May 2022 lunar eclipse

The moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow

A total lunar eclipse will take place on May 16, 2022, the first of two total lunar eclipses in 2022, the second being on November 8.

Visibility

It will be completely visible over most of North and South America, seen rising over Northwest North America, and the Pacific ocean, and setting over Africa, and Europe.

Related eclipses

Lunar year series

Lunar eclipse series sets from 2020-2023

Descending node Saros Date Viewing Type Chart 111 2020 Jun 05 Penumbral 121 2021 May 26 Total 131 2022 May 16 Total 141 2023 May 05 Penumbral Last set 2020 Jan 30 Next set 2024 Sep 18

Ascending node Saros Date Viewing Type Chart 116 2020 Nov 30 Penumbral 126 2021 Nov 19 Partial 136 2022 Nov 08 Total 146 2023 Oct 28 Partial Last set 2020 Jul 05 Next set 2024 Mar 25

Saros series

Lunar Saros series 131, has 72 lunar eclipses.

This eclipse series began in AD 1427 with a partial eclipse at the southern edge of the Earth's shadow when the Moon was close to its descending node. Each successive Saros cycle, the Moon's orbital path is shifted northward with respect to the Earth's shadow, with the first total eclipse occurring in 1950. For the following 252 years, total eclipses occur, with the central eclipse being predicted to occur in 2078. The first partial eclipse after this is predicted to occur in the year 2220, and the final partial eclipse of the series will occur in 2707. The total lifetime of the lunar Saros series 131 is 1280 years.

Because of the ⅓ fraction of days in a Saros cycle, the visibility of each eclipse will differ for an observer at a given fixed locale. For the lunar Saros series 131, the first total eclipse of 1950 had its best visibility for viewers in Eastern Europe and the Middle East because mid-eclipse was at 20:44 UT. The following eclipse in the series occurred approximately 8 hours later in the day with mid-eclipse at 4:47 UT, and was best seen from North America and South America. The third total eclipse occurred approximately 8 hours later in the day than the second eclipse with mid-eclipse at 12:43 UT, and had its best visibility for viewers in the Western Pacific, East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This cycle of visibility repeats from the initiation to termination of the series, with minor variations.

Greatest	First
The greatest eclipse of the series will occur on 2094 Jun 28, lasting 102 minutes.[1]	Penumbral	Partial	Total	Central
	1427 May 10	1553 July 25	1950 Apr 2	2022 May 16
	Last
	Central	Total	Partial	Penumbral
	2148 Jul 31	2202 Sep 3	2563 Apr 9	2707 Jul 7

1901–2100

1914 Mar 12		1932 Mar 22		1950 Apr 2
1968 Apr 13		1986 Apr 24		2004 May 4
2022 May 16		2040 May 26		2058 Jun 6
2076 Jun 17		2094 Jun 28

This is the first of the series that passes through the center of the Earth's shadow. The last occurrence was on May 2004 lunar eclipse. The next occurrence is May 2040 lunar eclipse.

Metonic series

This eclipse is the third of four Metonic cycle lunar eclipses on the same date, May 15-16, each separated by 19 years.

The moon's path through the Earth's shadow near its descending node progresses southward through each sequential eclipse. The second and third are total eclipses.

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 be in nearly the same location relative to the background stars.

1984 May 15 - penumbral (111) 2003 May 16 - total (121) 2022 May 16 - total (131) 2041 May 16 - penumbral (141)	1984 Nov 8 - penumbral (116) 2003 Nov 9 - total (126) 2022 Nov 8 - total (136) 2041 Nov 8 - partial (146) 2060 Nov 8 - penumbral (156)

See also

• List of lunar eclipses and List of 21st century lunar eclipses

Notes

1. ^ Listing of Eclipses of cycle 131

External links

• 2022 May 16 chart: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC