August 1859 lunar eclipse
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Saturday, August 13, 1859, with an umbral magnitude of 1.8148. 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 1.1 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
Totality for this eclipse lasted 106 minutes and 28 seconds, the longest duration since May 3, 459. A totality of this length will not occur again until August 19, 4753. During the totality of this eclipse, the moon was in the constellation of Capricornus.
Visibility
The eclipse was completely visible over the eastern half of Asia, Australia, and Antarctica, seen rising over west and central Asia, Africa, and Europe and setting over northeast Asia and the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.Eclipse details
Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.| Parameter | Value |
| Penumbral Magnitude | 2.88768 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 1.81481 |
| Gamma | 0.00383 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 09h30m59.9s |
| Sun Declination | +14°43'05.3" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'47.6" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 21h30m59.5s |
| Moon Declination | -14°42'54.0" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 14'43.2" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°54'01.4" |
| ΔT | 7.3 s |
Eclipse season
This eclipse was part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months 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.| July 29 Descending node | August 13 Ascending node | August 28 Descending node |
| Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 114 | Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 126 | Partial solar eclipse Solar Saros 152 |
Related eclipses
Eclipses in 1859
- A partial solar eclipse on February 3.
- A total lunar eclipse on February 17.
- A partial solar eclipse on March 4.
- A partial solar eclipse on July 29.A total lunar eclipse on August 13.
- A partial solar eclipse on August 28.
Metonic
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 25, 1855
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 1, 1863
Tzolkinex
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 1, 1852
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 24, 1866
Half-Saros
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 7, 1850
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 18, 1868
Tritos
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 13, 1848
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 12, 1870
Lunar Saros 126
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 2, 1841
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 23, 1877
Inex
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 2, 1830
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 23, 1888
Triad
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 11, 1772
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 14, 1946
Lunar eclipses of 1857–1861
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 at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.The penumbral lunar eclipses on April 9, 1857 and October 3, 1857 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the lunar eclipses on December 28, 1860, June 22, 1861, and December 17, 1861 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.