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 29 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 -1814 Jul 21. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0336 Dec 24. The total duration of Saros series 29 is 1478.47 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1814 Jul 21 10:04:42 TD
Last Eclipse = -0336 Dec 24 17:06:19 TD
Duration of Saros 29 = 1478.47 Years
Saros 29 is composed of 83 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 29 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 83 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 41 | 49.4% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 18.1% |
| Total | T | 27 | 32.5% |
The 83 lunar eclipses in Saros 29 occur in the order of 22N 7P 27T 8P 19N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
7 Partial
27 Total
8 Partial
19 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 29 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1201 Jul 23 Duration = 01h44m29s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0822 Mar 07 Duration = 00h37m09s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1309 May 19 Duration = 03h24m15s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1417 Mar 16 Duration = 00h52m58s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1435 Mar 05 Duration = 04h44m01s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0336 Dec 24 Duration = 00h20m41s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 29 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0804 Mar 18 Magnitude = 0.9725
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1417 Mar 16 Magnitude = 0.0468
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 29 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 -1814 Jul 21 10:04:42 42043 -47167 Nb t- -1.5402 0.0632 -0.9991 76.6 - -
02 -33 -1796 Jul 31 17:01:15 41626 -46944 N t- -1.4851 0.1672 -0.9007 123.9 - -
03 -32 -1778 Aug 12 00:05:28 41212 -46721 N t- -1.4359 0.2602 -0.8133 153.7 - -
04 -31 -1760 Aug 22 07:17:57 40799 -46498 N t- -1.3937 0.3405 -0.7385 175.2 - -
05 -30 -1742 Sep 02 14:39:33 40389 -46275 N t- -1.3588 0.4073 -0.6771 191.0 - -
06 -29 -1724 Sep 12 22:09:51 39981 -46052 N t- -1.3312 0.4604 -0.6290 202.6 - -
07 -28 -1706 Sep 24 05:47:32 39575 -45829 N t- -1.3098 0.5021 -0.5920 211.3 - -
08 -27 -1688 Oct 04 13:33:20 39171 -45606 N t- -1.2949 0.5313 -0.5668 217.2 - -
09 -26 -1670 Oct 15 21:25:15 38769 -45383 N t- -1.2850 0.5513 -0.5502 221.2 - -
10 -25 -1652 Oct 26 05:22:20 38369 -45160 N t- -1.2796 0.5626 -0.5415 223.6 - -
11 -24 -1634 Nov 06 13:21:38 37971 -44937 N t- -1.2759 0.5701 -0.5358 225.2 - -
12 -23 -1616 Nov 16 21:23:25 37575 -44714 N t- -1.2743 0.5736 -0.5333 226.0 - -
13 -22 -1598 Nov 28 05:24:52 37182 -44491 N t- -1.2722 0.5775 -0.5295 226.8 - -
14 -21 -1580 Dec 08 13:23:50 36790 -44268 N t- -1.2680 0.5848 -0.5214 228.1 - -
