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 24 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 -2031 Sep 16. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0516 Mar 14. The total duration of Saros series 24 is 1514.53 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2031 Sep 16 17:39:21 TD
Last Eclipse = -0516 Mar 14 13:48:42 TD
Duration of Saros 24 = 1514.53 Years
Saros 24 is composed of 85 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 24 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 85 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 41 | 48.2% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 17.6% |
| Total | T | 29 | 34.1% |
The 85 lunar eclipses in Saros 24 occur in the order of 20N 7P 29T 8P 21N which corresponds to:
20 Penumbral
7 Partial
29 Total
8 Partial
21 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 24 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1147 Mar 01 Duration = 01h39m38s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1544 Jul 05 Duration = 00h19m20s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1021 May 16 Duration = 03h12m37s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0895 Jul 30 Duration = 00h47m43s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0877 Aug 10 Duration = 04h15m36s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2031 Sep 16 Duration = 00h41m55s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 24 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1021 May 16 Magnitude = 0.9986
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0895 Jul 30 Magnitude = 0.0434
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 24 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 -48 -2031 Sep 16 17:39:21 47214 -49849 N a- 1.5580 0.0204 -1.0217 41.9 - -
02 -47 -2013 Sep 28 01:47:32 46772 -49626 N a- 1.5373 0.0581 -0.9835 70.2 - -
03 -46 -1995 Oct 08 10:05:04 46333 -49403 N a- 1.5232 0.0836 -0.9571 83.8 - -
04 -45 -1977 Oct 19 18:28:40 45896 -49180 N a- 1.5134 0.1009 -0.9384 91.6 - -
05 -44 -1959 Oct 30 02:58:31 45461 -48957 N a- 1.5077 0.1103 -0.9270 95.4 - -
06 -43 -1941 Nov 10 11:29:55 45027 -48734 N a- 1.5025 0.1185 -0.9162 98.4 - -
07 -42 -1923 Nov 20 20:04:34 44597 -48511 N a- 1.4993 0.1227 -0.9088 99.7 - -
08 -41 -1905 Dec 02 04:38:02 44167 -48288 N a- 1.4949 0.1288 -0.8989 101.7 - -
09 -40 -1887 Dec 12 13:10:04 43741 -48065 N a- 1.4886 0.1382 -0.8851 104.8 - -
10 -39 -1869 Dec 23 21:37:30 43316 -47842 N a- 1.4782 0.1548 -0.8635 110.4 - -
11 -38 -1850 Jan 03 06:00:58 42893 -47619 N a- 1.4638 0.1784 -0.8344 117.7 - -
12 -37 -1832 Jan 14 14:18:16 42472 -47396 N a- 1.4439 0.2120 -0.7950 127.4 - -
13 -36 -1814 Jan 24 22:28:30 42054 -47173 N a- 1.4178 0.2569 -0.7441 139.1 - -
14 -35 -1796 Feb 05 06:31:39 41637 -46950 N a- 1.3853 0.3134 -0.6814 152.2 - -
15 -34 -1778 Feb 15 14:27:35 41223 -46727 N a- 1.3462 0.3820 -0.6066 166.2 - -
