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 124 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 1152 Aug 17. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2450 Oct 21. The total duration of Saros series 124 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1152 Aug 17 00:06:26 TD
Last Eclipse = 2450 Oct 21 11:12:18 TD
Duration of Saros 124 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 124 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 124 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 29 | 39.7% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 21.9% |
| Total | T | 28 | 38.4% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 124 occur in the order of 20N 8P 28T 8P 9N which corresponds to:
20 Penumbral
8 Partial
28 Total
8 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 124 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1765 Aug 30 Duration = 01h41m27s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2144 Apr 18 Duration = 00h07m36s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1639 Jun 15 Duration = 03h12m05s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1513 Mar 21 Duration = 00h29m49s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1495 Mar 11 Duration = 04h29m17s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2450 Oct 21 Duration = 00h53m31s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 124 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2162 Apr 29 Magnitude = 0.9137
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1513 Mar 21 Magnitude = 0.0158
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 124 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 1152 Aug 17 00:06:26 880 -10481 Nb t- 1.5433 0.0650 -1.0123 79.1 - -
02 -33 1170 Aug 28 07:00:31 819 -10258 N t- 1.4807 0.1811 -0.8983 130.5 - -
03 -32 1188 Sep 07 14:02:23 763 -10035 N t- 1.4234 0.2874 -0.7943 162.8 - -
04 -31 1206 Sep 18 21:15:39 710 -9812 N t- 1.3744 0.3783 -0.7054 185.1 - -
05 -30 1224 Sep 29 04:37:55 660 -9589 N t- 1.3317 0.4577 -0.6281 201.9 - -
06 -29 1242 Oct 10 12:09:48 614 -9366 N t- 1.2959 0.5241 -0.5633 214.5 - -
07 -28 1260 Oct 20 19:50:54 571 -9143 N t- 1.2670 0.5778 -0.5110 223.8 - -
08 -27 1278 Nov 01 03:41:09 530 -8920 N t- 1.2453 0.6181 -0.4715 230.3 - -
09 -26 1296 Nov 11 11:38:19 493 -8697 N t- 1.2282 0.6497 -0.4402 235.0 - -
10 -25 1314 Nov 22 19:41:06 457 -8474 N t- 1.2152 0.6734 -0.4162 238.2 - -
11 -24 1332 Dec 03 03:48:29 424 -8251 N t- 1.2052 0.6911 -0.3975 240.4 - -
12 -23 1350 Dec 14 11:59:03 393 -8028 N h- 1.1975 0.7044 -0.3824 241.8 - -
13 -22 1368 Dec 24 20:09:43 364 -7805 N h- 1.1894 0.7181 -0.3662 243.1 - -
14 -21 1387 Jan 05 04:20:25 337 -7582 N h- 1.1807 0.7323 -0.3488 244.5 - -
15 -20 1405 Jan 15 12:28:24 311 -7359 N h- 1.1692 0.7514 -0.3257 246.4 - -
16 -19 1423 Jan 26 20:33:05 286 -7136 N h- 1.1544 0.7763 -0.2962 248.9 - -
17 -18 1441 Feb 06 04:31:34 263 -6913 N h- 1.1337 0.8117 -0.2557 252.7 - -
18 -17 1459 Feb 17 12:25:19 241 -6690 N h- 1.1084 0.8552 -0.2065 257.2 - -
19 -16 1477 Feb 27 20:11:49 220 -6467 N h- 1.0767 0.9104 -0.1454 262.7 - -
20 -15 1495 Mar 11 03:50:59 201 -6244 N h- 1.0379 0.9785 -0.0711 269.3 - -
21 -14 1513 Mar 21 11:22:52 182 -6021 P h- 0.9922 1.0591 0.0158 276.5 29.8 -
22 -13 1531 Apr 01 18:47:57 166 -5798 P h- 0.9400 1.1518 0.1149 284.2 79.0 -
23 -12 1549 Apr 12 02:06:54 150 -5575 P h- 0.8818 1.2555 0.2247 292.0 108.4 -
24 -11 1567 Apr 23 09:18:49 137 -5352 P h- 0.8168 1.3716 0.3469 299.8 131.9 -
25 -10 1585 May 13 16:27:07 126 -5129 P h- 0.7477 1.4955 0.4765 307.1 151.1 -
26 -09 1603 May 24 23:30:55 115 -4906 P a- 0.6737 1.6287 0.6150 313.9 167.4 -
27 -08 1621 Jun 04 06:32:45 92 -4683 P a- 0.5970 1.7670 0.7582 319.9 180.9 -
