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 118 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 1105 Mar 02. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2403 May 07. The total duration of Saros series 118 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1105 Mar 02 16:23:09 TD
Last Eclipse = 2403 May 07 11:19:39 TD
Duration of Saros 118 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 118 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 118 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 30 | 41.1% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.5% |
| Total | T | 28 | 38.4% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 118 occur in the order of 9N 7P 28T 8P 21N which corresponds to:
9 Penumbral
7 Partial
28 Total
8 Partial
21 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 118 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1754 Apr 07 Duration = 01h39m22s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1880 Jun 22 Duration = 00h37m09s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1375 Aug 12 Duration = 03h14m46s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2024 Sep 18 Duration = 01h02m47s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1249 May 28 Duration = 04h25m08s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1105 Mar 02 Duration = 00h56m17s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 118 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1375 Aug 12 Magnitude = 0.9514
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2024 Sep 18 Magnitude = 0.0848
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 118 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 1105 Mar 02 16:23:09 1058 -11068 Nb t- 1.5583 0.0341 -1.0362 56.3 - -
02 -35 1123 Mar 13 23:48:00 987 -10845 N t- 1.5141 0.1123 -0.9522 101.1 - -
03 -34 1141 Mar 24 07:06:11 920 -10622 N t- 1.4633 0.2024 -0.8561 134.1 - -
04 -33 1159 Apr 04 14:16:56 857 -10399 N t- 1.4057 0.3050 -0.7475 162.5 - -
05 -32 1177 Apr 14 21:21:09 798 -10176 N t- 1.3418 0.4194 -0.6274 187.7 - -
06 -31 1195 Apr 26 04:20:15 743 -9953 N t- 1.2725 0.5438 -0.4974 210.3 - -
07 -30 1213 May 06 11:15:13 691 -9730 N t- 1.1983 0.6773 -0.3587 230.7 - -
08 -29 1231 May 17 18:06:29 643 -9507 N t- 1.1199 0.8187 -0.2123 249.0 - -
09 -28 1249 May 28 00:56:09 598 -9284 N t- 1.0389 0.9650 -0.0615 265.1 - -
10 -27 1267 Jun 08 07:45:08 556 -9061 P t- 0.9560 1.1151 0.0926 279.3 71.1 -
11 -26 1285 Jun 18 14:36:09 516 -8838 P h- 0.8735 1.2647 0.2457 291.3 112.8 -
12 -25 1303 Jun 29 21:28:03 479 -8615 P h- 0.7904 1.4157 0.3998 301.7 140.2 -
13 -24 1321 Jul 10 04:25:23 445 -8392 P h- 0.7105 1.5609 0.5475 310.2 159.8 -
14 -23 1339 Jul 21 11:26:41 413 -8169 P h- 0.6327 1.7028 0.6914 317.1 174.9 -
15 -22 1357 Jul 31 18:35:47 382 -7946 P a- 0.5603 1.8348 0.8249 322.5 186.1 -
16 -21 1375 Aug 12 01:50:39 354 -7723 P a- 0.4917 1.9602 0.9514 326.7 194.8 -
17 -20 1393 Aug 22 09:15:18 327 -7500 T a- 0.4300 2.0730 1.0650 329.7 201.1 39.2
18 -19 1411 Sep 02 16:48:09 301 -7277 T a- 0.3740 2.1755 1.1679 331.9 205.8 60.8
19 -18 1429 Sep 13 00:30:32 277 -7054 T a- 0.3250 2.2652 1.2579 333.2 209.1 72.8
20 -17 1447 Sep 24 08:22:29 255 -6831 T p- 0.2832 2.3420 1.3348 334.0 211.3 80.5
21 -16 1465 Oct 04 16:24:28 233 -6608 T+ p- 0.2490 2.4047 1.3976 334.3 212.7 85.5
22 -15 1483 Oct 16 00:36:00 213 -6385 T+ p- 0.2218 2.4546 1.4476 334.2 213.5 88.7
23 -14 1501 Oct 26 08:54:58 194 -6162 T+ p- 0.1999 2.4944 1.4878 333.8 213.9 90.8
24 -13 1519 Nov 06 17:22:27 176 -5939 T+ p- 0.1846 2.5223 1.5162 333.2 213.9 92.1
25 -12 1537 Nov 17 01:55:51 160 -5716 T+ p- 0.1738 2.5416 1.5365 332.5 213.8 92.9
26 -11 1555 Nov 28 10:34:50 145 -5493 T+ p- 0.1671 2.5534 1.5495 331.7 213.5 93.3
