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 123 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 1087 Aug 16. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2367 Oct 08. The total duration of Saros series 123 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1087 Aug 16 21:27:44 TD
Last Eclipse = 2367 Oct 08 21:52:39 TD
Duration of Saros 123 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 123 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 123 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 33 | 45.8% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Total | T | 25 | 34.7% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 123 occur in the order of 24N 6P 25T 8P 9N which corresponds to:
24 Penumbral
6 Partial
25 Total
8 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 123 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1736 Sep 20 Duration = 01h45m58s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1628 Jul 16 Duration = 00h19m56s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2079 Apr 16 Duration = 03h23m23s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2205 Jul 02 Duration = 00h58m01s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1502 Apr 22 Duration = 04h41m20s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1087 Aug 16 Duration = 00h51m47s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 123 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2079 Apr 16 Magnitude = 0.9451
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2205 Jul 02 Magnitude = 0.0603
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 123 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 1087 Aug 16 21:27:44 1132 -11285 Nb a- -1.5358 0.0343 -0.9548 51.8 - -
02 -35 1105 Aug 27 05:02:14 1056 -11062 N h- -1.4880 0.1251 -0.8699 98.6 - -
03 -34 1123 Sep 07 12:43:57 985 -10839 N h- -1.4464 0.2045 -0.7966 125.7 - -
04 -33 1141 Sep 17 20:32:05 918 -10616 N h- -1.4106 0.2734 -0.7340 145.1 - -
05 -32 1159 Sep 29 04:27:05 855 -10393 N h- -1.3809 0.3310 -0.6826 159.5 - -
06 -31 1177 Oct 09 12:29:21 797 -10170 N h- -1.3577 0.3766 -0.6431 170.1 - -
07 -30 1195 Oct 20 20:38:39 741 -9947 N h- -1.3406 0.4110 -0.6146 178.0 - -
08 -29 1213 Oct 31 04:53:28 690 -9724 N h- -1.3285 0.4361 -0.5951 183.6 - -
09 -28 1231 Nov 11 13:14:04 642 -9501 N h- -1.3215 0.4514 -0.5849 187.3 - -
10 -27 1249 Nov 21 21:38:08 597 -9278 N h- -1.3179 0.4603 -0.5806 189.8 - -
11 -26 1267 Dec 03 06:05:09 554 -9055 N h- -1.3174 0.4632 -0.5817 191.1 - -
12 -25 1285 Dec 13 14:31:36 515 -8832 N h- -1.3172 0.4654 -0.5829 192.2 - -
13 -24 1303 Dec 24 22:58:34 478 -8609 N h- -1.3179 0.4655 -0.5856 192.9 - -
14 -23 1322 Jan 04 07:22:09 444 -8386 N h- -1.3164 0.4693 -0.5839 194.2 - -
15 -22 1340 Jan 15 15:41:50 412 -8163 N h- -1.3126 0.4771 -0.5776 196.3 - -
16 -21 1358 Jan 25 23:54:42 382 -7940 N t- -1.3040 0.4933 -0.5625 199.9 - -
17 -20 1376 Feb 06 08:01:19 353 -7717 N t- -1.2911 0.5172 -0.5390 204.9 - -
18 -19 1394 Feb 16 15:59:20 326 -7494 N t- -1.2718 0.5528 -0.5036 211.7 - -
19 -18 1412 Feb 27 23:47:40 301 -7271 N t- -1.2454 0.6012 -0.4551 220.3 - -
20 -17 1430 Mar 10 07:26:31 277 -7048 N t- -1.2119 0.6625 -0.3935 230.5 - -
21 -16 1448 Mar 20 14:55:10 254 -6825 N t- -1.1709 0.7375 -0.3180 242.1 - -
22 -15 1466 Mar 31 22:14:13 233 -6602 N t- -1.1226 0.8259 -0.2293 254.6 - -
23 -14 1484 Apr 11 05:22:47 212 -6379 N t- -1.0662 0.9292 -0.1257 267.9 - -
24 -13 1502 Apr 22 12:22:44 193 -6156 Nx t- -1.0034 1.0445 -0.0103 281.3 - -
25 -12 1520 May 02 19:14:16 176 -5933 P t- -0.9344 1.1712 0.1162 294.6 81.5 -
26 -11 1538 May 14 01:58:00 159 -5710 P t- -0.8594 1.3090 0.2535 307.5 118.3 -
