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 61 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 -0780 Dec 13. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 0609 Mar 26. The total duration of Saros series 61 is 1388.32 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0780 Dec 13 09:08:42 TD
Last Eclipse = 0609 Mar 26 08:16:40 TD
Duration of Saros 61 = 1388.32 Years
Saros 61 is composed of 78 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 61 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 78 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 35 | 44.9% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 19.2% |
| Total | T | 28 | 35.9% |
The 78 lunar eclipses in Saros 61 occur in the order of 14N 8P 28T 7P 21N which corresponds to:
14 Penumbral
8 Partial
28 Total
7 Partial
21 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 61 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0014 Apr 04 Duration = 01h42m24s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0383 Aug 08 Duration = 00h30m27s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0122 Jun 07 Duration = 03h18m16s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0527 May 14 Duration = 00h54m24s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0248 Aug 21 Duration = 04h39m44s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0780 Dec 13 Duration = 00h05m10s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 61 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0401 Jul 29 Magnitude = 0.9454
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0527 May 14 Magnitude = 0.0635
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 61 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 -43 -0780 Dec 13 09:08:42 21499 -34373 N a- -1.5529 0.0004 -0.9836 5.2 - -
02 -42 -0762 Dec 24 17:54:45 21202 -34150 N a- -1.5469 0.0099 -0.9710 27.0 - -
03 -41 -0743 Jan 04 02:37:01 20906 -33927 N a- -1.5378 0.0248 -0.9526 42.6 - -
04 -40 -0725 Jan 15 11:13:25 20613 -33704 N a- -1.5238 0.0486 -0.9250 59.4 - -
05 -39 -0707 Jan 25 19:44:02 20322 -33481 N a- -1.5050 0.0811 -0.8885 76.3 - -
06 -38 -0689 Feb 06 04:07:44 20032 -33258 N a- -1.4804 0.1242 -0.8414 93.8 - -
07 -37 -0671 Feb 16 12:23:12 19745 -33035 N a- -1.4490 0.1797 -0.7817 112.1 - -
08 -36 -0653 Feb 27 20:31:24 19460 -32812 N a- -1.4115 0.2465 -0.7109 130.2 - -
09 -35 -0635 Mar 10 04:31:39 19177 -32589 N a- -1.3676 0.3252 -0.6284 148.2 - -
10 -34 -0617 Mar 21 12:24:31 18896 -32366 N a- -1.3176 0.4151 -0.5349 165.8 - -
11 -33 -0599 Mar 31 20:10:02 18617 -32143 N a- -1.2614 0.5166 -0.4303 183.0 - -
12 -32 -0581 Apr 12 03:49:35 18340 -31920 N a- -1.2003 0.6273 -0.3169 199.3 - -
13 -31 -0563 Apr 22 11:24:14 18065 -31697 N a- -1.1351 0.7459 -0.1963 214.6 - -