15 -20 -1562 Dec 19 21:19:03 36401 -44045 N t- -1.2606 0.5976 -0.5071 230.2 - -
16 -19 -1544 Dec 30 05:08:40 36013 -43822 N t- -1.2484 0.6188 -0.4835 233.7 - -
17 -18 -1525 Jan 10 12:51:57 35628 -43599 N t- -1.2309 0.6494 -0.4500 238.5 - -
18 -17 -1507 Jan 20 20:26:21 35244 -43376 N t- -1.2058 0.6937 -0.4021 245.1 - -
19 -16 -1489 Feb 01 03:53:08 34863 -43153 N t- -1.1741 0.7500 -0.3419 253.1 - -
20 -15 -1471 Feb 11 11:10:08 34484 -42930 N t- -1.1340 0.8213 -0.2663 262.5 - -
21 -14 -1453 Feb 22 18:17:59 34107 -42707 N t- -1.0861 0.9069 -0.1762 272.9 - -
22 -13 -1435 Mar 05 01:16:22 33732 -42484 Nx t- -1.0301 1.0075 -0.0711 284.0 - -
23 -12 -1417 Mar 16 08:06:53 33359 -42261 P t- -0.9670 1.1208 0.0468 295.3 53.0 -
24 -11 -1399 Mar 26 14:50:10 32988 -42038 P t- -0.8973 1.2466 0.1770 306.4 101.0 -
25 -10 -1381 Apr 06 21:26:00 32619 -41815 P t- -0.8208 1.3848 0.3195 317.1 132.6 -
26 -09 -1363 Apr 17 03:57:45 32252 -41592 P t- -0.7403 1.5305 0.4692 326.9 156.8 -
27 -08 -1345 Apr 28 10:25:28 31888 -41369 P t- -0.6558 1.6838 0.6260 335.6 176.2 -
28 -07 -1327 May 08 16:52:14 31525 -41146 P t- -0.5694 1.8406 0.7861 343.0 191.8 -
29 -06 -1309 May 19 23:17:34 31165 -40923 P t- -0.4809 2.0016 0.9499 349.2 204.3 -
30 -05 -1291 May 30 05:45:27 30806 -40700 T t- -0.3933 2.1610 1.1118 353.9 213.8 52.9
31 -04 -1273 Jun 10 12:16:10 30450 -40477 T t- -0.3074 2.3178 1.2704 357.4 220.8 77.8
32 -03 -1255 Jun 20 18:51:18 30096 -40254 T- pp -0.2241 2.4699 1.4241 359.5 225.5 91.7
33 -02 -1237 Jul 02 01:32:52 29743 -40031 T- pp -0.1450 2.6144 1.5697 360.5 228.3 99.6
34 -01 -1219 Jul 12 08:22:00 29393 -39808 T- pp -0.0713 2.7493 1.7053 360.5 229.5 103.5
35 00 -1201 Jul 23 15:20:35 29045 -39585 T- pp -0.0045 2.8718 1.8281 359.8 229.4 104.5
36 01 -1183 Aug 02 22:27:19 28699 -39362 T+ pp 0.0565 2.7761 1.7327 358.4 228.4 103.4
37 02 -1165 Aug 14 05:45:22 28355 -39139 T+ pp 0.1089 2.6801 1.6366 356.7 226.7 100.9
38 03 -1147 Aug 24 13:12:50 28013 -38916 T+ pp 0.1541 2.5972 1.5535 354.7 224.6 97.4
39 04 -1129 Sep 04 20:52:06 27673 -38693 T+ pp 0.1906 2.5302 1.4864 352.7 222.4 93.7
40 05 -1111 Sep 15 04:40:18 27336 -38470 T+ pp 0.2204 2.4757 1.4318 350.7 220.3 90.0
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 06 -1093 Sep 26 12:40:09 27000 -38247 T+ -p 0.2415 2.4369 1.3932 348.9 218.5 87.0
42 07 -1075 Oct 06 20:48:03 26666 -38024 T+ -p 0.2565 2.4090 1.3658 347.3 217.0 84.5
43 08 -1057 Oct 18 05:04:40 26335 -37801 T+ -p 0.2653 2.3924 1.3501 345.8 215.8 83.0
44 09 -1039 Oct 28 13:27:15 26005 -37578 T+ -p 0.2700 2.3831 1.3422 344.4 214.9 82.0
45 10 -1021 Nov 08 21:56:14 25678 -37355 T+ -p 0.2706 2.3810 1.3421 343.1 214.3 81.8
46 11 -1003 Nov 19 06:27:28 25353 -37132 T+ -p 0.2699 2.3810 1.3447 341.8 213.8 81.9
47 12 -0985 Nov 30 15:00:47 25030 -36909 T+ -p 0.2685 2.3819 1.3488 340.5 213.4 82.0
48 13 -0967 Dec 10 23:33:23 24708 -36686 T+ -p 0.2685 2.3799 1.3507 339.1 212.9 82.0
