217, claims Saros series 134’s longest totality phase, exceeding January 2019’s totality by 38 minutes 24 seconds: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) Emeritus, 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:

diagram of ascending and descending nodes, used for grouping lunar and solar eclipses into respective Saros series: Emmanuel Boutet (SuperManu), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lunar_eclipse_diagram-en.svg

The total lunar eclipse May 22, 2217, claims Saros series 134’s longest totality phase, exceeding January 2019’s totality by 38 minutes 24 seconds: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) Emeritus, via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/2201-2300/LE2217-05-22T.gif

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses During 2019.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2019.html

Espenak, Fred. “Glossary of Lunar Eclipse Terms.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEhelp/LEglossary.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Lunar Eclipse of 2019 Jan 21.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019 > Total Lunar Eclipse of January 21.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/oh-figures/ec2019-Fig02.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Total Lunar Eclipse of 2019 Jan 21.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Decade Tables of Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipses: 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2019Jan21T.GIF

Espenak, Fred. “Lunar Eclipses of Saros Series 1 to 180.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaroscat.html

Espenak, Fred. “Lunar Eclipses of Saros Series -29 to 190.” EclipseWise Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEsaros/LEsaroscat.html

Espenak, Fred. “Saros 134.” EclipseWise Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019 > Total Lunar Eclipse of January 21.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEsaros/LEsaros134.html

Espenak, Fred. “Saros Series 134.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series > Lunar Eclipses of Saros Series 1 to 180.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaros134.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Crater Timings for Jan. 31, 2018, Total Lunar Eclipse Show Umbral Span.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/crater-timings-for-jan-31-2018-total.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “First 2018 Eclipse Is Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/first-2018-eclipse-is-blue-moon-total.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Jan. 31, 2018, Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 124.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/jan-31-2018-blue-moon-total-lunar.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “July 27, 2018, Total Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 129.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019.
Available @

Marriner, Derdriu. “Partial Solar Eclipse Jan. 5-6 Is First of Three 2019 Solar Eclipses.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 25, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/july-27-2018-total-lunar-eclipse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Second 2018 Total Lunar Eclipse Occurs Friday, July 27.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/07/second-2018-total-lunar-eclipse-occurs.html