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 16 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 -2172 Apr 21. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0874 Jun 08. The total duration of Saros series 16 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2172 Apr 21 16:21:06 TD
Last Eclipse = -0874 Jun 08 20:34:39 TD
Duration of Saros 16 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 16 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 16 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 17 | 23.3% |
| Partial | P | 45 | 61.6% |
| Total | T | 11 | 15.1% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 16 occur in the order of 8N 24P 11T 21P 9N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
24 Partial
11 Total
21 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 16 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1505 May 27 Duration = 01h46m28s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1415 Jul 19 Duration = 00h33m06s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1397 Jul 30 Duration = 03h24m52s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2028 Jul 17 Duration = 00h16m09s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1018 Mar 14 Duration = 04h37m34s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0874 Jun 08 Duration = 00h30m22s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 16 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1613 Mar 23 Magnitude = 0.9552
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2028 Jul 17 Magnitude = 0.0050
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 16 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 -2172 Apr 21 16:21:06 50747 -51598 Nb a- 1.5356 0.0206 -0.9406 39.2 - -
02 -36 -2154 May 02 23:35:50 50290 -51375 N a- 1.4688 0.1442 -0.8188 102.9 - -
03 -35 -2136 May 13 06:47:27 49834 -51152 N a- 1.3999 0.2719 -0.6938 140.1 - -
04 -34 -2118 May 24 13:57:20 49381 -50929 N a- 1.3303 0.4012 -0.5677 168.8 - -
05 -33 -2100 Jun 03 21:07:46 48929 -50706 N a- 1.2615 0.5295 -0.4434 192.3 - -
06 -32 -2082 Jun 15 04:19:27 48480 -50483 N h- 1.1940 0.6556 -0.3218 212.2 - -
07 -31 -2064 Jun 25 11:33:22 48033 -50260 N h- 1.1290 0.7775 -0.2050 229.3 - -
08 -30 -2046 Jul 06 18:51:13 47587 -50037 N h- 1.0677 0.8927 -0.0954 243.9 - -
09 -29 -2028 Jul 17 02:14:16 47144 -49814 P h- 1.0114 0.9991 0.0050 256.4 16.2 -
10 -28 -2010 Jul 28 09:43:42 46703 -49591 P h- 0.9608 1.0951 0.0947 267.0 69.5 -
11 -27 -1992 Aug 07 17:18:34 46264 -49368 P h- 0.9154 1.1818 0.1748 276.1 93.7 -
12 -26 -1974 Aug 19 01:01:49 45827 -49145 P h- 0.8775 1.2546 0.2410 283.5 109.3 -
13 -25 -1956 Aug 29 08:51:57 45392 -48922 P h- 0.8463 1.3153 0.2951 289.7 120.4 -
14 -24 -1938 Sep 09 16:49:58 44960 -48699 P h- 0.8221 1.3630 0.3362 294.8 128.1 -
15 -23 -1920 Sep 20 00:53:59 44529 -48476 P h- 0.8037 1.3999 0.3668 298.9 133.6 -
16 -22 -1902 Oct 01 09:05:16 44100 -48253 P h- 0.7919 1.4245 0.3856 302.0 137.0 -
17 -21 -1884 Oct 11 17:21:36 43674 -48030 P h- 0.7849 1.4400 0.3956 304.5 139.0 -
18 -20 -1866 Oct 23 01:41:56 43249 -47807 P h- 0.7822 1.4475 0.3983 306.3 139.8 -
19 -19 -1848 Nov 02 10:05:23 42827 -47584 P h- 0.7827 1.4488 0.3953 307.6 139.7 -
20 -18 -1830 Nov 13 18:29:55 42407 -47361 P h- 0.7849 1.4464 0.3895 308.6 139.2 -
21 -17 -1812 Nov 24 02:53:47 41988 -47138 P h- 0.7871 1.4438 0.3841 309.5 138.8 -
22 -16 -1794 Dec 05 11:14:06 41572 -46915 P h- 0.7871 1.4449 0.3831 310.7 139.0 -
23 -15 -1776 Dec 15 19:31:04 41158 -46692 P t- 0.7851 1.4493 0.3860 312.0 139.9 -
24 -14 -1758 Dec 27 03:41:34 40746 -46469 P t- 0.7791 1.4608 0.3967 313.7 142.0 -
25 -13 -1739 Jan 06 11:44:12 40336 -46246 P t- 0.7671 1.4828 0.4185 316.2 145.7 -
26 -12 -1721 Jan 17 19:37:38 39928 -46023 P t- 0.7485 1.5169 0.4526 319.4 151.2 -
27 -11 -1703 Jan 28 03:21:17 39522 -45800 P t- 0.7227 1.5640 0.5002 323.4 158.1 -
