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 60 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 -0700 Mar 08. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0598 Apr 27. The total duration of Saros series 60 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0700 Mar 08 09:55:49 TD
Last Eclipse = 0598 Apr 27 01:46:02 TD
Duration of Saros 60 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 60 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 60 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 27 | 37.0% |
| Partial | P | 19 | 26.0% |
| Total | T | 27 | 37.0% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 60 occur in the order of 8N 8P 27T 11P 19N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
8 Partial
27 Total
11 Partial
19 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 60 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0051 Apr 01 Duration = 01h39m44s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0412 Aug 28 Duration = 00h43m25s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0430 Aug 17 Duration = 03h17m54s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0255 Oct 03 Duration = 00h35m06s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0574 May 23 Duration = 04h24m15s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0700 Mar 08 Duration = 00h22m57s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 60 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0075 Jun 17 Magnitude = 0.9933
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0255 Oct 03 Magnitude = 0.0260
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 60 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 -36 -0700 Mar 08 09:55:49 20207 -33393 Nb t- 1.5726 0.0056 -1.0603 22.9 - -
02 -35 -0682 Mar 19 16:58:18 19919 -33170 N t- 1.5137 0.1108 -0.9494 100.6 - -
03 -34 -0664 Mar 29 23:53:46 19632 -32947 N t- 1.4481 0.2283 -0.8262 142.4 - -
04 -33 -0646 Apr 10 06:44:20 19348 -32724 N t- 1.3774 0.3553 -0.6939 174.9 - -
05 -32 -0628 Apr 20 13:28:34 19066 -32501 N t- 1.3005 0.4938 -0.5502 202.7 - -
06 -31 -0610 May 01 20:11:15 18785 -32278 N t- 1.2210 0.6374 -0.4020 226.2 - -
07 -30 -0592 May 12 02:50:56 18507 -32055 N t- 1.1376 0.7883 -0.2468 246.8 - -
08 -29 -0574 May 23 09:31:34 18231 -31832 N t- 1.0537 0.9402 -0.0910 264.2 - -
09 -28 -0556 Jun 02 16:11:56 17957 -31609 P t- 0.9684 1.0951 0.0672 279.4 61.1 -
10 -27 -0538 Jun 13 22:57:11 17685 -31386 P t- 0.8855 1.2457 0.2207 291.9 108.0 -
11 -26 -0520 Jun 24 05:45:32 17416 -31163 P t- 0.8039 1.3943 0.3716 302.5 136.6 -
12 -25 -0502 Jul 05 12:39:56 17148 -30940 P h- 0.7258 1.5367 0.5159 311.1 156.8 -
13 -24 -0484 Jul 15 19:40:47 16832 -30717 P h- 0.6518 1.6716 0.6523 318.0 171.9 -
14 -23 -0466 Jul 27 02:50:32 16520 -30494 P a- 0.5839 1.7959 0.7775 323.3 183.2 -
15 -22 -0448 Aug 06 10:09:03 16217 -30271 P a- 0.5220 1.9090 0.8913 327.3 191.6 -
16 -21 -0430 Aug 17 17:37:02 15923 -30048 P a- 0.4667 2.0103 0.9929 330.3 197.9 -
17 -20 -0412 Aug 28 01:15:33 15636 -29825 T a- 0.4191 2.0976 1.0804 332.3 202.4 43.4
18 -19 -0394 Sep 08 09:04:29 15356 -29602 T a- 0.3790 2.1711 1.1541 333.5 205.5 58.5
19 -18 -0376 Sep 18 17:02:50 15084 -29379 T a- 0.3460 2.2316 1.2147 334.1 207.7 67.5
20 -17 -0358 Sep 30 01:11:14 14818 -29156 T p- 0.3205 2.2783 1.2616 334.3 209.0 73.1
21 -16 -0340 Oct 10 09:28:13 14558 -28933 T p- 0.3013 2.3133 1.2970 334.1 209.7 76.7
22 -15 -0322 Oct 21 17:53:48 14304 -28710 T p- 0.2885 2.3364 1.3208 333.5 210.0 78.8
23 -14 -0304 Nov 01 02:24:23 14055 -28487 T p- 0.2792 2.3529 1.3384 332.8 210.0 80.2
24 -13 -0286 Nov 12 11:01:41 13813 -28264 T p- 0.2749 2.3599 1.3471 331.9 209.7 80.8
25 -12 -0268 Nov 22 19:41:38 13575 -28041 T p- 0.2727 2.3630 1.3523 330.9 209.4 81.0
26 -11 -0250 Dec 04 04:24:15 13342 -27818 T+ p- 0.2717 2.3635 1.3555 329.7 209.0 81.1
