Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22 (0439 Jan 22 BCE)

Fred Espenak

Introduction

The Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22 (0439 Jan 22 BCE) is visible from the geographic regions shown on the map to the right. The diagram above the map depicts the Moon's path with respect to Earth's umbral and penumbral shadows. Click on the figure to enlarge it. For an explanation of the features appearing in the figure, see Key to Lunar Eclipse Figures.

The instant of greatest eclipse takes place on -0438 Jan 22 at 14:13:36 TD (09:46:11 UT1). This is 5.2 days after the Moon reaches apogee. During the eclipse, the Moon is in the constellation Leo. The synodic month in which the eclipse takes place has a Brown Lunation Number of -29201.

The eclipse belongs to Saros 46 and is number 52 of 77 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node. The Moon moves southward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series and gamma decreases.

This total eclipse is central meaning the Moon’s disk actually passes through the axis of Earth’s umbral shadow. It has an umbral eclipse magnitude of 1.6851, and Gamma has a value of -0.0766. Because they are so deep, such eclipses typically have the longest total phases. In this case, the duration of totality lasts 102.1 minutes. That qualifies the eclipse as a member of a select class of exceptionally long total eclipses with durations exceeding 100 minutes.

The total lunar eclipse of -0438 Jan 22 is preceded two weeks earlier by a partial solar eclipse on -0438 Jan 07, and it is followed two weeks later by a partial solar eclipse on -0438 Feb 05.

These eclipses all take place during a single eclipse season.

The eclipse predictions are given in both Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD) and Universal Time (UT1). The parameter ΔT is used to convert between these two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 16045.1 seconds for this eclipse. The uncertainty in ΔT is 407.9 seconds corresponding to a standard error in longitude of the eclipse visibility zones of 1.70°.

The following links provide maps and data for the eclipse.

Eclipse Figure - eclipse geometry diagram and map of eclipse visibility
Saros 46 Table - data for all eclipses in the Saros series

The tables below contain detailed predictions and additional information on the Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22 .

Eclipse Data: Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22

Eclipse Characteristics
Parameter	Value
Penumbral Magnitude	2.75030
Umbral Magnitude	1.68511
Gamma	-0.07660
Epsilon	0.0711°

Opposition Times
Event	Calendar Date & Time	Julian Date
Greatest Eclipse	-0438 Jan 22 at 14:13:36.3 TD (09:46:11.2 UT1)	1561099.907074
Ecliptic Opposition	-0438 Jan 22 at 14:12:43.2 TD (09:45:18.2 UT1)	1561099.906460
Equatorial Opposition	-0438 Jan 22 at 14:14:29.9 TD (09:47:04.9 UT1)	1561099.907695

Geocentric Coordinates of Sun and Moon
-0438 Jan 22 at 14:13:36.3 TD (09:46:11.2 UT1)
Coordinate	Sun	Moon
Right Ascension	19h59m05.8s	07h59m04.0s
Declination	-20°54'01.6"	+20°49'47.1"
Semi-Diameter	16'09.3"	15'10.0"
Eq. Hor. Parallax	08.9"	0°55'39.8"

Geocentric Libration of Moon
Angle	Value
l	-4.3°
b	0.1°
c	13.2°

Earth's Shadows
Parameter	Value
Penumbral Radius	1.2087°
Umbral Radius	0.6702°

Prediction Paramaters
Paramater	Value
Ephemerides	JPL DE406
ΔT	16045.1 s
Shadow Rule	Danjon
Shadow Enlargement	1.010
Saros Series	46 (52/77)

Explanation of Lunar Eclipse Data Tables

Eclipse Contacts: Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22

Lunar Eclipse Contacts
Eclipse Event	Contact	Time TD	Time UT1	Zenith Latitude	Zenith Longitude	Position Angle	Axis Distance
Penumbral Begins	P1	11:12:18.2	06:44:53.1	20°59.6'N	098°50.9'W	273.0°	1.4602°
Partial Begins	U1	12:19:22.2	07:51:57.2	20°56.1'N	115°02.2'W	271.3°	0.9222°
Total Begins	U2	13:22:32.9	08:55:07.8	20°52.7'N	130°17.2'W	266.0°	0.4172°
Greatest Eclipse	Greatest	14:13:36.3	09:46:11.2	20°49.8'N	142°36.7'W	185.8°	0.0711°
Total Ends	U3	15:04:40.8	10:37:15.7	20°46.8'N	154°56.4'W	105.6°	0.4176°
Partial Ends	U4	16:07:52.3	11:40:27.2	20°43.1'N	170°11.6'W	100.2°	0.9238°
Penumbral Ends	P4	17:14:47.8	12:47:22.8	20°38.9'N	173°39.2'E	98.6°	1.4628°

Eclipse Durations
Eclipse Phase	Duration
Penumbral (P4 - P1)	06h02m29.6s
Partial (U4 - U1)	03h48m30.1s
Total (U3 - U2)	01h42m07.9s

Explanation of Lunar Eclipse Contacts Table

Polynomial Besselian Elements: Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22

Polynomial Besselian Elements
-0438 Jan 22 at 14:00:00.0 TD (=t0)
n	x	y	d	f1	f2	f3
0	-0.11618	-0.05965	-0.3648	1.20865	0.67013	0.25276
1	0.48073	-0.04869	0.0001	0.00033	0.00034	0.00009
2	0.00018	-0.00015	0.0000	0.00000	0.00000	0.00000
3	-0.00001	0.00000	-	-	-	-

At time t1 (decimal hours), each besselian element is evaluated by:

x = x0 + x1*t + x2*t² + x3*t³ (or x = Σ [xn*tⁿ]; n = 0 to 3)

where: t = t1 - t0 (decimal hours) and t0 = 14.000

Explanation of Besselian Elements

Links for the Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22 (0439 Jan 22 BCE)

Eclipse Figure - eclipse geometry diagram and map of eclipse visibility
Saros 46 Table - data for all eclipses in the Saros series
Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22 - Google search for links to this eclipse

Links to Additional Lunar Eclipse Information

Home - home page of EclipseWise with predictions for both solar and lunar eclipses

Lunar Eclipses - primary page for lunar eclipse predictions
Lunar Eclipse Links - detailed directory of links

Six Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses - covers the years -2999 to +3000 (3000 BCE to 3000 CE)
Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses - covers Saros series -29 through 190
Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer - calculate all lunar eclipses visible from a city

Thousand Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1501 to 2500 - link to the publication

MrEclipse.com - Eclipse resources and tips on photography
Lunar Eclipses for Beginners - a primer on solar eclipse basics
MrEclipse Photo Index - an index of lunar eclipse photographs

Calendar

The Gregorian calendar (also called the Western calendar) is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582. On this website, the Gregorian calendar is used for all calendar dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates.

The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..

Eclipse Predictions

Predictions for the Total Lunar Eclipse of -0438 Jan 22 were generated using the JPL DE406 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates were calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass. The predictions are given in both Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD) and Universal Time (UT1). The parameter ΔT is used to convert between these two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 16045.1 seconds for this eclipse. The uncertainty in ΔT is 407.9 seconds corresponding to a standard error in longitude of the eclipse visibility zones of 1.70°.

Acknowledgments

Some of the content on this web site is based on the book Thousand Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1501 to 2500. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are NOT altered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is NOT removed or covered.