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 88 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 0038 Jul 05. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 1318 Aug 12. The total duration of Saros series 88 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0038 Jul 05 07:09:37 TD
Last Eclipse = 1318 Aug 12 19:37:60 TD
Duration of Saros 88 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 88 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 88 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 19 | 26.4% |
| Partial | P | 27 | 37.5% |
| Total | T | 26 | 36.1% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 88 occur in the order of 12N 18P 26T 9P 7N which corresponds to:
12 Penumbral
18 Partial
26 Total
9 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 88 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0687 Jul 30 Duration = 01h39m16s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1030 Feb 20 Duration = 00h33m45s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1048 Mar 03 Duration = 03h12m35s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0254 Nov 12 Duration = 00h17m59s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1210 Jun 09 Duration = 04h16m32s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0038 Jul 05 Duration = 01h28m24s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 88 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0561 May 15 Magnitude = 0.9967
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0254 Nov 12 Magnitude = 0.0064
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 88 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 0038 Jul 05 07:09:37 10150 -24261 Nb h- 1.5077 0.0952 -0.9125 88.4 - -
02 -35 0056 Jul 15 14:15:13 9973 -24038 N a- 1.4325 0.2324 -0.7736 135.9 - -
03 -34 0074 Jul 26 21:28:30 9798 -23815 N a- 1.3622 0.3608 -0.6439 166.7 - -
04 -33 0092 Aug 06 04:50:08 9624 -23592 N a- 1.2972 0.4797 -0.5242 189.4 - -
05 -32 0110 Aug 17 12:21:04 9450 -23369 N a- 1.2387 0.5866 -0.4167 206.6 - -
06 -31 0128 Aug 27 20:01:05 9278 -23146 N a- 1.1866 0.6821 -0.3210 219.9 - -
07 -30 0146 Sep 08 03:51:17 9107 -22923 N a- 1.1418 0.7644 -0.2386 230.2 - -
08 -29 0164 Sep 18 11:51:25 8935 -22700 N a- 1.1041 0.8336 -0.1695 237.9 - -
09 -28 0182 Sep 29 20:00:09 8764 -22477 N a- 1.0728 0.8909 -0.1121 243.8 - -
10 -27 0200 Oct 10 04:18:39 8594 -22254 N a- 1.0489 0.9348 -0.0681 247.9 - -
11 -26 0218 Oct 21 12:44:34 8422 -22031 N a- 1.0308 0.9678 -0.0347 250.6 - -
12 -25 0236 Oct 31 21:18:31 8251 -21808 N a- 1.0185 0.9900 -0.0118 252.2 - -
13 -24 0254 Nov 12 05:56:12 8079 -21585 P a- 1.0088 1.0072 0.0064 253.2 18.0 -
14 -23 0272 Nov 22 14:39:36 7906 -21362 P a- 1.0035 1.0162 0.0170 253.3 29.1 -
15 -22 0290 Dec 03 23:24:25 7733 -21139 P a- 0.9992 1.0230 0.0259 253.3 35.8 -
16 -21 0308 Dec 14 08:10:56 7559 -20916 P a- 0.9957 1.0281 0.0335 253.1 40.5 -
17 -20 0326 Dec 25 16:55:15 7384 -20693 P a- 0.9904 1.0365 0.0449 253.1 46.7 -
18 -19 0345 Jan 05 01:38:25 7209 -20470 P a- 0.9835 1.0473 0.0592 253.4 53.5 -
19 -18 0363 Jan 16 10:17:04 7032 -20247 P a- 0.9727 1.0651 0.0809 254.3 62.2 -
20 -17 0381 Jan 26 18:50:52 6855 -20024 P a- 0.9577 1.0905 0.1106 255.9 72.3 -
21 -16 0399 Feb 07 03:18:16 6677 -19801 P a- 0.9372 1.1259 0.1504 258.3 83.7 -
22 -15 0417 Feb 17 11:39:28 6499 -19578 P a- 0.9112 1.1712 0.2003 261.4 95.8 -
23 -14 0435 Feb 28 19:52:28 6320 -19355 P a- 0.8783 1.2293 0.2630 265.3 108.6 -
24 -13 0453 Mar 11 03:58:27 6142 -19132 P a- 0.8392 1.2988 0.3371 269.9 121.5 -
25 -12 0471 Mar 22 11:56:40 5964 -18909 P a- 0.7934 1.3805 0.4231 275.0 134.2 -
26 -11 0489 Apr 01 19:48:58 5787 -18686 P a- 0.7426 1.4719 0.5185 280.3 146.3 -
27 -10 0507 Apr 13 03:32:37 5611 -18463 P a- 0.6842 1.5772 0.6275 285.9 158.0 -
