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 108 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 0689 Jul 08. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 1969 Aug 27. The total duration of Saros series 108 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0689 Jul 08 09:04:39 TD
Last Eclipse = 1969 Aug 27 10:48:15 TD
Duration of Saros 108 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 108 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 108 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 28 | 38.9% |
| Partial | P | 32 | 44.4% |
| Total | T | 12 | 16.7% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 108 occur in the order of 20N 10P 12T 22P 8N which corresponds to:
20 Penumbral
10 Partial
12 Total
22 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 108 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1302 Jul 10 Duration = 01h45m57s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1428 Sep 23 Duration = 00h35m33s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1212 May 17 Duration = 03h28m28s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1050 Feb 09 Duration = 00h08m53s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1032 Jan 30 Duration = 04h50m51s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1969 Aug 27 Duration = 00h31m16s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 108 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1446 Oct 05 Magnitude = 0.9818
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1050 Feb 09 Magnitude = 0.0013
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 108 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 -34 0689 Jul 08 09:04:39 3887 -16209 Nb t- 1.5561 0.0165 -1.0111 37.9 - -
02 -33 0707 Jul 19 15:57:32 3726 -15986 N t- 1.4877 0.1446 -0.8881 111.6 - -
03 -32 0725 Jul 29 22:53:00 3566 -15763 N t- 1.4218 0.2682 -0.7699 151.0 - -
04 -31 0743 Aug 10 05:54:17 3410 -15540 N t- 1.3608 0.3830 -0.6608 179.3 - -
05 -30 0761 Aug 20 12:59:01 3256 -15317 N t- 1.3031 0.4919 -0.5578 202.0 - -
06 -29 0779 Aug 31 20:12:04 3105 -15094 N t- 1.2523 0.5882 -0.4676 219.8 - -
07 -28 0797 Sep 11 03:30:50 2957 -14871 N t- 1.2065 0.6753 -0.3866 234.5 - -
08 -27 0815 Sep 22 10:58:23 2813 -14648 N t- 1.1683 0.7485 -0.3194 246.1 - -
09 -26 0833 Oct 02 18:32:17 2671 -14425 N t- 1.1356 0.8114 -0.2622 255.6 - -
10 -25 0851 Oct 14 02:15:28 2534 -14202 N t- 1.1107 0.8597 -0.2193 262.7 - -
11 -24 0869 Oct 24 10:04:36 2400 -13979 N t- 1.0909 0.8985 -0.1854 268.4 - -
12 -23 0887 Nov 04 17:59:53 2271 -13756 N t- 1.0765 0.9273 -0.1611 272.7 - -
13 -22 0905 Nov 15 02:00:01 2146 -13533 N t- 1.0662 0.9481 -0.1441 275.9 - -
14 -21 0923 Nov 26 10:04:30 2024 -13310 N t- 1.0602 0.9605 -0.1346 278.0 - -
15 -20 0941 Dec 06 18:10:10 1908 -13087 N t- 1.0551 0.9711 -0.1263 279.8 - -
16 -19 0959 Dec 18 02:15:57 1795 -12864 N t- 1.0504 0.9804 -0.1185 281.4 - -
17 -18 0977 Dec 28 10:20:09 1688 -12641 N t- 1.0448 0.9910 -0.1086 283.0 - -
18 -17 0996 Jan 08 18:21:43 1585 -12418 Nx t- 1.0376 1.0043 -0.0952 284.9 - -
19 -16 1014 Jan 19 02:16:49 1486 -12195 Nx t- 1.0254 1.0261 -0.0726 287.5 - -
20 -15 1032 Jan 30 10:06:26 1392 -11972 Nx t- 1.0092 1.0552 -0.0421 290.9 - -
21 -14 1050 Feb 09 17:47:23 1303 -11749 P t- 0.9861 1.0966 0.0013 295.3 8.9 -
22 -13 1068 Feb 21 01:20:57 1218 -11526 P t- 0.9572 1.1484 0.0555 300.5 57.8 -
23 -12 1086 Mar 03 08:43:45 1138 -11303 P t- 0.9199 1.2155 0.1254 306.9 86.1 -
24 -11 1104 Mar 13 15:58:54 1062 -11080 P t- 0.8762 1.2941 0.2070 313.8 109.3 -
25 -10 1122 Mar 24 23:03:27 991 -10857 P t- 0.8240 1.3883 0.3044 321.4 130.7 -
26 -09 1140 Apr 04 05:59:42 924 -10634 P t- 0.7647 1.4955 0.4147 329.2 150.0 -
