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 4 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 -2646 Oct 06. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -1131 Apr 02. The total duration of Saros series 4 is 1514.53 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2646 Oct 06 22:54:36 TD
Last Eclipse = -1131 Apr 02 08:16:29 TD
Duration of Saros 4 = 1514.53 Years
Saros 4 is composed of 78 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 4 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 78 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 38 | 48.7% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 19.2% |
| Total | T | 25 | 32.1% |
The 78 lunar eclipses in Saros 4 occur in the order of 13N 8P 25T 7P 25N which corresponds to:
13 Penumbral
8 Partial
25 Total
7 Partial
25 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 4 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1798 Feb 26 Duration = 01h45m55s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -2141 Aug 05 Duration = 00h41m51s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1690 May 02 Duration = 03h28m13s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2285 May 11 Duration = 00h53m18s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1564 Jul 16 Duration = 04h37m38s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2628 Oct 17 Duration = 00h17m11s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 4 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1690 May 02 Magnitude = 0.9928
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2285 May 11 Magnitude = 0.0507
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 4 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 -40 -2646 Oct 06 22:54:36 63509 -57455 N a- 1.5549 0.0040 -0.9945 17.6 - -
02 -39 -2628 Oct 17 07:33:31 62997 -57232 N a- 1.5562 0.0038 -0.9988 17.2 - -
03 -38 -2483 Jan 12 03:56:22 58975 -55448 N a- 1.5575 0.0085 -1.0082 26.3 - -
04 -37 -2465 Jan 23 11:59:53 58482 -55225 N a- 1.5388 0.0429 -0.9739 59.1 - -
05 -36 -2447 Feb 02 19:51:06 57990 -55002 N h- 1.5114 0.0931 -0.9237 87.0 - -
06 -35 -2429 Feb 14 03:33:45 57501 -54779 N h- 1.4781 0.1541 -0.8627 111.7 - -
07 -34 -2411 Feb 24 11:04:20 57014 -54556 N h- 1.4365 0.2308 -0.7864 136.2 - -
08 -33 -2393 Mar 07 18:25:40 56529 -54333 N t- 1.3880 0.3198 -0.6977 159.6 - -
09 -32 -2375 Mar 18 01:36:20 56046 -54110 N t- 1.3318 0.4234 -0.5950 182.6 - -
10 -31 -2357 Mar 29 08:39:32 55565 -53887 N t- 1.2703 0.5369 -0.4826 204.2 - -
11 -30 -2339 Apr 08 15:34:40 55086 -53664 N t- 1.2030 0.6612 -0.3600 224.7 - -
12 -29 -2321 Apr 19 22:22:57 54609 -53441 N t- 1.1309 0.7945 -0.2287 244.1 - -
13 -28 -2303 Apr 30 05:06:09 54134 -53218 N t- 1.0552 0.9347 -0.0912 262.0 - -
