January 2048 lunar eclipse


A total lunar eclipse will occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Wednesday, January 1, 2048, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1297. 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 4.4 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be smaller.
This will be the first recorded lunar eclipse to be visible on New Year's Day for nearly all of Earth's timezones. The next such eclipse will occur in 2094.

Visibility

The eclipse will be completely visible over North America and western South America, seen rising over east and northeast Asia and eastern Australia and setting over much of Africa and Europe.

Eclipse details

Shown below is a table displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. It describes various parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
ParameterValue
Penumbral Magnitude2.21576
Umbral Magnitude1.12966
Gamma−0.37456
Sun Right Ascension18h45m45.0s
Sun Declination-23°01'00.1"
Sun Semi-Diameter16'15.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.9"
Moon Right Ascension06h45m29.1s
Moon Declination+22°40'44.8"
Moon Semi-Diameter14'58.6"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°54'57.7"
ΔT83.8 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is 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.
December 16
Ascending node
January 1
Descending node
Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 123
Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 135

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2048

Saros 135

Tritos series

Inex series

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days. This lunar eclipse is related to two total solar eclipses of Solar Saros 142.
December 26, 2038January 5, 2057