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 17 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 -2089 May 04. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0809 Jun 11. The total duration of Saros series 17 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2089 May 04 06:40:11 TD
Last Eclipse = -0809 Jun 11 00:30:48 TD
Duration of Saros 17 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 17 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 17 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 14 | 19.4% |
| Partial | P | 45 | 62.5% |
| Total | T | 13 | 18.1% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 17 occur in the order of 7N 21P 13T 24P 7N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
21 Partial
13 Total
24 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 17 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1476 May 05 Duration = 01h42m36s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1584 Mar 01 Duration = 00h38m30s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1602 Feb 19 Duration = 03h18m47s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0935 Mar 26 Duration = 00h48m28s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1981 Jul 07 Duration = 04h45m11s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0809 Jun 11 Duration = 01h22m28s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 17 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1602 Feb 19 Magnitude = 0.9645
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0935 Mar 26 Magnitude = 0.0502
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 17 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 -34 -2089 May 04 06:40:11 48657 -50571 Nb t- -1.5237 0.0965 -0.9718 96.0 - -
02 -33 -2071 May 14 12:55:40 48209 -50348 N t- -1.4375 0.2546 -0.8134 153.7 - -
03 -32 -2053 May 25 19:10:28 47763 -50125 N t- -1.3499 0.4154 -0.6530 193.5 - -
04 -31 -2035 Jun 05 01:27:24 47319 -49902 N t- -1.2632 0.5748 -0.4942 224.2 - -
05 -30 -2017 Jun 16 07:47:39 46877 -49679 N t- -1.1787 0.7305 -0.3395 248.8 - -
06 -29 -1999 Jun 26 14:13:28 46437 -49456 N t- -1.0981 0.8791 -0.1922 268.8 - -
07 -28 -1981 Jul 07 20:46:01 46000 -49233 Nx t- -1.0219 1.0195 -0.0534 285.2 - -
08 -27 -1963 Jul 18 03:25:58 45564 -49010 P t- -0.9513 1.1501 0.0754 298.5 67.0 -
09 -26 -1945 Jul 29 10:15:45 45130 -48787 P t- -0.8880 1.2673 0.1906 309.2 104.7 -
10 -25 -1927 Aug 08 17:15:18 44699 -48564 P t- -0.8322 1.3706 0.2920 317.5 127.5 -
11 -24 -1909 Aug 20 00:24:50 44269 -48341 P t- -0.7839 1.4601 0.3796 324.1 143.2 -
12 -23 -1891 Aug 30 07:44:56 43842 -48118 P t- -0.7436 1.5350 0.4526 329.0 154.4 -
13 -22 -1873 Sep 10 15:15:52 43417 -47895 P t- -0.7113 1.5950 0.5111 332.6 162.2 -
14 -21 -1855 Sep 20 22:57:00 42993 -47672 P t- -0.6870 1.6402 0.5551 334.9 167.5 -
15 -20 -1837 Oct 02 06:46:28 42572 -47449 P t- -0.6687 1.6742 0.5884 336.4 171.2 -
16 -19 -1819 Oct 12 14:44:42 42153 -47226 P t- -0.6569 1.6959 0.6100 337.0 173.3 -
17 -18 -1801 Oct 23 22:49:56 41736 -47003 P h- -0.6499 1.7085 0.6232 336.9 174.5 -
18 -17 -1783 Nov 03 06:59:54 41321 -46780 P h- -0.6460 1.7149 0.6309 336.4 174.9 -
19 -16 -1765 Nov 14 15:12:57 40908 -46557 P h- -0.6439 1.7178 0.6358 335.6 175.0 -
20 -15 -1747 Nov 24 23:27:10 40498 -46334 P h- -0.6419 1.7200 0.6409 334.7 175.2 -
21 -14 -1729 Dec 06 07:41:29 40089 -46111 P a- -0.6393 1.7231 0.6475 333.7 175.5 -
22 -13 -1711 Dec 16 15:52:03 39682 -45888 P a- -0.6327 1.7329 0.6618 333.0 176.5 -
23 -12 -1693 Dec 27 23:59:54 39278 -45665 P a- -0.6230 1.7483 0.6821 332.5 178.1 -
24 -11 -1674 Jan 07 08:01:19 38875 -45442 P a- -0.6071 1.7746 0.7140 332.4 180.8 -
25 -10 -1656 Jan 18 15:56:49 38475 -45219 P a- -0.5856 1.8109 0.7563 332.8 184.2 -
26 -09 -1638 Jan 28 23:43:50 38076 -44996 P a- -0.5563 1.8615 0.8133 333.7 188.6 -
