Aug. 14, 1886, Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Belonged to Saros Cycle 107

Summary: The Saturday, Aug. 14, 1886, penumbral lunar eclipse belonged to Saros cycle 107, a series of 72 similar lunar eclipses.

The seventh century's June 26, 0606, penumbral lunar eclipse, which neared the penumbra's southern edge, opened Saros cycle 107 as the first of the cycle's 72 lunar eclipses: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Saturday, Aug. 14, 1886, penumbral lunar eclipse belonged to Saros cycle 107, which comprised 72 similar lunar eclipses.

The lunar Saros cycle unites lunar eclipses with similar geometries into families, known as series. For example, the geometry shared by all lunar eclipses in Saros cycle 107 was occurrence at the same lunar node. The set of ascending and descending nodes announces the lunar orbit's two points of intersection with Earth's orbit. The ascending node signifies southward movement away from the node. The descending node signals northward movement away from the node.

All of the Saros 107 cycle's 72 lunar eclipses occurred at the moon's descending node. Consequently, with each succeeding lunar eclipse, movement progresses northward from the node.

A Saros cycle equals approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Specifically, Saros cycle 107 required 1,280.14 years to complete its time scale, according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Eclipse Web Site's eclipse predictions by NASA astrophysicist, now retired, Fred Espenak. Saros cycle 107 ran for 13 centuries, from the seventh century to the 19th century.

Saros cycle 107 featured 19 penumbral lunar eclipses, 30 partial lunar eclipses and 23 total lunar eclipses. The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros cycle 107 sequenced as five, same-eclipse sets. The first set contained 12 of the cycle's 19 penumbral lunar eclipses. The second set comprised 20 of the cycle's 30 partial lunar eclipses. The third set offered 23 total lunar eclipses. The fourth set contributed the last 10 of the cycle's 30 partial lunar eclipses. The fifth and last set consisted of the last seven of the cycle's 19 penumbral lunar eclipses.

Saros cycle 107 began June 26, 0606, with a penumbral lunar eclipse. Saros cycle 107 ended Saturday, Aug. 14, 1886, with a penumbral lunar eclipse. The occurrences of the opening eclipse near the penumbra's southern edge and of the closing eclipse near the penumbra's northern edge evidenced the northward movement achieved by each succeeding eclipse in Saros cycle 107.

Saturday, Aug. 14, 1886, penumbral lunar eclipse closed Saros 107 cycle's seven-member fifth set as the set's seventh and last eclipse. The August 1886 lunar event closed Saros cycle 107 as the 72nd and last eclipse in the Saros cycle 107 lineup of 72 lunar eclipses.

The August 1886 penumbral lunar eclipse's predecessor was the penumbral lunar eclipse of Monday, Aug. 3, 1868. The August 1868 lunar event numbered as sixth in Saros 107 cycle's seven-member set of penumbral lunar eclipses and as 71st in the Saros 107 cycle's lineup of 72 lunar eclipses.

Saros 107 cycle's fifth and last set, composed of the cycle's last seven penumbral lunar eclipses, lasted for two centuries, from the 18th century to the 19th century. The penumbral lunar eclipse of Wednesday, June 10, 1778, opened the fifth set as the set's first of seven members. The June 1778 lunar event numbered as 66th in Saros 107 cycle's lineup of 72 lunar eclipses.

The NASA Eclipse Web Site's extreme durations predicted by American astronomer Fred Espenak (born 1953) and Belgian mathematical astronomer Jean Meeus (born Dec. 12, 1928) find the Wednesday, June 10, 1778, as Saros 107 cycle's longest penumbral lunar eclipse. The fifth set's opening eclipse had a duration of 4 hours 39 minutes 17 seconds. Saros 107 cycle's opening eclipse, the penumbral lunar eclipse of June 26, 0606, qualified as Saros 107 cycle's shortest penumbral lunar eclipse. The cycle's first penumbral lunar eclipse had a duration of only 42 minutes 39 seconds.

The takeaways for the Saturday, Aug. 14, 1886, penumbral lunar eclipse belonging to Saros cycle 107 are that the event numbered as seventh and last in the cycle's fifth set, which contained the cycle's last seven penumbral lunar eclipses; that the August 1886 penumbral lunar eclipse closed Saros cycle 107 as the cycle's 72nd and last eclipse; that Saros 107 cycle's opening eclipse, the seventh century penumbral lunar eclipse of June 26, 0606, rated as the cycle's shortest penumbral lunar eclipse, with a duration of only 42 minutes 39 seconds; and that the penumbral lunar eclipse of Wednesday, June 10, 1778, which opened the cycle's fifth and last set, qualified as the cycle's longest penumbral lunar eclipse, with a duration of 4 hours 39 minutes 17 seconds.

The 19th century's Saturday, Aug. 14, 1886, penumbral lunar eclipse, which neared the penumbra's northern edge, closed Saros cycle 107 as the cycle's 72nd and last eclipse: 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:

The seventh century's June 26, 0606, penumbral lunar eclipse, which neared the penumbra's southern edge, opened Saros cycle 107 as the first of the cycle's 72 lunar eclipses: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/0501-0600/LE0595-07-27N.gif

The 19th century's Saturday, Aug. 14, 1886, penumbral lunar eclipse, which neared the penumbra's northern edge, closed Saros cycle 107 as the cycle's 72nd and last eclipse: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1801-1900/LE1893-09-25N.gif

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. "Penumbral 0606 Jun 26." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 101 to 125 > Saros Series 107.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/0601-0700/LE0606-06-26N.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Penumbral 1778 Jun 10." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 101 to 125 > Saros Series 107.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1701-1800/LE1778-06-10N.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Penumbral 1868 Aug 03." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 101 to 125 > Saros Series 107.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1801-1900/LE1868-08-03N.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Penumbral 1886 Aug 14." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 101 to 125 > Saros Series 107.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1801-1900/LE1886-08-14N.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Penumbral 1886 Aug 14." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Five Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 > Catalog of Lunar Eclipses: 1801 to 1900.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/1801-1900/LE1886-08-14N.gif

Marriner, Derdriu. "Aug. 14, 1886, Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Was Third 1886 Lunar Eclipse." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/08/aug-14-1886-penumbral-lunar-eclipse-was.html