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 120 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 1000 Oct 16. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2479 Apr 07. The total duration of Saros series 120 is 1478.47 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1000 Oct 16 01:35:42 TD
Last Eclipse = 2479 Apr 07 00:42:37 TD
Duration of Saros 120 = 1478.47 Years
Saros 120 is composed of 83 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 120 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 83 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 44 | 53.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 16.9% |
| Total | T | 25 | 30.1% |
The 83 lunar eclipses in Saros 120 occur in the order of 21N 7P 25T 7P 23N which corresponds to:
21 Penumbral
7 Partial
25 Total
7 Partial
23 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 120 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1758 Jan 24 Duration = 01h44m55s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1505 Aug 14 Duration = 00h44m42s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1487 Aug 04 Duration = 03h25m49s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1379 May 31 Duration = 00h58m50s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1361 May 20 Duration = 04h32m02s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2479 Apr 07 Duration = 00h41m05s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 120 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1956 May 24 Magnitude = 0.9647
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1379 May 31 Magnitude = 0.0597
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 120 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 -42 1000 Oct 16 01:35:42 1558 -12359 N a- 1.5463 0.0276 -0.9862 47.1 - -
02 -41 1018 Oct 27 09:53:57 1461 -12136 N a- 1.5341 0.0527 -0.9666 65.2 - -
03 -40 1036 Nov 06 18:16:32 1368 -11913 N a- 1.5260 0.0701 -0.9544 75.4 - -
04 -39 1054 Nov 18 02:44:30 1280 -11690 N a- 1.5231 0.0778 -0.9513 79.7 - -
05 -38 1072 Nov 28 11:14:15 1196 -11467 N a- 1.5223 0.0815 -0.9518 81.8 - -
06 -37 1090 Dec 09 19:45:28 1117 -11244 N a- 1.5233 0.0813 -0.9555 82.0 - -
07 -36 1108 Dec 20 04:16:00 1043 -11021 N a- 1.5246 0.0804 -0.9593 81.9 - -
08 -35 1126 Dec 31 12:45:19 973 -10798 N h- 1.5261 0.0787 -0.9632 81.3 - -
09 -34 1145 Jan 10 21:09:35 906 -10575 N h- 1.5241 0.0833 -0.9604 83.9 - -
10 -33 1163 Jan 22 05:29:14 844 -10352 N h- 1.5192 0.0929 -0.9520 88.8 - -
11 -32 1181 Feb 01 13:41:16 786 -10129 N h- 1.5091 0.1119 -0.9337 97.6 - -
12 -31 1199 Feb 12 21:46:45 732 -9906 N h- 1.4944 0.1390 -0.9070 108.9 - -
13 -30 1217 Feb 23 05:41:09 681 -9683 N t- 1.4720 0.1803 -0.8659 123.9 - -
14 -29 1235 Mar 06 13:27:40 633 -9460 N t- 1.4439 0.2318 -0.8143 140.3 - -
