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 121 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 1047 Oct 06. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2508 Mar 18. The total duration of Saros series 121 is 1460.44 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1047 Oct 06 19:05:28 TD
Last Eclipse = 2508 Mar 18 15:08:38 TD
Duration of Saros 121 = 1460.44 Years
Saros 121 is composed of 82 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 121 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 82 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 40 | 48.8% |
| Partial | P | 13 | 15.9% |
| Total | T | 29 | 35.4% |
The 82 lunar eclipses in Saros 121 occur in the order of 20N 6P 29T 7P 20N which corresponds to:
20 Penumbral
6 Partial
29 Total
7 Partial
20 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 121 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1660 Oct 18 Duration = 01h40m29s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2021 May 26 Duration = 00h14m30s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1498 Jul 03 Duration = 03h10m47s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2147 Aug 11 Duration = 01h06m01s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1390 Apr 29 Duration = 04h31m51s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2508 Mar 18 Duration = 01h04m50s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 121 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1498 Jul 03 Magnitude = 0.8867
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2147 Aug 11 Magnitude = 0.0941
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 121 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 -35 1047 Oct 06 19:05:28 1314 -11778 N t- -1.5573 0.0467 -1.0450 67.2 - -
02 -34 1065 Oct 17 02:42:50 1229 -11555 N t- -1.5292 0.0992 -0.9943 97.5 - -
03 -33 1083 Oct 28 10:27:33 1148 -11332 N t- -1.5062 0.1421 -0.9530 116.2 - -
04 -32 1101 Nov 07 18:20:53 1072 -11109 N t- -1.4895 0.1732 -0.9228 127.7 - -
05 -31 1119 Nov 19 02:18:55 1000 -10886 N t- -1.4760 0.1981 -0.8981 136.2 - -
06 -30 1137 Nov 29 10:23:17 932 -10663 N t- -1.4668 0.2147 -0.8810 141.3 - -
07 -29 1155 Dec 10 18:29:45 868 -10440 N t- -1.4587 0.2291 -0.8655 145.5 - -
08 -28 1173 Dec 21 02:37:51 809 -10217 N t- -1.4510 0.2421 -0.8504 149.1 - -
09 -27 1192 Jan 01 10:45:09 753 -9994 N t- -1.4420 0.2573 -0.8325 153.1 - -
10 -26 1210 Jan 11 18:51:00 700 -9771 N t- -1.4309 0.2758 -0.8105 157.8 - -
11 -25 1228 Jan 23 02:52:19 651 -9548 N h- -1.4157 0.3017 -0.7805 164.1 - -
12 -24 1246 Feb 02 10:48:40 606 -9325 N h- -1.3956 0.3361 -0.7413 172.1 - -
13 -23 1264 Feb 13 18:38:57 563 -9102 N h- -1.3699 0.3805 -0.6915 181.7 - -
