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 54 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 -0946 May 26. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0334 Jul 03. The total duration of Saros series 54 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0946 May 26 05:47:39 TD
Last Eclipse = 0334 Jul 03 13:58:40 TD
Duration of Saros 54 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 54 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 54 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 14 | 19.4% |
| Partial | P | 43 | 59.7% |
| Total | T | 15 | 20.8% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 54 occur in the order of 7N 21P 15T 22P 7N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
21 Partial
15 Total
22 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 54 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0315 Jun 08 Duration = 01h39m50s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0189 Aug 23 Duration = 00h16m55s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0459 Mar 14 Duration = 03h07m18s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0208 Apr 18 Duration = 00h40m51s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0838 Jul 29 Duration = 04h32m47s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0334 Jul 03 Duration = 00h56m07s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 54 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0171 Sep 03 Magnitude = 0.9362
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0208 Apr 18 Magnitude = 0.0340
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 54 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 -35 -0946 May 26 05:47:39 24347 -36433 N t- 1.4859 0.1557 -0.8926 118.4 - -
02 -34 -0928 Jun 05 12:18:41 24030 -36210 N t- 1.3999 0.3123 -0.7336 164.8 - -
03 -33 -0910 Jun 16 18:53:44 23715 -35987 N t- 1.3158 0.4657 -0.5782 197.8 - -
04 -32 -0892 Jun 27 01:32:48 23403 -35764 N t- 1.2334 0.6162 -0.4262 223.5 - -
05 -31 -0874 Jul 08 08:19:15 23092 -35541 N t- 1.1556 0.7584 -0.2830 243.7 - -
06 -30 -0856 Jul 18 15:12:49 22784 -35318 N t- 1.0821 0.8928 -0.1478 260.0 - -
07 -29 -0838 Jul 29 22:16:04 22477 -35095 Nx t- 1.0155 1.0149 -0.0253 272.8 - -
08 -28 -0820 Aug 09 05:27:51 22173 -34872 P h- 0.9547 1.1264 0.0863 283.1 69.0 -
09 -27 -0802 Aug 20 12:50:51 21871 -34649 P h- 0.9017 1.2236 0.1836 291.0 98.9 -
10 -26 -0784 Aug 30 20:23:51 21571 -34426 P h- 0.8558 1.3079 0.2678 297.1 117.7 -
11 -25 -0766 Sep 11 04:07:19 21272 -34203 P a- 0.8174 1.3783 0.3381 301.6 130.5 -
12 -24 -0748 Sep 21 12:01:20 20976 -33980 P a- 0.7867 1.4346 0.3945 304.8 139.3 -
13 -23 -0730 Oct 02 20:05:10 20683 -33757 P a- 0.7633 1.4774 0.4377 306.8 145.3 -
14 -22 -0712 Oct 13 04:18:31 20391 -33534 P a- 0.7466 1.5078 0.4687 307.8 149.2 -
15 -21 -0694 Oct 24 12:38:06 20101 -33311 P a- 0.7340 1.5303 0.4923 308.2 151.8 -
16 -20 -0676 Nov 03 21:05:09 19813 -33088 P a- 0.7268 1.5427 0.5062 308.0 153.2 -
17 -19 -0658 Nov 15 05:36:02 19527 -32865 P a- 0.7223 1.5499 0.5155 307.3 153.9 -
18 -18 -0640 Nov 25 14:10:23 19244 -32642 P a- 0.7197 1.5532 0.5216 306.4 154.2 -
19 -17 -0622 Dec 06 22:44:25 18962 -32419 P a- 0.7165 1.5574 0.5292 305.5 154.7 -
20 -16 -0604 Dec 17 07:18:47 18683 -32196 P a- 0.7128 1.5622 0.5380 304.6 155.3 -
21 -15 -0586 Dec 28 15:50:05 18406 -31973 P a- 0.7061 1.5723 0.5526 304.0 156.6 -
22 -14 -0567 Jan 08 00:17:34 18130 -31750 P a- 0.6957 1.5888 0.5741 303.7 158.6 -
23 -13 -0549 Jan 19 08:39:30 17857 -31527 P a- 0.6802 1.6144 0.6051 303.9 161.6 -
24 -12 -0531 Jan 29 16:55:54 17586 -31304 P a- 0.6596 1.6494 0.6458 304.5 165.4 -
25 -11 -0513 Feb 10 01:04:34 17317 -31081 P a- 0.6320 1.6971 0.6995 305.8 170.2 -
26 -10 -0495 Feb 20 09:06:27 17033 -30858 P a- 0.5979 1.7565 0.7649 307.4 175.6 -
27 -09 -0477 Mar 03 17:00:44 16716 -30635 P a- 0.5569 1.8287 0.8432 309.5 181.5 -