15 -28 1253 Mar 16 21:02:30 589 -9237 N t- 1.4071 0.2992 -0.7467 158.9 - -
16 -27 1271 Mar 28 04:28:45 547 -9014 N t- 1.3642 0.3779 -0.6679 177.8 - -
17 -26 1289 Apr 07 11:43:12 508 -8791 N t- 1.3125 0.4727 -0.5732 197.6 - -
18 -25 1307 Apr 18 18:50:03 472 -8568 N t- 1.2553 0.5777 -0.4683 216.9 - -
19 -24 1325 Apr 29 01:47:03 438 -8345 N t- 1.1908 0.6965 -0.3501 236.1 - -
20 -23 1343 May 10 08:36:45 406 -8122 N t- 1.1208 0.8253 -0.2221 254.5 - -
21 -22 1361 May 20 15:19:11 376 -7899 N t- 1.0453 0.9645 -0.0841 272.0 - -
22 -21 1379 May 31 21:57:14 348 -7676 P t- 0.9665 1.1098 0.0597 288.2 58.8 -
23 -20 1397 Jun 11 04:31:36 321 -7453 P t- 0.8850 1.2603 0.2082 303.0 107.8 -
24 -19 1415 Jun 22 11:03:06 296 -7230 P t- 0.8015 1.4148 0.3602 316.4 139.0 -
25 -18 1433 Jul 02 17:34:56 273 -7007 P t- 0.7183 1.5689 0.5115 328.2 162.2 -
26 -17 1451 Jul 14 00:07:29 250 -6784 P t- 0.6357 1.7221 0.6615 338.5 180.3 -
27 -16 1469 Jul 24 06:42:46 229 -6561 P t- 0.5556 1.8708 0.8066 347.3 194.6 -
28 -15 1487 Aug 04 13:21:13 209 -6338 P t- 0.4783 2.0146 0.9466 354.6 205.8 -
29 -14 1505 Aug 14 20:05:59 190 -6115 T t- 0.4063 2.1487 1.0766 360.6 214.4 44.7
30 -13 1523 Aug 26 02:57:01 173 -5892 T t- 0.3395 2.2735 1.1971 365.5 221.0 68.9
31 -12 1541 Sep 05 09:54:46 157 -5669 T pp 0.2784 2.3879 1.3072 369.3 225.8 82.7
32 -11 1559 Sep 16 17:01:00 142 -5446 T+ pp 0.2244 2.4891 1.4041 372.2 229.3 91.3
33 -10 1577 Sep 27 00:16:07 130 -5223 T+ pp 0.1781 2.5760 1.4869 374.4 231.6 96.7
34 -09 1595 Oct 18 07:40:06 121 -5000 T+ pp 0.1391 2.6497 1.5567 376.0 233.1 100.2
35 -08 1613 Oct 28 15:11:40 102 -4777 T+ pp 0.1064 2.7115 1.6149 377.2 234.1 102.3
36 -07 1631 Nov 08 22:51:38 76 -4554 T+ pp 0.0805 2.7605 1.6608 378.1 234.7 103.5
37 -06 1649 Nov 19 06:38:54 49 -4331 T+ pp 0.0608 2.7980 1.6957 378.6 234.9 104.1
38 -05 1667 Nov 30 14:31:26 26 -4108 T+ pp 0.0455 2.8269 1.7228 379.0 235.1 104.5
39 -04 1685 Dec 10 22:29:22 11 -3885 T+ pp 0.0346 2.8476 1.7422 379.1 235.1 104.7
40 -03 1703 Dec 23 06:29:54 9 -3662 T+ pp 0.0258 2.8640 1.7582 379.1 235.1 104.7
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 -02 1722 Jan 02 14:32:53 10 -3439 T+ pp 0.0187 2.8768 1.7714 378.9 235.0 104.8
42 -01 1740 Jan 13 22:33:33 12 -3216 T+ pp 0.0096 2.8928 1.7887 378.5 235.0 104.9
43 00 1758 Jan 24 06:34:14 14 -2993 T+ pp 0.0003 2.9089 1.8067 378.0 234.9 104.9
44 01 1776 Feb 04 14:29:50 16 -2770 T- pp -0.0128 2.8846 1.7851 377.4 234.7 104.9
45 02 1794 Feb 14 22:21:16 15 -2547 T- pp -0.0300 2.8514 1.7553 376.5 234.5 104.8
46 03 1812 Feb 27 06:04:51 12 -2324 T- pp -0.0538 2.8057 1.7135 375.5 234.1 104.3
47 04 1830 Mar 09 13:42:57 7 -2101 T- pp -0.0824 2.7510 1.6632 374.2 233.4 103.3
48 05 1848 Mar 19 21:12:12 7 -1878 T- pp -0.1186 2.6823 1.5993 372.5 232.4 101.4