28 -07 1639 Jun 15 13:32:42 65 -4460 P a- 0.5176 1.9103 0.9059 325.0 192.1 -
29 -06 1657 Jun 25 20:33:50 38 -4237 T a- 0.4380 2.0545 1.0540 329.1 201.0 35.9
30 -05 1675 Jul 07 03:36:11 18 -4014 T a- 0.3582 2.1991 1.2020 332.3 207.9 66.2
31 -04 1693 Jul 17 10:41:02 8 -3791 T p- 0.2793 2.3426 1.3482 334.4 213.0 82.4
32 -03 1711 Jul 29 17:50:25 9 -3568 T+ p- 0.2032 2.4811 1.4889 335.7 216.4 92.2
33 -02 1729 Aug 09 01:05:17 11 -3345 T+ pp 0.1305 2.6136 1.6232 336.1 218.4 98.0
34 -01 1747 Aug 20 08:26:59 12 -3122 T+ pp 0.0627 2.7375 1.7484 335.8 219.1 100.8
35 00 1765 Aug 30 15:55:32 15 -2899 T- pp -0.0004 2.8513 1.8629 334.9 218.9 101.4
36 01 1783 Sep 10 23:33:06 17 -2676 T- pp -0.0569 2.7474 1.7595 333.6 217.9 100.4
37 02 1801 Sep 22 07:18:55 13 -2453 T- pp -0.1074 2.6548 1.6669 332.1 216.4 98.2
38 03 1819 Oct 03 15:13:28 12 -2230 T- pp -0.1510 2.5747 1.5868 330.4 214.5 95.3
39 04 1837 Oct 13 23:17:06 5 -2007 T- -p -0.1878 2.5074 1.5192 328.6 212.6 92.0
40 05 1855 Oct 25 07:29:40 7 -1784 T- -p -0.2177 2.4527 1.4643 327.0 210.8 88.7
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 06 1873 Nov 04 15:51:03 -2 -1561 T- -p -0.2408 2.4104 1.4217 325.4 209.1 85.7
42 07 1891 Nov 16 00:18:46 -6 -1338 T- -p -0.2592 2.3766 1.3880 324.0 207.6 83.1
43 08 1909 Nov 27 08:54:41 10 -1115 T- -p -0.2712 2.3544 1.3660 322.8 206.5 81.2
44 09 1927 Dec 08 17:35:10 24 -892 T -p -0.2796 2.3389 1.3510 321.8 205.6 79.8
45 10 1945 Dec 19 02:20:47 27 -669 T -p -0.2845 2.3293 1.3424 320.9 204.9 78.9
46 11 1963 Dec 30 11:07:25 35 -446 T -p -0.2889 2.3206 1.3350 320.0 204.3 78.1
47 12 1982 Jan 09 19:56:44 52 -223 T -p -0.2916 2.3147 1.3310 319.1 203.8 77.7
48 13 2000 Jan 21 04:44:34 64 0 T -p -0.2957 2.3060 1.3246 318.2 203.3 77.0
49 14 2018 Jan 31 13:31:00 71 223 T -p -0.3014 2.2941 1.3155 317.2 202.7 76.1
50 15 2036 Feb 11 22:13:06 82 446 T -p -0.3110 2.2751 1.2995 316.1 201.9 74.5
51 16 2054 Feb 22 06:51:27 101 669 T -p -0.3242 2.2491 1.2769 314.7 200.9 72.1
52 17 2072 Mar 04 15:23:07 140 892 T -p -0.3430 2.2127 1.2441 313.2 199.4 68.5
53 18 2090 Mar 15 23:48:31 180 1115 T -p -0.3674 2.1659 1.2012 311.3 197.5 63.0
54 19 2108 Mar 27 08:06:28 222 1338 T -p -0.3982 2.1076 1.1467 309.0 194.8 54.7
55 20 2126 Apr 07 16:17:55 266 1561 T -a -0.4346 2.0390 1.0817 306.3 191.5 41.6
56 21 2144 Apr 18 00:20:29 313 1784 T -a -0.4787 1.9563 1.0026 302.9 187.0 7.6
57 22 2162 Apr 29 08:17:08 354 2007 P -a -0.5280 1.8642 0.9137 298.9 181.3 -
58 23 2180 May 09 16:05:58 395 2230 P -a -0.5840 1.7599 0.8124 294.1 173.9 -
59 24 2198 May 20 23:50:32 437 2453 P -a -0.6436 1.6493 0.7041 288.4 164.8 -
60 25 2216 Jun 01 07:27:36 482 2676 P -a -0.7097 1.5271 0.5839 281.6 153.0 -
61 26 2234 Jun 12 15:02:55 529 2899 P -a -0.7774 1.4022 0.4604 273.8 138.4 -
62 27 2252 Jun 22 22:33:27 577 3122 P -a -0.8494 1.2697 0.3286 264.6 119.3 -
63 28 2270 Jul 04 06:03:42 628 3345 P -a -0.9214 1.1374 0.1965 254.2 94.0 -
64 29 2288 Jul 14 13:31:30 681 3568 P -a -0.9954 1.0018 0.0604 242.3 53.1 -
65 30 2306 Jul 26 21:01:27 736 3791 N -a -1.0676 0.8701 -0.0725 229.2 - -
66 31 2324 Aug 06 04:31:49 793 4014 N -a -1.1392 0.7395 -0.2050 214.5 - -
67 32 2342 Aug 17 12:05:10 852 4237 N -a -1.2083 0.6140 -0.3328 198.2 - -
68 33 2360 Aug 27 19:41:56 913 4460 N -a -1.2741 0.4947 -0.4551 180.3 - -
69 34 2378 Sep 08 03:23:53 976 4683 N -a -1.3354 0.3840 -0.5691 160.9 - -
70 35 2396 Sep 18 11:11:24 1042 4906 N -a -1.3918 0.2825 -0.6746 139.6 - -
71 36 2414 Sep 29 19:04:37 1109 5129 N -a -1.4432 0.1902 -0.7710 115.8 - -
72 37 2432 Oct 10 03:05:14 1179 5352 N -a -1.4883 0.1097 -0.8560 88.8 - -
73 38 2450 Oct 21 11:12:18 1250 5575 N -a -1.5280 0.0391 -0.9312 53.5 - -
[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)"