49 14 -0949 Dec 22 08:05:33 24389 -36463 T+ -p 0.2701 2.3749 1.3501 337.6 212.3 81.8
50 15 -0930 Jan 01 16:32:17 24072 -36240 T -p 0.2769 2.3599 1.3401 335.8 211.4 80.8
51 16 -0912 Jan 13 00:55:32 23757 -36017 T -p 0.2873 2.3380 1.3236 333.8 210.3 79.2
52 17 -0894 Jan 23 09:11:21 23444 -35794 T -p 0.3047 2.3032 1.2945 331.5 208.7 76.2
53 18 -0876 Feb 03 17:22:11 23134 -35571 T -p 0.3270 2.2593 1.2567 328.9 206.8 72.0
54 19 -0858 Feb 14 01:23:28 22825 -35348 T -p 0.3580 2.1992 1.2027 325.9 204.0 65.0
55 20 -0840 Feb 25 09:19:38 22518 -35125 T -p 0.3942 2.1297 1.1394 322.4 200.5 54.9
56 21 -0822 Mar 07 17:06:41 22214 -34902 T -a 0.4386 2.0453 1.0610 318.2 195.9 37.2
57 22 -0804 Mar 18 00:48:05 21911 -34679 P -a 0.4884 1.9510 0.9725 313.4 190.2 -
58 23 -0786 Mar 29 08:21:37 21611 -34456 P -a 0.5454 1.8435 0.8704 307.7 182.8 -
59 24 -0768 Apr 08 15:51:27 21312 -34233 P -a 0.6063 1.7292 0.7613 301.2 173.7 -
60 25 -0750 Apr 19 23:16:10 21016 -34010 P -a 0.6723 1.6059 0.6424 293.7 162.3 -
61 26 -0732 Apr 30 06:37:39 20722 -33787 P -a 0.7417 1.4765 0.5171 285.0 148.2 -
62 27 -0714 May 11 13:57:12 20430 -33564 P -a 0.8131 1.3439 0.3878 275.3 130.6 -
63 28 -0696 May 21 21:16:22 20140 -33341 P -a 0.8853 1.2099 0.2566 264.5 108.0 -
64 29 -0678 Jun 02 04:35:57 19852 -33118 P -a 0.9577 1.0759 0.1247 252.5 76.5 -
65 30 -0660 Jun 12 11:56:41 19566 -32895 N -a 1.0297 0.9432 -0.0067 239.2 - -
66 31 -0642 Jun 23 19:20:59 19282 -32672 N -a 1.0991 0.8155 -0.1336 225.0 - -
67 32 -0624 Jul 04 02:49:29 19000 -32449 N -a 1.1651 0.6943 -0.2547 209.8 - -
68 33 -0606 Jul 15 10:22:42 18720 -32226 N -a 1.2275 0.5801 -0.3693 193.7 - -
69 34 -0588 Jul 25 18:02:20 18443 -32003 N -a 1.2849 0.4753 -0.4752 176.9 - -
70 35 -0570 Aug 06 01:49:16 18167 -31780 N -a 1.3366 0.3812 -0.5708 159.7 - -
71 36 -0552 Aug 16 09:44:13 17894 -31557 N -a 1.3819 0.2990 -0.6549 142.5 - -
72 37 -0534 Aug 27 17:46:12 17622 -31334 N -a 1.4218 0.2269 -0.7292 124.9 - -
73 38 -0516 Sep 07 01:57:13 17353 -31111 N -a 1.4545 0.1680 -0.7905 108.1 - -
74 39 -0498 Sep 18 10:16:18 17077 -30888 N -a 1.4812 0.1203 -0.8407 91.8 - -
75 40 -0480 Sep 28 18:43:37 16758 -30665 N -a 1.5017 0.0839 -0.8796 77.0 - -
76 41 -0462 Oct 10 03:17:56 16449 -30442 N -a 1.5170 0.0572 -0.9087 63.7 - -
77 42 -0444 Oct 20 11:59:08 16148 -30219 N -a 1.5271 0.0396 -0.9284 53.1 - -
78 43 -0426 Oct 31 20:46:04 15855 -29996 N -a 1.5330 0.0298 -0.9401 46.2 - -
79 44 -0408 Nov 11 05:36:07 15570 -29773 N -a 1.5368 0.0236 -0.9478 41.1 - -
80 45 -0390 Nov 22 14:29:35 15292 -29550 N -a 1.5382 0.0217 -0.9508 39.4 - -
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
81 46 -0372 Dec 02 23:23:18 15021 -29327 N -a 1.5399 0.0188 -0.9542 36.8 - -
82 47 -0354 Dec 14 08:16:48 14756 -29104 N -a 1.5416 0.0157 -0.9576 33.6 - -
83 48 -0336 Dec 24 17:06:19 14498 -28881 N -a 1.5469 0.0059 -0.9671 20.7 - -
[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)"