27 -10 1556 May 24 08:36:04 145 -5487 P t- -0.7802 1.4547 0.3983 319.6 145.4 -
28 -09 1574 Jun 04 15:09:13 132 -5264 P t- -0.6977 1.6068 0.5492 330.8 167.1 -
29 -08 1592 Jun 24 21:40:12 122 -5041 P t- -0.6135 1.7620 0.7029 340.7 184.6 -
30 -07 1610 Jul 06 04:08:03 107 -4818 P t- -0.5273 1.9212 0.8600 349.4 199.1 -
31 -06 1628 Jul 16 10:36:57 81 -4595 T t- -0.4424 2.0783 1.0147 356.8 210.5 19.9
32 -05 1646 Jul 27 17:06:36 54 -4372 T t- -0.3586 2.2335 1.1671 362.8 219.4 64.2
33 -04 1664 Aug 06 23:40:04 29 -4149 T pp -0.2779 2.3830 1.3135 367.6 226.0 83.5
34 -03 1682 Aug 18 06:17:12 13 -3926 T- pp -0.2006 2.5267 1.4538 371.2 230.7 95.0
35 -02 1700 Aug 29 13:01:24 8 -3703 T- pp -0.1291 2.6597 1.5833 373.8 233.7 101.7
36 -01 1718 Sep 09 19:52:29 10 -3480 T- pp -0.0635 2.7818 1.7017 375.5 235.3 105.0
37 00 1736 Sep 20 02:51:00 11 -3257 T- pp -0.0042 2.8925 1.8087 376.4 235.8 106.0
38 01 1754 Oct 01 09:58:28 14 -3034 T+ pp 0.0478 2.8144 1.7268 376.8 235.5 105.2
39 02 1772 Oct 11 17:14:41 16 -2811 T+ pp 0.0928 2.7337 1.6425 376.9 234.7 103.3
40 03 1790 Oct 23 00:40:41 16 -2588 T+ pp 0.1296 2.6678 1.5734 376.7 233.6 100.9
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 1808 Nov 03 08:13:38 12 -2365 T+ pp 0.1607 2.6121 1.5148 376.3 232.3 98.1
42 05 1826 Nov 14 15:56:14 9 -2142 T+ pp 0.1840 2.5707 1.4709 375.9 231.2 95.6
43 06 1844 Nov 24 23:44:52 6 -1919 T+ pp 0.2026 2.5375 1.4358 375.4 230.2 93.3
44 07 1862 Dec 06 07:40:21 7 -1696 T+ pp 0.2157 2.5141 1.4112 374.9 229.3 91.5
45 08 1880 Dec 16 15:39:03 -5 -1473 T+ pp 0.2263 2.4949 1.3914 374.4 228.6 89.9
46 09 1898 Dec 27 23:41:52 -4 -1250 T+ pp 0.2339 2.4809 1.3777 373.8 228.0 88.8
47 10 1917 Jan 08 07:44:48 19 -1027 T+ pp 0.2415 2.4663 1.3642 373.1 227.3 87.6
48 11 1935 Jan 19 15:47:35 24 -804 T+ pp 0.2498 2.4502 1.3499 372.1 226.7 86.3
49 12 1953 Jan 29 23:47:49 30 -581 T+ -p 0.2606 2.4291 1.3314 371.0 225.8 84.5
50 13 1971 Feb 10 07:45:21 41 -358 T -p 0.2741 2.4026 1.3082 369.5 224.7 82.2
51 14 1989 Feb 20 15:36:18 56 -135 T -p 0.2934 2.3651 1.2747 367.7 223.1 78.5
52 15 2007 Mar 03 23:21:59 65 88 T -p 0.3175 2.3188 1.2328 365.4 221.1 73.4
53 16 2025 Mar 14 06:59:56 75 311 T -p 0.3484 2.2595 1.1784 362.6 218.3 65.4
54 17 2043 Mar 25 14:32:04 87 534 T -t 0.3849 2.1900 1.1142 359.3 214.6 53.4
55 18 2061 Apr 04 21:54:05 116 757 T -t 0.4300 2.1044 1.0341 355.0 209.6 29.9
56 19 2079 Apr 16 05:10:45 155 980 P -t 0.4799 2.0100 0.9451 350.1 203.4 -
57 20 2097 Apr 26 12:18:17 196 1203 P -t 0.5377 1.9013 0.8420 344.0 195.2 -
58 21 2115 May 08 19:21:24 239 1426 P -t 0.5996 1.7849 0.7311 336.9 185.0 -
59 22 2133 May 19 02:16:19 284 1649 P -t 0.6688 1.6553 0.6067 328.4 171.6 -
60 23 2151 May 30 09:09:10 331 1872 P -t 0.7403 1.5216 0.4780 318.6 155.1 -
61 24 2169 Jun 09 15:57:06 370 2095 P -t 0.8158 1.3806 0.3416 307.2 133.5 -
62 25 2187 Jun 20 22:44:13 411 2318 P -t 0.8928 1.2372 0.2025 294.4 104.6 -
63 26 2205 Jul 02 05:29:54 455 2541 P -t 0.9713 1.0912 0.0603 279.8 58.0 -
64 27 2223 Jul 13 12:17:52 500 2764 N -t 1.0485 0.9478 -0.0797 263.7 - -
65 28 2241 Jul 23 19:08:10 548 2987 N -t 1.1245 0.8071 -0.2177 245.9 - -
66 29 2259 Aug 04 02:02:00 597 3210 N -t 1.1981 0.6707 -0.3516 226.3 - -
67 30 2277 Aug 14 09:01:20 649 3433 N -t 1.2678 0.5419 -0.4785 205.3 - -
68 31 2295 Aug 25 16:07:04 702 3656 N -t 1.3328 0.4218 -0.5971 182.5 - -
69 32 2313 Sep 05 23:20:24 758 3879 N -t 1.3925 0.3118 -0.7061 158.0 - -
70 33 2331 Sep 17 06:41:33 816 4102 N -t 1.4465 0.2123 -0.8048 131.1 - -
71 34 2349 Sep 27 14:12:31 876 4325 N -h 1.4935 0.1259 -0.8907 101.4 - -
72 35 2367 Oct 08 21:52:39 938 4548 N -h 1.5336 0.0521 -0.9642 65.4 - -
[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)"