27 -08 -1620 Feb 09 07:24:41 37680 -44773 P a- -0.5209 1.9232 0.8817 334.8 193.5 -
28 -07 -1602 Feb 19 14:57:23 37286 -44550 P a- -0.4775 1.9993 0.9645 336.3 198.8 -
29 -06 -1584 Mar 01 22:22:28 36894 -44327 T a- -0.4268 2.0890 1.0609 337.9 204.1 38.5
30 -05 -1566 Mar 13 05:40:48 36503 -44104 T a- -0.3696 2.1906 1.1691 339.4 209.2 61.9
31 -04 -1548 Mar 23 12:53:35 36115 -43881 T a- -0.3066 2.3030 1.2879 340.6 213.7 77.3
32 -03 -1530 Apr 03 20:01:21 35729 -43658 T- p- -0.2382 2.4254 1.4163 341.5 217.4 88.5
33 -02 -1512 Apr 14 03:04:38 35346 -43435 T- pp -0.1649 2.5572 1.5536 341.8 220.1 96.3
34 -01 -1494 Apr 25 10:06:02 34964 -43212 T- pp -0.0888 2.6942 1.6958 341.4 221.6 100.9
35 00 -1476 May 05 17:06:09 34584 -42989 T- pp -0.0108 2.8350 1.8411 340.3 221.8 102.6
36 01 -1458 May 17 00:06:08 34206 -42766 T+ pp 0.0683 2.7275 1.7376 338.3 220.7 101.4
37 02 -1440 May 27 07:07:44 33831 -42543 T+ pp 0.1471 2.5812 1.5947 335.6 218.2 97.1
38 03 -1422 Jun 07 14:12:30 33457 -42320 T+ pp 0.2241 2.4386 1.4549 332.2 214.4 89.8
39 04 -1404 Jun 17 21:21:55 33086 -42097 T -p 0.2980 2.3019 1.3204 328.1 209.5 79.0
40 05 -1386 Jun 29 04:35:26 32717 -41874 T -p 0.3692 2.1703 1.1904 323.5 203.6 63.4
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 06 -1368 Jul 09 11:56:46 32349 -41651 T -a 0.4346 2.0499 1.0710 318.6 197.0 40.1
42 07 -1350 Jul 20 19:24:37 31984 -41428 P -a 0.4950 1.9387 0.9603 313.5 189.8 -
43 08 -1332 Jul 31 03:02:15 31621 -41205 P -a 0.5483 1.8410 0.8627 308.5 182.5 -
44 09 -1314 Aug 11 10:47:10 31260 -40982 P -a 0.5960 1.7534 0.7750 303.7 175.1 -
45 10 -1296 Aug 21 18:43:33 30901 -40759 P -a 0.6350 1.6822 0.7033 299.4 168.3 -
46 11 -1278 Sep 02 02:48:11 30544 -40536 P -a 0.6677 1.6224 0.6428 295.5 162.1 -
47 12 -1260 Sep 12 11:02:54 30189 -40313 P -a 0.6929 1.5766 0.5964 292.3 156.9 -
48 13 -1242 Sep 23 19:25:35 29836 -40090 P -a 0.7121 1.5417 0.5608 289.6 152.7 -
49 14 -1224 Oct 04 03:57:42 29486 -39867 P -a 0.7244 1.5194 0.5380 287.7 149.8 -
50 15 -1206 Oct 15 12:35:58 29137 -39644 P -a 0.7319 1.5058 0.5242 286.4 147.9 -
51 16 -1188 Oct 25 21:20:11 28790 -39421 P -a 0.7351 1.4997 0.5182 285.5 146.9 -
52 17 -1170 Nov 06 06:08:24 28446 -39198 P -a 0.7356 1.4987 0.5177 284.9 146.6 -
53 18 -1152 Nov 16 15:00:24 28103 -38975 P -a 0.7336 1.5018 0.5217 284.6 146.9 -
54 19 -1134 Nov 27 23:52:07 27763 -38752 P -a 0.7322 1.5037 0.5251 284.2 147.1 -
55 20 -1116 Dec 08 08:43:36 27425 -38529 P -a 0.7313 1.5043 0.5276 283.8 147.2 -
56 21 -1098 Dec 19 17:31:58 27089 -38306 P -a 0.7335 1.4991 0.5248 283.0 146.7 -
57 22 -1080 Dec 30 02:17:41 26754 -38083 P -a 0.7382 1.4891 0.5175 281.9 145.7 -
58 23 -1061 Jan 10 10:56:25 26422 -37860 P -a 0.7492 1.4674 0.4989 280.2 143.4 -
59 24 -1043 Jan 20 19:30:29 26092 -37637 P -a 0.7644 1.4377 0.4725 277.9 140.0 -
60 25 -1025 Feb 01 03:56:03 25764 -37414 P -a 0.7871 1.3943 0.4325 274.7 134.7 -
61 26 -1007 Feb 11 12:15:04 25439 -37191 P -a 0.8155 1.3406 0.3823 270.7 127.6 -
62 27 -0989 Feb 22 20:24:37 25115 -36968 P -a 0.8522 1.2716 0.3166 265.5 117.2 -
63 28 -0971 Mar 05 04:27:44 24793 -36745 P -a 0.8943 1.1927 0.2408 259.2 103.3 -
64 29 -0953 Mar 16 12:22:24 24474 -36522 P -a 0.9439 1.1002 0.1511 251.4 82.9 -
65 30 -0935 Mar 26 20:09:43 24156 -36299 P -a 0.9996 0.9969 0.0502 241.9 48.5 -
66 31 -0917 Apr 07 03:50:22 23840 -36076 N -a 1.0607 0.8838 -0.0610 230.5 - -
67 32 -0899 Apr 17 11:25:33 23527 -35853 N -a 1.1261 0.7630 -0.1803 216.9 - -
68 33 -0881 Apr 28 18:55:48 23216 -35630 N -a 1.1956 0.6351 -0.3075 200.6 - -
69 34 -0863 May 09 02:21:39 22906 -35407 N -a 1.2684 0.5016 -0.4409 180.8 - -
70 35 -0845 May 20 09:45:40 22599 -35184 N -a 1.3422 0.3663 -0.5767 156.7 - -
71 36 -0827 May 30 17:08:14 22294 -34961 N -a 1.4166 0.2305 -0.7137 126.1 - -
72 37 -0809 Jun 11 00:30:48 21991 -34738 Ne -a 1.4905 0.0959 -0.8503 82.5 - -
[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)"
