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 13 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 -2313 May 20. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -1015 Jul 06. The total duration of Saros series 13 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2313 May 20 18:51:42 TD
Last Eclipse = -1015 Jul 06 23:21:46 TD
Duration of Saros 13 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 13 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 13 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 22 | 30.1% |
| Partial | P | 38 | 52.1% |
| Total | T | 13 | 17.8% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 13 occur in the order of 11N 7P 3N 11P 13T 20P 8N which corresponds to:
11 Penumbral
7 Partial
3 Penumbral
11 Partial
13 Total
20 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 13 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1646 Jun 24 Duration = 01h46m17s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1520 Sep 07 Duration = 00h22m23s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1502 Sep 18 Duration = 03h28m10s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2007 Nov 20 Duration = 00h05m46s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1953 Dec 23 Duration = 04h34m16s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1015 Jul 06 Duration = 00h42m17s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 13 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1502 Sep 18 Magnitude = 0.9632
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2007 Nov 20 Magnitude = 0.0006
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 13 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 -37 -2313 May 20 18:51:42 54396 -53341 Nb a- -1.5253 0.0384 -0.9207 53.3 - -
02 -36 -2295 May 31 02:06:54 53922 -53118 N a- -1.4575 0.1645 -0.7979 109.6 - -
03 -35 -2277 Jun 11 09:21:44 53450 -52895 N a- -1.3902 0.2901 -0.6764 144.3 - -
04 -34 -2259 Jun 21 16:40:14 52980 -52672 N a- -1.3265 0.4094 -0.5617 170.2 - -
05 -33 -2241 Jul 03 00:01:14 52513 -52449 N a- -1.2653 0.5243 -0.4520 191.3 - -
06 -32 -2223 Jul 13 07:28:19 52047 -52226 N a- -1.2098 0.6288 -0.3530 208.3 - -
07 -31 -2205 Jul 24 15:00:15 51584 -52003 N a- -1.1591 0.7249 -0.2630 222.4 - -
08 -30 -2187 Aug 03 22:38:46 51122 -51780 N a- -1.1147 0.8096 -0.1845 234.1 - -
09 -29 -2169 Aug 15 06:24:15 50663 -51557 N a- -1.0769 0.8823 -0.1183 243.7 - -
10 -28 -2151 Aug 25 14:17:46 50206 -51334 N a- -1.0464 0.9413 -0.0657 251.4 - -
11 -27 -2133 Sep 05 22:18:30 49751 -51111 N a- -1.0225 0.9884 -0.0250 257.5 - -
12 -26 -2115 Sep 16 06:26:40 49298 -50888 P a- -1.0055 1.0228 0.0032 262.2 13.0 -
13 -25 -2097 Sep 27 14:41:32 48846 -50665 P a- -0.9947 1.0456 0.0200 265.6 32.5 -
14 -24 -2079 Oct 07 23:02:23 48398 -50442 P a- -0.9896 1.0578 0.0268 268.0 37.7 -
15 -23 -2061 Oct 19 07:26:59 47951 -50219 P a- -0.9883 1.0627 0.0267 269.6 37.7 -
16 -22 -2043 Oct 29 15:55:34 47506 -49996 P a- -0.9908 1.0602 0.0199 270.5 32.7 -
17 -21 -2025 Nov 10 00:25:11 47063 -49773 P a- -0.9947 1.0549 0.0109 271.0 24.3 -
18 -20 -2007 Nov 20 08:54:47 46622 -49550 P h- -0.9995 1.0476 0.0006 271.3 5.8 -
19 -19 -1989 Dec 01 17:21:02 46184 -49327 Nx h- -1.0024 1.0436 -0.0058 271.9 - -
20 -18 -1971 Dec 12 01:44:10 45747 -49104 Nx h- -1.0035 1.0424 -0.0087 272.7 - -
21 -17 -1953 Dec 23 10:01:00 45313 -48881 Nx h- -1.0001 1.0493 -0.0030 274.3 - -
22 -16 -1934 Jan 02 18:10:11 44880 -48658 P h- -0.9913 1.0656 0.0128 276.8 26.7 -
23 -15 -1916 Jan 14 02:10:19 44450 -48435 P t- -0.9760 1.0938 0.0407 280.4 47.6 -
24 -14 -1898 Jan 24 10:00:54 44022 -48212 P t- -0.9537 1.1347 0.0817 285.2 67.3 -
25 -13 -1880 Feb 04 17:41:24 43596 -47989 P t- -0.9239 1.1892 0.1365 291.1 86.6 -
26 -12 -1862 Feb 15 01:10:16 43171 -47766 P t- -0.8853 1.2598 0.2075 298.2 106.0 -
27 -11 -1844 Feb 26 08:28:57 42749 -47543 P t- -0.8390 1.3447 0.2927 306.0 124.7 -
