June 2076 lunar eclipse

June 2076 lunar eclipse
Total eclipse
	The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left
Date	June 17, 2076
Gamma	−0.0452
Magnitude	1.7959
Saros cycle	131 (37 of 72)
Totality	100 minutes, 10 seconds
Partiality	215 minutes, 5 seconds
Penumbral	325 minutes, 21 seconds
P1
Contacts (UTC)
P1	23:54:35
U1	0:49:46
U2	1:47:13
Greatest	2:37:18
U3	3:27:23
U4	4:24:51
P4	5:19:56
	← December 2075 December 2076 →

A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Wednesday, June 17, 2076,^[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.7959. 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 1.9 days before perigee (on June 18, 2076, at 20:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.^[2]

The moon will pass through the center of the Earth's shadow. While the visual effect of a total eclipse is variable, the Moon may be stained a deep orange or red color at maximum eclipse. With a gamma value of only −0.0452 and an umbral eclipse magnitude of 1.7959, this is the second greatest eclipse in Saros series 131 as well as the largest and darkest lunar eclipse between June 26, 2029 and June 28, 2094. Overall, it will be the third largest and darkest lunar eclipse of the 21st century. While it will have similar values to the lunar eclipse of July 16, 2000, totality will not last over 106 minutes due to the moon's relatively large apparent size as seen from Earth and greater speed in its elliptical orbit.

Visibility

The eclipse will be completely visible over South America, west Africa, and Antarctica, seen rising over North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean and setting over Europe, west and south Asia, and central and east Africa.^[3]

Eclipse details

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.^[4]

June 17, 2076 Lunar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter	Value
Penumbral Magnitude	2.75698
Umbral Magnitude	1.79585
Gamma	−0.04518
Sun Right Ascension	05h46m08.2s
Sun Declination	+23°23'27.6"
Sun Semi-Diameter	15'44.6"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax	08.7"
Moon Right Ascension	17h46m06.8s
Moon Declination	-23°26'09.4"
Moon Semi-Diameter	16'22.8"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax	1°00'07.0"
ΔT	104.8 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. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.

Eclipse season of June–July 2076
June 1 Ascending node (new moon)	June 17 Descending node (full moon)	July 1 Ascending node (new moon)

Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 119	Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 131	Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 157

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2076

Lunar eclipses of 2074–2078

Saros 131

Lunar Saros series 131, has 72 lunar eclipses. Solar Saros 138 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.

This eclipse series began in AD 1427 with a partial eclipse at the southern edge of the Earth's shadow when the Moon was close to its descending node. Each successive Saros cycle, the Moon's orbital path is shifted northward with respect to the Earth's shadow, with the first total eclipse occurring in 1950. For the following 252 years, total eclipses occur, with the central eclipse being predicted to occur in 2078. The first partial eclipse after this is predicted to occur in the year 2220, and the final partial eclipse of the series will occur in 2707. The total lifetime of the lunar Saros series 131 is 1280 years. Solar Saros 138 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.

Because of the ⅓ fraction of days in a Saros cycle, the visibility of each eclipse will differ for an observer at a given fixed locale. For the lunar Saros series 131, the first total eclipse of 1950 had its best visibility for viewers in Eastern Europe and the Middle East because mid-eclipse was at 20:44 UT. The following eclipse in the series occurred approximately 8 hours later in the day with mid-eclipse at 4:47 UT, and was best seen from North America and South America. The third total eclipse occurred approximately 8 hours later in the day than the second eclipse with mid-eclipse at 12:43 UT, and had its best visibility for viewers in the Western Pacific, East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This cycle of visibility repeats from the initiation to termination of the series, with minor variations. Solar Saros 138 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.

Lunar Saros series 131, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, has a total of 72 lunar eclipse events including 57 umbral lunar eclipses (42 partial lunar eclipses and 15 total lunar eclipses). Solar Saros 138 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.

Greatest	First
The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2094 Jun 28, lasting 102 minutes.^[5]	Penumbral	Partial	Total	Central
	1427 May 10	1553 July 25	1950 Apr 2	2022 May 16
	Last
	Central	Total	Partial	Penumbral
	2148 Jul 31	2202 Sep 3	2563 Apr 9	2707 Jul 7

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).^[6] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 138.