# May 1938 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Saturday, May 14, 1938, with an umbral magnitude of 1.0966. 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 4.1 days before apogee (on May 18, 1938, at 9:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This lunar eclipse was the first of an almost tetrad, with the others being on November 7, 1938 (total); May 3, 1939 (total); and October 28, 1939 (partial).
This was the last total lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 120.

## Visibility

The eclipse was completely visible over western North America, Antarctica, and the eastern Pacific Ocean, seen rising over east Asia and Australia and setting over eastern North America, South America, and west Africa.

## Eclipse details

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
May 14, 1938 Lunar Eclipse Parameters :
| Parameter | Value |
| Penumbral Magnitude | 2.15402 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.09660 |
| Gamma | −0.39944 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 03h21m58.6s |
| Sun Declination | +18°30'04.2" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'49.4" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 15h21m44.2s |
| Moon Declination | -18°51'44.3" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 14'57.8" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°54'55.0" |
| ΔT | 24.0 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 May 1938 :
| May 14 Ascending node (full moon) | May 29 Descending node (new moon) |
| Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 120 | Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 146 |

## Related eclipses
### Eclipses in 1938

* A total lunar eclipse on May 14.
* A total solar eclipse on May 29.
* A total lunar eclipse on November 7.
* A partial solar eclipse on November 21.

### Metonic

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 26, 1934
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 1942

### Tzolkinex

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 2, 1931
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 25, 1945

### Half-Saros

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 1929
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 20, 1947

### Tritos

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 15, 1927
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 13, 1949

### Lunar Saros 120

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 3, 1920
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of May 24, 1956

### Inex

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 4, 1909
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 24, 1967

### Triad

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 13, 1851
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 14, 2025

### Lunar eclipses of 1937–1940

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 March 23, 1940 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Lunar eclipse series sets from 1937 to 1940 :
| 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 |
| 110 | 1937 May 25 | Penumbral | −1.1582 | 115 | 1937 Nov 18 | Partial | 0.9421 |
| 120 | 1938 May 14 | Total | −0.3994 | 125 | 1938 Nov 07 | Total | 0.2739 |
| 130 | 1939 May 03 | Total | 0.3693 | 135 | 1939 Oct 28 | Partial | −0.4581 |
| 140 | 1940 Apr 22 | Penumbral | 1.0741 | 145 | 1940 Oct 16 | Penumbral | −1.1925 |

### Saros 120

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 120, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 83 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on October 16, 1000. It contains partial eclipses from May 31, 1379 through August 4, 1487; total eclipses from August 14, 1505 through May 14, 1938; and a second set of partial eclipses from May 24, 1956 through July 28, 2064. The series ends at member 83 as a penumbral eclipse on April 7, 2479.
The longest duration of totality was produced by member 43 at 104 minutes, 55 seconds on January 24, 1758. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.
| Greatest | First | First | First | First |
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1758 Jan 24, lasting 104 minutes, 55 seconds. | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1758 Jan 24, lasting 104 minutes, 55 seconds. | 1000 Oct 16 | 1379 May 31 | 1505 Aug 14 | 1559 Sep 16 |
| Last ||||
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1758 Jan 24, lasting 104 minutes, 55 seconds. | Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral |
| The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1758 Jan 24, lasting 104 minutes, 55 seconds. | 1902 Apr 22 | 1938 May 14 | 2064 Jul 28 | 2479 Apr 07 |
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 46–67 occur between 1801 and 2200: :
| 46 | 46 | 47 | 47 | 48 | 48 |
| 1812 Feb 27 | 1812 Feb 27 | 1830 Mar 09 | 1830 Mar 09 | 1848 Mar 19 | 1848 Mar 19 |
| 49 | 49 | 50 | 50 | 51 | 51 |
| 1866 Mar 31 | 1866 Mar 31 | 1884 Apr 10 | 1884 Apr 10 | 1902 Apr 22 | 1902 Apr 22 |
| 52 | 52 | 53 | 53 | 54 | 54 |
| 1920 May 03 | 1920 May 03 | 1938 May 14 | 1938 May 14 | 1956 May 24 | 1956 May 24 |
| 55 | 55 | 56 | 56 | 57 | 57 |
| 1974 Jun 04 | 1974 Jun 04 | 1992 Jun 15 | 1992 Jun 15 | 2010 Jun 26 | 2010 Jun 26 |
| 58 | 58 | 59 | 59 | 60 | 60 |
| 2028 Jul 06 | 2028 Jul 06 | 2046 Jul 18 | 2046 Jul 18 | 2064 Jul 28 | 2064 Jul 28 |
| 61 | 61 | 62 | 62 | 63 | 63 |
| 2082 Aug 08 | 2082 Aug 08 | 2100 Aug 19 | 2100 Aug 19 | 2118 Aug 31 | 2118 Aug 31 |
| 64 | 64 | 65 | 65 | 66 | 66 |
| 2136 Sep 10 | 2136 Sep 10 | 2154 Sep 21 | 2154 Sep 21 | 2172 Oct 02 | 2172 Oct 02 |
| 67 ||
| 2190 Oct 13 ||