27 -08 1158 Apr 15 12:47:06 860 -10411 P t- 0.6979 1.6165 0.5388 337.1 167.7 -
28 -07 1176 Apr 25 19:28:08 801 -10188 P t- 0.6255 1.7479 0.6732 344.6 183.3 -
29 -06 1194 May 07 02:03:17 746 -9965 P t- 0.5479 1.8889 0.8169 351.5 196.8 -
30 -05 1212 May 17 08:32:49 694 -9742 P t- 0.4652 2.0394 0.9699 357.6 208.5 -
31 -04 1230 May 28 15:00:09 645 -9519 T t- 0.3801 2.1945 1.1271 362.6 217.9 56.8
32 -03 1248 Jun 07 21:24:58 600 -9296 T tp 0.2922 2.3548 1.2892 366.5 225.2 81.0
33 -02 1266 Jun 19 03:50:18 558 -9073 T+ pp 0.2044 2.5153 1.4511 369.2 230.3 94.8
34 -01 1284 Jun 29 10:16:00 518 -8850 T+ pp 0.1164 2.6763 1.6131 370.7 233.4 102.7
35 00 1302 Jul 10 16:46:06 481 -8627 T+ pp 0.0313 2.8320 1.7694 371.0 234.5 105.9
36 01 1320 Jul 20 23:20:21 447 -8404 T- pp -0.0510 2.7958 1.7335 370.2 233.9 105.3
37 02 1338 Aug 01 06:00:25 414 -8181 T- pp -0.1292 2.6524 1.5901 368.4 231.8 101.4
38 03 1356 Aug 11 12:47:57 384 -7958 T- pp -0.2017 2.5196 1.4568 365.9 228.4 94.4
39 04 1374 Aug 22 19:44:13 355 -7735 T- pp -0.2675 2.3991 1.3358 362.9 224.2 84.8
40 05 1392 Sep 02 02:49:46 328 -7512 T -p -0.3265 2.2910 1.2271 359.5 219.4 72.3
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 06 1410 Sep 13 10:04:27 303 -7289 T -p -0.3788 2.1956 1.1308 355.9 214.2 56.6
42 07 1428 Sep 23 17:29:54 279 -7066 T -t -0.4230 2.1148 1.0492 352.5 209.1 35.6
43 08 1446 Oct 05 01:05:29 256 -6843 P -t -0.4596 2.0480 0.9818 349.2 204.4 -
44 09 1464 Oct 15 08:50:47 234 -6620 P -t -0.4889 1.9945 0.9280 346.2 200.2 -
45 10 1482 Oct 26 16:45:28 214 -6397 P -t -0.5111 1.9538 0.8871 343.6 196.7 -
46 11 1500 Nov 06 00:48:33 195 -6174 P -t -0.5272 1.9239 0.8577 341.4 193.9 -
47 12 1518 Nov 17 08:59:11 177 -5951 P -t -0.5379 1.9040 0.8385 339.5 191.9 -
48 13 1536 Nov 27 17:14:01 161 -5728 P -t -0.5457 1.8889 0.8249 337.8 190.3 -
49 14 1554 Dec 09 01:34:26 146 -5505 P -t -0.5496 1.8808 0.8188 336.3 189.3 -
50 15 1572 Dec 19 09:56:07 133 -5282 P -h -0.5525 1.8740 0.8148 334.8 188.5 -
51 16 1591 Jan 09 18:19:22 123 -5059 P -h -0.5552 1.8674 0.8116 333.3 187.7 -
52 17 1609 Jan 20 02:39:41 108 -4836 P -h -0.5607 1.8552 0.8034 331.4 186.5 -
53 18 1627 Jan 31 10:59:17 84 -4613 P -h -0.5675 1.8404 0.7932 329.4 185.2 -
54 19 1645 Feb 10 19:13:47 56 -4390 P -h -0.5789 1.8168 0.7748 326.8 183.1 -
55 20 1663 Feb 22 03:23:34 31 -4167 P -h -0.5950 1.7845 0.7481 323.8 180.2 -
56 21 1681 Mar 04 11:26:33 13 -3944 P -h -0.6173 1.7406 0.7101 320.1 176.2 -
57 22 1699 Mar 15 19:23:52 8 -3721 P -h -0.6453 1.6862 0.6619 315.7 171.0 -
58 23 1717 Mar 27 03:13:41 10 -3498 P -h -0.6800 1.6192 0.6013 310.4 164.1 -
59 24 1735 Apr 07 10:56:51 11 -3275 P -h -0.7210 1.5408 0.5292 304.2 155.3 -
60 25 1753 Apr 17 18:33:18 13 -3052 P -h -0.7683 1.4508 0.4454 297.0 143.9 -
61 26 1771 Apr 29 02:04:10 16 -2829 P -h -0.8211 1.3509 0.3515 288.5 129.3 -
62 27 1789 May 09 09:28:39 16 -2606 P -h -0.8799 1.2401 0.2465 278.7 109.6 -
63 28 1807 May 21 16:49:32 12 -2383 P -h -0.9423 1.1229 0.1346 267.4 82.0 -
64 29 1825 Jun 01 00:06:18 10 -2160 P -h -1.0089 0.9983 0.0149 254.4 27.6 -
65 30 1843 Jun 12 07:22:16 6 -1937 N -h -1.0767 0.8717 -0.1073 240.0 - -
66 31 1861 Jun 22 14:35:14 8 -1714 N -a -1.1476 0.7397 -0.2355 223.2 - -
67 32 1879 Jul 03 21:50:28 -5 -1491 N -a -1.2172 0.6103 -0.3618 204.6 - -
68 33 1897 Jul 14 05:05:19 -5 -1268 N -a -1.2879 0.4792 -0.4902 183.0 - -
69 34 1915 Jul 26 12:24:39 18 -1045 N -a -1.3553 0.3545 -0.6129 158.7 - -
70 35 1933 Aug 05 19:46:05 24 -822 N -a -1.4216 0.2322 -0.7338 129.5 - -
71 36 1951 Aug 17 03:14:39 30 -599 N -a -1.4828 0.1195 -0.8456 93.6 - -
72 37 1969 Aug 27 10:48:15 40 -376 Ne -a -1.5407 0.0131 -0.9516 31.3 - -
[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)"
