July 16-17, 2019, Partial Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 139

Summary: The July 16-17, 2019, partial lunar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 139, a series of 75 similar lunar eclipses.

Penumbral lunar eclipse of Dec. 9, 1658, opened Saros 139’s lineup of 75 lunar eclipses: Eclipse predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA’s GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The July 16-17, 2019, total lunar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 139, which comprises 75 lunar eclipses with similar geometries.

Mid-July’s partial lunar eclipse began Tuesday, July 16, at 18:43:53 Universal Time (2:43 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time), according to NASA’s Eclipse Web Site. The eclipse finished Wednesday, July 17, at 00:17:36 UT (Tuesday, July 16, at 8:17 p.m. EDT).

The year’s second of two lunar eclipses largely favored the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean as well as the continents of Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe and South America. Greenland and the United States were mostly excluded for mid-July’s lunar eclipse visibility regions.

July 2019’s partial lunar eclipse appears as number 21 in Saros cycle 139’s complement of 75 lunar eclipses. Retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak notes on his EclipseWise website that Saros 139’s 75 eclipses share in occurrence at the moon’s descending node. Espenak points out the northward lunar movement, evinced with each successive eclipse, with respect to the descending lunar node.

Espenak explains that two points, known as nodes, represent crossings of Earth’s orbit by the lunar orbit. The tipping of the lunar orbit, by about 5.1 degrees, to Earth’s circumsolar orbit occasions the two crossing points. At the ascending node, the lunar crossing is to the north of Earth’s orbit. At the descending node, the lunar crossing is to the south of Earth’s orbit.

A Saros cycle approximates 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Saros 139 specifically encompasses 1,334.23 years.

Saros cycle 139 begins with a penumbral lunar eclipse and ends with a penumbral lunar eclipse. Saros 139 cycles through a sequence order of 16 penumbral lunar eclipses, seven partial lunar eclipses, 27 total lunar eclipses, eight partial lunar eclipses and 17 penumbral lunar eclipses. Penumbral lunar eclipses claim the highest number of occurrences at 33 of the 75 lunar eclipses composing Saros 139.

The penumbral lunar eclipse occurring Dec. 9, 1658, opens Saros 139. The opening eclipse occurs near the southern edge of Earth’s penumbra (Latin: paene, “almost” + umbra, “shadow”), the lighter, outer region of Earth’s shadow. The Dec. 9, 1658, penumbral lunar eclipse took place at 20:10:10 Universal Time (UT1). The opening Saros 139 penumbral lunar eclipse favored the Indian Ocean and the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe with entire visibility.

Saros 139 closes Feb. 27, 2993, with a penumbral lunar eclipse that takes place near the northern edge of Earth’s penumbra. The closing penumbral lunar eclipse is expected to begin at 18:04:28 UT1. This eclipse favored the Indian Ocean, almost all of Asia and Australia with entire visibility.

The predecessor of the July 16-17, 2019, partial lunar eclipse in Saros 139 appeared July 5, 2001, as fourth in Saros 139’s first sequence of seven partial lunar eclipses. The partial lunar eclipse of Thursday, July 5, 2001, began at 14:55:19 UT1 (10:55 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time). This eclipse especially favored Australia with entire visibility.

The successor of the July 16-17, 2019, partial lunar eclipse in Saros 139 will appear July 27, 2037, as sixth in the sequence of partial eclipses and as number 22 in the Saros 139 lineup of 75 eclipses. The partial lunar eclipse of July 27, 2037, is expected to start at 04:08:36 UT1. This eclipse favors South America and almost all of Antarctica with entire visibility.

The first sequence of seven partial lunar eclipses in Saros 139 closes Aug. 7, 2055. The sequence’s seventh partial lunar eclipse begins at 10:51:49 UT1. This eclipse favors most of the Southern and Pacific Oceans and much of Antarctica with entire visibility. All of Africa and Europe are excluded from the eclipse’s visibility regions.

The takeaway for the July 16-17, 2019, partial lunar eclipse is that the event occurs as fifth in Saros 139’s first sequence of partial lunar eclipses and as number 21 in Saros 139’s lineup of 75 lunar eclipses.

Penumbral lunar eclipse of Feb. 27, 2993, occurs as the closing eclipse in Saros 139’s lineup of 75 lunar eclipses: 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 Dec. 9, 1658, opened Saros 139’s lineup of 75 lunar eclipses: Eclipse predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA’s GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1601-1700/LE1658-12-09N.gif

Penumbral lunar eclipse of Feb. 27, 2993, occurs as the closing eclipse in Saros 139’s lineup of 75 lunar eclipses: Eclipse predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA’s GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/2901-3000/LE2993-02-27N.gif

For further information:

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

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 > Lunar Eclipses > Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEsaros/LEsaroscat.html

Espenak, Fred. "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2001 Jul 5.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Links > Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses > Saros -29 to 190 > Summary of Saros Series 121 to 150 > Saros 139.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2001-2100/LE2001Jul05Pprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2019 Jul 16.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Recent and Upcoming Lunar Eclipses.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2001-2100/LE2019Jul16Pprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2019 Jul 16.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Eclipses of the Moon > Decade Lunar Eclipse Tables > 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2019Jul16P.pdf

Espenak, Fred. "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2037 Jul 27.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Links > Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses > Saros -29 to 190 > Summary of Saros Series 121 to 150 > Saros 139.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2001-2100/LE2037Jul27Pprime.html

Espenak, Fred. "Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2055.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Links > Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses > Saros -29 to 190 > Summary of Saros Series 121 to 150 > Saros 139.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2001-2100/LE2055Aug07Pprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Lunar Eclipse of July 16.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Recent and Upcoming Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019 > Total Lunar Eclipse of January 21.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2019.html

Espenak, Fred. “Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1658 Dec 09.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Links > Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses > Saros -29 to 190 > Summary of Saros Series 121 to 150 > Saros 139.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/1601-1700/LE1658Dec09Nprime.html

Espenak, Fred. "Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 2993 Feb 27.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Links > Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses > Saros -29 to 190 > Summary of Saros Series 121 to 150 > Saros 139.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2901-3000/LE2993Feb27Nprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Saros 139.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019 > Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2019 Jul 16.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEsaros/LEsaros139.html

Espenak, Fred. “Saros Series 139.” 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/LEsaros139.html

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Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/oh-figures/ec2019-Fig02.pdf

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Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2019Jan21T.GIF

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