27 -10 1573 Dec 08 19:16:17 133 -5270 T+ p- 0.1620 2.5617 1.5597 330.8 213.2 93.5
28 -09 1591 Dec 30 04:00:35 122 -5047 T+ p- 0.1588 2.5665 1.5668 329.8 212.9 93.7
29 -08 1610 Jan 09 12:44:36 107 -4824 T+ p- 0.1549 2.5721 1.5752 328.8 212.6 93.9
30 -07 1628 Jan 20 21:27:26 82 -4601 T+ p- 0.1499 2.5798 1.5861 327.9 212.4 94.2
31 -06 1646 Jan 31 06:07:04 55 -4378 T+ p- 0.1417 2.5929 1.6030 327.0 212.3 94.7
32 -05 1664 Feb 11 14:43:15 30 -4155 T+ p- 0.1303 2.6117 1.6258 326.1 212.3 95.4
33 -04 1682 Feb 21 23:13:12 13 -3932 T+ p- 0.1132 2.6408 1.6594 325.3 212.5 96.4
34 -03 1700 Mar 05 07:37:27 8 -3709 T+ p- 0.0909 2.6795 1.7026 324.5 212.7 97.5
35 -02 1718 Mar 16 15:54:36 10 -3486 T+ p- 0.0622 2.7298 1.7576 323.8 212.9 98.5
36 -01 1736 Mar 27 00:05:53 11 -3263 T+ pp 0.0283 2.7897 1.8222 323.0 213.0 99.2
37 00 1754 Apr 07 08:08:01 13 -3040 T- pp -0.0140 2.8135 1.8507 322.0 212.8 99.4
38 01 1772 Apr 17 16:04:45 16 -2817 T- pp -0.0612 2.7248 1.7663 320.9 212.3 98.6
39 02 1790 Apr 28 23:53:39 16 -2594 T- pp -0.1156 2.6230 1.6685 319.4 211.1 96.6
40 03 1808 May 10 07:38:16 12 -2371 T- -p -0.1736 2.5145 1.5637 317.5 209.2 92.8
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 1826 May 21 15:15:25 9 -2148 T- -p -0.2384 2.3941 1.4464 315.0 206.3 86.5
42 05 1844 May 31 22:50:43 6 -1925 T -p -0.3050 2.2706 1.3255 312.0 202.4 77.1
43 06 1862 Jun 12 06:21:03 8 -1702 T -p -0.3763 2.1387 1.1957 308.2 197.2 62.4
44 07 1880 Jun 22 13:50:27 -5 -1479 T -a -0.4484 2.0057 1.0641 303.7 190.6 37.2
45 08 1898 Jul 03 21:17:20 -5 -1256 P -a -0.5228 1.8689 0.9280 298.4 182.3 -
46 09 1916 Jul 15 04:46:07 19 -1033 P -a -0.5956 1.7351 0.7944 292.4 172.5 -
47 10 1934 Jul 26 12:15:38 24 -810 P -a -0.6681 1.6025 0.6612 285.7 160.8 -
48 11 1952 Aug 05 19:47:55 30 -587 P -a -0.7383 1.4741 0.5317 278.4 147.2 -
49 12 1970 Aug 17 03:24:06 41 -364 P -a -0.8053 1.3521 0.4079 270.6 131.3 -
50 13 1988 Aug 27 11:05:29 56 -141 P -a -0.8681 1.2380 0.2915 262.5 113.0 -
51 14 2006 Sep 07 18:52:25 65 82 P -a -0.9262 1.1329 0.1837 254.4 91.1 -
52 15 2024 Sep 18 02:45:25 74 305 P -a -0.9792 1.0372 0.0848 246.3 62.8 -
53 16 2042 Sep 29 10:45:47 87 528 N -a -1.0261 0.9528 -0.0031 238.5 - -
54 17 2060 Oct 09 18:53:32 115 751 N -a -1.0670 0.8796 -0.0799 231.3 - -
55 18 2078 Oct 21 03:08:03 154 974 N -a -1.1021 0.8171 -0.1462 224.8 - -
56 19 2096 Oct 31 11:30:23 195 1197 N -a -1.1307 0.7666 -0.2006 219.3 - -
57 20 2114 Nov 12 19:59:33 238 1420 N -a -1.1533 0.7270 -0.2439 214.9 - -
58 21 2132 Nov 23 04:35:10 283 1643 N -a -1.1707 0.6968 -0.2776 211.4 - -
59 22 2150 Dec 04 13:14:45 330 1866 N -a -1.1848 0.6727 -0.3051 208.7 - -
60 23 2168 Dec 14 21:59:24 369 2089 N -a -1.1945 0.6565 -0.3242 206.9 - -
61 24 2186 Dec 26 06:46:26 410 2312 N -a -1.2018 0.6443 -0.3389 205.7 - -
62 25 2205 Jan 06 15:34:56 454 2535 N -a -1.2079 0.6341 -0.3511 204.7 - -
63 26 2223 Jan 18 00:22:32 499 2758 N -a -1.2144 0.6230 -0.3639 203.6 - -
64 27 2241 Jan 28 09:08:46 546 2981 N -a -1.2220 0.6096 -0.3784 202.1 - -
65 28 2259 Feb 08 17:51:42 596 3204 N -a -1.2320 0.5917 -0.3971 199.9 - -
66 29 2277 Feb 19 02:29:15 647 3427 N -a -1.2459 0.5662 -0.4229 196.5 - -
67 30 2295 Mar 02 11:01:08 701 3650 N -a -1.2642 0.5329 -0.4564 191.7 - -
68 31 2313 Mar 13 19:25:46 757 3873 N -a -1.2880 0.4890 -0.5001 184.8 - -
69 32 2331 Mar 25 03:42:19 815 4096 N -a -1.3179 0.4341 -0.5548 175.5 - -
70 33 2349 Apr 04 11:49:55 874 4319 N -a -1.3547 0.3665 -0.6222 162.7 - -
71 34 2367 Apr 15 19:48:55 936 4542 N -a -1.3977 0.2876 -0.7010 145.6 - -
72 35 2385 Apr 26 03:39:11 1000 4765 N -a -1.4471 0.1969 -0.7917 121.8 - -
73 36 2403 May 07 11:19:39 1066 4988 N -a -1.5036 0.0934 -0.8955 85.0 - -
[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)"