### 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 :
| 1807 May 21 (Saros 108) | 1807 May 21 (Saros 108) | 1818 Apr 21 (Saros 109) | 1818 Apr 21 (Saros 109) | 1829 Mar 20 (Saros 110) | 1829 Mar 20 (Saros 110) | 1840 Feb 17 (Saros 111) | 1840 Feb 17 (Saros 111) | 1851 Jan 17 (Saros 112) | 1851 Jan 17 (Saros 112) |
| 1861 Dec 17 (Saros 113) | 1861 Dec 17 (Saros 113) | 1872 Nov 15 (Saros 114) | 1872 Nov 15 (Saros 114) | 1883 Oct 16 (Saros 115) | 1883 Oct 16 (Saros 115) | 1894 Sep 15 (Saros 116) | 1894 Sep 15 (Saros 116) | 1905 Aug 15 (Saros 117) | 1905 Aug 15 (Saros 117) |
| 1916 Jul 15 (Saros 118) | 1916 Jul 15 (Saros 118) | 1927 Jun 15 (Saros 119) | 1927 Jun 15 (Saros 119) | 1938 May 14 (Saros 120) | 1938 May 14 (Saros 120) | 1949 Apr 13 (Saros 121) | 1949 Apr 13 (Saros 121) | 1960 Mar 13 (Saros 122) | 1960 Mar 13 (Saros 122) |
| 1971 Feb 10 (Saros 123) | 1971 Feb 10 (Saros 123) | 1982 Jan 09 (Saros 124) | 1982 Jan 09 (Saros 124) | 1992 Dec 09 (Saros 125) | 1992 Dec 09 (Saros 125) | 2003 Nov 09 (Saros 126) | 2003 Nov 09 (Saros 126) | 2014 Oct 08 (Saros 127) | 2014 Oct 08 (Saros 127) |
| 2025 Sep 07 (Saros 128) | 2025 Sep 07 (Saros 128) | 2036 Aug 07 (Saros 129) | 2036 Aug 07 (Saros 129) | 2047 Jul 07 (Saros 130) | 2047 Jul 07 (Saros 130) | 2058 Jun 06 (Saros 131) | 2058 Jun 06 (Saros 131) | 2069 May 06 (Saros 132) | 2069 May 06 (Saros 132) |
| 2080 Apr 04 (Saros 133) | 2080 Apr 04 (Saros 133) | 2091 Mar 05 (Saros 134) | 2091 Mar 05 (Saros 134) | 2102 Feb 03 (Saros 135) | 2102 Feb 03 (Saros 135) | 2113 Jan 02 (Saros 136) | 2113 Jan 02 (Saros 136) | 2123 Dec 03 (Saros 137) | 2123 Dec 03 (Saros 137) |
| 2134 Nov 02 (Saros 138) | 2134 Nov 02 (Saros 138) | 2145 Sep 30 (Saros 139) | 2145 Sep 30 (Saros 139) | 2156 Aug 30 (Saros 140) | 2156 Aug 30 (Saros 140) | 2167 Aug 01 (Saros 141) | 2167 Aug 01 (Saros 141) | 2178 Jun 30 (Saros 142) | 2178 Jun 30 (Saros 142) |
| 2189 May 29 (Saros 143) | 2189 May 29 (Saros 143) | 2200 Apr 30 (Saros 144) | 2200 Apr 30 (Saros 144) |

### 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 :
| 1822 Aug 03 (Saros 116) | 1822 Aug 03 (Saros 116) | 1851 Jul 13 (Saros 117) | 1851 Jul 13 (Saros 117) | 1880 Jun 22 (Saros 118) | 1880 Jun 22 (Saros 118) |
| 1909 Jun 04 (Saros 119) | 1909 Jun 04 (Saros 119) | 1938 May 14 (Saros 120) | 1938 May 14 (Saros 120) | 1967 Apr 24 (Saros 121) | 1967 Apr 24 (Saros 121) |
| 1996 Apr 04 (Saros 122) | 1996 Apr 04 (Saros 122) | 2025 Mar 14 (Saros 123) | 2025 Mar 14 (Saros 123) | 2054 Feb 22 (Saros 124) | 2054 Feb 22 (Saros 124) |
| 2083 Feb 02 (Saros 125) | 2083 Feb 02 (Saros 125) | 2112 Jan 14 (Saros 126) | 2112 Jan 14 (Saros 126) | 2140 Dec 23 (Saros 127) | 2140 Dec 23 (Saros 127) |
| 2169 Dec 04 (Saros 128) | 2169 Dec 04 (Saros 128) | 2198 Nov 13 (Saros 129) | 2198 Nov 13 (Saros 129) |

### 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 total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 127.
| May 9, 1929 | May 20, 1947 |