October 1985 lunar eclipse

Total lunar eclipse (October 28, 1985)

October 1985 lunar eclipseTotal eclipse

The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left

Date| October 28, 1985
Gamma| −0.4022
Magnitude| 1.0736
Saros cycle| 126 (44 of 72)
Totality| 43 minutes, 52 seconds
Partiality| 214 minutes, 57 seconds
Penumbral| 365 minutes, 3 seconds
| Contacts (UTC)

P1| 14:39:51
U1| 15:54:53
U2| 17:20:26
Greatest| 17:42:22
U3| 18:04:18
U4| 19:29:50
P4| 20:44:54

<- May 1985

April 1986 ->

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Monday, October 28, 1985,[1] with an umbral magnitude of 1.0736. 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 1.2 days before apogee (on October 29, 1985, at 21:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]

This lunar eclipse was the second of a tetrad, with four total lunar eclipses in series, the others being on May 4, 1985; April 24, 1986; and October 17, 1986.

## Visibility

[edit]

The eclipse was completely visible over northern Europe, Asia, and western Australia, seen rising over Africa and much of Europe and setting over eastern Australia, northwestern North America, and the central Pacific Ocean.[3]

## Eclipse details

[edit]

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

October 28, 1985 Lunar Eclipse Parameters  Parameter  | Value

|

Penumbral Magnitude  | 2.16733
Umbral Magnitude  | 1.07357
Gamma  | −0.40218
Sun Right Ascension  | 14h11m49.8s
Sun Declination  | -13°16'24.9"
Sun Semi-Diameter  | 16'06.1"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax  | 08.9"
Moon Right Ascension  | 02h12m27.9s
Moon Declination  | +12°56'45.9"
Moon Semi-Diameter  | 14'43.3"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax  | 0°54'01.6"
ΔT  | 54.8 s

## Eclipse season

[edit]

See also: Eclipse cycle

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 1985  October 28
Ascending node (full moon)
| November 12
Descending node (new moon)

|

Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 126 | Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 152

## Related eclipses

[edit]

### Eclipses in 1985

[edit]

* A total lunar eclipse on May 4.
* A partial solar eclipse on May 19.
* A total lunar eclipse on October 28.
* A total solar eclipse on November 12.

### Metonic

[edit]

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 9, 1982
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 17, 1989

### Tzolkinex

[edit]

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 16, 1978
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 9, 1992

### Half-Saros

[edit]

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 23, 1976
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 3, 1994

### Tritos

[edit]

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 29, 1974
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 27, 1996

### Lunar Saros 126

[edit]

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 18, 1967
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 9, 2003

### Inex

[edit]

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 18, 1956
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 8, 2014

### Triad

[edit]

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 27, 1898
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 28, 2072

### Lunar eclipses of 1984–1987

[edit]

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.[5]

The penumbral lunar eclipse on June 13, 1984 occurs in the previous lunar year eclipse set.

Lunar eclipse series sets from 1984 to 1987

Descending node  |  | Ascending node
Saros | Date
Viewing  | Type
Chart  | Gamma | Saros  | Date
Viewing  | Type
Chart  | Gamma
111  | 1984 May 15
| Penumbral
| 1.1131  | 116  | 1984 Nov 08
| Penumbral
| −1.0900
121  | 1985 May 04
| Total
| 0.3520  | 126  | 1985 Oct 28
| Total
| −0.4022
131  | 1986 Apr 24
| Total
| −0.3683  | 136  | 1986 Oct 17
| Total
| 0.3189
141  | 1987 Apr 14
| Penumbral
| −1.1364  | 146  | 1987 Oct 07
| Penumbral
| 1.0189

### Metonic series

[edit]

The metonic cycle repeats nearly exactly every 19 years and represents a Saros cycle plus one lunar year. Because it occurs on the same calendar date, the Earth's shadow will in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.

Metonic events: May 4 and October 28

Descending node  | Ascending node

1. 1966 May 4 \- Penumbral (111)
2. 1985 May 4 \- Total (121)
3. 2004 May 4 \- Total (131)
4. 2023 May 5 \- Penumbral (141)

1. 1966 Oct 29 \- Penumbral (116)
2. 1985 Oct 28 \- Total (126)
3. 2004 Oct 28 \- Total (136)
4. 2023 Oct 28 \- Partial (146)
5. 2042 Oct 28 \- Penumbral (156)

### Saros 126

[edit]

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 126, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 70 events. The series started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 18, 1228. It contains partial eclipses from March 24, 1625 through June 9, 1751; total eclipses from June 19, 1769 through November 9, 2003; and a second set of partial eclipses from November 19, 2021 through June 5, 2346. The series ends at member 70 as a penumbral eclipse on August 19, 2472.

