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 129 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 1351 Jun 10. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2613 Jul 24. The total duration of Saros series 129 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1351 Jun 10 08:50:44 TD
Last Eclipse = 2613 Jul 24 01:08:17 TD
Duration of Saros 129 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 129 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 129 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 18 | 25.4% |
| Partial | P | 42 | 59.2% |
| Total | T | 11 | 15.5% |
The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 129 occur in the order of 10N 21P 11T 21P 8N which corresponds to:
10 Penumbral
21 Partial
11 Total
21 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 129 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2000 Jul 16 Duration = 01h46m24s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2090 Sep 08 Duration = 00h31m51s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1892 May 11 Duration = 03h26m16s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2469 Apr 26 Duration = 00h20m56s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1513 Sep 15 Duration = 04h26m46s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1351 Jun 10 Duration = 00h24m47s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 129 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1892 May 11 Magnitude = 0.9555
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2469 Apr 26 Magnitude = 0.0077
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 129 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 1351 Jun 10 08:50:44 392 -8022 Nb h- -1.5474 0.0079 -0.9709 24.8 - -
02 -35 1369 Jun 20 16:01:26 363 -7799 N h- -1.4792 0.1346 -0.8474 101.7 - -
03 -34 1387 Jul 01 23:09:54 336 -7576 N h- -1.4100 0.2635 -0.7222 141.3 - -
04 -33 1405 Jul 12 06:20:21 310 -7353 N h- -1.3426 0.3894 -0.6007 170.4 - -
05 -32 1423 Jul 23 13:30:12 285 -7130 N h- -1.2754 0.5152 -0.4798 194.6 - -
06 -31 1441 Aug 02 20:45:02 262 -6907 N t- -1.2127 0.6328 -0.3675 214.1 - -
07 -30 1459 Aug 14 04:02:35 240 -6684 N t- -1.1531 0.7452 -0.2609 230.9 - -
08 -29 1477 Aug 24 11:25:47 220 -6461 N t- -1.0986 0.8482 -0.1639 244.9 - -
09 -28 1495 Sep 04 18:54:17 200 -6238 N t- -1.0490 0.9425 -0.0759 256.9 - -
10 -27 1513 Sep 15 02:30:22 182 -6015 Nx t- -1.0060 1.0245 -0.0003 266.8 - -
11 -26 1531 Sep 26 10:13:23 165 -5792 P t- -0.9696 1.0946 0.0634 275.0 58.4 -
12 -25 1549 Oct 06 18:02:25 150 -5569 P t- -0.9388 1.1543 0.1168 281.9 78.9 -
13 -24 1567 Oct 18 01:59:02 137 -5346 P t- -0.9149 1.2012 0.1576 287.4 91.4 -
14 -23 1585 Nov 07 10:01:47 126 -5123 P t- -0.8965 1.2379 0.1885 291.8 99.8 -
15 -22 1603 Nov 18 18:10:30 114 -4900 P t- -0.8837 1.2641 0.2093 295.3 105.2 -
16 -21 1621 Nov 29 02:23:01 91 -4677 P t- -0.8746 1.2832 0.2237 298.1 108.8 -
17 -20 1639 Dec 10 10:39:50 64 -4454 P t- -0.8695 1.2946 0.2308 300.1 110.7 -
18 -19 1657 Dec 20 18:58:00 38 -4231 P t- -0.8661 1.3026 0.2353 301.9 112.0 -
19 -18 1676 Jan 01 03:16:18 18 -4008 P t- -0.8634 1.3091 0.2389 303.4 113.1 -
20 -17 1694 Jan 11 11:33:05 8 -3785 P t- -0.8598 1.3167 0.2444 305.0 114.6 -
21 -16 1712 Jan 23 19:47:09 9 -3562 P t- -0.8544 1.3274 0.2535 306.7 116.8 -
22 -15 1730 Feb 03 03:55:45 11 -3339 P t- -0.8451 1.3449 0.2702 308.9 120.6 -
23 -14 1748 Feb 14 11:58:06 13 -3116 P t- -0.8312 1.3706 0.2956 311.7 126.0 -
24 -13 1766 Feb 24 19:52:51 15 -2893 P t- -0.8116 1.4065 0.3317 315.2 133.0 -
25 -12 1784 Mar 07 03:39:43 17 -2670 P t- -0.7858 1.4535 0.3792 319.4 141.5 -
