A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Thursday, November 7, 1957, with an umbral magnitude of 1.0305. 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 5.1 days after apogee (on November 2, 1957, at 11:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This lunar eclipse was the last of an almost tetrad, with the others being on May 24, 1956 (partial); November 18, 1956 (total); and May 13, 1957 (total).
Visibility The eclipse was completely visible over the eastern half of Asia, Australia, and Alaska, seen rising over the western half of Asia, Europe, and much of central and east Africa and setting over much of North America.
Eclipse details Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+November 7, 1957 Lunar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Penumbral Magnitude 2.09628 Umbral Magnitude 1.03050 Gamma −0.43321 Sun Right Ascension 14h49m49.6s Sun Declination -16°18'55.4" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'08.6" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 02h50m09.3s Moon Declination +15°55'18.7" Moon Semi-Diameter 15'08.8" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°55'35.5" ΔT 32.2 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 October–November 1957 October 23Ascending node (new moon) November 7Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 123 Total lunar eclipseLunar Saros 135
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1957 A non-central annular solar eclipse on April 30. A total lunar eclipse on May 13. A non-central total solar eclipse on October 23. A total lunar eclipse on November 7.
Metonic Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 19, 1954 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 26, 1961
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 26, 1950 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 19, 1964
Half-Saros Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 1, 1948 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 12, 1966
Tritos Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 8, 1946 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 6, 1968
Lunar Saros 135 Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 28, 1939 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 18, 1975
Inex Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 27, 1928 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 17, 1986
Triad Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 6, 1871 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 7, 2044
Lunar eclipses of 1955–1958
Saros 135
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 142. November 1, 1948November 12, 1966
See also List of lunar eclipses List of 20th-century lunar eclipses
References
External links