28 -08 -0459 Mar 14 00:49:13 16408 -30412 P a- 0.5105 1.9111 0.9313 311.6 187.3 -
29 -07 -0441 Mar 25 08:28:55 16108 -30189 T a- 0.4557 2.0087 1.0346 314.0 193.3 28.1
30 -06 -0423 Apr 04 16:04:29 15816 -29966 T a- 0.3967 2.1143 1.1453 316.3 198.7 55.5
31 -05 -0405 Apr 15 23:33:23 15532 -29743 T a- 0.3312 2.2321 1.2679 318.3 203.6 72.4
32 -04 -0387 Apr 26 07:00:12 15255 -29520 T+ p- 0.2635 2.3543 1.3943 319.9 207.6 83.8
33 -03 -0369 May 07 14:21:30 14985 -29297 T+ p- 0.1904 2.4865 1.5303 321.1 210.7 92.1
34 -02 -0351 May 17 21:43:30 14721 -29074 T+ p- 0.1172 2.6193 1.6661 321.6 212.7 97.3
35 -01 -0333 May 29 05:03:18 14464 -28851 T+ pp 0.0413 2.7573 1.8065 321.5 213.5 99.8
36 00 -0315 Jun 08 12:25:00 14212 -28628 T- pp -0.0333 2.7711 1.8220 320.8 213.2 99.8
37 01 -0297 Jun 19 19:47:02 13966 -28405 T- pp -0.1081 2.6334 1.6853 319.4 211.8 97.4
38 02 -0279 Jun 30 03:13:49 13725 -28182 T- -p -0.1794 2.5024 1.5548 317.4 209.4 92.6
39 03 -0261 Jul 11 10:44:03 13489 -27959 T- -p -0.2481 2.3765 1.4285 315.0 206.1 85.4
40 04 -0243 Jul 21 18:19:53 13258 -27736 T -p -0.3126 2.2585 1.3098 312.2 202.0 75.6
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 05 -0225 Aug 02 02:01:59 13031 -27513 T -p -0.3721 2.1499 1.1998 309.2 197.4 62.9
42 06 -0207 Aug 12 09:51:43 12810 -27290 T -a -0.4257 2.0525 1.1007 306.1 192.4 46.0
43 07 -0189 Aug 23 17:49:16 12592 -27067 T -a -0.4730 1.9669 1.0130 303.1 187.5 16.9
44 08 -0171 Sep 03 01:54:23 12379 -26844 P -a -0.5141 1.8925 0.9362 300.3 182.6 -
45 09 -0153 Sep 14 10:08:20 12169 -26621 P -a -0.5483 1.8311 0.8722 297.9 178.1 -
46 10 -0135 Sep 24 18:30:13 11964 -26398 P -a -0.5762 1.7812 0.8197 295.8 174.2 -
47 11 -0117 Oct 06 02:59:37 11762 -26175 P -a -0.5979 1.7428 0.7787 294.2 170.9 -
48 12 -0099 Oct 16 11:36:14 11563 -25952 P -a -0.6138 1.7149 0.7483 293.0 168.4 -
49 13 -0081 Oct 27 20:19:10 11368 -25729 P -a -0.6242 1.6969 0.7280 292.3 166.6 -
50 14 -0063 Nov 07 05:07:05 11176 -25506 P -a -0.6307 1.6858 0.7151 292.0 165.5 -
51 15 -0045 Nov 18 13:57:39 10987 -25283 P -a -0.6351 1.6785 0.7063 291.9 164.8 -
52 16 -0027 Nov 28 22:50:38 10800 -25060 P -a -0.6374 1.6749 0.7017 292.0 164.5 -
53 17 -0009 Dec 10 07:44:05 10616 -24837 P -a -0.6388 1.6726 0.6987 292.1 164.3 -
54 18 0009 Dec 20 16:35:45 10434 -24614 P -a -0.6419 1.6670 0.6930 292.1 164.0 -
55 19 0028 Jan 01 01:24:22 10254 -24391 P -a -0.6472 1.6572 0.6833 291.9 163.2 -
56 20 0046 Jan 11 10:08:27 10076 -24168 P -a -0.6563 1.6402 0.6670 291.3 161.9 -
57 21 0064 Jan 22 18:47:36 9900 -23945 P -a -0.6692 1.6161 0.6437 290.3 159.9 -
58 22 0082 Feb 02 03:18:35 9725 -23722 P -a -0.6886 1.5799 0.6087 288.7 156.6 -
59 23 0100 Feb 13 11:43:02 9551 -23499 P -a -0.7131 1.5343 0.5642 286.4 152.1 -
60 24 0118 Feb 23 19:58:14 9379 -23276 P -a -0.7452 1.4748 0.5060 283.3 145.6 -
61 25 0136 Mar 06 04:05:42 9207 -23053 P -a -0.7833 1.4044 0.4367 279.2 137.0 -
62 26 0154 Mar 17 12:03:13 9035 -22830 P -a -0.8293 1.3194 0.3526 273.8 124.9 -
63 27 0172 Mar 27 19:53:27 8864 -22607 P -a -0.8808 1.2247 0.2584 267.2 108.6 -
64 28 0190 Apr 08 03:34:57 8693 -22384 P -a -0.9390 1.1178 0.1517 259.0 84.7 -
65 29 0208 Apr 18 11:08:28 8522 -22161 P -a -1.0031 1.0003 0.0340 248.8 40.8 -
66 30 0226 Apr 29 18:35:22 8351 -21938 N -a -1.0721 0.8742 -0.0929 236.3 - -
67 31 0244 May 10 01:56:36 8179 -21715 N -a -1.1449 0.7411 -0.2273 221.3 - -
68 32 0262 May 21 09:13:33 8007 -21492 N -a -1.2203 0.6037 -0.3666 203.2 - -
69 33 0280 May 31 16:26:06 7834 -21269 N -a -1.2984 0.4618 -0.5110 180.8 - -
70 34 0298 Jun 11 23:37:34 7661 -21046 N -a -1.3764 0.3202 -0.6557 153.2 - -
71 35 0316 Jun 22 06:47:58 7486 -20823 N -a -1.4545 0.1788 -0.8010 116.4 - -
72 36 0334 Jul 03 13:58:40 7311 -20600 Ne -a -1.5312 0.0402 -0.9439 56.1 - -
[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)"
