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 2 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -2523 Mar 03. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -1225 Apr 22. The total duration of Saros series 2 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2523 Mar 03 23:38:19 TD
Last Eclipse = -1225 Apr 22 10:32:15 TD
Duration of Saros 2 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 2 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 2 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 19 | 26.0% |
| Partial | P | 26 | 35.6% |
| Total | T | 28 | 38.4% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 2 occur in the order of 7N 8P 28T 18P 12N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
8 Partial
28 Total
18 Partial
12 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 2 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1892 Mar 17 Duration = 01h40m09s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1766 Jun 01 Duration = 00h25m25s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2271 Aug 01 Duration = 03h19m03s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1442 Dec 13 Duration = 00h17m42s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2415 May 07 Duration = 04h25m37s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2523 Mar 03 Duration = 01h13m26s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 2 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2271 Aug 01 Magnitude = 0.9628
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1442 Dec 13 Magnitude = 0.0065
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 2 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 -35 -2523 Mar 03 23:38:19 60073 -55941 Nb t- 1.5459 0.0569 -1.0137 73.4 - -
02 -34 -2505 Mar 15 06:22:01 59575 -55718 N t- 1.4782 0.1786 -0.8871 128.3 - -
03 -33 -2487 Mar 25 13:00:09 59079 -55495 N t- 1.4052 0.3102 -0.7507 166.6 - -
04 -32 -2469 Apr 05 19:32:43 58585 -55272 N t- 1.3265 0.4524 -0.6040 197.9 - -
05 -31 -2451 Apr 16 02:03:10 58094 -55049 N t- 1.2451 0.5997 -0.4527 223.9 - -
06 -30 -2433 Apr 27 08:29:45 57604 -54826 N t- 1.1592 0.7554 -0.2932 246.6 - -
07 -29 -2415 May 07 14:58:04 57116 -54603 N t- 1.0735 0.9111 -0.1342 265.6 - -
08 -28 -2397 May 18 21:26:07 56631 -54380 P t- 0.9859 1.0704 0.0279 282.1 40.2 -
09 -27 -2379 May 29 03:59:05 56147 -54157 P t- 0.9011 1.2247 0.1846 295.7 100.8 -
10 -26 -2361 Jun 09 10:34:37 55666 -53934 P t- 0.8170 1.3780 0.3397 307.2 133.2 -
11 -25 -2343 Jun 19 17:18:38 55187 -53711 P t- 0.7385 1.5215 0.4846 316.3 155.1 -
12 -24 -2325 Jul 01 00:08:44 54709 -53488 P t- 0.6633 1.6589 0.6230 323.8 171.5 -
13 -23 -2307 Jul 11 07:08:34 54234 -53265 P t- 0.5949 1.7840 0.7488 329.5 183.5 -
14 -22 -2289 Jul 22 14:17:03 53761 -53042 P h- 0.5325 1.8984 0.8636 333.8 192.6 -
15 -21 -2271 Aug 01 21:37:01 53290 -52819 P h- 0.4785 1.9975 0.9628 336.8 199.0 -
16 -20 -2253 Aug 13 05:07:04 52821 -52596 T a- 0.4315 2.0837 1.0489 338.9 203.8 34.7
17 -19 -2235 Aug 23 12:47:32 52354 -52373 T a- 0.3921 2.1560 1.1213 340.2 207.1 53.2
18 -18 -2217 Sep 03 20:38:59 51889 -52150 T a- 0.3608 2.2134 1.1787 340.9 209.2 63.1
19 -17 -2199 Sep 14 04:40:30 51426 -51927 T a- 0.3370 2.2570 1.2225 340.9 210.5 69.2
20 -16 -2181 Sep 25 12:51:34 50966 -51704 T p- 0.3202 2.2876 1.2536 340.6 211.2 72.9
21 -15 -2163 Oct 05 21:10:18 50507 -51481 T p- 0.3090 2.3077 1.2745 340.0 211.4 75.0
22 -14 -2145 Oct 17 05:36:34 50050 -51258 T p- 0.3030 2.3181 1.2863 339.0 211.2 76.1
23 -13 -2127 Oct 27 14:07:53 49596 -51035 T p- 0.3003 2.3220 1.2921 337.9 210.8 76.5
24 -12 -2109 Nov 07 22:42:33 49144 -50812 T p- 0.2997 2.3219 1.2945 336.7 210.3 76.5
25 -11 -2091 Nov 18 07:19:17 48693 -50589 T p- 0.3000 2.3198 1.2955 335.3 209.8 76.5
26 -10 -2073 Nov 29 15:56:15 48245 -50366 T p- 0.2999 2.3180 1.2974 334.0 209.3 76.5
27 -09 -2055 Dec 10 00:31:10 47799 -50143 T p- 0.2973 2.3206 1.3044 332.7 209.0 77.1
