| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | 24 March 1978 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamma | −0.21402 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.45179 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 122 (54 of 75) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 90 minutes, 40.2 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 218 minutes, 34.5 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 345 minutes, 2.2 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
A total lunar eclipse took place on Friday, March 24, 1978, the first of two total lunar eclipses in 1978. The moon passed through the center of the Earth's shadow. The Moon was plunged into darkness for 1 hour, 30 minutes and 40.2 seconds, in a deep total eclipse which saw the Moon 45.179% of its diameter inside the Earth's umbral shadow. The visual effect of this depends on the state of the Earth's atmosphere, but the Moon may have been stained a deep red colour. The partial eclipse lasted for 3 hours, 38 minutes and 34.5 seconds in total.[1]
This is the 54th member of Lunar Saros 122. The previous event is the March 1960 lunar eclipse. The next event is the April 1996 lunar eclipse.