Eclipse Season

  • Eclipses of the Sun and Moon can only occur during the Eclipse Season. There are two Eclipse Seasons in one year, and two to three Eclipses occur during one Season.
  • The Eclipse Seasons were calculated and predicted by the Babylonians and the Ancient Egyptians.

 Syzygy

  • When the Sun, Earth and Moon are in Line it is called a Syzygy, and this is one the Eclipse Season occurs..
  • The Eclipse Season lasts for approximately thirty four days, and is repeated again five and a half months later..

Number of Eclipse Seasons every Year

  • There are always two Eclipse Seasons every year.

Number of Eclipses in an Eclipse Season

  • Two Eclipses always occur during the Eclipse Season, either:
  • Sometimes a third Eclipse occurs, either Solar, Lunar, Solar or vice versa.

Two Lunar Eclipses every Year

  • This means there are a minimum of two Lunar Eclipses each year, sometimes three.
  • A Lunar Eclipse is always visible from any country experiencing darkness.

Two Solar Eclipses every Year

  • There are always two Solar Eclipses each year, sometimes three.

Up to seven Eclipses may occur in one Year

  • Since the gap between the first Eclipse Season and the second Eclipse Season is about five and a half months, the third Eclipse Season will occur within a twelve month period.
  • If the last Eclipse of the previous Year’s Eclipse Season occurs at the beginning of January, then there may be seven Eclipses between the first of January and the thirty first of December.

Saros Cycle

  • The Saros Cycle is a period of 223 lunar months, or 18 years, that are used to predict the eclipses of the Sun and Moon. Saros in Greek meant ‘to Repeat’.
  • Once the time of a previous eclipse is logged, it becomes possible to calculate and predict the next group of eclipses.
  • To Predict the next Eclipse, the Time of observation of the last Eclipse was recorded, 18 years, 11 Days and 8 hours was then added, and the result was the Date of the new Eclipse.

 

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