# September 1978 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, September 16, 1978, with an umbral magnitude of 1.3268. 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 2.4 days after perigee (on September 14, 1978, at 10:35 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

## Visibility

The eclipse was completely visible over east Africa, eastern Europe, much of Asia, and western Australia, seen rising over eastern South America, western Europe, and west and central Africa and setting over northeast Asia and central and eastern Australia.

## Eclipse details

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
September 16, 1978 Lunar Eclipse Parameters :
| Parameter | Value |
| Penumbral Magnitude | 2.30598 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.32683 |
| Gamma | 0.29510 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 11h36m19.9s |
| Sun Declination | +02°33'33.2" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'54.7" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 23h35m58.5s |
| Moon Declination | -02°16'47.0" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'15.0" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°59'38.4" |
| ΔT | 49.3 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 September–October 1978 :
| September 16 Descending node (full moon) | October 2 Ascending node (new moon) |
| Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 127 | Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 153 |

## Related eclipses
### Eclipses in 1978

* A total lunar eclipse on March 24.
* A partial solar eclipse on April 7.
* A total lunar eclipse on September 16.
* A partial solar eclipse on October 2.

### Metonic

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 29, 1974
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 6, 1982

### Tzolkinex

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 6, 1971
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 28, 1985

### Half-Saros

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 11, 1969
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 23, 1987

### Tritos

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 18, 1967
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 17, 1989

### Lunar Saros 127

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 5, 1960
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 27, 1996

### Inex

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 7, 1949
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 28, 2007

### Triad

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 16, 1891
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 17, 2065

### Lunar eclipses of 1977–1980

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of lunar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.
The penumbral lunar eclipse on July 27, 1980 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Lunar eclipse series sets from 1977 to 1980 :
| Ascending node | Ascending node | Ascending node | Ascending node | Descending node | Descending node | Descending node | Descending node |
| Saros | Date Viewing | Type Chart | Gamma | Saros | Date Viewing | Type Chart | Gamma |
| 112 | 1977 Apr 04 | Partial | −0.9148 | 117 | 1977 Sep 27 | Penumbral | 1.0768 |
| 122 | 1978 Mar 24 | Total | −0.2140 | 127 | 1978 Sep 16 | Total | 0.2951 |
| 132 | 1979 Mar 13 | Partial | 0.5254 | 137 | 1979 Sep 06 | Total | −0.4305 |
| 142 | 1980 Mar 01 | Penumbral | 1.2270 | 147 | 1980 Aug 26 | Penumbral | −1.1608 |

### Saros 127

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 127, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 9, 1275. It contains partial eclipses from November 4, 1473 through May 18, 1780; total eclipses from May 29, 1798 through November 9, 2068; and a second set of partial eclipses from November 20, 2086 through June 17, 2429. The series ends at member 72 as a penumbral eclipse on September 2, 2555.
The longest duration of totality was produced by member 35 at 101 minutes, 46 seconds on July 23, 1888. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.
| Greatest | First | First | First | First |
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1888 Jul 23, lasting 101 minutes, 46 seconds. | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1888 Jul 23, lasting 101 minutes, 46 seconds. | 1275 Jul 09 | 1473 Nov 04 | 1798 May 29 | 1834 Jun 21 |
| Last ||||
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1888 Jul 23, lasting 101 minutes, 46 seconds. | Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral |
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1888 Jul 23, lasting 101 minutes, 46 seconds. | 1960 Sep 05 | 2068 Nov 09 | 2429 Jun 17 | 2555 Sep 02 |
Eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
Series members 31–52 occur between 1801 and 2200: :
| 31 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 33 |
| 1816 Jun 10 | 1816 Jun 10 | 1834 Jun 21 | 1834 Jun 21 | 1852 Jul 01 | 1852 Jul 01 |
| 34 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 36 | 36 |
| 1870 Jul 12 | 1870 Jul 12 | 1888 Jul 23 | 1888 Jul 23 | 1906 Aug 04 | 1906 Aug 04 |
| 37 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 39 | 39 |
| 1924 Aug 14 | 1924 Aug 14 | 1942 Aug 26 | 1942 Aug 26 | 1960 Sep 05 | 1960 Sep 05 |
| 40 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 42 | 42 |
| 1978 Sep 16 | 1978 Sep 16 | 1996 Sep 27 | 1996 Sep 27 | 2014 Oct 08 | 2014 Oct 08 |
| 43 | 43 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 45 |
| 2032 Oct 18 | 2032 Oct 18 | 2050 Oct 30 | 2050 Oct 30 | 2068 Nov 09 | 2068 Nov 09 |
| 46 | 46 | 47 | 47 | 48 | 48 |
| 2086 Nov 20 | 2086 Nov 20 | 2104 Dec 02 | 2104 Dec 02 | 2122 Dec 13 | 2122 Dec 13 |
| 49 | 49 | 50 | 50 | 51 | 51 |
| 2140 Dec 23 | 2140 Dec 23 | 2159 Jan 04 | 2159 Jan 04 | 2177 Jan 14 | 2177 Jan 14 |
| 52 ||
| 2195 Jan 26 ||