16 -33 -1760 Feb 26 22:15:48 40810 -46504 N a- 1.3002 0.4634 -0.5192 180.9 - -
17 -32 -1742 Mar 09 05:57:07 40400 -46281 N a- 1.2478 0.5567 -0.4201 195.7 - -
18 -31 -1724 Mar 19 13:32:13 39992 -46058 N a- 1.1895 0.6607 -0.3106 210.2 - -
19 -30 -1706 Mar 30 21:02:22 39586 -45835 N a- 1.1266 0.7737 -0.1926 224.1 - -
20 -29 -1688 Apr 10 04:26:27 39182 -45612 N a- 1.0578 0.8975 -0.0642 237.4 - -
21 -28 -1670 Apr 21 11:48:03 38780 -45389 P a- 0.9863 1.0268 0.0690 249.6 57.7 -
22 -27 -1652 May 01 19:06:32 38380 -45166 P a- 0.9114 1.1626 0.2083 260.9 98.0 -
23 -26 -1634 May 13 02:25:16 37982 -44943 P a- 0.8361 1.2993 0.3477 270.8 123.9 -
24 -25 -1616 May 23 09:42:31 37586 -44720 P a- 0.7590 1.4399 0.4902 279.8 143.7 -
25 -24 -1598 Jun 03 17:03:20 37192 -44497 P a- 0.6841 1.5765 0.6282 287.3 159.0 -
26 -23 -1580 Jun 14 00:26:05 36801 -44274 P a- 0.6100 1.7122 0.7645 293.8 171.2 -
27 -22 -1562 Jun 25 07:53:42 36411 -44051 P a- 0.5396 1.8414 0.8938 299.2 180.8 -
28 -21 -1544 Jul 05 15:25:43 36023 -43828 T a- 0.4724 1.9651 1.0168 303.7 188.4 19.3
29 -20 -1526 Jul 16 23:04:56 35638 -43605 T a- 0.4108 2.0787 1.1292 307.2 194.2 51.8
30 -19 -1508 Jul 27 06:51:14 35255 -43382 T p- 0.3547 2.1825 1.2313 310.0 198.6 67.0
31 -18 -1490 Aug 07 14:44:36 34873 -43159 T p- 0.3041 2.2762 1.3231 312.2 201.9 76.6
32 -17 -1472 Aug 17 22:46:58 34494 -42936 T+ p- 0.2610 2.3567 1.4011 313.9 204.2 82.9
33 -16 -1454 Aug 29 06:57:22 34117 -42713 T+ p- 0.2244 2.4250 1.4669 315.2 205.8 87.2
34 -15 -1436 Sep 08 15:16:52 33742 -42490 T+ p- 0.1954 2.4796 1.5188 316.1 206.9 89.9
35 -14 -1418 Sep 19 23:43:05 33369 -42267 T+ p- 0.1721 2.5238 1.5603 316.9 207.7 91.8
36 -13 -1400 Sep 30 08:17:46 32998 -42044 T+ p- 0.1557 2.5552 1.5891 317.5 208.1 92.9
37 -12 -1382 Oct 11 16:58:10 32629 -41821 T+ p- 0.1442 2.5775 1.6091 318.0 208.4 93.6
38 -11 -1364 Oct 22 01:44:20 32262 -41598 T+ p- 0.1376 2.5905 1.6200 318.4 208.6 93.9
39 -10 -1346 Nov 02 10:34:07 31898 -41375 T+ p- 0.1342 2.5976 1.6254 318.7 208.8 94.1
40 -09 -1328 Nov 12 19:27:16 31535 -41152 T+ p- 0.1340 2.5987 1.6253 319.0 208.8 94.1
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 -08 -1310 Nov 24 04:20:42 31174 -40929 T+ p- 0.1340 2.5991 1.6250 319.3 209.0 94.1
42 -07 -1292 Dec 04 13:13:31 30816 -40706 T+ p- 0.1334 2.6003 1.6258 319.6 209.1 94.2
43 -06 -1274 Dec 15 22:03:38 30459 -40483 T+ p- 0.1310 2.6046 1.6303 320.0 209.4 94.5
44 -05 -1256 Dec 26 06:50:51 30105 -40260 T+ p- 0.1266 2.6124 1.6386 320.4 209.8 94.9
45 -04 -1237 Jan 06 15:31:05 29753 -40037 T+ p- 0.1166 2.6304 1.6575 320.9 210.3 95.6
46 -03 -1219 Jan 17 00:05:44 29402 -39814 T+ p- 0.1022 2.6563 1.6844 321.4 211.0 96.5
47 -02 -1201 Jan 28 08:31:26 29054 -39591 T+ pp 0.0807 2.6952 1.7245 322.1 211.8 97.6
48 -01 -1183 Feb 07 16:50:35 28708 -39368 T+ pp 0.0541 2.7432 1.7738 322.8 212.6 98.6
49 00 -1165 Feb 19 00:58:18 28364 -39145 T+ pp 0.0187 2.8076 1.8393 323.5 213.3 99.4
50 01 -1147 Mar 01 08:59:08 28022 -38922 T- pp -0.0219 2.8013 1.8340 324.1 213.8 99.6
