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 25 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 -2038 Aug 06. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0487 Feb 21. The total duration of Saros series 25 is 1550.59 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2038 Aug 06 11:54:00 TD
Last Eclipse = -0487 Feb 21 20:39:48 TD
Duration of Saros 25 = 1550.59 Years
Saros 25 is composed of 87 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 25 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 87 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 46 | 52.9% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 17.2% |
| Total | T | 26 | 29.9% |
The 87 lunar eclipses in Saros 25 occur in the order of 24N 8P 26T 7P 22N which corresponds to:
24 Penumbral
8 Partial
26 Total
7 Partial
22 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 25 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1118 Feb 09 Duration = 01h45m24s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1461 Jul 19 Duration = 00h49m01s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0992 Apr 25 Duration = 03h28m45s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0884 Jun 28 Duration = 00h31m41s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0866 Jul 10 Duration = 04h35m33s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2038 Aug 06 Duration = 00h43m45s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 25 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1479 Jul 07 Magnitude = 0.9835
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0884 Jun 28 Magnitude = 0.0166
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 25 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 -51 -2038 Aug 06 11:54:00 47388 -49937 Nb a- -1.5302 0.0269 -0.9270 43.7 - -
02 -50 -2020 Aug 16 19:58:52 46946 -49714 N a- -1.4934 0.0963 -0.8613 82.4 - -
03 -49 -2002 Aug 28 04:11:11 46506 -49491 N a- -1.4630 0.1540 -0.8075 103.8 - -
04 -48 -1984 Sep 07 12:31:19 46068 -49268 N a- -1.4394 0.1994 -0.7660 117.9 - -
05 -47 -1966 Sep 18 20:59:01 45632 -49045 N a- -1.4224 0.2325 -0.7368 127.1 - -
06 -46 -1948 Sep 29 05:34:07 45198 -48822 N a- -1.4118 0.2538 -0.7192 132.8 - -
07 -45 -1930 Oct 10 14:14:24 44766 -48599 N a- -1.4059 0.2663 -0.7100 136.2 - -
08 -44 -1912 Oct 20 22:59:59 44337 -48376 N a- -1.4048 0.2699 -0.7095 137.3 - -
09 -43 -1894 Nov 01 07:48:24 43909 -48153 N a- -1.4064 0.2682 -0.7138 137.2 - -
10 -42 -1876 Nov 11 16:39:15 43483 -47930 N a- -1.4107 0.2615 -0.7227 135.8 - -
11 -41 -1858 Nov 23 01:28:40 43060 -47707 N a- -1.4143 0.2556 -0.7302 134.7 - -
12 -40 -1840 Dec 03 10:17:51 42638 -47484 N a- -1.4183 0.2489 -0.7380 133.3 - -
13 -39 -1822 Dec 14 19:02:39 42219 -47261 N a- -1.4190 0.2479 -0.7397 133.3 - -
14 -38 -1804 Dec 25 03:43:16 41801 -47038 N a- -1.4172 0.2514 -0.7365 134.5 - -
15 -37 -1785 Jan 05 12:16:15 41386 -46815 N a- -1.4098 0.2650 -0.7229 138.2 - -
16 -36 -1767 Jan 15 20:42:47 40973 -46592 N a- -1.3980 0.2865 -0.7011 143.8 - -