14 -27 -2285 May 11 11:45:42 53661 -52995 P t- 0.9771 1.0797 0.0507 278.5 53.3 -
15 -26 -2267 May 21 18:22:50 53191 -52772 P t- 0.8976 1.2273 0.1947 293.4 102.7 -
16 -25 -2249 Jun 02 00:59:10 52722 -52549 P t- 0.8182 1.3751 0.3383 306.7 132.9 -
17 -24 -2231 Jun 12 07:36:42 52256 -52326 P t- 0.7404 1.5203 0.4789 318.5 155.3 -
18 -23 -2213 Jun 23 14:17:03 51791 -52103 P t- 0.6654 1.6603 0.6140 328.7 172.5 -
19 -22 -2195 Jul 03 21:00:24 51329 -51880 P t- 0.5935 1.7951 0.7434 337.5 186.3 -
20 -21 -2177 Jul 15 03:49:38 50869 -51657 P t- 0.5269 1.9200 0.8627 345.0 197.0 -
21 -20 -2159 Jul 25 10:44:52 50411 -51434 P t- 0.4659 2.0349 0.9718 351.2 205.4 -
22 -19 -2141 Aug 05 17:48:10 49955 -51211 T t- 0.4119 2.1370 1.0681 356.4 211.9 41.9
23 -18 -2123 Aug 16 00:58:25 49500 -50988 T p- 0.3640 2.2278 1.1530 360.7 216.9 61.1
24 -17 -2105 Aug 27 08:18:18 49048 -50765 T p- 0.3243 2.3035 1.2231 364.2 220.6 72.1
25 -16 -2087 Sep 06 15:46:16 48599 -50542 T p- 0.2914 2.3665 1.2807 367.0 223.3 79.2
26 -15 -2069 Sep 17 23:22:53 48151 -50319 T+ p- 0.2662 2.4152 1.3245 369.3 225.3 83.9
27 -14 -2051 Sep 28 07:06:59 47705 -50096 T+ pp 0.2473 2.4521 1.3569 371.1 226.7 86.9
28 -13 -2033 Oct 09 14:58:09 47261 -49873 T+ pp 0.2345 2.4775 1.3786 372.5 227.6 88.7
29 -12 -2015 Oct 19 22:54:47 46820 -49650 T+ pp 0.2263 2.4942 1.3921 373.6 228.2 89.8
30 -11 -1997 Oct 31 06:54:09 46380 -49427 T+ pp 0.2207 2.5057 1.4014 374.4 228.7 90.6
31 -10 -1979 Nov 10 14:56:40 45943 -49204 T+ pp 0.2178 2.5117 1.4059 375.0 229.0 91.0
32 -09 -1961 Nov 21 22:58:46 45507 -48981 T+ pp 0.2154 2.5164 1.4101 375.4 229.3 91.3
33 -08 -1943 Dec 02 06:59:23 45074 -48758 T+ pp 0.2115 2.5233 1.4173 375.7 229.6 91.9
34 -07 -1925 Dec 13 14:55:19 44643 -48535 T+ pp 0.2042 2.5363 1.4313 376.0 230.1 93.0
35 -06 -1907 Dec 23 22:47:02 44214 -48312 T+ pp 0.1935 2.5549 1.4519 376.1 230.8 94.4
36 -05 -1888 Jan 04 06:31:35 43786 -48089 T+ pp 0.1771 2.5837 1.4832 376.3 231.6 96.4
37 -04 -1870 Jan 14 14:08:08 43361 -47866 T+ pp 0.1543 2.6239 1.5265 376.5 232.6 98.7
38 -03 -1852 Jan 25 21:35:43 42938 -47643 T+ pp 0.1243 2.6772 1.5835 376.6 233.7 101.3
39 -02 -1834 Feb 05 04:54:28 42518 -47420 T+ pp 0.0867 2.7440 1.6543 376.5 234.7 103.6
40 -01 -1816 Feb 16 12:03:43 42099 -47197 T+ pp 0.0413 2.8253 1.7399 376.2 235.4 105.4
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 00 -1798 Feb 26 19:03:40 41682 -46974 T- pp -0.0120 2.8769 1.7958 375.5 235.5 105.9
42 01 -1780 Mar 09 01:55:13 41267 -46751 T- pp -0.0724 2.7637 1.6871 374.2 234.8 104.7
43 02 -1762 Mar 20 08:39:14 40855 -46528 T- pp -0.1392 2.6391 1.5666 372.2 232.9 100.9
44 03 -1744 Mar 30 15:15:32 40444 -46305 T- pp -0.2128 2.5020 1.4337 369.3 229.6 93.5