49 06 1866 Mar 31 04:33:35 5 -1655 T- pp -0.1614 2.6011 1.5232 370.4 230.7 98.2
50 07 1884 Apr 10 11:46:34 -6 -1432 T- pp -0.2116 2.5064 1.4337 367.7 228.2 92.9
51 08 1902 Apr 22 18:52:40 0 -1209 T- pp -0.2680 2.4002 1.3327 364.3 224.6 84.6
52 09 1920 May 03 01:51:08 21 -986 T -p -0.3312 2.2818 1.2194 360.1 219.7 71.5
53 10 1938 May 14 08:44:00 24 -763 T -t -0.3994 2.1540 1.0966 354.9 213.1 49.4
54 11 1956 May 24 15:31:52 32 -540 P -t -0.4726 2.0174 0.9647 348.5 204.5 -
55 12 1974 Jun 04 22:16:44 45 -317 P -t -0.5488 1.8752 0.8269 341.0 193.6 -
56 13 1992 Jun 15 04:57:57 59 -94 P -t -0.6288 1.7264 0.6822 332.2 179.8 -
57 14 2010 Jun 26 11:39:34 67 129 P -t -0.7091 1.5773 0.5368 322.1 162.9 -
58 15 2028 Jul 06 18:20:57 77 352 P -t -0.7903 1.4266 0.3892 310.6 141.5 -
59 16 2046 Jul 18 01:06:05 90 575 P -t -0.8691 1.2807 0.2461 298.1 114.6 -
60 17 2064 Jul 28 07:52:48 123 798 P -t -0.9473 1.1361 0.1038 284.3 75.7 -
61 18 2082 Aug 08 14:46:42 163 1021 Nx -t -1.0203 1.0011 -0.0294 269.8 - -
62 19 2100 Aug 19 21:44:58 204 1244 N -t -1.0905 0.8716 -0.1575 254.2 - -
63 20 2118 Aug 31 04:51:45 247 1467 N -t -1.1543 0.7540 -0.2740 238.5 - -
64 21 2136 Sep 10 12:05:06 293 1690 N -t -1.2134 0.6452 -0.3821 222.2 - -
65 22 2154 Sep 21 19:29:06 338 1913 N -t -1.2646 0.5510 -0.4759 206.5 - -
66 23 2172 Oct 02 03:01:41 378 2136 N -h -1.3098 0.4681 -0.5586 191.3 - -
67 24 2190 Oct 13 10:43:55 419 2359 N -h -1.3479 0.3979 -0.6285 176.9 - -
68 25 2208 Oct 24 18:36:02 463 2582 N -h -1.3789 0.3410 -0.6853 164.2 - -
69 26 2226 Nov 05 02:38:01 509 2805 N -h -1.4024 0.2977 -0.7283 153.5 - -
70 27 2244 Nov 15 10:48:54 557 3028 N -a -1.4201 0.2651 -0.7605 144.8 - -
71 28 2262 Nov 26 19:06:54 606 3251 N -a -1.4327 0.2415 -0.7833 138.1 - -
72 29 2280 Dec 07 03:32:38 659 3474 N -a -1.4402 0.2273 -0.7964 133.7 - -
73 30 2298 Dec 18 12:03:40 713 3697 N -a -1.4439 0.2196 -0.8025 131.1 - -
74 31 2316 Dec 29 20:38:45 769 3920 N -a -1.4452 0.2162 -0.8039 129.7 - -
75 32 2335 Jan 10 05:16:00 827 4143 N -a -1.4453 0.2147 -0.8029 128.9 - -
76 33 2353 Jan 20 13:54:28 887 4366 N -a -1.4453 0.2132 -0.8012 128.0 - -
77 34 2371 Jan 31 22:31:48 950 4589 N -a -1.4466 0.2089 -0.8019 126.3 - -
78 35 2389 Feb 11 07:06:06 1014 4812 N -a -1.4510 0.1989 -0.8078 122.9 - -
79 36 2407 Feb 22 15:37:08 1081 5035 N -a -1.4584 0.1829 -0.8192 117.6 - -
80 37 2425 Mar 05 00:03:15 1149 5258 N -a -1.4701 0.1590 -0.8383 109.5 - -
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
81 38 2443 Mar 16 08:22:54 1220 5481 N -a -1.4877 0.1241 -0.8680 96.7 - -
82 39 2461 Mar 26 16:36:11 1292 5704 N -a -1.5110 0.0788 -0.9080 77.1 - -
83 40 2479 Apr 07 00:42:37 1367 5927 Ne -a -1.5402 0.0223 -0.9591 41.1 - -
[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)"