17 -35 -1749 Jan 27 05:00:17 40562 -46369 N a- -1.3793 0.3206 -0.6666 152.0 - -
18 -34 -1731 Feb 06 13:08:18 40153 -46146 N a- -1.3539 0.3670 -0.6198 162.3 - -
19 -33 -1713 Feb 17 21:06:34 39746 -45923 N a- -1.3213 0.4266 -0.5599 174.5 - -
20 -32 -1695 Feb 28 04:55:17 39341 -45700 N a- -1.2819 0.4988 -0.4874 188.0 - -
21 -31 -1677 Mar 11 12:34:35 38938 -45477 N a- -1.2355 0.5839 -0.4024 202.4 - -
22 -30 -1659 Mar 21 20:04:12 38537 -45254 N a- -1.1821 0.6822 -0.3046 217.3 - -
23 -29 -1641 Apr 02 03:25:44 38138 -45031 N h- -1.1229 0.7914 -0.1964 232.4 - -
24 -28 -1623 Apr 12 10:39:36 37742 -44808 N h- -1.0583 0.9107 -0.0785 247.1 - -
25 -27 -1605 Apr 23 17:46:41 37347 -44585 P h- -0.9888 1.0391 0.0479 261.4 49.8 -
26 -26 -1587 May 04 00:48:42 36955 -44362 P t- -0.9158 1.1743 0.1806 275.0 95.3 -
27 -25 -1569 May 15 07:46:57 36564 -44139 P t- -0.8407 1.3137 0.3169 287.6 124.2 -
28 -24 -1551 May 25 14:43:20 36176 -43916 P t- -0.7646 1.4551 0.4546 299.1 146.3 -
29 -23 -1533 Jun 05 21:37:35 35790 -43693 P t- -0.6877 1.5986 0.5938 309.7 164.1 -
30 -22 -1515 Jun 16 04:33:31 35406 -43470 P t- -0.6129 1.7381 0.7285 318.9 178.4 -
31 -21 -1497 Jun 27 11:30:20 35024 -43247 P t- -0.5400 1.8747 0.8597 327.1 190.2 -
32 -20 -1479 Jul 07 18:31:17 34644 -43024 P t- -0.4710 2.0041 0.9835 334.1 199.5 -
33 -19 -1461 Jul 19 01:35:19 34266 -42801 T t- -0.4056 2.1272 1.1004 340.3 207.1 49.0
34 -18 -1443 Jul 29 08:46:13 33890 -42578 T p- -0.3468 2.2384 1.2052 345.4 212.9 67.9
35 -17 -1425 Aug 09 16:02:54 33516 -42355 T p- -0.2939 2.3387 1.2989 349.8 217.4 79.4
36 -16 -1407 Aug 19 23:26:30 33144 -42132 T- pp -0.2477 2.4268 1.3804 353.4 220.9 87.0
37 -15 -1389 Aug 31 06:57:59 32774 -41909 T- pp -0.2089 2.5014 1.4484 356.6 223.4 92.1
38 -14 -1371 Sep 10 14:37:09 32407 -41686 T- pp -0.1772 2.5628 1.5034 359.2 225.3 95.4
39 -13 -1353 Sep 21 22:24:14 32041 -41463 T- pp -0.1531 2.6102 1.5446 361.5 226.6 97.5
40 -12 -1335 Oct 02 06:16:58 31678 -41240 T- pp -0.1343 2.6475 1.5763 363.5 227.7 99.0
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 -11 -1317 Oct 13 14:17:10 31316 -41017 T- pp -0.1225 2.6718 1.5954 365.3 228.5 99.8
42 -10 -1299 Oct 23 22:21:41 30957 -40794 T- pp -0.1146 2.6884 1.6075 366.8 229.1 100.3
43 -09 -1281 Nov 04 06:30:30 30600 -40571 T- pp -0.1110 2.6970 1.6124 368.1 229.6 100.6
44 -08 -1263 Nov 14 14:40:25 30245 -40348 T- pp -0.1086 2.7029 1.6152 369.3 230.1 100.8
45 -07 -1245 Nov 25 22:51:36 29892 -40125 T- pp -0.1078 2.7055 1.6156 370.4 230.5 100.9
46 -06 -1227 Dec 06 07:00:14 29540 -39902 T- pp -0.1053 2.7108 1.6195 371.3 231.0 101.2
47 -05 -1209 Dec 17 15:05:33 29191 -39679 T- pp -0.1006 2.7198 1.6279 372.2 231.5 101.6
48 -04 -1191 Dec 27 23:05:11 28845 -39456 T- pp -0.0914 2.7366 1.6447 373.0 232.2 102.3
49 -03 -1172 Jan 08 06:58:38 28500 -39233 T- pp -0.0776 2.7617 1.6704 373.7 232.8 103.1
50 -02 -1154 Jan 18 14:42:39 28157 -39010 T- pp -0.0564 2.7998 1.7098 374.3 233.6 104.1
51 -01 -1136 Jan 29 22:18:07 27816 -38787 T- pp -0.0287 2.8497 1.7615 374.8 234.2 105.0
