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 28 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 -1897 Jul 09. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0581 Sep 06. The total duration of Saros series 28 is 1316.20 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1897 Jul 09 08:15:12 TD
Last Eclipse = -0581 Sep 06 05:35:49 TD
Duration of Saros 28 = 1316.20 Years
Saros 28 is composed of 74 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 28 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 74 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 33 | 44.6% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 18.9% |
| Total | T | 27 | 36.5% |
The 74 lunar eclipses in Saros 28 occur in the order of 24N 7P 27T 7P 9N which corresponds to:
24 Penumbral
7 Partial
27 Total
7 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 28 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1212 Aug 23 Duration = 01h44m15s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1338 Jun 09 Duration = 00h05m32s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0851 Mar 28 Duration = 03h24m29s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0743 May 31 Duration = 00h29m51s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0725 Jun 11 Duration = 04h32m37s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0581 Sep 06 Duration = 00h21m58s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 28 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0851 Mar 28 Magnitude = 0.9102
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0743 May 31 Magnitude = 0.0147
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 28 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 -38 -1897 Jul 09 08:15:12 43987 -48194 N a- 1.4840 0.1081 -0.8387 87.0 - -
02 -37 -1879 Jul 19 15:57:40 43561 -47971 N a- 1.4295 0.2098 -0.7403 120.3 - -
03 -36 -1861 Jul 30 23:46:14 43137 -47748 N a- 1.3801 0.3022 -0.6516 143.4 - -
04 -35 -1843 Aug 10 07:42:32 42715 -47525 N a- 1.3372 0.3831 -0.5748 160.5 - -
05 -34 -1825 Aug 21 15:46:39 42296 -47302 N a- 1.3010 0.4516 -0.5106 173.5 - -
06 -33 -1807 Aug 31 23:59:26 41878 -47079 N a- 1.2719 0.5072 -0.4594 183.4 - -
07 -32 -1789 Sep 12 08:18:41 41462 -46856 N a- 1.2484 0.5526 -0.4185 191.0 - -
08 -31 -1771 Sep 22 16:46:43 41049 -46633 N a- 1.2324 0.5842 -0.3913 196.3 - -
09 -30 -1753 Oct 04 01:20:51 40637 -46410 N a- 1.2219 0.6056 -0.3741 199.9 - -
10 -29 -1735 Oct 14 10:01:17 40228 -46187 N a- 1.2169 0.6167 -0.3667 202.1 - -
11 -28 -1717 Oct 25 18:45:04 39820 -45964 N a- 1.2152 0.6215 -0.3654 203.3 - -
12 -27 -1699 Nov 05 03:32:28 39415 -45741 N a- 1.2170 0.6197 -0.3701 203.6 - -
13 -26 -1681 Nov 16 12:20:37 39012 -45518 N a- 1.2201 0.6153 -0.3769 203.5 - -
14 -25 -1663 Nov 26 21:08:00 38611 -45295 N a- 1.2234 0.6102 -0.3840 203.3 - -
15 -24 -1645 Dec 08 05:53:16 38212 -45072 N a- 1.2257 0.6067 -0.3890 203.3 - -
16 -23 -1627 Dec 18 14:34:38 37815 -44849 N a- 1.2260 0.6067 -0.3899 203.8 - -
17 -22 -1609 Dec 29 23:10:14 37420 -44626 N a- 1.2221 0.6140 -0.3832 205.4 - -
18 -21 -1590 Jan 09 07:38:32 37027 -44403 N a- 1.2132 0.6305 -0.3668 208.4 - -
19 -20 -1572 Jan 20 15:59:14 36636 -44180 N a- 1.1990 0.6565 -0.3409 212.7 - -
20 -19 -1554 Jan 31 00:11:21 36247 -43957 N a- 1.1789 0.6933 -0.3039 218.4 - -
21 -18 -1536 Feb 11 08:13:02 35861 -43734 N a- 1.1511 0.7442 -0.2528 225.8 - -
22 -17 -1518 Feb 21 16:05:37 35476 -43511 N a- 1.1167 0.8073 -0.1897 234.4 - -
23 -16 -1500 Mar 03 23:47:48 35094 -43288 N a- 1.0746 0.8846 -0.1125 244.2 - -
24 -15 -1482 Mar 15 07:21:28 34713 -43065 N a- 1.0264 0.9734 -0.0241 254.7 - -
25 -14 -1464 Mar 25 14:44:12 34335 -42842 P h- 0.9703 1.0767 0.0784 265.9 63.6 -
26 -13 -1446 Apr 05 21:59:59 33959 -42619 P h- 0.9092 1.1892 0.1899 277.1 97.7 -
27 -12 -1428 Apr 16 05:07:17 33584 -42396 P t- 0.8420 1.3134 0.3124 288.3 123.6 -
28 -11 -1410 Apr 27 12:08:38 33212 -42173 P t- 0.7708 1.4451 0.4420 299.1 144.7 -
