Total penumbral lunar eclipse

The penumbral lunar eclipse on March 14, 2006 was a total penumbral eclipse.

A total penumbral eclipse is a lunar eclipse that occurs when the moon becomes completely immersed in the penumbral cone of the Earth without touching the umbra.[1]

It is a narrow path for the moon to pass within the penumbra and outside the umbra. It can happen on the Earth's northern or southern penumbral edges. In addition, the size of the penumbra is sometimes too small where the moon enters it to contain the moon. The width of the Earth's penumbra is determined by the sun's angular diameter at the time of the eclipse, and the moon's angular diameter is larger than the sun over part of its elliptical orbit, depending on whether the eclipse occurs at its nearest (perigee) or farthest point (apogee) in its orbit around the earth. The majority of the time, the size of the moon and the size of the Earth's penumbra where the moon crosses it mean that most eclipses will not be total penumbral in nature.

Frequency

Such eclipses constitute a relatively small fraction of lunar eclipses, and the distribution of these events is uneven, occurring between 0 and 9 times per century. The period of this variation is about 600 years and also correlates with the frequency of total umbral eclipses and tetrads.

Summary frequency of total penumbral, total umbral and tetrad events 501–2500

The frequency of total penumbral lunar eclipses varies by century with the frequency of total umbral eclipses.
A tetrad is a set of four total umbral eclipses within two years.
Century Total
penumbral		 Total
umbral		 Tetrads
501–600 1 63 0
601–700 2 58 0
701–800 2 69 3
801–900 5 88 8
901–1000 3 78 6
1001–1100 3 62 0
1101–1200 0 60 0
1201–1300 1 60 0
1301–1400 8 77 6
1401–1500 4 83 4
1501–1600 2 76 6
1601–1700 2 61 0
1701–1800 0 60 0
1801–1900 2 62 0
1901–2000 9 81 5
2001–2100 5 84 7
2101–2200 5 69 4
2201–2300 1 61 0
2301–2400 0 60 0
2401–2500 6 69 4

List of total penumbral lunar eclipse events 1901–2100

Ascending nodes Descending nodes
Saros Date Viewing Chart Saros Date Viewing Chart
1101901 May 03
1141908 Dec 07
1141926 Dec 19
1141944 Dec 29
1161948 Oct 18
1141963 Jan 09
1141981 Jan 20 1131988 Mar 03
1141999 Jan 31 1132006 Mar 14
1192053 Aug 29
1422070 Apr 25
1202082 Aug 08
1482099 Sep 29

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Total Penumbral lunar eclipses, Jean Meeus, 1980
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