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 31 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 -1774 May 30. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0476 Jul 17. The total duration of Saros series 31 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1774 May 30 21:59:04 TD
Last Eclipse = -0476 Jul 17 11:07:25 TD
Duration of Saros 31 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 31 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 31 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 29 | 39.7% |
| Partial | P | 20 | 27.4% |
| Total | T | 24 | 32.9% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 31 occur in the order of 22N 10P 24T 10P 7N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
10 Partial
24 Total
10 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 31 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1089 Jul 16 Duration = 01h44m46s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1197 May 12 Duration = 00h08m57s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0764 Jan 26 Duration = 03h29m03s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0602 May 03 Duration = 00h09m41s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0584 May 13 Duration = 04h31m03s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1774 May 30 Duration = 00h30m21s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 31 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0764 Jan 26 Magnitude = 0.9771
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0602 May 03 Magnitude = 0.0015
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 31 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 -1774 May 30 21:59:04 41125 -46674 Nb a- -1.5341 0.0130 -0.9275 30.4 - -
02 -37 -1756 Jun 10 05:23:17 40713 -46451 N a- -1.4647 0.1411 -0.8010 99.1 - -
03 -36 -1738 Jun 21 12:51:55 40303 -46228 N a- -1.3987 0.2635 -0.6810 134.1 - -
04 -35 -1720 Jul 01 20:22:29 39895 -46005 N a- -1.3346 0.3825 -0.5649 160.0 - -
05 -34 -1702 Jul 13 03:59:44 39489 -45782 N a- -1.2763 0.4912 -0.4597 179.8 - -
06 -33 -1684 Jul 23 11:41:29 39086 -45559 N a- -1.2223 0.5924 -0.3626 196.0 - -
07 -32 -1666 Aug 03 19:30:41 38684 -45336 N a- -1.1749 0.6816 -0.2777 208.9 - -
08 -31 -1648 Aug 14 03:26:08 38285 -45113 N a- -1.1330 0.7609 -0.2032 219.5 - -
09 -30 -1630 Aug 25 11:30:27 37888 -44890 N a- -1.0988 0.8261 -0.1428 227.8 - -
10 -29 -1612 Sep 04 19:41:58 37492 -44667 N a- -1.0713 0.8790 -0.0949 234.4 - -
11 -28 -1594 Sep 16 04:00:56 37099 -44444 N a- -1.0504 0.9198 -0.0590 239.5 - -
12 -27 -1576 Sep 26 12:27:13 36708 -44221 N a- -1.0362 0.9484 -0.0352 243.3 - -
13 -26 -1558 Oct 07 21:00:06 36319 -43998 N a- -1.0277 0.9662 -0.0219 245.8 - -
14 -25 -1540 Oct 18 05:38:24 35932 -43775 N a- -1.0242 0.9747 -0.0176 247.5 - -
15 -24 -1522 Oct 29 14:20:14 35547 -43552 N a- -1.0241 0.9767 -0.0193 248.5 - -
16 -23 -1504 Nov 08 23:05:03 35164 -43329 N a- -1.0272 0.9728 -0.0265 248.8 - -
17 -22 -1486 Nov 20 07:50:38 34783 -43106 N a- -1.0312 0.9667 -0.0353 249.0 - -
18 -21 -1468 Nov 30 16:35:04 34404 -42883 N a- -1.0351 0.9606 -0.0435 249.1 - -
19 -20 -1450 Dec 12 01:16:53 34028 -42660 N a- -1.0374 0.9573 -0.0484 249.5 - -
20 -19 -1432 Dec 22 09:54:11 33653 -42437 N a- -1.0367 0.9592 -0.0477 250.5 - -
21 -18 -1413 Jan 02 18:25:14 33281 -42214 N a- -1.0317 0.9686 -0.0390 252.2 - -
22 -17 -1395 Jan 13 02:48:25 32910 -41991 N a- -1.0211 0.9883 -0.0198 255.0 - -
23 -16 -1377 Jan 24 11:03:25 32542 -41768 P a- -1.0047 1.0185 0.0104 258.8 23.1 -
24 -15 -1359 Feb 03 19:09:19 32175 -41545 P a- -0.9814 1.0613 0.0530 263.8 52.2 -
25 -14 -1341 Feb 15 03:04:22 31811 -41322 P a- -0.9502 1.1186 0.1104 270.1 75.0 -
26 -13 -1323 Feb 25 10:49:39 31449 -41099 P a- -0.9118 1.1891 0.1807 277.2 95.3 -
27 -12 -1305 Mar 08 18:24:32 31089 -40876 P h- -0.8657 1.2737 0.2651 285.2 114.4 -