28 -10 -1826 Mar 08 15:36:35 42329 -47320 P t- -0.7844 1.4448 0.3931 314.5 142.7 -
29 -09 -1808 Mar 18 22:34:42 41912 -47097 P t- -0.7225 1.5582 0.5066 323.1 159.6 -
30 -08 -1790 Mar 30 05:23:07 41496 -46874 P t- -0.6532 1.6855 0.6338 331.9 175.4 -
31 -07 -1772 Apr 09 12:04:16 41082 -46651 P t- -0.5785 1.8227 0.7705 340.2 189.4 -
32 -06 -1754 Apr 20 18:38:47 40670 -46428 P t- -0.4989 1.9693 0.9161 347.9 201.8 -
33 -05 -1736 May 01 01:06:59 40261 -46205 T t- -0.4147 2.1245 1.0701 354.9 212.4 42.6
34 -04 -1718 May 12 07:31:52 39853 -45982 T tp -0.3284 2.2837 1.2276 360.8 220.9 73.0
35 -03 -1700 May 22 13:54:01 39448 -45759 T- pp -0.2406 2.4458 1.3875 365.6 227.4 89.9
36 -02 -1682 Jun 02 20:16:30 39044 -45536 T- pp -0.1534 2.6072 1.5464 369.1 231.9 100.0
37 -01 -1664 Jun 13 02:38:41 38643 -45313 T- pp -0.0666 2.7680 1.7042 371.5 234.5 105.2
38 00 -1646 Jun 24 09:04:57 38244 -45090 T+ pp 0.0164 2.8616 1.7946 372.8 235.2 106.3
39 01 -1628 Jul 04 15:35:10 37847 -44867 T+ pp 0.0954 2.7186 1.6479 373.0 234.4 103.9
40 02 -1610 Jul 15 22:11:14 37452 -44644 T+ pp 0.1691 2.5851 1.5108 372.4 232.2 98.4
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 03 -1592 Jul 26 04:54:09 37058 -44421 T+ pp 0.2370 2.4626 1.3842 371.1 228.9 89.9
42 04 -1574 Aug 06 11:45:42 36668 -44198 T -p 0.2976 2.3535 1.2710 369.4 224.8 78.9
43 05 -1556 Aug 16 18:46:42 36279 -43975 T -t 0.3500 2.2593 1.1727 367.5 220.5 65.2
44 06 -1538 Aug 28 01:55:56 35892 -43752 T -t 0.3956 2.1777 1.0873 365.4 216.0 47.6
45 07 -1520 Sep 07 09:16:04 35507 -43529 T -t 0.4321 2.1126 1.0184 363.6 211.8 22.4
46 08 -1502 Sep 18 16:45:04 35125 -43306 P -t 0.4613 2.0606 0.9632 361.9 208.2 -
47 09 -1484 Sep 29 00:24:04 34744 -43083 P -t 0.4825 2.0232 0.9230 360.6 205.2 -
48 10 -1466 Oct 10 08:09:24 34365 -42860 P -t 0.4984 1.9950 0.8926 359.5 202.9 -
49 11 -1448 Oct 20 16:02:59 33989 -42637 P -t 0.5078 1.9787 0.8747 358.8 201.4 -
50 12 -1430 Nov 01 00:00:34 33615 -42414 P -t 0.5139 1.9679 0.8631 358.1 200.3 -
51 13 -1412 Nov 11 08:02:12 33242 -42191 P -t 0.5169 1.9623 0.8576 357.6 199.7 -
52 14 -1394 Nov 22 16:04:46 32872 -41968 P -t 0.5194 1.9573 0.8535 356.9 199.2 -
53 15 -1376 Dec 03 00:08:15 32504 -41745 P -t 0.5216 1.9524 0.8503 356.2 198.8 -
54 16 -1358 Dec 14 08:08:27 32138 -41522 P -t 0.5266 1.9420 0.8424 355.0 197.9 -
55 17 -1340 Dec 24 16:05:25 31774 -41299 P -t 0.5346 1.9256 0.8294 353.4 196.6 -
56 18 -1321 Jan 04 23:56:45 31412 -41076 P -t 0.5477 1.8995 0.8074 351.3 194.4 -
57 19 -1303 Jan 15 07:42:58 31052 -40853 P -t 0.5657 1.8641 0.7766 348.5 191.4 -
58 20 -1285 Jan 26 15:19:54 30694 -40630 P -t 0.5918 1.8136 0.7313 344.9 186.9 -
59 21 -1267 Feb 05 22:50:25 30338 -40407 P -t 0.6236 1.7525 0.6756 340.4 181.0 -
60 22 -1249 Feb 17 06:11:28 29985 -40184 P -t 0.6638 1.6757 0.6047 334.8 173.0 -
61 23 -1231 Feb 27 13:26:20 29633 -39961 P -t 0.7097 1.5885 0.5234 328.1 162.7 -
62 24 -1213 Mar 10 20:30:51 29284 -39738 P -t 0.7647 1.4845 0.4254 319.8 148.6 -
63 25 -1195 Mar 21 03:30:44 28936 -39515 P -t 0.8242 1.3724 0.3191 310.2 130.4 -
64 26 -1177 Apr 01 10:22:20 28591 -39292 P -t 0.8908 1.2475 0.1998 298.7 104.8 -
65 27 -1159 Apr 11 17:10:45 28248 -39069 P -t 0.9605 1.1167 0.0745 285.4 64.9 -
66 28 -1141 Apr 22 23:53:24 27906 -38846 N -t 1.0355 0.9766 -0.0606 269.7 - -
67 29 -1123 May 03 06:35:53 27567 -38623 N -t 1.1111 0.8355 -0.1971 252.1 - -
68 30 -1105 May 14 13:16:24 27230 -38400 N -t 1.1887 0.6911 -0.3374 231.6 - -
69 31 -1087 May 24 19:57:56 26895 -38177 N -t 1.2661 0.5472 -0.4777 208.1 - -
70 32 -1069 Jun 05 02:41:25 26562 -37954 N -t 1.3423 0.4059 -0.6158 180.9 - -
71 33 -1051 Jun 15 09:29:14 26231 -37731 N -t 1.4154 0.2705 -0.7486 148.9 - -
72 34 -1033 Jun 26 16:22:30 25902 -37508 N -t 1.4849 0.1419 -0.8752 108.7 - -
73 35 -1015 Jul 06 23:21:46 25576 -37285 Ne -t 1.5502 0.0212 -0.9942 42.3 - -
[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)"