29 -10 -1392 May 07 19:04:14 32842 -41950 P t- 0.6957 1.5843 0.5784 309.3 162.6 -
30 -09 -1374 May 19 01:56:43 32474 -41727 P t- 0.6189 1.7270 0.7179 318.7 177.7 -
31 -08 -1356 May 29 08:46:45 32108 -41504 P t- 0.5409 1.8721 0.8591 327.3 190.4 -
32 -07 -1338 Jun 09 15:34:58 31744 -41281 T t- 0.4622 2.0185 1.0012 334.9 201.0 5.5
33 -06 -1320 Jun 19 22:24:36 31383 -41058 T t- 0.3855 2.1618 1.1395 341.5 209.5 57.2
34 -05 -1302 Jul 01 05:15:56 31023 -40835 T p- 0.3108 2.3016 1.2740 347.1 216.3 76.8
35 -04 -1284 Jul 11 12:11:43 30665 -40612 T+ pp 0.2406 2.4332 1.4000 351.7 221.4 88.7
36 -03 -1266 Jul 22 19:10:59 30310 -40389 T+ pp 0.1741 2.5583 1.5190 355.6 225.1 96.4
37 -02 -1248 Aug 02 02:18:00 29956 -40166 T+ pp 0.1146 2.6707 1.6251 358.7 227.6 100.9
38 -01 -1230 Aug 13 09:30:39 29605 -39943 T+ pp 0.0603 2.7735 1.7215 361.2 229.2 103.4
39 00 -1212 Aug 23 16:51:15 29255 -39720 T+ pp 0.0135 2.8627 1.8043 363.2 230.1 104.2
40 01 -1194 Sep 04 00:18:48 28908 -39497 T- pp -0.0270 2.8409 1.7763 364.8 230.4 104.1
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 02 -1176 Sep 14 07:55:34 28563 -39274 T- pp -0.0590 2.7854 1.7146 366.3 230.5 103.3
42 03 -1158 Sep 25 15:39:08 28220 -39051 T- pp -0.0850 2.7405 1.6641 367.6 230.5 102.3
43 04 -1140 Oct 05 23:29:35 27879 -38828 T- pp -0.1046 2.7071 1.6255 368.7 230.4 101.3
44 05 -1122 Oct 17 07:26:03 27540 -38605 T- pp -0.1186 2.6838 1.5975 369.8 230.4 100.4
45 06 -1104 Oct 27 15:28:20 27203 -38382 T- pp -0.1269 2.6706 1.5803 370.9 230.5 99.9
46 07 -1086 Nov 07 23:32:47 26868 -38159 T- pp -0.1332 2.6608 1.5673 371.8 230.6 99.4
47 08 -1068 Nov 18 07:39:36 26535 -37936 T- pp -0.1367 2.6555 1.5595 372.7 230.8 99.2
48 09 -1050 Nov 29 15:45:33 26205 -37713 T- pp -0.1406 2.6491 1.5515 373.4 231.0 99.0
49 10 -1032 Dec 09 23:50:59 25876 -37490 T- pp -0.1446 2.6423 1.5439 374.0 231.2 98.8
50 11 -1014 Dec 21 07:50:44 25549 -37267 T- pp -0.1525 2.6278 1.5294 374.3 231.2 98.2
51 12 -0996 Dec 31 15:47:08 25225 -37044 T- pp -0.1629 2.6084 1.5107 374.5 231.1 97.4
52 13 -0977 Jan 11 23:34:51 24903 -36821 T- pp -0.1798 2.5767 1.4804 374.3 230.7 95.9
53 14 -0959 Jan 22 07:16:03 24582 -36598 T- pp -0.2019 2.5350 1.4407 373.8 230.0 93.6
54 15 -0941 Feb 02 14:46:05 24264 -36375 T- pp -0.2329 2.4770 1.3851 372.8 228.6 89.7
55 16 -0923 Feb 12 22:08:44 23948 -36152 T- -p -0.2695 2.4084 1.3192 371.3 226.5 83.9
56 17 -0905 Feb 24 05:19:57 23634 -35929 T -t -0.3149 2.3236 1.2374 369.1 223.4 74.7
57 18 -0887 Mar 06 12:21:58 23322 -35706 T -t -0.3677 2.2251 1.1420 366.1 219.0 59.7
58 19 -0869 Mar 17 19:13:49 23012 -35483 T -t -0.4285 2.1121 1.0319 362.0 212.8 29.4
59 20 -0851 Mar 28 01:57:43 22704 -35260 P -t -0.4957 1.9872 0.9102 356.8 204.5 -
60 21 -0833 Apr 08 08:33:46 22398 -35037 P -t -0.5690 1.8513 0.7771 350.1 193.5 -
61 22 -0815 Apr 18 15:02:58 22094 -34814 P -t -0.6475 1.7059 0.6344 341.9 179.1 -
62 23 -0797 Apr 29 21:27:38 21792 -34591 P -t -0.7297 1.5539 0.4847 331.9 160.3 -
63 24 -0779 May 10 03:49:05 21493 -34368 P -t -0.8145 1.3972 0.3300 320.1 135.3 -
64 25 -0761 May 21 10:08:26 21195 -34145 P -t -0.9010 1.2377 0.1721 306.3 99.9 -
65 26 -0743 May 31 16:28:12 20900 -33922 P -t -0.9871 1.0791 0.0147 290.5 29.9 -
66 27 -0725 Jun 11 22:49:32 20606 -33699 N -t -1.0721 0.9227 -0.1409 272.6 - -
67 28 -0707 Jun 22 05:14:56 20315 -33476 N -t -1.1540 0.7723 -0.2909 252.8 - -
68 29 -0689 Jul 03 11:43:55 20026 -33253 N -t -1.2332 0.6269 -0.4362 230.7 - -
69 30 -0671 Jul 13 18:20:30 19739 -33030 N -t -1.3065 0.4925 -0.5708 206.8 - -
70 31 -0653 Jul 25 01:04:03 19453 -32807 N -t -1.3747 0.3677 -0.6961 180.4 - -
71 32 -0635 Aug 04 07:57:27 19170 -32584 N -t -1.4352 0.2571 -0.8075 152.1 - -
72 33 -0617 Aug 15 14:59:18 18890 -32361 N -t -1.4892 0.1583 -0.9072 120.2 - -
73 34 -0599 Aug 25 22:12:46 18611 -32138 N -t -1.5348 0.0752 -0.9911 83.3 - -
74 35 -0581 Sep 06 05:35:49 18334 -31915 Ne -t -1.5732 0.0052 -1.0622 22.0 - -
[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)"