### Tritos series

This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
Series members between 1801 and 2200 :
| 1804 Jan 26 (Saros 111) | 1804 Jan 26 (Saros 111) | 1814 Dec 26 (Saros 112) | 1814 Dec 26 (Saros 112) | 1825 Nov 25 (Saros 113) | 1825 Nov 25 (Saros 113) | 1836 Oct 24 (Saros 114) | 1836 Oct 24 (Saros 114) | 1847 Sep 24 (Saros 115) | 1847 Sep 24 (Saros 115) |
| 1858 Aug 24 (Saros 116) | 1858 Aug 24 (Saros 116) | 1869 Jul 23 (Saros 117) | 1869 Jul 23 (Saros 117) | 1880 Jun 22 (Saros 118) | 1880 Jun 22 (Saros 118) | 1891 May 23 (Saros 119) | 1891 May 23 (Saros 119) | 1902 Apr 22 (Saros 120) | 1902 Apr 22 (Saros 120) |
| 1913 Mar 22 (Saros 121) | 1913 Mar 22 (Saros 121) | 1924 Feb 20 (Saros 122) | 1924 Feb 20 (Saros 122) | 1935 Jan 19 (Saros 123) | 1935 Jan 19 (Saros 123) | 1945 Dec 19 (Saros 124) | 1945 Dec 19 (Saros 124) | 1956 Nov 18 (Saros 125) | 1956 Nov 18 (Saros 125) |
| 1967 Oct 18 (Saros 126) | 1967 Oct 18 (Saros 126) | 1978 Sep 16 (Saros 127) | 1978 Sep 16 (Saros 127) | 1989 Aug 17 (Saros 128) | 1989 Aug 17 (Saros 128) | 2000 Jul 16 (Saros 129) | 2000 Jul 16 (Saros 129) | 2011 Jun 15 (Saros 130) | 2011 Jun 15 (Saros 130) |
| 2022 May 16 (Saros 131) | 2022 May 16 (Saros 131) | 2033 Apr 14 (Saros 132) | 2033 Apr 14 (Saros 132) | 2044 Mar 13 (Saros 133) | 2044 Mar 13 (Saros 133) | 2055 Feb 11 (Saros 134) | 2055 Feb 11 (Saros 134) | 2066 Jan 11 (Saros 135) | 2066 Jan 11 (Saros 135) |
| 2076 Dec 10 (Saros 136) | 2076 Dec 10 (Saros 136) | 2087 Nov 10 (Saros 137) | 2087 Nov 10 (Saros 137) | 2098 Oct 10 (Saros 138) | 2098 Oct 10 (Saros 138) | 2109 Sep 09 (Saros 139) | 2109 Sep 09 (Saros 139) | 2120 Aug 09 (Saros 140) | 2120 Aug 09 (Saros 140) |
| 2131 Jul 10 (Saros 141) | 2131 Jul 10 (Saros 141) | 2142 Jun 08 (Saros 142) | 2142 Jun 08 (Saros 142) | 2153 May 08 (Saros 143) | 2153 May 08 (Saros 143) | 2164 Apr 07 (Saros 144) | 2164 Apr 07 (Saros 144) | 2175 Mar 07 (Saros 145) | 2175 Mar 07 (Saros 145) |
| 2186 Feb 04 (Saros 146) | 2186 Feb 04 (Saros 146) | 2197 Jan 04 (Saros 147) | 2197 Jan 04 (Saros 147) |

### Inex series

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
Series members between 1801 and 2200 :
| 1805 Jan 15 (Saros 121) | 1805 Jan 15 (Saros 121) | 1833 Dec 26 (Saros 122) | 1833 Dec 26 (Saros 122) | 1862 Dec 06 (Saros 123) | 1862 Dec 06 (Saros 123) |
| 1891 Nov 16 (Saros 124) | 1891 Nov 16 (Saros 124) | 1920 Oct 27 (Saros 125) | 1920 Oct 27 (Saros 125) | 1949 Oct 07 (Saros 126) | 1949 Oct 07 (Saros 126) |
| 1978 Sep 16 (Saros 127) | 1978 Sep 16 (Saros 127) | 2007 Aug 28 (Saros 128) | 2007 Aug 28 (Saros 128) | 2036 Aug 07 (Saros 129) | 2036 Aug 07 (Saros 129) |
| 2065 Jul 17 (Saros 130) | 2065 Jul 17 (Saros 130) | 2094 Jun 28 (Saros 131) | 2094 Jun 28 (Saros 131) | 2123 Jun 09 (Saros 132) | 2123 Jun 09 (Saros 132) |
| 2152 May 18 (Saros 133) | 2152 May 18 (Saros 133) | 2181 Apr 29 (Saros 134) | 2181 Apr 29 (Saros 134) |

### Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros). This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 134.
| September 11, 1969 | September 23, 1987 |