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 125 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 1163 Jul 17. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2443 Sep 09. The total duration of Saros series 125 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1163 Jul 17 11:51:17 TD
Last Eclipse = 2443 Sep 09 19:02:39 TD
Duration of Saros 125 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 125 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 125 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 24 | 33.3% |
| Partial | P | 22 | 30.6% |
| Total | T | 26 | 36.1% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 125 occur in the order of 17N 13P 26T 9P 7N which corresponds to:
17 Penumbral
13 Partial
26 Total
9 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 125 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1812 Aug 22 Duration = 01h40m23s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2155 Mar 19 Duration = 00h35m29s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2173 Mar 29 Duration = 03h19m51s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1470 Jan 17 Duration = 00h11m52s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2335 Jul 07 Duration = 04h23m50s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2443 Sep 09 Duration = 00h51m40s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 125 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2173 Mar 29 Magnitude = 0.9839
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1470 Jan 17 Magnitude = 0.0030
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 125 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 1163 Jul 17 11:51:17 843 -10346 Nb a- -1.5011 0.0863 -0.8798 80.1 - -
02 -35 1181 Jul 27 19:19:16 785 -10123 N a- -1.4322 0.2124 -0.7529 123.8 - -
03 -34 1199 Aug 08 02:52:18 730 -9900 N a- -1.3665 0.3327 -0.6322 152.8 - -
04 -33 1217 Aug 18 10:33:44 679 -9677 N a- -1.3072 0.4417 -0.5234 173.9 - -
05 -32 1235 Aug 29 18:21:53 632 -9454 N a- -1.2528 0.5419 -0.4237 190.3 - -
06 -31 1253 Sep 09 02:19:22 587 -9231 N a- -1.2055 0.6290 -0.3374 202.9 - -
07 -30 1271 Sep 20 10:24:01 546 -9008 N a- -1.1637 0.7062 -0.2613 213.0 - -
08 -29 1289 Sep 30 18:38:31 507 -8785 N a- -1.1299 0.7689 -0.1998 220.5 - -
09 -28 1307 Oct 12 03:00:20 471 -8562 N a- -1.1017 0.8211 -0.1488 226.4 - -
10 -27 1325 Oct 22 11:30:16 437 -8339 N a- -1.0801 0.8613 -0.1097 230.6 - -
11 -26 1343 Nov 02 20:06:56 405 -8116 N a- -1.0639 0.8917 -0.0804 233.7 - -
12 -25 1361 Nov 13 04:49:55 375 -7893 N a- -1.0525 0.9129 -0.0598 235.7 - -
13 -24 1379 Nov 24 13:37:20 347 -7670 N a- -1.0449 0.9270 -0.0461 236.9 - -
14 -23 1397 Dec 04 22:27:28 321 -7447 N a- -1.0394 0.9371 -0.0359 237.8 - -
15 -22 1415 Dec 16 07:19:54 296 -7224 N a- -1.0357 0.9437 -0.0290 238.2 - -
16 -21 1433 Dec 26 16:12:40 272 -7001 N a- -1.0319 0.9502 -0.0215 238.7 - -
17 -20 1452 Jan 07 01:03:46 249 -6778 N a- -1.0269 0.9588 -0.0117 239.4 - -
18 -19 1470 Jan 17 09:51:49 228 -6555 P a- -1.0194 0.9718 0.0030 240.5 11.9 -
19 -18 1488 Jan 28 18:35:29 208 -6332 P a- -1.0083 0.9911 0.0243 242.2 33.8 -
20 -17 1506 Feb 08 03:14:07 189 -6109 P a- -0.9931 1.0177 0.0532 244.6 49.8 -
21 -16 1524 Feb 19 11:45:16 172 -5886 P a- -0.9719 1.0554 0.0933 248.0 65.6 -
22 -15 1542 Mar 01 20:10:00 156 -5663 P a- -0.9455 1.1026 0.1430 252.1 80.7 -
23 -14 1560 Mar 12 04:26:27 142 -5440 P a- -0.9127 1.1617 0.2045 257.1 95.8 -
24 -13 1578 Mar 23 12:35:23 130 -5217 P a- -0.8738 1.2318 0.2770 262.7 110.4 -
25 -12 1596 Apr 12 20:35:30 120 -4994 P a- -0.8278 1.3151 0.3623 268.9 124.8 -
26 -11 1614 Apr 24 04:28:48 102 -4771 P a- -0.7766 1.4083 0.4573 275.4 138.3 -