26 -11 1802 Mar 19 11:15:28 13 -2447 P t- -0.7517 1.5156 0.4422 324.4 151.7 -
27 -10 1820 Mar 29 18:42:43 12 -2224 P t- -0.7112 1.5895 0.5171 330.0 162.4 -
28 -09 1838 Apr 10 01:58:48 5 -2001 P t- -0.6622 1.6788 0.6076 336.1 173.9 -
29 -08 1856 Apr 20 09:06:46 7 -1778 P t- -0.6068 1.7799 0.7098 342.3 185.1 -
30 -07 1874 May 01 16:03:17 -3 -1555 P t- -0.5426 1.8971 0.8282 348.7 196.2 -
31 -06 1892 May 11 22:53:20 -6 -1332 P t- -0.4734 2.0236 0.9555 354.7 206.3 -
32 -05 1910 May 24 05:34:16 11 -1109 T t- -0.3975 2.1625 1.0950 360.3 215.4 49.5
33 -04 1928 Jun 03 12:09:57 24 -886 T tp -0.3175 2.3092 1.2421 365.2 223.0 75.3
34 -03 1946 Jun 14 18:39:17 28 -663 T- pp -0.2324 2.4654 1.3983 369.2 229.0 91.1
35 -02 1964 Jun 25 01:06:50 35 -440 T- pp -0.1461 2.6238 1.5565 372.1 233.2 100.8
36 -01 1982 Jul 06 07:31:47 53 -217 T- pp -0.0579 2.7860 1.7179 373.8 235.6 105.7
37 00 2000 Jul 16 13:56:39 64 6 T+ pp 0.0302 2.8375 1.7684 374.4 236.0 106.4
38 01 2018 Jul 27 20:22:54 71 229 T+ pp 0.1168 2.6792 1.6087 373.8 234.5 103.0
39 02 2036 Aug 07 02:52:32 82 452 T+ pp 0.2004 2.5266 1.4544 372.1 231.3 95.3
40 03 2054 Aug 18 09:26:30 102 675 T pp 0.2806 2.3805 1.3062 369.5 226.5 82.9
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 2072 Aug 28 16:05:42 141 898 T -t 0.3563 2.2428 1.1662 366.0 220.3 64.2
42 05 2090 Sep 08 22:52:29 181 1121 T -t 0.4257 2.1167 1.0377 362.0 213.1 31.9
43 06 2108 Sep 20 05:47:11 223 1344 P -t 0.4884 2.0030 0.9213 357.6 205.1 -
44 07 2126 Oct 01 12:49:48 268 1567 P -t 0.5446 1.9011 0.8169 353.1 196.7 -
45 08 2144 Oct 11 20:02:14 314 1790 P -t 0.5930 1.8136 0.7269 348.7 188.3 -
46 09 2162 Oct 23 03:23:58 356 2013 P -t 0.6340 1.7395 0.6504 344.6 180.3 -
47 10 2180 Nov 02 10:55:47 396 2236 P -t 0.6669 1.6803 0.5891 341.0 173.2 -
48 11 2198 Nov 13 18:34:28 439 2459 P -t 0.6944 1.6306 0.5378 337.7 166.7 -
49 12 2216 Nov 25 02:22:56 483 2682 P -t 0.7144 1.5946 0.5005 335.1 161.6 -
50 13 2234 Dec 06 10:17:27 530 2905 P -t 0.7300 1.5662 0.4715 332.8 157.3 -
51 14 2252 Dec 16 18:18:41 579 3128 P -t 0.7406 1.5468 0.4522 331.0 154.3 -
52 15 2270 Dec 28 02:22:42 630 3351 P -t 0.7493 1.5304 0.4364 329.3 151.7 -
53 16 2289 Jan 07 10:30:56 682 3574 P -t 0.7552 1.5188 0.4263 327.8 149.9 -
54 17 2307 Jan 19 18:39:13 738 3797 P -t 0.7616 1.5060 0.4156 326.1 148.0 -
55 18 2325 Jan 30 02:46:50 795 4020 P -t 0.7692 1.4906 0.4033 324.2 145.8 -
56 19 2343 Feb 10 10:51:39 854 4243 P -t 0.7796 1.4698 0.3860 321.7 142.8 -
57 20 2361 Feb 20 18:53:07 915 4466 P -t 0.7931 1.4428 0.3633 318.7 138.7 -
58 21 2379 Mar 04 02:48:34 978 4689 P -t 0.8120 1.4056 0.3310 314.8 132.8 -
59 22 2397 Mar 14 10:38:04 1044 4912 P -t 0.8363 1.3584 0.2891 310.0 124.6 -
60 23 2415 Mar 25 18:20:36 1111 5135 P -t 0.8667 1.2996 0.2360 304.0 113.1 -
61 24 2433 Apr 05 01:56:44 1181 5358 P -t 0.9030 1.2300 0.1723 296.8 97.3 -
62 25 2451 Apr 16 09:23:54 1252 5581 P -t 0.9471 1.1462 0.0945 287.9 72.7 -
63 26 2469 Apr 26 16:45:33 1326 5804 P -t 0.9960 1.0533 0.0077 277.6 20.9 -
64 27 2487 May 07 23:59:40 1401 6027 N -t 1.0516 0.9483 -0.0913 265.1 - -
65 28 2505 May 19 07:09:44 1479 6250 N -t 1.1112 0.8360 -0.1978 250.7 - -
66 29 2523 May 30 14:13:13 1559 6473 N -t 1.1767 0.7131 -0.3152 233.4 - -
67 30 2541 Jun 09 21:15:08 1641 6696 N -t 1.2440 0.5870 -0.4361 213.4 - -
68 31 2559 Jun 21 04:13:10 1725 6919 N -t 1.3146 0.4550 -0.5634 189.5 - -
69 32 2577 Jul 01 11:11:08 1811 7142 N -t 1.3860 0.3218 -0.6922 160.6 - -
70 33 2595 Jul 12 18:08:13 1899 7365 N -t 1.4585 0.1868 -0.8234 123.4 - -
71 34 2613 Jul 24 01:08:17 1990 7588 Ne -t 1.5292 0.0555 -0.9514 67.7 - -
[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)"
