Solar eclipse of April 17, 1996

• A total lunar eclipse on April 4.
• A partial solar eclipse on April 17.
• A total lunar eclipse on September 27.
• A partial solar eclipse on October 12.

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[1]

Solar eclipse series sets from 1993–1996
Descending node				Ascending node
Saros	Map	Gamma		Saros	Map	Gamma
118	1993 May 21 Partial	1.13720		123	1993 November 13 Partial	-1.04114
128	1994 May 10 Annular	0.40771		133 Totality at Bolivia	1994 November 3 Total	-0.35216
138	1995 April 29 Annular	-0.33821		143 Totality at Dundlod, India	1995 October 24 Total	0.35176
148	1996 April 17 Partial	-1.05796		153	1996 October 12 Partial	1.12265

The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.

22 eclipse events between September 12, 1931 and July 1, 2011.
September 11-12	June 30-July 1	April 17-19	February 4-5	November 22-23
114	116	118	120	122
September 12, 1931	June 30, 1935	April 19, 1939	February 4, 1943	November 23, 1946
124	126	128	130	132
September 12, 1950	June 30, 1954	April 19, 1958	February 5, 1962	November 23, 1965
134	136	138	140	142
September 11, 1969	June 30, 1973	April 18, 1977	February 4, 1981	November 22, 1984
144	146	148	150	152
September 11, 1988	June 30, 1992	April 17, 1996	February 5, 2000	November 23, 2003
154	156	158	160	162
September 11, 2007	July 1, 2011	April 18, 2015	February 4, 2019	November 23, 2022