28 -08 -2037 Dec 21 09:02:20 47355 -49920 T p- 0.2908 2.3303 1.3187 331.5 209.0 78.3
29 -07 -2019 Dec 31 17:29:07 46913 -49697 T p- 0.2800 2.3473 1.3411 330.4 209.3 80.2
30 -06 -2000 Jan 12 01:50:23 46473 -49474 T+ p- 0.2642 2.3734 1.3728 329.5 209.8 82.8
31 -05 -1982 Jan 22 10:03:40 46035 -49251 T+ p- 0.2411 2.4129 1.4182 328.9 210.7 86.1
32 -04 -1964 Feb 02 18:10:18 45599 -49028 T+ p- 0.2119 2.4635 1.4746 328.3 211.8 89.6
33 -03 -1946 Feb 13 02:08:34 45165 -48805 T+ p- 0.1751 2.5281 1.5452 327.8 212.9 93.2
34 -02 -1928 Feb 24 10:00:35 44733 -48582 T+ p- 0.1325 2.6032 1.6262 327.2 213.9 96.3
35 -01 -1910 Mar 06 17:43:30 44304 -48359 T+ pp 0.0818 2.6934 1.7220 326.6 214.7 98.8
36 00 -1892 Mar 17 01:21:33 43876 -48136 T+ pp 0.0264 2.7925 1.8262 325.7 214.9 100.2
37 01 -1874 Mar 28 08:52:26 43451 -47913 T- pp -0.0358 2.7728 1.8114 324.4 214.5 100.0
38 02 -1856 Apr 07 16:19:37 43027 -47690 T- pp -0.1016 2.6498 1.6927 322.6 213.2 98.0
39 03 -1838 Apr 18 23:42:07 42606 -47467 T- pp -0.1721 2.5186 1.5653 320.3 210.9 93.5
40 04 -1820 Apr 29 07:03:25 42187 -47244 T- -p -0.2443 2.3847 1.4344 317.3 207.4 86.3
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 05 -1802 May 10 14:23:15 41770 -47021 T -p -0.3182 2.2477 1.2998 313.6 202.7 75.1
42 06 -1784 May 20 21:43:09 41355 -46798 T -a -0.3928 2.1101 1.1640 309.2 196.7 58.0
43 07 -1766 Jun 01 05:04:33 40941 -46575 T -a -0.4665 1.9742 1.0292 304.2 189.4 25.4
44 08 -1748 Jun 11 12:28:41 40531 -46352 P -a -0.5386 1.8419 0.8971 298.6 180.8 -
45 09 -1730 Jun 22 19:56:47 40122 -46129 P -a -0.6074 1.7156 0.7706 292.6 171.0 -
46 10 -1712 Jul 03 03:29:16 39715 -45906 P -a -0.6729 1.5960 0.6501 286.2 160.0 -
47 11 -1694 Jul 14 11:08:16 39310 -45683 P -a -0.7332 1.4861 0.5386 279.8 148.1 -
48 12 -1676 Jul 24 18:54:02 38907 -45460 P -a -0.7882 1.3861 0.4366 273.3 135.3 -
49 13 -1658 Aug 05 02:46:59 38507 -45237 P -a -0.8374 1.2971 0.3453 267.2 121.9 -
50 14 -1640 Aug 15 10:48:01 38108 -45014 P -a -0.8800 1.2204 0.2658 261.5 108.2 -
51 15 -1622 Aug 26 18:57:15 37712 -44791 P -a -0.9158 1.1560 0.1985 256.5 94.4 -
52 16 -1604 Sep 06 03:15:18 37317 -44568 P -a -0.9448 1.1045 0.1439 252.3 81.0 -
53 17 -1586 Sep 17 11:40:02 36925 -44345 P -a -0.9685 1.0625 0.0989 248.8 67.5 -
54 18 -1568 Sep 27 20:13:36 36535 -44122 P -a -0.9850 1.0336 0.0670 246.4 55.9 -
55 19 -1550 Oct 09 04:53:04 36147 -43899 P -a -0.9969 1.0132 0.0439 244.8 45.4 -
56 20 -1532 Oct 19 13:39:15 35761 -43676 P -a -1.0035 1.0023 0.0306 244.0 38.0 -
57 21 -1514 Oct 30 22:28:20 35377 -43453 P -a -1.0078 0.9954 0.0216 243.6 32.0 -
58 22 -1496 Nov 10 07:21:16 34994 -43230 P -a -1.0091 0.9938 0.0185 243.8 29.6 -
59 23 -1478 Nov 21 16:14:29 34615 -43007 P -a -1.0103 0.9923 0.0158 244.0 27.4 -
60 24 -1460 Dec 02 01:07:16 34237 -42784 P -a -1.0115 0.9904 0.0132 244.1 25.1 -
61 25 -1442 Dec 13 09:57:08 33861 -42561 P -a -1.0151 0.9840 0.0065 243.8 17.7 -
62 26 -1424 Dec 23 18:43:33 33487 -42338 N -a -1.0210 0.9730 -0.0043 243.1 - -
63 27 -1405 Jan 04 03:23:38 33116 -42115 N -a -1.0321 0.9525 -0.0243 241.4 - -
64 28 -1387 Jan 14 11:56:56 32746 -41892 N -a -1.0484 0.9221 -0.0539 238.6 - -
65 29 -1369 Jan 25 20:22:14 32379 -41669 N -a -1.0708 0.8805 -0.0946 234.6 - -
66 30 -1351 Feb 05 04:39:43 32013 -41446 N -a -1.0991 0.8282 -0.1459 229.2 - -
67 31 -1333 Feb 16 12:46:45 31650 -41223 N -a -1.1356 0.7607 -0.2125 221.6 - -
68 32 -1315 Feb 26 20:45:40 31289 -41000 N -a -1.1782 0.6820 -0.2904 212.0 - -
69 33 -1297 Mar 10 04:34:42 30930 -40777 N -a -1.2286 0.5894 -0.3825 199.4 - -
70 34 -1279 Mar 20 12:16:37 30573 -40554 N -a -1.2840 0.4876 -0.4842 183.6 - -
71 35 -1261 Mar 31 19:48:00 30218 -40331 N -a -1.3474 0.3715 -0.6006 162.5 - -
72 36 -1243 Apr 11 03:14:07 29865 -40108 N -a -1.4142 0.2492 -0.7236 135.1 - -
73 37 -1225 Apr 22 10:32:15 29514 -39885 Ne -a -1.4869 0.1166 -0.8577 93.8 - -
[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)"