14 -30 -0545 May 03 18:53:36 17792 -31474 N a- -1.0655 0.8729 -0.0678 229.0 - -
15 -29 -0527 May 14 02:20:49 17522 -31251 P a- -0.9942 1.0034 0.0635 242.2 54.4 -
16 -28 -0509 May 25 09:45:33 17253 -31028 P a- -0.9209 1.1378 0.1980 254.2 94.4 -
17 -27 -0491 Jun 04 17:10:51 16957 -30805 P a- -0.8480 1.2719 0.3315 264.9 119.9 -
18 -26 -0473 Jun 16 00:35:06 16642 -30582 P a- -0.7742 1.4078 0.4662 274.6 139.4 -
19 -25 -0455 Jun 26 08:02:56 16336 -30359 P a- -0.7037 1.5383 0.5947 282.9 154.5 -
20 -24 -0437 Jul 07 15:32:32 16038 -30136 P a- -0.6348 1.6659 0.7198 290.3 166.7 -
21 -23 -0419 Jul 17 23:07:23 15748 -29913 P a- -0.5707 1.7851 0.8359 296.6 176.4 -
22 -22 -0401 Jul 29 06:46:08 15466 -29690 P a- -0.5100 1.8983 0.9454 302.0 184.3 -
23 -21 -0383 Aug 08 14:32:35 15191 -29467 T a- -0.4562 1.9991 1.0422 306.5 190.3 30.4
24 -20 -0365 Aug 19 22:25:01 14922 -29244 T p- -0.4080 2.0899 1.1285 310.3 195.1 51.8
25 -19 -0347 Aug 30 06:24:49 14660 -29021 T p- -0.3664 2.1685 1.2024 313.6 198.8 63.6
26 -18 -0329 Sep 10 14:31:50 14403 -28798 T p- -0.3314 2.2351 1.2642 316.3 201.7 71.2
27 -17 -0311 Sep 20 22:46:51 14153 -28575 T p- -0.3037 2.2885 1.3127 318.6 203.8 76.3
28 -16 -0293 Oct 02 07:08:43 13908 -28352 T p- -0.2822 2.3304 1.3498 320.5 205.4 79.7
29 -15 -0275 Oct 12 15:37:12 13668 -28129 T- p- -0.2668 2.3611 1.3758 322.2 206.5 81.9
30 -14 -0257 Oct 24 00:11:26 13433 -27906 T- p- -0.2567 2.3817 1.3921 323.7 207.4 83.2
31 -13 -0239 Nov 03 08:51:00 13203 -27683 T- p- -0.2514 2.3934 1.3998 325.0 208.0 83.9
32 -12 -0221 Nov 14 17:33:03 12978 -27460 T- p- -0.2488 2.4000 1.4029 326.2 208.5 84.2
33 -11 -0203 Nov 25 02:18:04 12758 -27237 T- p- -0.2489 2.4013 1.4011 327.3 208.9 84.2
34 -10 -0185 Dec 06 11:02:24 12541 -27014 T- p- -0.2488 2.4027 1.4000 328.3 209.3 84.3
35 -09 -0167 Dec 16 19:46:18 12329 -26791 T- p- -0.2491 2.4033 1.3986 329.3 209.8 84.4
36 -08 -0149 Dec 28 04:25:19 12120 -26568 T- p- -0.2456 2.4104 1.4043 330.5 210.5 85.0
37 -07 -0130 Jan 07 13:01:18 11916 -26345 T- p- -0.2402 2.4207 1.4136 331.7 211.3 85.9
38 -06 -0112 Jan 18 21:29:54 11714 -26122 T- p- -0.2290 2.4417 1.4339 333.1 212.5 87.5
39 -05 -0094 Jan 29 05:51:34 11517 -25899 T- p- -0.2129 2.4715 1.4633 334.6 213.9 89.6
40 -04 -0076 Feb 09 14:03:32 11322 -25676 T- pp -0.1894 2.5147 1.5064 336.3 215.6 92.3
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 -03 -0058 Feb 19 22:07:06 11131 -25453 T- pp -0.1597 2.5691 1.5608 338.0 217.4 95.2
42 -02 -0040 Mar 02 06:00:35 10942 -25230 T- pp -0.1223 2.6378 1.6294 339.9 219.2 98.1
43 -01 -0022 Mar 13 13:43:41 10756 -25007 T- pp -0.0772 2.7207 1.7121 341.6 220.9 100.6
44 00 -0004 Mar 23 21:17:09 10572 -24784 T- pp -0.0248 2.8170 1.8080 343.2 222.2 102.2
