The periodicity and recurrence of lunar (and solar) eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share a very similar geometry. The two eclipses occur at the same node[1] with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. Thus, the Saros is useful for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 to 15 centuries and contains 70 or more lunar eclipses.
Lunar eclipses of Saros 1 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -2570 Mar 14. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -1272 Apr 30. The total duration of Saros series 1 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2570 Mar 14 07:40:26 TD
Last Eclipse = -1272 Apr 30 11:02:54 TD
Duration of Saros 1 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 1 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 1 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 31 | 42.5% |
| Partial | P | 28 | 38.4% |
| Total | T | 14 | 19.2% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 1 occur in the order of 8N 19P 14T 9P 23N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
19 Partial
14 Total
9 Partial
23 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 1 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1921 Apr 07 Duration = 01h46m13s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -2084 Dec 30 Duration = 00h19m57s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2102 Dec 20 Duration = 03h29m25s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1687 Aug 24 Duration = 00h41m59s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1669 Sep 05 Duration = 04h37m02s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2570 Mar 14 Duration = 00h55m34s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 1 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2102 Dec 20 Magnitude = 0.9885
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1687 Aug 24 Magnitude = 0.0308
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 1 are presented in the following catalog. For eclipses occurring between the years -1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE), the sequence number in the first column links to a eclipse geometry diagram and a map from Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. A detailed key and additional information about the catalog can be found at: Key to Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series.
TD of Phase
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Pen. Um. ---- Durations ----
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num Type QSE Gamma Mag. Mag. Pen. Par. Total
s m m m
01 -36 -2570 Mar 14 07:40:26 61380 -56522 Nb h- -1.5386 0.0377 -0.9683 55.6 - -
02 -35 -2552 Mar 24 14:50:04 60877 -56299 N t- -1.4793 0.1471 -0.8601 109.1 - -
03 -34 -2534 Apr 04 21:53:45 60376 -56076 N t- -1.4157 0.2647 -0.7441 145.4 - -
04 -33 -2516 Apr 15 04:48:05 59876 -55853 N t- -1.3454 0.3947 -0.6162 176.2 - -
05 -32 -2498 Apr 26 11:39:13 59379 -55630 N t- -1.2732 0.5286 -0.4849 202.1 - -
06 -31 -2480 May 06 18:24:32 58884 -55407 N t- -1.1973 0.6695 -0.3473 225.3 - -
07 -30 -2462 May 18 01:08:43 58391 -55184 N t- -1.1211 0.8112 -0.2093 245.6 - -
08 -29 -2444 May 28 07:49:49 57900 -54961 N t- -1.0430 0.9567 -0.0681 264.0 - -
09 -28 -2426 Jun 08 14:33:21 57411 -54738 P t- -0.9675 1.0975 0.0680 279.8 61.5 -
10 -27 -2408 Jun 18 21:17:40 56924 -54515 P t- -0.8935 1.2359 0.2011 293.8 104.1 -
11 -26 -2390 Jun 30 04:05:54 56440 -54292 P t- -0.8234 1.3675 0.3271 305.9 130.7 -
