A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Wednesday, December 19, 1945, with an umbral magnitude of 1.3424. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Occurring about 1.6 days after perigee (on December 17, 1945, at 12:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Visibility The eclipse was completely visible over much of North and South America, west Africa, Europe, and northern Russia, seen rising over the eastern Pacific Ocean and setting over east and southern Africa and much of Asia.
Eclipse details Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular lunar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+December 19, 1945 Lunar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Penumbral Magnitude 2.32932 Umbral Magnitude 1.34237 Gamma −0.28453 Sun Right Ascension 17h46m11.1s Sun Declination -23°24'29.1" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'15.4" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 05h46m20.2s Moon Declination +23°07'25.0" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'28.3" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°00'27.1" ΔT 27.3 s
Eclipse season
This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
+ Eclipse season of December 1945–January 1946 December 19Ascending node (full moon) January 3Descending node (new moon) Total lunar eclipseLunar Saros 124 Partial solar eclipseSolar Saros 150
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1945 An annular solar eclipse on January 14. A partial lunar eclipse on June 25. A total solar eclipse on July 9. A total lunar eclipse on December 19.
Metonic Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 1942 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 7, 1949
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 7, 1938 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 29, 1953
Half-Saros Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 13, 1936 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 25, 1954
Tritos Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 19, 1935 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 18, 1956
Lunar Saros 124 Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 8, 1927 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 30, 1963
Inex Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 8, 1917 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 29, 1974
Triad Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 17, 1859 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 18, 2032
Lunar eclipses of 1944–1947
Saros 124
Tritos series
Inex series
Half-Saros cycle A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros This lunar eclipse is related to two total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 131. December 13, 1936December 25, 1954
See also List of lunar eclipses List of 20th-century lunar eclipses
Notes
External links