March 1959 lunar eclipse
A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 24, 1959, with an umbral magnitude of 0.2643. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when one part of the Moon is in the Earth's umbra, while the other part is in the Earth's penumbra. 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. Occurring about 1.5 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Visibility
The eclipse was completely visible over much of Africa, Europe, and Asia, seen rising over eastern South America, west Africa, and western Europe and setting over northeast Asia and Australia.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 | 1.23788 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 0.26428 |
| Gamma | −0.87571 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 00h12m37.9s |
| Sun Declination | +01°22'05.8" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'02.4" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.8" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 12h11m33.0s |
| Moon Declination | -02°12'30.0" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'28.5" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°00'27.8" |
| ΔT | 32.8 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.| March 24 Ascending node | April 8 Descending node |
| Partial lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 112 | Annular solar eclipse Solar Saros 138 |
Related eclipses
Eclipses in 1959
A partial lunar eclipse on March 24.- An annular solar eclipse on April 8.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on September 17.
- A total solar eclipse on October 2.
Metonic
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 5, 1955
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 9, 1963
Tzolkinex
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 11, 1952
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of May 4, 1966
Half-Saros
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 18, 1950
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 28, 1968
Tritos
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 23, 1948
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 21, 1970
Lunar Saros 112
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1941
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 1977
Inex
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 13, 1930
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 1988
Triad
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 22, 1872
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 22, 2046
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 solar eclipses of Solar Saros 119.| March 18, 1950 | March 28, 1968 |