14 -22 1282 Feb 24 02:23:04 523 -8879 N h- -1.3383 0.4357 -0.6307 192.7 - -
15 -21 1300 Mar 06 09:58:08 486 -8656 N h- -1.2987 0.5054 -0.5550 205.4 - -
16 -20 1318 Mar 17 17:27:00 451 -8433 N h- -1.2533 0.5856 -0.4687 218.5 - -
17 -19 1336 Mar 28 00:47:28 418 -8210 N h- -1.2002 0.6799 -0.3682 232.3 - -
18 -18 1354 Apr 08 08:02:44 388 -7987 N h- -1.1418 0.7840 -0.2580 245.7 - -
19 -17 1372 Apr 18 15:09:54 359 -7764 N h- -1.0757 0.9022 -0.1338 259.3 - -
20 -16 1390 Apr 29 22:13:51 332 -7541 Nx h- -1.0059 1.0275 -0.0029 271.9 - -
21 -15 1408 May 10 05:12:17 306 -7318 P h- -0.9307 1.1628 0.1378 283.7 86.1 -
22 -14 1426 May 21 12:09:04 282 -7095 P h- -0.8528 1.3032 0.2833 294.4 120.4 -
23 -13 1444 May 31 19:03:18 259 -6872 P h- -0.7715 1.4502 0.4347 303.9 145.3 -
24 -12 1462 Jun 12 01:58:55 237 -6649 P h- -0.6901 1.5974 0.5860 312.0 164.2 -
25 -11 1480 Jun 22 08:55:27 216 -6426 P h- -0.6085 1.7455 0.7375 318.9 179.1 -
26 -10 1498 Jul 03 15:54:47 197 -6203 P a- -0.5279 1.8917 0.8867 324.4 190.8 -
27 -09 1516 Jul 13 22:58:24 179 -5980 T a- -0.4501 2.0335 1.0308 328.7 199.7 27.4
28 -08 1534 Jul 25 06:07:01 163 -5757 T a- -0.3754 2.1695 1.1688 331.9 206.4 61.1
29 -07 1552 Aug 04 13:22:37 148 -5534 T a- -0.3055 2.2970 1.2978 334.1 211.3 77.5
30 -06 1570 Aug 15 20:44:34 135 -5311 T- p- -0.2401 2.4165 1.4183 335.4 214.6 87.6
31 -05 1588 Sep 05 04:15:59 124 -5088 T- p- -0.1818 2.5231 1.5254 336.0 216.6 93.8
32 -04 1606 Sep 16 11:55:21 111 -4865 T- p- -0.1295 2.6189 1.6216 336.0 217.7 97.5
33 -03 1624 Sep 26 19:44:24 87 -4642 T- pp -0.0845 2.7014 1.7042 335.6 218.0 99.5
34 -02 1642 Oct 08 03:42:19 60 -4419 T- pp -0.0462 2.7719 1.7746 335.0 217.9 100.3
35 -01 1660 Oct 18 11:50:08 34 -4196 T- pp -0.0151 2.8289 1.8316 334.2 217.5 100.5
36 00 1678 Oct 29 20:06:20 15 -3973 T+ pp 0.0093 2.8395 1.8422 333.2 216.9 100.2
37 01 1696 Nov 09 04:30:21 8 -3750 T+ pp 0.0281 2.8049 1.8078 332.3 216.3 99.8
38 02 1714 Nov 21 13:01:44 10 -3527 T+ pp 0.0414 2.7803 1.7836 331.3 215.6 99.4
39 03 1732 Dec 01 21:39:42 11 -3304 T+ pp 0.0502 2.7638 1.7678 330.4 215.1 99.0
40 04 1750 Dec 13 06:21:46 13 -3081 T+ pp 0.0561 2.7524 1.7576 329.5 214.5 98.7
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 05 1768 Dec 23 15:07:13 16 -2858 T+ pp 0.0597 2.7449 1.7517 328.6 214.1 98.4
42 06 1787 Jan 03 23:53:37 17 -2635 T+ pp 0.0632 2.7375 1.7465 327.6 213.6 98.2
43 07 1805 Jan 15 08:40:58 12 -2412 T+ pp 0.0663 2.7305 1.7420 326.7 213.2 98.1
44 08 1823 Jan 26 17:24:54 11 -2189 T+ pp 0.0729 2.7169 1.7314 325.7 212.8 97.8
45 09 1841 Feb 06 02:07:13 5 -1966 T+ pp 0.0812 2.6999 1.7178 324.7 212.4 97.5
46 10 1859 Feb 17 10:43:28 7 -1743 T+ pp 0.0950 2.6727 1.6944 323.6 211.9 96.9
47 11 1877 Feb 27 19:15:38 -4 -1520 T+ -p 0.1125 2.6386 1.6644 322.5 211.3 96.2
