May 1956 lunar eclipse
A partial lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Thursday, May 24, 1956, with an umbral magnitude of 0.9647. 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 4.3 days before apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This lunar eclipse was the first of an almost tetrad, with the others being on November 18, 1956 ; May 13, 1957 ; and November 7, 1957.
This was the first eclipse of the last partial set in Lunar Saros 120.
Visibility
The eclipse was completely visible over east Asia, Australia, and Antarctica, seen rising over central and east Africa, eastern Europe, and the western half of Asia and setting over the 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 | 2.01740 |
| Umbral Magnitude | 0.96473 |
| Gamma | −0.47260 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 04h05m33.5s |
| Sun Declination | +20°50'30.4" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'47.4" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 16h05m23.2s |
| Moon Declination | -21°16'24.6" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'00.0" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°55'03.0" |
| ΔT | 31.6 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.| May 24 Ascending node | June 8 Descending node |
| Partial lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 120 | Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 146 |
Related eclipses
Eclipses in 1956
A partial lunar eclipse on May 24.- A total solar eclipse on June 8.
- A total lunar eclipse on November 18.
- A partial solar eclipse on December 2.
Metonic
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 5, 1952
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 13, 1960
Tzolkinex
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 13, 1949
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 6, 1963
Half-Saros
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 20, 1947
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 30, 1965
Tritos
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 25, 1945
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 24, 1967
Lunar Saros 120
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 14, 1938
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 4, 1974
Inex
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 15, 1927
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of May 4, 1985
Triad
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 23, 1869
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 25, 2043
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 127.| May 20, 1947 | May 30, 1965 |