# September 1997 lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, September 16, 1997, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1909. 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 only about 2.5 hours after perigee (on September 16, 1997, at 16:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This lunar eclipse was the last of an almost tetrad, with the others being on April 4, 1996 (total); September 27, 1996 (total); and March 24, 1997 (partial).

## 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 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, 1997 Lunar Eclipse Parameters :
| Parameter | Value |
| Penumbral Magnitude | 2.14167 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.19094 |
| Gamma | −0.37684 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 11h37m42.6s |
| Sun Declination | +02°24'38.0" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'54.7" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 23h38m10.7s |
| Moon Declination | -02°46'41.1" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'44.2" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'25.5" |
| ΔT | 62.7 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 1997 :
| September 2 Ascending node (new moon) | September 16 Descending node (full moon) |
| Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 125 | Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 137 |

## Related eclipses
### Eclipses in 1997

* A total solar eclipse on March 9.
* A partial lunar eclipse on March 24.
* A partial solar eclipse on September 2.
* A total lunar eclipse on September 16.

### Metonic

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 29, 1993
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 5, 2001

### Tzolkinex

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 6, 1990
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 28, 2004

### Half-Saros

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 11, 1988
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 22, 2006

### Tritos

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 17, 1986
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 16, 2008

### Lunar Saros 137

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 6, 1979
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 28, 2015

### Inex

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 6, 1968
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 28, 2026

### Triad

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 17, 1910
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 17, 2084

### Lunar eclipses of 1995–1998

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 August 8, 1998 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Lunar eclipse series sets from 1995 to 1998 :
| 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 | 1995 Apr 15 | Partial | −0.9594 | 117 | 1995 Oct 08 | Penumbral | 1.1179 |
| 122 | 1996 Apr 04 | Total | −0.2534 | 127 | 1996 Sep 27 | Total | 0.3426 |
| 132 | 1997 Mar 24 | Partial | 0.4899 | 137 | 1997 Sep 16 | Total | −0.3768 |
| 142 | 1998 Mar 13 | Penumbral | 1.1964 | 147 | 1998 Sep 06 | Penumbral | −1.1058 |

### Saros 137

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 137, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 78 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on December 17, 1564. It contains partial eclipses from June 10, 1835 through August 26, 1961; total eclipses from September 6, 1979 through June 28, 2466; and a second set of partial eclipses from July 9, 2484 through September 12, 2592. The series ends at member 78 as a penumbral eclipse on April 20, 2953.
The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 44 at 99 minutes, 53 seconds on April 13, 2340. 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 will occur on 2340 Apr 13, lasting 99 minutes, 53 seconds. | Penumbral | Partial | Total | Central |
| The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2340 Apr 13, lasting 99 minutes, 53 seconds. | 1564 Dec 17 | 1835 Jun 10 | 1979 Sep 06 | 2051 Oct 19 |
| Last ||||
| The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2340 Apr 13, lasting 99 minutes, 53 seconds. | Central | Total | Partial | Penumbral |
| The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2340 Apr 13, lasting 99 minutes, 53 seconds. | 2412 May 26 | 2466 Jun 28 | 2592 Sep 12 | 2953 Apr 20 |
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 15–36 occur between 1801 and 2200: :
| 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 |
| 1817 May 30 | 1817 May 30 | 1835 Jun 10 | 1835 Jun 10 | 1853 Jun 21 | 1853 Jun 21 |
| 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 |
| 1871 Jul 02 | 1871 Jul 02 | 1889 Jul 12 | 1889 Jul 12 | 1907 Jul 25 | 1907 Jul 25 |
| 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| 1925 Aug 04 | 1925 Aug 04 | 1943 Aug 15 | 1943 Aug 15 | 1961 Aug 26 | 1961 Aug 26 |
| 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 |
| 1979 Sep 06 | 1979 Sep 06 | 1997 Sep 16 | 1997 Sep 16 | 2015 Sep 28 | 2015 Sep 28 |
| 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 |
| 2033 Oct 08 | 2033 Oct 08 | 2051 Oct 19 | 2051 Oct 19 | 2069 Oct 30 | 2069 Oct 30 |
| 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 32 |
| 2087 Nov 10 | 2087 Nov 10 | 2105 Nov 21 | 2105 Nov 21 | 2123 Dec 03 | 2123 Dec 03 |
| 33 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 35 | 35 |
| 2141 Dec 13 | 2141 Dec 13 | 2159 Dec 24 | 2159 Dec 24 | 2178 Jan 04 | 2178 Jan 04 |
| 36 ||
| 2196 Jan 15 ||