27 -10 -0232 Dec 14 13:05:15 13114 -27595 T+ p- 0.2689 2.3671 1.3622 328.7 208.7 81.6
28 -09 -0214 Dec 25 21:46:18 12891 -27372 T+ p- 0.2655 2.3713 1.3702 327.6 208.5 82.1
29 -08 -0195 Jan 05 06:23:26 12672 -27149 T+ p- 0.2585 2.3821 1.3852 326.6 208.5 83.1
30 -07 -0177 Jan 16 14:56:27 12457 -26926 T+ p- 0.2475 2.4000 1.4077 325.8 208.8 84.7
31 -06 -0159 Jan 26 23:23:16 12246 -26703 T+ p- 0.2309 2.4279 1.4405 325.1 209.3 86.8
32 -05 -0141 Feb 07 07:44:19 12039 -26480 T+ p- 0.2087 2.4660 1.4837 324.5 210.0 89.4
33 -04 -0123 Feb 17 15:57:45 11836 -26257 T+ p- 0.1799 2.5164 1.5393 324.0 210.9 92.2
34 -03 -0105 Mar 01 00:03:51 11636 -26034 T+ p- 0.1444 2.5788 1.6069 323.6 211.8 95.0
35 -02 -0087 Mar 11 08:02:33 11440 -25811 T+ p- 0.1023 2.6535 1.6867 323.2 212.6 97.4
36 -01 -0069 Mar 22 15:54:42 11246 -25588 T+ pp 0.0542 2.7392 1.7773 322.6 213.1 99.1
37 00 -0051 Apr 01 23:38:59 11056 -25365 T- pp -0.0009 2.8348 1.8774 321.8 213.2 99.7
38 01 -0033 Apr 13 07:18:16 10868 -25142 T- pp -0.0607 2.7230 1.7696 320.6 212.6 98.9
39 02 -0015 Apr 23 14:51:41 10683 -24919 T- pp -0.1259 2.6016 1.6518 318.9 211.1 96.3
40 03 0003 May 04 22:22:05 10501 -24696 T- -p -0.1939 2.4752 1.5284 316.7 208.7 91.3
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 04 0021 May 15 05:47:44 10320 -24473 T- -p -0.2664 2.3411 1.3967 313.8 205.1 83.2
42 05 0039 May 26 13:13:25 10141 -24250 T -p -0.3391 2.2067 1.2641 310.3 200.2 71.0
43 06 0057 Jun 05 20:37:27 9964 -24027 T -a -0.4139 2.0689 1.1273 306.0 194.0 51.4
44 07 0075 Jun 17 04:03:28 9789 -23804 P -a -0.4871 1.9344 0.9933 301.1 186.5 -
45 08 0093 Jun 27 11:30:09 9615 -23581 P -a -0.5600 1.8008 0.8593 295.5 177.5 -
46 09 0111 Jul 08 19:01:45 9442 -23358 P -a -0.6290 1.6747 0.7323 289.6 167.3 -
47 10 0129 Jul 19 02:36:35 9270 -23135 P -a -0.6956 1.5533 0.6093 283.1 155.6 -
48 11 0147 Jul 30 10:16:55 9098 -22912 P -a -0.7577 1.4404 0.4944 276.5 142.7 -
49 12 0165 Aug 09 18:03:16 8927 -22689 P -a -0.8148 1.3370 0.3883 269.8 128.5 -
50 13 0183 Aug 21 01:56:50 8756 -22466 P -a -0.8658 1.2449 0.2933 263.3 113.3 -
51 14 0201 Aug 31 09:58:02 8585 -22243 P -a -0.9106 1.1644 0.2095 257.3 96.9 -
52 15 0219 Sep 11 18:06:04 8414 -22020 P -a -0.9496 1.0945 0.1361 251.7 78.9 -
53 16 0237 Sep 22 02:22:53 8242 -21797 P -a -0.9814 1.0381 0.0760 247.0 59.5 -
54 17 0255 Oct 03 10:46:26 8071 -21574 P -a -1.0076 0.9917 0.0260 243.0 35.1 -
55 18 0273 Oct 13 19:17:34 7898 -21351 N -a -1.0274 0.9571 -0.0121 240.0 - -
56 19 0291 Oct 25 03:54:20 7725 -21128 N -a -1.0426 0.9310 -0.0416 237.8 - -
57 20 0309 Nov 04 12:37:24 7551 -20905 N -a -1.0526 0.9141 -0.0615 236.5 - -
58 21 0327 Nov 15 21:23:53 7376 -20682 N -a -1.0597 0.9024 -0.0759 235.7 - -
59 22 0345 Nov 26 06:13:23 7200 -20459 N -a -1.0644 0.8951 -0.0855 235.4 - -
60 23 0363 Dec 07 15:03:53 7023 -20236 N -a -1.0680 0.8893 -0.0930 235.2 - -
61 24 0381 Dec 17 23:54:43 6846 -20013 N -a -1.0710 0.8846 -0.0991 235.2 - -
62 25 0399 Dec 29 08:42:19 6668 -19790 N -a -1.0766 0.8746 -0.1099 234.6 - -
63 26 0418 Jan 08 17:26:39 6490 -19567 N -a -1.0848 0.8598 -0.1251 233.4 - -
64 27 0436 Jan 20 02:05:05 6311 -19344 N -a -1.0973 0.8370 -0.1480 231.3 - -
65 28 0454 Jan 30 10:38:22 6133 -19121 N -a -1.1136 0.8070 -0.1779 228.3 - -
66 29 0472 Feb 10 19:01:59 5955 -18898 N -a -1.1372 0.7634 -0.2211 223.6 - -
67 30 0490 Feb 21 03:18:45 5779 -18675 N -a -1.1660 0.7104 -0.2736 217.3 - -
68 31 0508 Mar 03 11:24:46 5602 -18452 N -a -1.2031 0.6420 -0.3416 208.5 - -
69 32 0526 Mar 14 19:23:31 5425 -18229 N -a -1.2455 0.5642 -0.4191 197.5 - -
70 33 0544 Mar 25 03:10:43 5250 -18006 N -a -1.2964 0.4706 -0.5125 182.6 - -
71 34 0562 Apr 05 10:51:17 5076 -17783 N -a -1.3520 0.3686 -0.6147 163.6 - -
72 35 0580 Apr 15 18:21:52 4903 -17560 N -a -1.4151 0.2533 -0.7306 137.5 - -
73 36 0598 Apr 27 01:46:02 4731 -17337 N -a -1.4824 0.1303 -0.8546 100.1 - -
[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)"