45 01 0014 Apr 04 04:41:23 10391 -24561 T+ pp 0.0341 2.8002 1.7906 344.4 222.9 102.4
46 02 0032 Apr 14 11:56:36 10212 -24338 T+ pp 0.0997 2.6803 1.6697 345.1 222.7 100.6
47 03 0050 Apr 25 19:03:44 10034 -24115 T+ -p 0.1712 2.5498 1.5378 345.1 221.2 96.0
48 04 0068 May 06 02:04:08 9858 -23892 T+ -p 0.2473 2.4112 1.3973 344.2 218.4 87.6
49 05 0086 May 17 08:59:30 9684 -23669 T -h 0.3265 2.2670 1.2507 342.3 213.8 73.6
50 06 0104 May 27 15:49:27 9510 -23446 T -h 0.4092 2.1168 1.0976 339.3 207.1 48.4
51 07 0122 Jun 07 22:37:31 9338 -23223 P -t 0.4923 1.9660 0.9434 335.2 198.3 -
52 08 0140 Jun 18 05:23:41 9166 -23000 P -t 0.5756 1.8152 0.7886 329.9 186.9 -
53 09 0158 Jun 29 12:11:02 8994 -22777 P -t 0.6571 1.6678 0.6369 323.5 172.9 -
54 10 0176 Jul 09 18:58:00 8823 -22554 P -t 0.7375 1.5227 0.4868 316.0 155.3 -
55 11 0194 Jul 21 01:49:29 8653 -22331 P -t 0.8131 1.3867 0.3457 307.7 134.1 -
56 12 0212 Jul 31 08:43:57 8481 -22108 P -t 0.8847 1.2581 0.2114 298.7 107.3 -
57 13 0230 Aug 11 15:44:30 8310 -21885 P -t 0.9503 1.1406 0.0882 289.3 70.7 -
58 14 0248 Aug 21 22:50:28 8138 -21662 Nx -t 1.0104 1.0334 -0.0250 279.7 - -
59 15 0266 Sep 02 06:04:50 7966 -21439 N -t 1.0628 0.9402 -0.1240 270.5 - -
60 16 0284 Sep 12 13:26:43 7793 -21216 N -t 1.1079 0.8605 -0.2098 261.9 - -
61 17 0302 Sep 23 20:55:33 7619 -20993 N -t 1.1466 0.7923 -0.2836 254.0 - -
62 18 0320 Oct 04 04:32:57 7445 -20770 N -t 1.1776 0.7382 -0.3432 247.3 - -
63 19 0338 Oct 15 12:17:29 7269 -20547 N -t 1.2024 0.6952 -0.3911 241.8 - -
64 20 0356 Oct 25 20:09:25 7093 -20324 N -t 1.2205 0.6642 -0.4266 237.7 - -
65 21 0374 Nov 06 04:05:36 6916 -20101 N -t 1.2348 0.6398 -0.4548 234.5 - -
66 22 0392 Nov 16 12:07:33 6738 -19878 N -t 1.2440 0.6245 -0.4732 232.5 - -
67 23 0410 Nov 27 20:11:18 6560 -19655 N -t 1.2516 0.6118 -0.4882 230.9 - -
68 24 0428 Dec 08 04:16:29 6382 -19432 N -t 1.2575 0.6018 -0.4998 229.6 - -
69 25 0446 Dec 19 12:20:01 6203 -19209 N -t 1.2645 0.5893 -0.5130 227.7 - -
70 26 0464 Dec 29 20:21:47 6025 -18986 N -t 1.2725 0.5744 -0.5277 225.4 - -
71 27 0483 Jan 10 04:18:09 5848 -18763 N -t 1.2846 0.5520 -0.5493 221.6 - -
72 28 0501 Jan 20 12:08:52 5672 -18540 N -t 1.3008 0.5214 -0.5784 216.0 - -
73 29 0519 Jan 31 19:52:03 5495 -18317 N -t 1.3228 0.4800 -0.6176 208.1 - -
74 30 0537 Feb 11 03:27:52 5319 -18094 N -t 1.3504 0.4279 -0.6671 197.4 - -
75 31 0555 Feb 22 10:52:57 5144 -17871 N -t 1.3863 0.3607 -0.7313 182.3 - -
76 32 0573 Mar 04 18:10:09 4971 -17648 N -t 1.4279 0.2825 -0.8062 162.4 - -
77 33 0591 Mar 16 01:16:48 4799 -17425 N -t 1.4777 0.1894 -0.8958 134.0 - -
78 34 0609 Mar 26 08:16:40 4628 -17202 Ne -t 1.5328 0.0866 -0.9951 91.3 - -
[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)"
