A total
lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, ...
will occur at the Moon’s
ascending node
An orbital node is either of the two points where an orbit intersects a plane of reference to which it is inclined. A non-inclined orbit, which is contained in the reference plane, has no nodes.
Planes of reference
Common planes of referenc ...
of orbit on Thursday, February 11, 2055, with an umbral
magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
of 1.2258. A lunar eclipse occurs when the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
moves into the
Earth's shadow
Earth's shadow (or Earth shadow) is the shadow that Earth itself casts through its atmosphere and into outer space, toward the antisolar point. During the twilight period (both early dusk and late dawn), the shadow's visible fringe – someti ...
, 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
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...
, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the
night
Night, or nighttime, is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of ...
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
A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...
is smaller. Occurring only about 15 hours before
perigee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values.
Apsides perta ...
(on February 12, 2055, at 13:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
This lunar eclipse will be the third of an
almost tetrad, with the others being on
February 22, 2054 (total);
August 18, 2054 (total); and
August 7, 2055 (partial).
Visibility
The eclipse will be completely visible over
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, and
west
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
,
central, and
south Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
, seen rising over much of
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
and setting over
east Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
and western
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
Eclipse details
Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
Eclipse season
This eclipse is part of an
eclipse season
An eclipse season is a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Eclipse seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of the Orbit of the Moon, Moon's orbital plane (orbital inclination, tilted five degrees to the ecliptic, Earth ...
, 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
A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights).
Astronomy and tides
In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...
.
Related eclipses
Eclipses in 2055
*
A partial solar eclipse on January 27.
* A total lunar eclipse on February 11.
*
A total solar eclipse on July 24.
*
A partial lunar eclipse on August 7.
Metonic
* Preceded by:
Lunar eclipse of April 26, 2051
* Followed by:
Lunar eclipse of November 30, 2058
Tzolkinex
* Preceded by:
Lunar eclipse of January 1, 2048
* Followed by:
Lunar eclipse of March 25, 2062
Half-Saros
* Preceded by:
Solar eclipse of February 5, 2046
An annular solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Monday, February 5 and Tuesday, February 6, 2046, with a magnitude of 0.9232. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally ...
* Followed by:
Solar eclipse of February 17, 2064
Tritos
* Preceded by:
Lunar eclipse of March 13, 2044
* Followed by:
Lunar eclipse of January 11, 2066
Lunar Saros 134
* Preceded by:
Lunar eclipse of January 31, 2037
* Followed by:
Lunar eclipse of February 22, 2073
Inex
* Preceded by:
Lunar eclipse of March 3, 2026
* Followed by:
Lunar eclipse of January 22, 2084
Triad
* Preceded by:
Lunar eclipse of April 13, 1968
* Followed by:
Lunar eclipse of December 13, 2141
Lunar eclipses of 2053–2056
Saros 134
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 141.
See also
*
List of lunar eclipses
__NOTOC__
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened.
By type
* List of central lunar eclipses
* Total penumbral lunar eclipse
By classification
* List of saros series for lunar eclipse ...
and
List of 21st-century lunar eclipses
During the 21st century, there will be 228 lunar eclipses of which 86 will be Lunar eclipse#Types of lunar eclipse, penumbral, 57 will be partial and 85 will be total. Of the total eclipses, 24 will be central, in the sense that the Moon will pas ...
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunar eclipse 2055-02
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2055 in science