Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1959 Sep 17

Fred Espenak

Key to Lunar Eclipse Figure (below)

Introduction

The Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1959 Sep 17 is visible from the following geographic regions:

  • South America, Europe, Africa

The diagram to the right depicts the Moon's path with respect to Earth's umbral and penumbral shadows. Below it is a map showing the geographic regions of eclipse visibility. 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 1959 Sep 17 at 01:03:36 TD (01:03:03 UT1). This is 6.0 days before the Moon reaches apogee. During the eclipse, the Moon is in the constellation Pisces. The synodic month in which the eclipse takes place has a Brown Lunation Number of 454.

The eclipse belongs to Saros 117 and is number 49 of 71 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node. The Moon moves northward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series and gamma increases.

This is a very deep penumbral eclipse. It has a penumbral eclipse magnitude of 0.9874 and a penumbral eclipse duration of 268.1 minutes. Gamma has a value of 1.0296.

The penumbral lunar eclipse of 1959 Sep 17 is followed two weeks later by a total solar eclipse on 1959 Oct 02.

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., TD = UT1 + ΔT). ΔT has a value of 33.0 seconds for this eclipse.

The following links provide maps and data for the eclipse.

The tables below contain detailed predictions and additional information on the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1959 Sep 17 .

Eclipse Data: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1959 Sep 17

Eclipse Characteristics
Parameter Value
Penumbral Magnitude 0.98742
Umbral Magnitude-0.04953
Gamma 1.02963
Epsilon 0.9663°
Opposition Times
Event Calendar Date & Time Julian Date
Greatest Eclipse 1959 Sep 17 at 01:03:36.4 TD (01:03:03.4 UT1) 2436828.543790
Ecliptic Opposition 1959 Sep 17 at 00:52:08.1 TD (00:51:35.2 UT1) 2436828.535824
Equatorial Opposition 1959 Sep 17 at 01:40:51.0 TD (01:40:18.1 UT1) 2436828.569654
Geocentric Coordinates of Sun and Moon
1959 Sep 17 at 01:03:36.4 TD (01:03:03.4 UT1)
Coordinate Sun Moon
Right Ascension11h35m46.2s23h34m35.7s
Declination+02°37'11.9"-01°41'57.4"
Semi-Diameter 15'54.7" 15'20.7"
Eq. Hor. Parallax 08.7" 0°56'19.0"
Geocentric Libration of Moon
Angle Value
l 5.1°
b -1.2°
c -24.8°
Earth's Shadows
Parameter Value
Penumbral Radius 1.2156°
Umbral Radius 0.6852°
Prediction Paramaters
Paramater Value
Ephemerides JPL DE405
ΔT 33.0 s
Shadow Rule Danjon
Shadow Enlargement 1.010
Saros Series 117 (49/71)

Explanation of Lunar Eclipse Data Tables

Eclipse Contacts: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1959 Sep 17

Lunar Eclipse Contacts
Eclipse Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Zenith Latitude Zenith Longitude Position Angle Axis Distance
Penumbral BeginsP122:49:30.422:48:57.402°04.3'S015°08.0'E 293.3° 1.4725°
Greatest EclipseGreatest01:03:36.401:03:03.401°42.0'S017°20.4'W 342.3° 0.9663°
Penumbral EndsP403:17:37.403:17:04.501°19.6'S049°47.8'W 31.2° 1.4703°
Eclipse Durations
Eclipse Phase Duration
Penumbral (P4 - P1)04h28m07.1s

Explanation of Lunar Eclipse Contacts Table

Polynomial Besselian Elements: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1959 Sep 17

Polynomial Besselian Elements
1959 Sep 17 at 01:00:00.0 TD (=t0)
n x y d f1 f2 f3
0 -0.32211 0.91155 0.0457 1.21566 0.68526 0.25576
1 0.47324 0.15096 -0.0003 -0.00037 -0.00038 -0.00010
2 -0.00019 -0.00009 -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 = 1.000

Explanation of Besselian Elements

Eclipse Publications

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For more visit: AstroPixels Publishing


Links for the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1959 Sep 17

Links to Additional Lunar Eclipse Information

• Decade Tables of Lunar Eclipses:
| 1901 - 1910 | 1911 - 1919 | 1921 - 1930 | 1931 - 1940 | 1941 - 1950 |
| 1951 - 1960 | 1961 - 1970 | 1971 - 1980 | 1981 - 1990 | 1991 - 2000 |
| 2001 - 2010 | 2011 - 2020 | 2021 - 2030 | 2031 - 2040 | 2041 - 2050 |
| 2051 - 2060 | 2061 - 2070 | 2071 - 2080 | 2081 - 2090 | 2091 - 2100 |

Lunar Eclipse Publications

Eclipse Predictions

Predictions for the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1959 Sep 17 were generated using the JPL DE405 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates were calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass.

The Earth's umbral and penumbral shadows were calculated using the Danjon methodusing a mean mid-latitude ellipticity to compensate for the opacity of the terrestrial atmosphere.

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 33.0 seconds for this eclipse.

Acknowledgments

Some of the content on this web site is based on the book 21st Century Canon of Lunar Eclipses. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and 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.