The longest duration of totality was produced by member 36 at 106 minutes, 27 seconds on August 13, 1859. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[6]

Greatest  | First

|

The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1859 Aug 13, lasting 106 minutes, 27 seconds.[7] | Penumbral  | Partial  | Total  | Central
1228 Jul 18
| 1625 Mar 24
| 1769 Jun 19
| 1805 Jul 11

Last
Central  | Total  | Partial  | Penumbral
1931 Sep 26
| 2003 Nov 09
| 2346 Jun 05
| 2472 Aug 19

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 33–54 occur between 1801 and 2200:

33  | 34  | 35
1805 Jul 11 | 1823 Jul 23 | 1841 Aug 02
|  |  |  |  |
36  | 37  | 38
1859 Aug 13 | 1877 Aug 23 | 1895 Sep 04
|  |  |  |  |
39  | 40  | 41
1913 Sep 15 | 1931 Sep 26 | 1949 Oct 07
|  |  |  |  |
42  | 43  | 44
1967 Oct 18 | 1985 Oct 28 | 2003 Nov 09
|  |  |  |  |
45  | 46  | 47
2021 Nov 19 | 2039 Nov 30 | 2057 Dec 11
|  |  |  |  |
48  | 49  | 50
2075 Dec 22 | 2094 Jan 01 | 2112 Jan 14
|  |  |  |  |
51  | 52  | 53
2130 Jan 24 | 2148 Feb 04 | 2166 Feb 15
|  |  |  |  |

2184 Feb 26

### Tritos series

[edit]

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

1811 Mar 10
(Saros 110)  | 1822 Feb 06
(Saros 111)  | 1833 Jan 06
(Saros 112)  | 1843 Dec 07
(Saros 113)  | 1854 Nov 04
(Saros 114)
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
1865 Oct 04
(Saros 115)  | 1876 Sep 03
(Saros 116)  | 1887 Aug 03
(Saros 117)  | 1898 Jul 03
(Saros 118)  | 1909 Jun 04
(Saros 119)
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
1920 May 03
(Saros 120)  | 1931 Apr 02
(Saros 121)  | 1942 Mar 03
(Saros 122)  | 1953 Jan 29
(Saros 123)  | 1963 Dec 30
(Saros 124)
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
1974 Nov 29
(Saros 125)  | 1985 Oct 28
(Saros 126)  | 1996 Sep 27
(Saros 127)  | 2007 Aug 28
(Saros 128)  | 2018 Jul 27
(Saros 129)
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
2029 Jun 26
(Saros 130)  | 2040 May 26
(Saros 131)  | 2051 Apr 26
(Saros 132)  | 2062 Mar 25
(Saros 133)  | 2073 Feb 22
(Saros 134)
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
2084 Jan 22
(Saros 135)  | 2094 Dec 21
(Saros 136)  | 2105 Nov 21
(Saros 137)  | 2116 Oct 21
(Saros 138)  | 2127 Sep 20
(Saros 139)
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
2138 Aug 20
(Saros 140)  | 2149 Jul 20
(Saros 141)  | 2160 Jun 18
(Saros 142)  | 2171 May 19
(Saros 143)  | 2182 Apr 18
(Saros 144)
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
2193 Mar 17
(Saros 145)

### Inex series

[edit]

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

1812 Feb 27
(Saros 120)  | 1841 Feb 06
(Saros 121)  | 1870 Jan 17
(Saros 122)
|  |  |  |  |
1898 Dec 27
(Saros 123)  | 1927 Dec 08
(Saros 124)  | 1956 Nov 18
(Saros 125)
|  |  |  |  |
1985 Oct 28
(Saros 126)  | 2014 Oct 08
(Saros 127)  | 2043 Sep 19
(Saros 128)
|  |  |  |  |
2072 Aug 28
(Saros 129)  | 2101 Aug 09
(Saros 130)  | 2130 Jul 21
(Saros 131)
|  |  |  |  |
2159 Jun 30
(Saros 132)  | 2188 Jun 09
(Saros 133)
|  |  |

### Half-Saros cycle

[edit]

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[8] This lunar eclipse is related to two total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 133.

October 23, 1976 | November 3, 1994

|

## See also

[edit]

* List of lunar eclipses
* List of 20th-century lunar eclipses

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "October 28–29, 1985 Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)". timeanddate. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
3. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1985 Oct 28" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
4. ^ "Total Lunar Eclipse of 1985 Oct 28". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
5. ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
6. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 126". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
7. ^ Listing of Eclipses of series 126
8. ^ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, The half-saros

## External links

[edit]

* 1985 Oct 28 chart Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC

* v
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Partial eclipses

* 1453 May
* 1903 Apr
* 1914 Mar
* 1916 Jul
* 1930 Apr
* 1930 Oct
* 1932 Mar
* 1932 Sep
* 1934 Jan
* 1934 Jul
* 1936 Jul
* 1937 Nov
* 1939 Oct
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* 2034 Sep
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* 2037 Jul
* 2039 Jun
* 2039 Nov
* 2041 May
* 2041 Nov
* 2046 Jan
* 2046 Jul
* 2048 Jun
* 2052 Oct
* 2055 Aug
* 2075 Jun
* 2099 Apr