### 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 :
| 1801 Mar 30 (Saros 119) | 1801 Mar 30 (Saros 119) | 1812 Feb 27 (Saros 120) | 1812 Feb 27 (Saros 120) | 1823 Jan 26 (Saros 121) | 1823 Jan 26 (Saros 121) | 1833 Dec 26 (Saros 122) | 1833 Dec 26 (Saros 122) | 1844 Nov 24 (Saros 123) | 1844 Nov 24 (Saros 123) |
| 1855 Oct 25 (Saros 124) | 1855 Oct 25 (Saros 124) | 1866 Sep 24 (Saros 125) | 1866 Sep 24 (Saros 125) | 1877 Aug 23 (Saros 126) | 1877 Aug 23 (Saros 126) | 1888 Jul 23 (Saros 127) | 1888 Jul 23 (Saros 127) | 1899 Jun 23 (Saros 128) | 1899 Jun 23 (Saros 128) |
| 1910 May 24 (Saros 129) | 1910 May 24 (Saros 129) | 1921 Apr 22 (Saros 130) | 1921 Apr 22 (Saros 130) | 1932 Mar 22 (Saros 131) | 1932 Mar 22 (Saros 131) | 1943 Feb 20 (Saros 132) | 1943 Feb 20 (Saros 132) | 1954 Jan 19 (Saros 133) | 1954 Jan 19 (Saros 133) |
| 1964 Dec 19 (Saros 134) | 1964 Dec 19 (Saros 134) | 1975 Nov 18 (Saros 135) | 1975 Nov 18 (Saros 135) | 1986 Oct 17 (Saros 136) | 1986 Oct 17 (Saros 136) | 1997 Sep 16 (Saros 137) | 1997 Sep 16 (Saros 137) | 2008 Aug 16 (Saros 138) | 2008 Aug 16 (Saros 138) |
| 2019 Jul 16 (Saros 139) | 2019 Jul 16 (Saros 139) | 2030 Jun 15 (Saros 140) | 2030 Jun 15 (Saros 140) | 2041 May 16 (Saros 141) | 2041 May 16 (Saros 141) | 2052 Apr 14 (Saros 142) | 2052 Apr 14 (Saros 142) | 2063 Mar 14 (Saros 143) | 2063 Mar 14 (Saros 143) |
| 2074 Feb 11 (Saros 144) | 2074 Feb 11 (Saros 144) | 2085 Jan 10 (Saros 145) | 2085 Jan 10 (Saros 145) | 2095 Dec 11 (Saros 146) | 2095 Dec 11 (Saros 146) | 2106 Nov 11 (Saros 147) | 2106 Nov 11 (Saros 147) | 2117 Oct 10 (Saros 148) | 2117 Oct 10 (Saros 148) |
| 2128 Sep 09 (Saros 149) | 2128 Sep 09 (Saros 149) | 2139 Aug 10 (Saros 150) | 2139 Aug 10 (Saros 150) | 2150 Jul 09 (Saros 151) | 2150 Jul 09 (Saros 151) | 2161 Jun 08 (Saros 152) | 2161 Jun 08 (Saros 152) | 2172 May 08 (Saros 153) | 2172 May 08 (Saros 153) |
| | | 2194 Mar 07 (Saros 155) | 2194 Mar 07 (Saros 155) |

### 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 :
| 1824 Jan 16 (Saros 131) | 1824 Jan 16 (Saros 131) | 1852 Dec 26 (Saros 132) | 1852 Dec 26 (Saros 132) | 1881 Dec 05 (Saros 133) | 1881 Dec 05 (Saros 133) |
| 1910 Nov 17 (Saros 134) | 1910 Nov 17 (Saros 134) | 1939 Oct 28 (Saros 135) | 1939 Oct 28 (Saros 135) | 1968 Oct 06 (Saros 136) | 1968 Oct 06 (Saros 136) |
| 1997 Sep 16 (Saros 137) | 1997 Sep 16 (Saros 137) | 2026 Aug 28 (Saros 138) | 2026 Aug 28 (Saros 138) | 2055 Aug 07 (Saros 139) | 2055 Aug 07 (Saros 139) |
| 2084 Jul 17 (Saros 140) | 2084 Jul 17 (Saros 140) | 2113 Jun 29 (Saros 141) | 2113 Jun 29 (Saros 141) | 2142 Jun 08 (Saros 142) | 2142 Jun 08 (Saros 142) |
| 2171 May 19 (Saros 143) | 2171 May 19 (Saros 143) | 2200 Apr 30 (Saros 144) | 2200 Apr 30 (Saros 144) |

### 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 144.
| September 11, 1988 | September 22, 2006 |