A total lunar eclipse took place on Friday, August 6, 1971, the second of two total lunar eclipses in 1971. A dramatic total eclipse lasting 1 hour, 39 minutes and 24.8 seconds plunged the full Moon into deep darkness, as it passed right through the centre of the Earth's umbral shadow. While the visual effect of a total eclipse is variable, the Moon may have been stained a deep orange or red colour at maximum eclipse. This was a great spectacle for everyone who saw it. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours, 35 minutes and 31.9 seconds in total. Occurring only 2.2 days before perigee (Perigee on Monday, August 9, 1971), the Moon's apparent diameter was 3.6% larger than average and the moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow.
Visibility
It was completely visible over Africa and Asia, rising over South America, and setting over Australia.
Lunar saros series 128, repeating every 18 years and 11 days, has a total of 71 lunar eclipse events including 57 umbral eclipses (42 partial lunar eclipses and 15 total lunar eclipses). Solar Saros 135 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.
Greatest
First
The greatest eclipse of the series occurred on 1953 Jul 26, lasting 100.7 minutes.[1]
Lunar Saros 128 contains 15 total lunar eclipses between 1845 and 2097 (in years 1845, 1863, 1881, 1899, 1917, 1935, 1953, 1971, 1989, 2007, 2025, 2043, 2061, 2079 and 2097). Solar Saros 135 interleaves with this lunar saros with an event occurring every 9 years 5 days alternating between each saros series.
Inex series
The inex series repeats eclipses 20 days short of 29 years, repeating on average every 10571.95 days. This period is equal to 358 lunations (synodic months) and 388.5 draconic months. Saros series increment by one on successive Inex events and repeat at alternate ascending and descending lunar nodes.
This period is 383.6734 anomalistic months (the period of the Moon's elliptical orbital precession). Despite the average 0.05 time-of-day shift between subsequent events, the variation of the Moon in its elliptical orbit at each event causes the actual eclipse time to vary significantly. It is a part of Lunar Inex series 40.
A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).[2] This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of Solar Saros 135.
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