Total eclipses

* 1504 Mar
* 1573 Dec
* 1859 Aug
* 1910 May
* 1913 Sep
* 1920 May
* 1921 Apr
* 1928 Jun
* 1931 Apr
* 1931 Sep
* 1935 Jan
* 1935 Jul
* 1936 Jan
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* 1960 Mar
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* 1964 Jun
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* 1967 Apr
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* 1968 Apr
* 1968 Oct
* 1971 Feb
* 1971 Aug
* 1972 Jan
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* 1975 May
* 1975 Nov
* 1978 Mar
* 1978 Sep
* 1979 Sep
* 1982 Jan
* 1982 Jul
* 1982 Dec
* 1985 May
* 1985 Oct
* 1986 Apr
* 1986 Oct
* 1989 Feb
* 1989 Aug
* 1990 Feb
* 1992 Dec
* 1993 Jun
* 1993 Nov
* 1996 Apr
* 1996 Sep
* 1997 Sep
* 2000 Jan
* 2000 Jul
* 2001 Jan
* 2003 May
* 2003 Nov
* 2004 May
* 2004 Oct
* 2007 Mar
* 2007 Aug
* 2008 Feb
* 2010 Dec
* 2011 Jun
* 2011 Dec
* 2014 Apr
* 2014 Oct
* 2015 Apr
* 2015 Sep
* 2018 Jan
* 2018 Jul
* 2019 Jan
* 2021 May
* 2022 May
* 2022 Nov
* 2025 Mar
* → 2025 Sep
* 2026 Mar
* 2028 Dec
* 2029 Jun
* 2029 Dec
* 2032 Apr
* 2032 Oct
* 2033 Apr
* 2033 Oct
* 2036 Feb
* 2036 Aug
* 2037 Jan
* 2040 May
* 2040 Nov
* 2043 Mar
* 2043 Sep
* 2044 Mar
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* 2047 Jan
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* 2048 Jan
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* 2050 Oct
* 2051 Apr
* 2051 Oct
* 2054 Feb
* 2054 Aug
* 2055 Feb
* 2058 Jun
* 2065 Jul
* 2069 May
* 2072 Aug
* 2076 Jun
* 2083 Jul
* 2084 Jan
* 2087 May
* 2090 Sep
* 2094 Jun
* 2123 Jun
* 2170 May

Penumbral eclipses

| Partial|

* 1933 Feb 10
* 1933 Mar 12
* 1933 Aug 05
* 1933 Sep 04
* 1936 Dec 28
* 1937 May 25
* 1940 Mar 23
* 1940 Apr 22
* 1940 Oct 16
* 1944 Feb 09
* 1944 Jul 06
* 1944 Aug 04
* 1947 Nov 28
* 1951 Feb 21
* 1951 Mar 23
* 1951 Aug 17
* 1951 Sep 15
* 1955 Jan 08
* 1955 Jun 05
* 1958 Apr 04
* 1958 Oct 27
* 1959 Sep 17
* 1962 Feb 19
* 1962 Jul 17
* 1962 Aug 15
* 1965 Dec 08
* 1966 May 04
* 1966 Oct 29
* 1969 Apr 02
* 1969 Aug 27
* 1969 Sep 25
* 1973 Jan 18
* 1973 Jun 15
* 1973 Jul 15
* 1976 Nov 06
* 1977 Sep 27
* 1980 Mar 01
* 1980 Jul 27
* 1980 Aug 26
* 1983 Dec 20
* 1984 May 15
* 1984 Jun 13
* 1984 Nov 08
* 1987 Apr 14
* 1987 Oct 07
* 1991 Jan 30
* 1991 Jun 27
* 1991 Jul 26
* 1994 Nov 18
* 1995 Oct 08
* 1998 Mar 13
* 1998 Aug 08
* 1998 Sep 06
* 2001 Dec 30
* 2002 May 26
* 2002 Jun 24
* 2002 Nov 20
* 2005 Apr 24
* 2009 Feb 09
* 2009 Jul 07
* 2009 Aug 06
* 2012 Nov 28
* 2013 May 25
* 2013 Oct 18
* 2016 Mar 23
* 2016 Aug 18
* 2016 Sep 16
* 2017 Feb 11
* 2020 Jan 10
* 2020 Jun 05
* 2020 Jul 05
* 2020 Nov 30
* 2023 May 05
* 2024 Mar 25
* → 2027 Feb 20
* 2027 Jul 18
* 2027 Aug 17
* 2030 Dec 09
* 2031 May 07
* 2031 Jun 05
* 2031 Oct 30
* 2034 Apr 03
* 2035 Feb 22
* 2038 Jan 21
* 2038 Jun 17
* 2038 Jul 16
* 2038 Dec 11
* 2042 Apr 05
* 2042 Oct 28
* 2045 Mar 03
* 2045 Aug 27
* 2048 Dec 20
* 2049 May 17
* 2049 Jun 15
* 2049 Nov 09
* 2052 Apr 14
* 2053 Mar 04
* 2060 Nov 08
* 2107 May 7

|

Total|

* 1944 Dec 29
* 1948 Oct 18
* 1963 Jan 09
* 1981 Jan 20
* 1988 Mar 03
* 1999 Jan 31
* 2006 Mar 14
* → 2053 Aug 29

Related|

* Danjon scale
* Eclipse cycle
* Eclipse season
* Eclipses in mythology and culture
* Gamma
* Solar eclipse

* Category
* → symbol denotes next eclipse in series

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