12 -25 -2372 Jul 10 10:58:36 55957 -54069 P t- -0.7576 1.4912 0.4448 316.4 150.2 -
13 -24 -2354 Jul 21 17:58:11 55476 -53846 P t- -0.6983 1.6031 0.5507 325.2 164.8 -
14 -23 -2336 Aug 01 01:04:49 54998 -53623 P t- -0.6450 1.7041 0.6454 332.7 176.1 -
15 -22 -2318 Aug 12 08:18:34 54521 -53400 P t- -0.5983 1.7929 0.7280 338.9 184.9 -
16 -21 -2300 Aug 22 15:41:05 54047 -53177 P t- -0.5595 1.8672 0.7961 344.1 191.6 -
17 -20 -2282 Sep 02 23:11:41 53575 -52954 P t- -0.5280 1.9279 0.8509 348.3 196.5 -
18 -19 -2264 Sep 13 06:50:07 53104 -52731 P t- -0.5036 1.9756 0.8930 351.7 200.2 -
19 -18 -2246 Sep 24 14:36:06 52636 -52508 P t- -0.4858 2.0107 0.9231 354.4 202.8 -
20 -17 -2228 Oct 04 22:29:01 52170 -52285 P t- -0.4741 2.0345 0.9423 356.4 204.5 -
21 -16 -2210 Oct 16 06:27:18 51706 -52062 P t- -0.4676 2.0484 0.9525 358.0 205.5 -
22 -15 -2192 Oct 26 14:28:28 51244 -51839 P t- -0.4639 2.0567 0.9578 359.1 206.2 -
23 -14 -2174 Nov 06 22:32:25 50784 -51616 P t- -0.4628 2.0598 0.9587 360.0 206.5 -
24 -13 -2156 Nov 17 06:36:42 50327 -51393 P t- -0.4621 2.0617 0.9593 360.7 206.8 -
25 -12 -2138 Nov 28 14:39:01 49871 -51170 P t- -0.4601 2.0655 0.9627 361.3 207.3 -
26 -11 -2120 Dec 08 22:37:38 49417 -50947 P t- -0.4553 2.0743 0.9717 361.9 208.1 -
27 -10 -2102 Dec 20 06:31:18 48966 -50724 P t- -0.4465 2.0899 0.9885 362.7 209.4 -
28 -09 -2084 Dec 30 14:18:53 48516 -50501 T t- -0.4326 2.1143 1.0147 363.7 211.3 20.0
29 -08 -2065 Jan 10 21:57:19 48069 -50278 T t- -0.4113 2.1522 1.0551 365.0 213.9 38.2
30 -07 -2047 Jan 21 05:28:00 47623 -50055 T t- -0.3835 2.2018 1.1075 366.5 217.0 52.5
31 -06 -2029 Feb 01 12:48:06 47180 -49832 T p- -0.3470 2.2671 1.1761 368.3 220.7 65.7
32 -05 -2011 Feb 11 19:59:28 46739 -49609 T p- -0.3033 2.3455 1.2581 370.1 224.4 77.3
33 -04 -1993 Feb 23 02:59:48 46300 -49386 T- pp -0.2503 2.4408 1.3571 371.8 228.2 87.7
34 -03 -1975 Mar 05 09:52:15 45863 -49163 T- pp -0.1908 2.5483 1.4683 373.3 231.5 96.0
35 -02 -1957 Mar 16 16:35:22 45427 -48940 T- pp -0.1234 2.6701 1.5937 374.2 234.1 102.2
36 -01 -1939 Mar 26 23:10:33 44995 -48717 T- pp -0.0493 2.8043 1.7314 374.5 235.6 105.8
37 00 -1921 Apr 07 05:39:20 44564 -48494 T+ pp 0.0302 2.8377 1.7681 373.9 235.6 106.2
38 01 -1903 Apr 17 12:03:29 44135 -48271 T+ pp 0.1136 2.6832 1.6165 372.2 234.0 103.0
39 02 -1885 Apr 28 18:24:44 43708 -48048 T+ pp 0.1999 2.5233 1.4594 369.4 230.5 95.4
40 03 -1867 May 09 00:43:26 43283 -47825 T pp 0.2887 2.3594 1.2977 365.3 225.0 81.8
TD of Phase
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Pen. Um. ---- Durations ----
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num Type QSE Gamma Mag. Mag. Pen. Par. Total
s m m m
41 04 -1849 May 20 07:03:18 42861 -47602 T -t 0.3769 2.1966 1.1368 360.0 217.3 58.5
42 05 -1831 May 30 13:24:50 42440 -47379 P -t 0.4638 2.0363 0.9778 353.4 207.4 -
43 06 -1813 Jun 10 19:49:53 42022 -47156 P -t 0.5485 1.8804 0.8230 345.8 195.3 -
44 07 -1795 Jun 21 02:19:43 41606 -46933 P -t 0.6299 1.7308 0.6740 337.3 180.9 -
45 08 -1777 Jul 02 08:56:57 41191 -46710 P -t 0.7058 1.5914 0.5349 328.2 164.5 -
46 09 -1759 Jul 12 15:42:26 40779 -46487 P -t 0.7753 1.4639 0.4073 318.8 146.1 -
47 10 -1741 Jul 23 22:35:57 40369 -46264 P -t 0.8388 1.3475 0.2907 309.2 125.3 -
48 11 -1723 Aug 03 05:40:26 39961 -46041 P -t 0.8939 1.2467 0.1893 300.0 102.4 -
49 12 -1705 Aug 14 12:54:55 39555 -45818 P -t 0.9414 1.1599 0.1019 291.4 75.8 -
50 13 -1687 Aug 24 20:21:14 39151 -45595 P -t 0.9800 1.0893 0.0308 283.8 42.0 -
51 14 -1669 Sep 05 03:56:22 38749 -45372 Nx -t 1.0119 1.0309 -0.0281 277.0 - -