45 04 -1726 Apr 10 21:47:07 40036 -46082 T pp -0.2905 2.3573 1.2929 365.3 224.6 81.1
46 05 -1708 Apr 21 04:13:56 39629 -45859 T -t -0.3727 2.2048 1.1439 360.0 217.5 59.8
47 06 -1690 May 02 10:39:50 39225 -45636 P -t -0.4559 2.0505 0.9928 353.6 208.2 -
48 07 -1672 May 12 17:02:20 38823 -45413 P -t -0.5422 1.8907 0.8358 345.8 196.2 -
49 08 -1654 May 23 23:27:40 38423 -45190 P -t -0.6268 1.7344 0.6818 336.8 181.6 -
50 09 -1636 Jun 03 05:53:38 38024 -44967 P -t -0.7114 1.5781 0.5274 326.5 163.4 -
51 10 -1618 Jun 14 12:25:23 37629 -44744 P -t -0.7918 1.4299 0.3807 315.3 141.6 -
52 11 -1600 Jun 24 19:00:47 37235 -44521 P -t -0.8697 1.2865 0.2383 303.1 114.2 -
53 12 -1582 Jul 06 01:45:30 36843 -44298 P -t -0.9408 1.1556 0.1081 290.5 78.1 -
54 13 -1564 Jul 16 08:37:25 36453 -44075 Nx -t -1.0068 1.0343 -0.0129 277.6 - -
55 14 -1546 Jul 27 15:39:19 36065 -43852 N -t -1.0657 0.9262 -0.1209 264.9 - -
56 15 -1528 Aug 06 22:50:26 35679 -43629 N -t -1.1178 0.8306 -0.2166 252.6 - -
57 16 -1510 Aug 18 06:13:29 35296 -43406 N -t -1.1611 0.7513 -0.2962 241.4 - -
58 17 -1492 Aug 28 13:46:42 34914 -43183 N -t -1.1973 0.6851 -0.3626 231.4 - -
59 18 -1474 Sep 08 21:30:45 34535 -42960 N -t -1.2256 0.6332 -0.4147 222.9 - -
60 19 -1456 Sep 19 05:24:57 34157 -42737 N -h -1.2467 0.5944 -0.4534 216.1 - -
61 20 -1438 Sep 30 13:29:26 33782 -42514 N -h -1.2604 0.5690 -0.4784 211.3 - -
62 21 -1420 Oct 10 21:41:35 33409 -42291 N -h -1.2687 0.5535 -0.4932 208.0 - -
63 22 -1402 Oct 22 06:01:18 33038 -42068 N -h -1.2717 0.5474 -0.4980 206.3 - -
64 23 -1384 Nov 01 14:26:06 32669 -41845 N -h -1.2714 0.5469 -0.4967 205.5 - -
65 24 -1366 Nov 12 22:55:36 32302 -41622 N -a -1.2682 0.5517 -0.4895 205.6 - -
66 25 -1348 Nov 23 07:25:41 31937 -41399 N -a -1.2652 0.5556 -0.4826 205.5 - -
67 26 -1330 Dec 04 15:57:40 31574 -41176 N -a -1.2615 0.5606 -0.4738 205.5 - -
68 27 -1312 Dec 15 00:27:24 31213 -40953 N -a -1.2599 0.5614 -0.4688 204.8 - -
69 28 -1294 Dec 26 08:54:36 30854 -40730 N -a -1.2614 0.5561 -0.4692 203.1 - -
70 29 -1275 Jan 05 17:16:13 30498 -40507 N -a -1.2682 0.5409 -0.4790 199.8 - -
71 30 -1257 Jan 17 01:33:30 30143 -40284 N -a -1.2792 0.5178 -0.4963 195.1 - -
72 31 -1239 Jan 27 09:43:56 29791 -40061 N -a -1.2963 0.4833 -0.5248 188.2 - -
73 32 -1221 Feb 07 17:47:04 29440 -39838 N -a -1.3201 0.4366 -0.5651 178.9 - -
74 33 -1203 Feb 18 01:42:49 29092 -39615 N -a -1.3503 0.3779 -0.6176 166.7 - -
75 34 -1185 Mar 01 09:31:26 28745 -39392 N -a -1.3872 0.3071 -0.6822 150.6 - -
76 35 -1167 Mar 11 17:12:52 28401 -39169 N -a -1.4303 0.2250 -0.7583 129.3 - -
77 36 -1149 Mar 23 00:47:13 28059 -38946 N -a -1.4796 0.1317 -0.8458 99.4 - -
78 37 -1131 Apr 02 08:16:29 27719 -38723 Ne -a -1.5335 0.0301 -0.9421 47.8 - -
[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)"