28 -11 -1287 Mar 19 01:50:47 30731 -40653 P h- -0.8132 1.3705 0.3613 293.6 132.2 -
29 -10 -1269 Mar 30 09:06:09 30375 -40430 P t- -0.7525 1.4823 0.4723 302.6 149.1 -
30 -09 -1251 Apr 09 16:14:53 30021 -40207 P t- -0.6870 1.6031 0.5918 311.3 164.4 -
31 -08 -1233 Apr 20 23:15:03 29669 -39984 P t- -0.6155 1.7351 0.7221 320.0 178.3 -
32 -07 -1215 May 01 06:10:12 29320 -39761 P t- -0.5406 1.8736 0.8584 328.0 190.6 -
33 -06 -1197 May 12 12:58:45 28972 -39538 T t- -0.4610 2.0212 1.0031 335.5 201.4 8.9
34 -05 -1179 May 22 19:45:19 28626 -39315 T t- -0.3807 2.1702 1.1489 342.1 210.3 59.0
35 -04 -1161 Jun 03 02:28:57 28283 -39092 T pp -0.2990 2.3221 1.2969 347.8 217.5 79.4
36 -03 -1143 Jun 13 09:12:05 27941 -38869 T- pp -0.2178 2.4732 1.4437 352.6 223.0 92.1
37 -02 -1125 Jun 24 15:56:01 27602 -38646 T- pp -0.1384 2.6214 1.5871 356.3 226.9 99.8
38 -01 -1107 Jul 04 22:42:59 27265 -38423 T- pp -0.0627 2.7629 1.7234 359.2 229.2 103.7
39 00 -1089 Jul 16 05:33:52 26929 -38200 T+ pp 0.0092 2.8638 1.8188 361.2 230.2 104.8
40 01 -1071 Jul 26 12:29:15 26596 -37977 T+ pp 0.0762 2.7437 1.6928 362.5 230.0 103.3
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 -1053 Aug 06 19:31:19 26265 -37754 T+ pp 0.1368 2.6356 1.5787 363.2 229.0 99.9
42 03 -1035 Aug 17 02:40:40 25936 -37531 T+ pp 0.1904 2.5403 1.4773 363.6 227.3 95.0
43 04 -1017 Aug 28 09:57:18 25609 -37308 T+ -p 0.2373 2.4573 1.3884 363.7 225.2 88.9
44 05 -0999 Sep 07 17:22:36 25284 -37085 T -p 0.2764 2.3885 1.3136 363.7 223.1 82.3
45 06 -0981 Sep 19 00:56:09 24962 -36862 T -p 0.3083 2.3328 1.2524 363.7 221.1 75.6
46 07 -0963 Sep 29 08:38:22 24641 -36639 T -p 0.3322 2.2915 1.2058 363.9 219.4 69.5
47 08 -0945 Oct 10 16:25:57 24322 -36416 T -p 0.3512 2.2590 1.1687 364.1 218.0 63.8
48 09 -0927 Oct 21 00:21:12 24006 -36193 T -p 0.3634 2.2387 1.1443 364.5 217.1 59.5
49 10 -0909 Nov 01 08:20:19 23691 -35970 T -t 0.3722 2.2244 1.1266 365.0 216.5 56.1
50 11 -0891 Nov 11 16:23:41 23379 -35747 T -t 0.3769 2.2170 1.1166 365.5 216.2 54.1
51 12 -0873 Nov 23 00:26:49 23068 -35524 T -t 0.3814 2.2096 1.1074 366.0 216.0 52.2
52 13 -0855 Dec 03 08:31:17 22760 -35301 T -t 0.3845 2.2044 1.1013 366.3 215.8 50.8
53 14 -0837 Dec 14 16:32:33 22454 -35078 T -t 0.3900 2.1944 1.0912 366.3 215.5 48.4
54 15 -0819 Dec 25 00:30:20 22150 -34855 T -t 0.3981 2.1792 1.0768 366.0 214.9 44.7
55 16 -0800 Jan 05 08:21:54 21848 -34632 T -t 0.4111 2.1546 1.0536 365.3 213.7 37.6
56 17 -0782 Jan 15 16:07:18 21548 -34409 T -t 0.4290 2.1207 1.0217 364.1 211.9 24.2
57 18 -0764 Jan 26 23:43:50 21250 -34186 P -t 0.4540 2.0735 0.9771 362.2 209.1 -
58 19 -0746 Feb 06 07:11:52 20954 -33963 P -t 0.4860 2.0132 0.9199 359.5 205.1 -
59 20 -0728 Feb 17 14:30:23 20660 -33740 P -t 0.5258 1.9385 0.8486 355.9 199.6 -
60 21 -0710 Feb 27 21:40:11 20368 -33517 P -t 0.5728 1.8505 0.7642 351.3 192.3 -
61 22 -0692 Mar 10 04:39:09 20079 -33294 P -t 0.6286 1.7462 0.6637 345.3 182.3 -
62 23 -0674 Mar 21 11:30:25 19791 -33071 P -t 0.6905 1.6308 0.5520 337.9 169.2 -
63 24 -0656 Mar 31 18:12:54 19506 -32848 P -t 0.7595 1.5023 0.4272 328.8 151.8 -
64 25 -0638 Apr 12 00:50:03 19222 -32625 P -t 0.8330 1.3656 0.2940 317.9 128.4 -
65 26 -0620 Apr 22 07:19:16 18941 -32402 P -t 0.9127 1.2177 0.1492 304.6 93.3 -
66 27 -0602 May 03 13:46:32 18662 -32179 P -t 0.9940 1.0671 0.0015 289.2 9.7 -
67 28 -0584 May 13 20:09:24 18385 -31956 N -t 1.0784 0.9109 -0.1521 271.0 - -
68 29 -0566 May 25 02:32:38 18109 -31733 N -t 1.1626 0.7554 -0.3054 250.2 - -
69 30 -0548 Jun 04 08:54:40 17836 -31510 N -t 1.2477 0.5983 -0.4608 225.6 - -
70 31 -0530 Jun 15 15:20:58 17565 -31287 N -t 1.3294 0.4476 -0.6101 197.5 - -
71 32 -0512 Jun 25 21:50:22 17296 -31064 N -t 1.4085 0.3020 -0.7548 164.1 - -
72 33 -0494 Jul 07 04:25:22 17009 -30841 N -t 1.4834 0.1644 -0.8918 122.3 - -
73 34 -0476 Jul 17 11:07:25 16692 -30618 Ne -t 1.5527 0.0370 -1.0190 58.5 - -
[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)"