28 -10 -1685 Feb 08 10:54:45 39118 -45577 P t- 0.6894 1.6247 0.5616 328.0 166.4 -
29 -09 -1667 Feb 18 18:16:25 38717 -45354 P t- 0.6476 1.7011 0.6387 333.3 175.7 -
30 -08 -1649 Mar 02 01:27:51 38317 -45131 P t- 0.5981 1.7915 0.7299 339.1 185.4 -
31 -07 -1631 Mar 12 08:28:31 37920 -44908 P t- 0.5405 1.8970 0.8361 345.0 195.3 -
32 -06 -1613 Mar 23 15:19:42 37524 -44685 P t- 0.4757 2.0155 0.9552 350.9 204.7 -
33 -05 -1595 Apr 02 22:01:42 37131 -44462 T t- 0.4040 2.1470 1.0868 356.6 213.5 47.2
34 -04 -1577 Apr 14 04:36:26 36739 -44239 T pp 0.3268 2.2886 1.2285 361.7 221.1 73.1
35 -03 -1559 Apr 24 11:05:02 36350 -44016 T+ pp 0.2451 2.4388 1.3782 366.0 227.3 89.2
36 -02 -1541 May 05 17:28:05 35963 -43793 T+ pp 0.1592 2.5967 1.5354 369.3 231.8 99.5
37 -01 -1523 May 15 23:48:50 35578 -43570 T+ pp 0.0718 2.7578 1.6953 371.6 234.6 105.1
38 00 -1505 May 27 06:07:39 35195 -43347 T- pp -0.0171 2.8588 1.7948 372.6 235.4 106.5
39 01 -1487 Jun 06 12:28:06 34814 -43124 T- pp -0.1043 2.7000 1.6339 372.5 234.4 103.7
40 02 -1469 Jun 17 18:48:43 34435 -42901 T- pp -0.1909 2.5422 1.4738 371.2 231.5 96.5
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 -1451 Jun 28 01:14:49 34058 -42678 T pp -0.2729 2.3931 1.3219 369.0 226.9 84.5
42 04 -1433 Jul 09 07:44:17 33683 -42455 T -t -0.3520 2.2495 1.1754 365.8 220.7 65.7
43 05 -1415 Jul 19 14:21:25 33311 -42232 T -t -0.4245 2.1180 1.0407 361.9 213.3 33.1
44 06 -1397 Jul 30 21:04:42 32940 -42009 P -t -0.4917 1.9964 0.9157 357.5 204.9 -
45 07 -1379 Aug 10 03:58:27 32571 -41786 P -t -0.5503 1.8906 0.8065 353.1 196.1 -
46 08 -1361 Aug 21 11:00:37 32205 -41563 P -t -0.6021 1.7973 0.7099 348.6 187.0 -
47 09 -1343 Aug 31 18:12:52 31841 -41340 P -t -0.6458 1.7187 0.6281 344.4 178.3 -
48 10 -1325 Sep 12 01:34:37 31478 -41117 P -t -0.6817 1.6542 0.5606 340.6 170.2 -
49 11 -1307 Sep 22 09:06:57 31118 -40894 P -t -0.7091 1.6053 0.5092 337.6 163.5 -
50 12 -1289 Oct 03 16:47:30 30760 -40671 P -t -0.7302 1.5675 0.4694 335.0 157.8 -
51 13 -1271 Oct 14 00:36:23 30404 -40448 P -t -0.7448 1.5415 0.4418 333.0 153.7 -
52 14 -1253 Oct 25 08:31:39 30050 -40225 P -t -0.7547 1.5237 0.4233 331.5 150.7 -
53 15 -1235 Nov 04 16:33:11 29698 -40002 P -t -0.7598 1.5144 0.4139 330.4 149.0 -
54 16 -1217 Nov 16 00:36:42 29348 -39779 P -t -0.7635 1.5073 0.4076 329.4 147.8 -
55 17 -1199 Nov 26 08:43:21 29000 -39556 P -t -0.7650 1.5038 0.4057 328.5 147.3 -
56 18 -1181 Dec 07 16:48:20 28654 -39333 P -t -0.7680 1.4970 0.4013 327.3 146.4 -
57 19 -1163 Dec 18 00:52:30 28310 -39110 P -t -0.7722 1.4877 0.3952 325.8 145.2 -
58 20 -1145 Dec 29 08:50:45 27969 -38887 P -t -0.7815 1.4686 0.3801 323.5 142.4 -
59 21 -1126 Jan 08 16:45:55 27629 -38664 P -t -0.7936 1.4440 0.3601 320.6 138.8 -
60 22 -1108 Jan 20 00:33:13 27292 -38441 P -t -0.8121 1.4076 0.3289 316.8 133.0 -
61 23 -1090 Jan 30 08:13:51 26956 -38218 P -t -0.8367 1.3595 0.2864 311.8 124.6 -
62 24 -1072 Feb 10 15:45:37 26623 -37995 P -t -0.8689 1.2974 0.2303 305.5 112.4 -
63 25 -1054 Feb 20 23:10:32 26292 -37772 P -t -0.9073 1.2238 0.1630 297.9 95.2 -
64 26 -1036 Mar 03 06:27:18 25963 -37549 P -t -0.9527 1.1374 0.0828 288.7 68.4 -
65 27 -1018 Mar 14 13:36:34 25636 -37326 Nx -t -1.0048 1.0387 -0.0096 277.6 - -
66 28 -1000 Mar 24 20:39:25 25311 -37103 N -t -1.0626 0.9294 -0.1128 264.4 - -
67 29 -0982 Apr 05 03:36:57 24988 -36880 N -t -1.1257 0.8108 -0.2256 248.8 - -
68 30 -0964 Apr 15 10:29:50 24667 -36657 N -t -1.1930 0.6845 -0.3463 230.5 - -
69 31 -0946 Apr 26 17:19:24 24348 -36434 N -t -1.2635 0.5524 -0.4732 208.8 - -
70 32 -0928 May 07 00:07:15 24031 -36211 N -t -1.3361 0.4169 -0.6040 182.9 - -
71 33 -0910 May 18 06:55:07 23717 -35988 N -t -1.4092 0.2805 -0.7362 151.3 - -
72 34 -0892 May 28 13:43:13 23404 -35765 N -t -1.4828 0.1436 -0.8694 109.1 - -
73 35 -0874 Jun 08 20:34:39 23093 -35542 Ne -t -1.5543 0.0110 -0.9990 30.4 - -
[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)"