51 02 -1129 Mar 12 16:49:06 27682 -38699 T- pp -0.0711 2.7106 1.7440 324.5 213.8 98.9
52 03 -1111 Mar 23 00:32:13 27345 -38476 T- -p -0.1254 2.6107 1.6446 324.5 213.2 96.7
53 04 -1093 Apr 03 08:05:23 27009 -38253 T- -p -0.1874 2.4970 1.5307 324.0 211.8 92.4
54 05 -1075 Apr 13 15:33:30 26675 -38030 T- -p -0.2529 2.3771 1.4103 323.0 209.3 85.4
55 06 -1057 Apr 24 22:54:00 26344 -37807 T -a -0.3242 2.2470 1.2790 321.1 205.4 74.0
56 07 -1039 May 05 06:09:53 26014 -37584 T -a -0.3985 2.1116 1.1418 318.5 199.9 55.3
57 08 -1021 May 16 13:21:16 25687 -37361 P -a -0.4758 1.9708 0.9986 314.8 192.6 -
58 09 -1003 May 26 20:31:01 25362 -37138 P -a -0.5539 1.8291 0.8539 310.3 183.3 -
59 10 -0985 Jun 07 03:39:17 25038 -36915 P -a -0.6322 1.6872 0.7084 304.7 171.6 -
60 11 -0967 Jun 17 10:47:18 24717 -36692 P -a -0.7098 1.5470 0.5639 298.1 157.3 -
61 12 -0949 Jun 28 17:57:27 24398 -36469 P -a -0.7847 1.4119 0.4240 290.7 139.8 -
62 13 -0931 Jul 09 01:10:17 24081 -36246 P -a -0.8567 1.2826 0.2893 282.5 118.2 -
63 14 -0913 Jul 20 08:26:35 23766 -36023 P -a -0.9246 1.1608 0.1618 273.8 90.3 -
64 15 -0895 Jul 30 15:47:51 23453 -35800 P -a -0.9875 1.0487 0.0434 264.7 47.7 -
65 16 -0877 Aug 10 23:15:17 23142 -35577 N -a -1.0441 0.9480 -0.0637 255.6 - -
66 17 -0859 Aug 21 06:49:47 22833 -35354 N -a -1.0941 0.8595 -0.1588 246.8 - -
67 18 -0841 Sep 01 14:30:07 22527 -35131 N -a -1.1385 0.7815 -0.2435 238.4 - -
68 19 -0823 Sep 11 22:18:59 22222 -34908 N -a -1.1749 0.7180 -0.3135 231.1 - -
69 20 -0805 Sep 23 06:14:50 21919 -34685 N -a -1.2045 0.6669 -0.3711 224.9 - -
70 21 -0787 Oct 03 14:18:01 21619 -34462 N -a -1.2276 0.6275 -0.4165 219.9 - -
71 22 -0769 Oct 14 22:26:25 21320 -34239 N -a -1.2456 0.5974 -0.4524 216.2 - -
72 23 -0751 Oct 25 06:40:49 21024 -34016 N -a -1.2582 0.5769 -0.4780 213.7 - -
73 24 -0733 Nov 05 14:58:51 20730 -33793 N -a -1.2671 0.5629 -0.4966 212.3 - -
74 25 -0715 Nov 15 23:18:54 20438 -33570 N -a -1.2735 0.5531 -0.5102 211.4 - -
75 26 -0697 Nov 27 07:40:04 20147 -33347 N -a -1.2783 0.5459 -0.5207 210.9 - -
76 27 -0679 Dec 07 15:59:46 19859 -33124 N -a -1.2834 0.5378 -0.5312 210.2 - -
77 28 -0661 Dec 19 00:16:45 19573 -32901 N -h -1.2902 0.5263 -0.5445 208.8 - -
78 29 -0643 Dec 29 08:27:48 19289 -32678 N -h -1.3009 0.5071 -0.5647 205.9 - -
79 30 -0624 Jan 09 16:33:32 19008 -32455 N -h -1.3150 0.4815 -0.5908 201.7 - -
80 31 -0606 Jan 20 00:30:56 18728 -32232 N -t -1.3345 0.4456 -0.6266 195.1 - -
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
81 32 -0588 Jan 31 08:19:04 18450 -32009 N -t -1.3608 0.3971 -0.6747 185.5 - -
82 33 -0570 Feb 10 15:57:04 18175 -31786 N -t -1.3943 0.3353 -0.7357 171.8 - -
83 34 -0552 Feb 21 23:24:53 17901 -31563 N -t -1.4350 0.2601 -0.8100 152.7 - -
84 35 -0534 Mar 04 06:42:30 17630 -31340 N -t -1.4829 0.1718 -0.8972 125.3 - -
85 36 -0516 Mar 14 13:48:42 17360 -31117 Ne -t -1.5386 0.0690 -0.9989 80.3 - -
[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)"