48 12 1895 Mar 11 03:39:10 -6 -1297 T+ -p 0.1376 2.5904 1.6204 321.2 210.5 94.8
49 13 1913 Mar 22 11:57:49 15 -1074 T+ -p 0.1671 2.5340 1.5683 319.7 209.4 92.8
50 14 1931 Apr 02 20:07:55 24 -851 T+ -p 0.2043 2.4637 1.5021 317.9 207.8 89.6
51 15 1949 Apr 13 04:11:25 29 -628 T+ -p 0.2474 2.3825 1.4251 315.8 205.7 84.9
52 16 1967 Apr 24 12:07:04 38 -405 T -p 0.2972 2.2892 1.3356 313.3 202.8 77.9
53 17 1985 May 04 19:57:19 55 -182 T -p 0.3519 2.1870 1.2369 310.2 198.9 67.7
54 18 2003 May 16 03:41:13 64 41 T -a 0.4123 2.0747 1.1276 306.5 193.9 51.4
55 19 2021 May 26 11:19:53 72 264 T -a 0.4774 1.9540 1.0095 302.0 187.4 14.5
56 20 2039 Jun 06 18:54:25 84 487 P -a 0.5460 1.8272 0.8846 296.7 179.3 -
57 21 2057 Jun 17 02:26:20 108 710 P -a 0.6167 1.6967 0.7555 290.6 169.3 -
58 22 2075 Jun 28 09:55:35 147 933 P -a 0.6897 1.5624 0.6220 283.4 157.0 -
59 23 2093 Jul 08 17:24:18 187 1156 P -a 0.7632 1.4275 0.4872 275.3 141.9 -
60 24 2111 Jul 21 00:53:17 230 1379 P -a 0.8362 1.2938 0.3530 266.3 123.2 -
61 25 2129 Jul 31 08:24:31 275 1602 P -a 0.9070 1.1644 0.2224 256.5 99.7 -
62 26 2147 Aug 11 15:57:02 322 1825 P -a 0.9765 1.0378 0.0941 245.8 66.0 -
63 27 2165 Aug 21 23:34:21 362 2048 N -a 1.0417 0.9193 -0.0269 234.5 - -
64 28 2183 Sep 02 07:15:22 403 2271 N -a 1.1036 0.8072 -0.1419 222.7 - -
65 29 2201 Sep 13 15:03:17 445 2494 N -a 1.1597 0.7059 -0.2464 210.7 - -
66 30 2219 Sep 24 22:55:52 490 2717 N -a 1.2116 0.6125 -0.3435 198.5 - -
67 31 2237 Oct 05 06:57:02 537 2940 N -a 1.2563 0.5325 -0.4275 186.9 - -
68 32 2255 Oct 16 15:04:25 587 3163 N -a 1.2959 0.4621 -0.5021 175.7 - -
69 33 2273 Oct 26 23:19:49 638 3386 N -a 1.3288 0.4037 -0.5647 165.5 - -
70 34 2291 Nov 07 07:41:44 691 3609 N -a 1.3564 0.3553 -0.6174 156.4 - -
71 35 2309 Nov 18 16:10:56 746 3832 N -a 1.3782 0.3174 -0.6594 148.7 - -
72 36 2327 Nov 30 00:45:50 804 4055 N -a 1.3949 0.2887 -0.6920 142.6 - -
73 37 2345 Dec 10 09:24:58 863 4278 N -a 1.4083 0.2658 -0.7184 137.4 - -
74 38 2363 Dec 21 18:08:30 925 4501 N -a 1.4179 0.2498 -0.7376 133.8 - -
75 39 2382 Jan 01 02:54:07 988 4724 N -a 1.4262 0.2361 -0.7541 130.5 - -
76 40 2400 Jan 12 11:40:47 1054 4947 N -a 1.4330 0.2247 -0.7678 127.8 - -
77 41 2418 Jan 22 20:25:46 1122 5170 N -a 1.4410 0.2109 -0.7835 124.3 - -
78 42 2436 Feb 03 05:08:57 1192 5393 N -a 1.4502 0.1947 -0.8010 119.9 - -
79 43 2454 Feb 13 13:48:10 1264 5616 N -a 1.4626 0.1725 -0.8241 113.4 - -
80 44 2472 Feb 24 22:21:41 1338 5839 N -a 1.4791 0.1425 -0.8547 103.6 - -
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 45 2490 Mar 07 06:48:56 1414 6062 N -a 1.5004 0.1035 -0.8940 88.8 - -
82 46 2508 Mar 18 15:08:38 1492 6285 N -a 1.5273 0.0544 -0.9433 64.8 - -
[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)"