52 15 -1651 Sep 15 11:43:49 38349 -45149 N -t 1.0345 0.9895 -0.0697 271.8 - -
53 16 -1633 Sep 26 19:39:37 37952 -44926 N -t 1.0510 0.9593 -0.1000 267.7 - -
54 17 -1615 Oct 07 03:45:18 37556 -44703 N -t 1.0604 0.9418 -0.1170 264.9 - -
55 18 -1597 Oct 18 11:57:26 37162 -44480 N -h 1.0653 0.9323 -0.1254 263.0 - -
56 19 -1579 Oct 28 20:17:20 36771 -44257 N -h 1.0650 0.9321 -0.1242 262.1 - -
57 20 -1561 Nov 09 04:40:29 36381 -44034 N -h 1.0627 0.9353 -0.1187 261.6 - -
58 21 -1543 Nov 19 13:06:38 35994 -43811 N -h 1.0589 0.9407 -0.1104 261.2 - -
59 22 -1525 Nov 30 21:33:18 35609 -43588 N -h 1.0556 0.9450 -0.1025 260.7 - -
60 23 -1507 Dec 11 06:00:07 35226 -43365 N -h 1.0534 0.9468 -0.0964 259.9 - -
61 24 -1489 Dec 22 14:22:43 34844 -43142 N -h 1.0553 0.9409 -0.0975 258.1 - -
62 25 -1470 Jan 01 22:41:55 34465 -42919 N -h 1.0608 0.9281 -0.1049 255.6 - -
63 26 -1452 Jan 13 06:54:46 34088 -42696 N -h 1.0723 0.9040 -0.1231 251.8 - -
64 27 -1434 Jan 23 15:02:40 33713 -42473 N -h 1.0887 0.8708 -0.1502 246.8 - -
65 28 -1416 Feb 03 23:01:10 33341 -42250 N -h 1.1136 0.8220 -0.1925 239.9 - -
66 29 -1398 Feb 14 06:54:14 32970 -42027 N -h 1.1436 0.7635 -0.2445 231.5 - -
67 30 -1380 Feb 25 14:37:57 32601 -41804 N -h 1.1819 0.6900 -0.3115 220.6 - -
68 31 -1362 Mar 07 22:16:20 32234 -41581 N -h 1.2252 0.6073 -0.3878 207.7 - -
69 32 -1344 Mar 18 05:46:10 31870 -41358 N -h 1.2763 0.5105 -0.4785 191.4 - -
70 33 -1326 Mar 29 13:12:17 31507 -41135 N -a 1.3311 0.4070 -0.5762 171.8 - -
71 34 -1308 Apr 08 20:32:09 31147 -40912 N -a 1.3916 0.2933 -0.6846 146.8 - -
72 35 -1290 Apr 20 03:49:00 30789 -40689 N -a 1.4553 0.1739 -0.7990 113.8 - -
73 36 -1272 Apr 30 11:02:54 30432 -40466 Ne -a 1.5218 0.0497 -0.9190 61.3 - -
[1] The Moon's orbit is inclined about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. The points where the lunar orbit intersects the plane of Earth's orbit are known as the nodes. The Moon moves from south to north of Earth's orbit at the ascending node, and from north to south at the descending node.
[2]Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when Moon passes closest to the axis of Earth's shadow.
The Gregorian calendar is used for all dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates. The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions ). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..
The coordinates of the Sun used in these predictions are based on the VSOP87 theory [Bretagnon and Francou, 1988]. The Moon's coordinates are based on the ELP-2000/82 theory [Chapront-Touze and Chapront, 1983]. For more information, see: Solar and Lunar Ephemerides. The revised value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot = -25.858 arc-sec/cy*cy, as deduced from the Apollo lunar laser ranging experiment (Chapront, Chapront-Touze, and Francou, 2002).
The largest uncertainty in the eclipse predictions is caused by fluctuations in Earth's rotation due primarily to tidal friction of the Moon. The resultant drift in apparent clock time is expressed as ΔT and is determined as follows:
A series of polynomial expressions have been derived to simplify the evaluation of ΔT for any time from -1999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.
The Besselian elements used in the predictions were kindly provided by Jean Meeus. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Some of the information presented on this web site is based on data originally published in Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)"