52 00 -1118 Feb 09 05:42:52 27478 -38564 T+ pp 0.0074 2.8879 1.8018 375.1 234.7 105.4
53 01 -1100 Feb 20 12:58:55 27141 -38341 T+ pp 0.0505 2.8077 1.7238 375.1 234.8 105.0
54 02 -1082 Mar 02 20:02:19 26807 -38118 T+ pp 0.1035 2.7091 1.6277 374.6 234.1 103.0
55 03 -1064 Mar 13 02:57:59 26474 -37895 T+ pp 0.1625 2.5996 1.5206 373.4 232.5 98.8
56 04 -1046 Mar 24 09:42:42 26144 -37672 T+ pp 0.2302 2.4742 1.3977 371.4 229.4 91.1
57 05 -1028 Apr 03 16:21:38 25816 -37449 T pt 0.3025 2.3403 1.2660 368.3 224.8 78.4
58 06 -1010 Apr 14 22:50:51 25490 -37226 T -t 0.3826 2.1924 1.1200 364.0 218.0 55.4
59 07 -0992 Apr 25 05:16:54 25165 -37003 P -t 0.4653 2.0398 0.9692 358.3 208.8 -
60 08 -0974 May 06 11:36:49 24844 -36780 P -t 0.5525 1.8792 0.8099 351.0 196.4 -
61 09 -0956 May 16 17:55:51 24524 -36557 P -t 0.6404 1.7173 0.6491 342.3 180.7 -
62 10 -0938 May 28 00:12:24 24206 -36334 P -t 0.7302 1.5522 0.4847 331.7 160.3 -
63 11 -0920 Jun 07 06:31:43 23890 -36111 P -t 0.8174 1.3919 0.3247 319.8 134.4 -
64 12 -0902 Jun 18 12:52:50 23576 -35888 P -t 0.9031 1.2348 0.1674 306.3 98.6 -
65 13 -0884 Jun 28 19:18:19 23264 -35665 P -t 0.9852 1.0845 0.0166 291.4 31.7 -
66 14 -0866 Jul 10 01:49:18 22955 -35442 N -t 1.0625 0.9430 -0.1257 275.5 - -
67 15 -0848 Jul 20 08:27:33 22647 -35219 N -t 1.1338 0.8128 -0.2570 258.9 - -
68 16 -0830 Jul 31 15:14:16 22342 -34996 N -t 1.1985 0.6947 -0.3764 241.9 - -
69 17 -0812 Aug 10 22:09:43 22039 -34773 N -t 1.2561 0.5896 -0.4829 224.8 - -
70 18 -0794 Aug 22 05:16:03 21737 -34550 N -t 1.3054 0.5000 -0.5740 208.5 - -
71 19 -0776 Sep 01 12:32:43 21438 -34327 N -t 1.3465 0.4252 -0.6501 193.3 - -
72 20 -0758 Sep 12 19:59:43 21141 -34104 N -t 1.3799 0.3646 -0.7120 179.7 - -
73 21 -0740 Sep 23 03:37:11 20846 -33881 N -t 1.4054 0.3183 -0.7594 168.3 - -
74 22 -0722 Oct 04 11:24:42 20553 -33658 N -t 1.4237 0.2850 -0.7933 159.4 - -
75 23 -0704 Oct 14 19:21:09 20262 -33435 N -t 1.4353 0.2638 -0.8146 153.3 - -
76 24 -0686 Oct 26 03:24:23 19973 -33212 N -t 1.4422 0.2510 -0.8271 149.3 - -
77 25 -0668 Nov 05 11:34:23 19686 -32989 N -t 1.4444 0.2464 -0.8306 147.7 - -
78 26 -0650 Nov 16 19:49:08 19401 -32766 N -t 1.4437 0.2468 -0.8285 147.3 - -
79 27 -0632 Nov 27 04:06:01 19119 -32543 N -t 1.4419 0.2489 -0.8239 147.5 - -
80 28 -0614 Dec 08 12:23:46 18838 -32320 N -t 1.4400 0.2508 -0.8188 147.5 - -
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
81 29 -0596 Dec 18 20:40:11 18560 -32097 N -t 1.4399 0.2490 -0.8167 146.5 - -
82 30 -0578 Dec 30 04:54:47 18283 -31874 N -t 1.4418 0.2431 -0.8180 144.2 - -
83 31 -0559 Jan 09 13:03:41 18009 -31651 N -t 1.4491 0.2271 -0.8287 139.1 - -
84 32 -0541 Jan 20 21:08:38 17736 -31428 N -t 1.4603 0.2037 -0.8465 131.4 - -
85 33 -0523 Jan 31 05:06:01 17466 -31205 N -t 1.4782 0.1678 -0.8762 119.1 - -
86 34 -0505 Feb 11 12:57:12 17198 -30982 N -t 1.5016 0.1215 -0.9161 101.3 - -
87 35 -0487 Feb 21 20:39:48 16891 -30759 N -t 1.5327 0.0612 -0.9698 72.0 - -
[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)"