28 -09 0525 Apr 23 11:12:15 5434 -18240 P a- 0.6221 1.6895 0.7429 291.3 168.6 -
29 -08 0543 May 04 18:45:44 5259 -18017 P a- 0.5545 1.8123 0.8682 296.6 178.3 -
30 -07 0561 May 15 02:17:07 5084 -17794 P a- 0.4850 1.9387 0.9967 301.3 186.7 -
31 -06 0579 May 26 09:43:51 4911 -17571 T a- 0.4114 2.0731 1.1325 305.6 194.0 52.3
32 -05 0597 Jun 05 17:11:22 4740 -17348 T p- 0.3381 2.2072 1.2673 309.2 199.8 71.2
33 -04 0615 Jun 17 00:37:32 4570 -17125 T+ p- 0.2633 2.3446 1.4046 312.2 204.5 83.5
34 -03 0633 Jun 27 08:05:29 4401 -16902 T+ p- 0.1899 2.4795 1.5390 314.5 207.9 91.5
35 -02 0651 Jul 08 15:34:40 4234 -16679 T+ pp 0.1175 2.6130 1.6712 316.2 210.2 96.4
36 -01 0669 Jul 18 23:08:32 4068 -16456 T+ pp 0.0490 2.7396 1.7959 317.2 211.3 98.9
37 00 0687 Jul 30 06:46:23 3904 -16233 T- pp -0.0161 2.8012 1.8550 317.8 211.6 99.3
38 01 0705 Aug 09 14:29:23 3743 -16010 T- pp -0.0769 2.6912 1.7421 317.9 211.0 98.0
39 02 0723 Aug 20 22:18:59 3583 -15787 T- -p -0.1319 2.5920 1.6394 317.7 209.9 95.4
40 03 0741 Aug 31 06:15:24 3427 -15564 T- -p -0.1810 2.5039 1.5475 317.3 208.5 91.8
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 0759 Sep 11 14:19:21 3272 -15341 T- -p -0.2234 2.4281 1.4677 316.9 206.8 87.6
42 05 0777 Sep 21 22:29:48 3121 -15118 T- -p -0.2601 2.3629 1.3983 316.5 205.0 83.0
43 06 0795 Oct 03 06:48:40 2973 -14895 T -p -0.2895 2.3110 1.3421 316.2 203.5 78.5
44 07 0813 Oct 13 15:14:00 2828 -14672 T -p -0.3133 2.2694 1.2965 316.0 202.1 74.3
45 08 0831 Oct 24 23:46:04 2686 -14449 T -p -0.3310 2.2389 1.2620 316.1 201.0 70.7
46 09 0849 Nov 04 08:23:41 2549 -14226 T -p -0.3439 2.2172 1.2366 316.4 200.3 67.8
47 10 0867 Nov 15 17:06:44 2415 -14003 T -p -0.3516 2.2047 1.2206 316.9 199.9 65.9
48 11 0885 Nov 26 01:52:31 2285 -13780 T -p -0.3571 2.1962 1.2092 317.5 199.7 64.5
49 12 0903 Dec 07 10:40:03 2159 -13557 T -p -0.3608 2.1906 1.2011 318.2 199.7 63.5
50 13 0921 Dec 17 19:27:42 2037 -13334 T -p -0.3639 2.1859 1.1944 318.9 199.8 62.7
51 14 0939 Dec 29 04:14:47 1920 -13111 T -p -0.3669 2.1811 1.1881 319.6 200.0 61.9
52 15 0958 Jan 08 12:57:28 1807 -12888 T -p -0.3733 2.1700 1.1760 320.1 199.8 60.2
53 16 0976 Jan 19 21:36:18 1699 -12665 T -a -0.3823 2.1539 1.1591 320.4 199.5 57.7
54 17 0994 Jan 30 06:07:59 1595 -12442 T -a -0.3967 2.1275 1.1325 320.4 198.7 53.2
55 18 1012 Feb 10 14:34:00 1496 -12219 T -a -0.4153 2.0935 1.0984 320.2 197.5 46.5
56 19 1030 Feb 20 22:49:33 1402 -11996 T -a -0.4416 2.0450 1.0500 319.5 195.4 33.7
57 20 1048 Mar 03 06:58:13 1312 -11773 P -a -0.4731 1.9873 0.9924 318.3 192.6 -
58 21 1066 Mar 14 14:55:47 1227 -11550 P -a -0.5131 1.9138 0.9190 316.4 188.4 -
59 22 1084 Mar 24 22:45:33 1146 -11327 P -a -0.5588 1.8300 0.8352 313.7 182.8 -
60 23 1102 Apr 05 06:24:14 1070 -11104 P -a -0.6129 1.7308 0.7357 310.0 175.0 -
61 24 1120 Apr 15 13:55:59 998 -10881 P -a -0.6720 1.6228 0.6270 305.2 165.0 -
62 25 1138 Apr 26 21:18:25 931 -10658 P -a -0.7379 1.5023 0.5055 299.0 151.6 -
63 26 1156 May 07 04:33:43 867 -10435 P -a -0.8089 1.3728 0.3747 291.3 133.6 -
64 27 1174 May 18 11:42:18 807 -10212 P -a -0.8845 1.2351 0.2350 281.8 108.3 -
65 28 1192 May 28 18:46:26 752 -9989 P -a -0.9629 1.0924 0.0898 270.3 68.6 -
66 29 1210 Jun 09 01:46:22 699 -9766 N -h -1.0435 0.9459 -0.0596 256.5 - -
67 30 1228 Jun 19 08:43:27 650 -9543 N -h -1.1254 0.7974 -0.2116 240.2 - -
68 31 1246 Jun 30 15:39:39 605 -9320 N -h -1.2069 0.6501 -0.3631 221.1 - -
69 32 1264 Jul 10 22:36:10 562 -9097 N -h -1.2870 0.5053 -0.5124 198.6 - -
70 33 1282 Jul 22 05:33:18 522 -8874 N -h -1.3653 0.3642 -0.6585 171.6 - -
71 34 1300 Aug 01 12:33:39 485 -8651 N -h -1.4397 0.2303 -0.7978 138.8 - -
72 35 1318 Aug 12 19:38:00 450 -8428 N -h -1.5096 0.1051 -0.9288 95.2 - -
[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)"