27 -10 1632 May 04 12:15:05 76 -4548 P a- -0.7196 1.5122 0.5625 282.1 151.1 -
28 -09 1650 May 15 19:54:19 48 -4325 P a- -0.6570 1.6265 0.6778 288.8 163.1 -
29 -08 1668 May 26 03:28:47 25 -4102 P a- -0.5909 1.7477 0.7993 295.2 173.8 -
30 -07 1686 Jun 06 10:58:28 10 -3879 P a- -0.5211 1.8759 0.9273 301.3 183.4 -
31 -06 1704 Jun 17 18:25:46 9 -3656 T a- -0.4494 2.0078 1.0583 306.8 191.7 35.7
32 -05 1722 Jun 29 01:49:16 10 -3433 T p- -0.3750 2.1452 1.1942 311.8 198.8 62.7
33 -04 1740 Jul 09 09:13:16 12 -3210 T p- -0.3014 2.2813 1.3281 316.1 204.5 78.0
34 -03 1758 Jul 20 16:36:44 14 -2987 T- p- -0.2279 2.4175 1.4615 319.7 208.9 88.3
35 -02 1776 Jul 31 00:02:02 17 -2764 T- pp -0.1566 2.5500 1.5907 322.7 212.2 94.9
36 -01 1794 Aug 11 07:29:21 15 -2541 T- pp -0.0874 2.6790 1.7157 324.9 214.3 98.8
37 00 1812 Aug 22 15:01:22 12 -2318 T- pp -0.0228 2.7998 1.8320 326.7 215.4 100.4
38 01 1830 Sep 02 22:37:55 7 -2095 T+ pp 0.0371 2.7760 1.8034 327.9 215.7 100.2
39 02 1848 Sep 13 06:19:25 7 -1872 T+ pp 0.0922 2.6776 1.6997 328.8 215.4 98.6
40 03 1866 Sep 24 14:07:14 4 -1649 T+ -p 0.1412 2.5904 1.6071 329.4 214.6 96.0
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 1884 Oct 04 22:01:55 -6 -1426 T+ -p 0.1839 2.5151 1.5260 329.9 213.5 92.6
42 05 1902 Oct 17 06:03:26 1 -1203 T+ -p 0.2201 2.4514 1.4566 330.4 212.3 88.8
43 06 1920 Oct 27 14:11:38 22 -980 T+ -p 0.2502 2.3992 1.3987 330.9 211.1 85.0
44 07 1938 Nov 07 22:26:42 24 -757 T -p 0.2738 2.3585 1.3525 331.5 210.2 81.4
45 08 1956 Nov 18 06:48:16 32 -534 T -p 0.2917 2.3285 1.3172 332.2 209.5 78.4
46 09 1974 Nov 29 15:14:07 45 -311 T -p 0.3054 2.3057 1.2896 333.1 208.9 75.7
47 10 1992 Dec 09 23:45:05 59 -88 T -p 0.3144 2.2915 1.2709 334.1 208.7 73.9
48 11 2010 Dec 21 08:18:04 67 135 T -p 0.3214 2.2807 1.2561 335.1 208.7 72.3
49 12 2028 Dec 31 16:53:15 77 358 T -p 0.3258 2.2742 1.2463 336.2 208.8 71.3
50 13 2047 Jan 12 01:26:14 90 581 T -p 0.3317 2.2649 1.2341 337.2 208.9 70.0
51 14 2065 Jan 22 09:58:58 124 804 T -p 0.3371 2.2561 1.2231 338.2 209.0 68.8
52 15 2083 Feb 02 18:26:46 164 1027 T -p 0.3463 2.2400 1.2052 338.9 208.8 66.5
53 16 2101 Feb 14 02:50:00 205 1250 T -a 0.3584 2.2184 1.1825 339.4 208.4 63.4
54 17 2119 Feb 25 11:05:13 249 1473 T -a 0.3765 2.1857 1.1490 339.5 207.4 58.1
55 18 2137 Mar 07 19:13:43 294 1696 T -a 0.3992 2.1441 1.1069 339.3 205.8 50.0
56 19 2155 Mar 19 03:12:45 339 1919 T -a 0.4293 2.0892 1.0517 338.5 203.4 35.5
57 20 2173 Mar 29 11:02:23 379 2142 P -a 0.4662 2.0215 0.9839 337.1 199.9 -
58 21 2191 Apr 09 18:42:01 420 2365 P -a 0.5107 1.9399 0.9022 334.9 194.9 -
59 22 2209 Apr 21 02:12:20 464 2588 P -h 0.5617 1.8464 0.8086 331.7 188.1 -
60 23 2227 May 02 09:32:27 510 2811 P -t 0.6204 1.7388 0.7008 327.3 179.0 -
61 24 2245 May 12 16:43:42 558 3034 P -t 0.6856 1.6194 0.5809 321.6 166.7 -
62 25 2263 May 23 23:46:25 608 3257 P -t 0.7568 1.4891 0.4499 314.2 150.2 -
63 26 2281 Jun 03 06:42:43 660 3480 P -t 0.8322 1.3513 0.3110 305.1 127.9 -
64 27 2299 Jun 14 13:31:01 714 3703 P -t 0.9131 1.2036 0.1618 293.7 94.6 -
65 28 2317 Jun 25 20:15:57 770 3926 P -t 0.9955 1.0533 0.0097 280.2 23.7 -
66 29 2335 Jul 07 02:55:54 829 4149 N -t 1.0806 0.8983 -0.1476 263.8 - -
67 30 2353 Jul 17 09:35:20 889 4372 N -t 1.1652 0.7444 -0.3043 244.7 - -
68 31 2371 Jul 28 16:11:29 951 4595 N -t 1.2511 0.5884 -0.4635 221.7 - -
69 32 2389 Aug 07 22:50:34 1016 4818 N -t 1.3334 0.4392 -0.6162 194.9 - -
70 33 2407 Aug 19 05:30:19 1082 5041 N -t 1.4137 0.2939 -0.7656 162.1 - -
71 34 2425 Aug 29 12:14:31 1151 5264 N -t 1.4893 0.1572 -0.9064 120.4 - -
72 35 2443 Sep 09 19:02:39 1222 5487 Ne -t 1.5609 0.0281 -1.0399 51.7 - -
[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)"
