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 131 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 1427 May 10. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2707 Jul 07. The total duration of Saros series 131 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1427 May 10 23:39:25 TD
Last Eclipse = 2707 Jul 07 07:16:15 TD
Duration of Saros 131 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 131 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 131 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 15 | 20.8% |
| Partial | P | 42 | 58.3% |
| Total | T | 15 | 20.8% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 131 occur in the order of 7N 22P 15T 20P 8N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
22 Partial
15 Total
20 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 131 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2094 Jun 28 Duration = 01h40m36s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2202 Sep 03 Duration = 00h19m36s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2220 Sep 13 Duration = 03h07m57s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1553 Jul 25 Duration = 00h02m33s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2581 Apr 20 Duration = 04h32m12s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1427 May 10 Duration = 00h29m05s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 131 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1932 Mar 22 Magnitude = 0.9666
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1553 Jul 25 Magnitude = 0.0001
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 131 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 -37 1427 May 10 23:39:25 280 -7083 Nb a- -1.5427 0.0112 -0.9572 29.1 - -
02 -36 1445 May 21 07:02:27 258 -6860 N a- -1.4705 0.1417 -0.8227 101.9 - -
03 -35 1463 Jun 01 14:23:22 236 -6637 N a- -1.3957 0.2771 -0.6837 140.3 - -
04 -34 1481 Jun 11 21:44:03 215 -6414 N a- -1.3201 0.4144 -0.5435 168.9 - -
05 -33 1499 Jun 23 05:05:35 196 -6191 N a- -1.2445 0.5520 -0.4037 191.8 - -
06 -32 1517 Jul 03 12:28:24 178 -5968 N a- -1.1693 0.6892 -0.2648 210.9 - -
07 -31 1535 Jul 14 19:54:01 162 -5745 N a- -1.0956 0.8239 -0.1292 226.9 - -
08 -30 1553 Jul 25 03:24:11 147 -5522 P a- -1.0253 0.9528 0.0001 240.2 2.5 -
09 -29 1571 Aug 05 10:59:42 134 -5299 P a- -0.9591 1.0743 0.1215 251.3 75.3 -
10 -28 1589 Aug 25 18:40:24 124 -5076 P a- -0.8969 1.1887 0.2352 260.7 102.9 -
11 -27 1607 Sep 06 02:28:42 110 -4853 P a- -0.8407 1.2923 0.3378 268.3 121.3 -
12 -26 1625 Sep 16 10:24:16 86 -4630 P a- -0.7904 1.3855 0.4295 274.6 134.8 -
13 -25 1643 Sep 27 18:28:14 58 -4407 P a- -0.7468 1.4663 0.5085 279.6 144.7 -
14 -24 1661 Oct 08 02:39:03 33 -4184 P a- -0.7089 1.5370 0.5771 283.7 152.4 -
15 -23 1679 Oct 19 10:58:53 14 -3961 P a- -0.6784 1.5940 0.6321 286.9 158.0 -
16 -22 1697 Oct 29 19:25:59 8 -3738 P a- -0.6537 1.6404 0.6764 289.3 162.1 -
17 -21 1715 Nov 11 04:00:14 10 -3515 P a- -0.6347 1.6760 0.7102 291.1 165.1 -
18 -20 1733 Nov 21 12:40:54 11 -3292 P a- -0.6211 1.7020 0.7344 292.5 167.2 -
19 -19 1751 Dec 02 21:26:52 13 -3069 P a- -0.6116 1.7202 0.7512 293.4 168.5 -
20 -18 1769 Dec 13 06:17:04 16 -2846 P a- -0.6058 1.7312 0.7611 294.0 169.4 -
21 -17 1787 Dec 24 15:08:29 16 -2623 P a- -0.6010 1.7405 0.7696 294.5 170.1 -
22 -16 1806 Jan 05 00:02:04 12 -2400 P a- -0.5981 1.7459 0.7748 294.8 170.5 -
23 -15 1824 Jan 16 08:54:09 10 -2177 P a- -0.5937 1.7538 0.7829 295.3 171.2 -
24 -14 1842 Jan 26 17:44:27 5 -1954 P a- -0.5884 1.7634 0.7930 295.9 172.1 -
25 -13 1860 Feb 07 02:29:45 8 -1731 P a- -0.5790 1.7801 0.8106 296.8 173.7 -
26 -12 1878 Feb 17 11:11:05 -5 -1508 P a- -0.5667 1.8021 0.8338 297.9 175.6 -
27 -11 1896 Feb 28 19:45:40 -6 -1285 P a- -0.5488 1.8342 0.8673 299.5 178.2 -
28 -10 1914 Mar 12 04:13:08 16 -1062 P a- -0.5254 1.8764 0.9111 301.5 181.5 -
29 -09 1932 Mar 22 12:32:39 24 -839 P a- -0.4956 1.9303 0.9666 303.8 185.3 -
30 -08 1950 Apr 02 20:44:34 29 -616 T a- -0.4598 1.9951 1.0329 306.5 189.6 26.9
31 -07 1968 Apr 13 04:48:01 39 -393 T p- -0.4173 2.0725 1.1116 309.5 194.1 48.5
32 -06 1986 Apr 24 12:43:30 55 -170 T p- -0.3682 2.1620 1.2022 312.6 198.8 63.6
33 -05 2004 May 04 20:31:17 65 53 T p- -0.3132 2.2627 1.3035 315.7 203.2 75.5
34 -04 2022 May 16 04:12:42 73 276 T- p- -0.2532 2.3726 1.4137 318.7 207.2 84.9
35 -03 2040 May 26 11:46:22 85 499 T- p- -0.1872 2.4938 1.5348 321.4 210.7 92.2
36 -02 2058 Jun 06 19:15:48 110 722 T- pp -0.1181 2.6210 1.6611 323.6 213.4 97.3
37 -01 2076 Jun 17 02:39:47 149 945 T- pp -0.0452 2.7554 1.7943 325.3 215.1 100.2
38 00 2094 Jun 28 10:01:57 190 1168 T+ pp 0.0288 2.7865 1.8234 326.5 215.7 100.6
39 01 2112 Jul 09 17:19:51 232 1391 T+ pp 0.1055 2.6471 1.6814 326.9 215.1 98.4
40 02 2130 Jul 21 00:38:56 277 1614 T+ -p 0.1803 2.5114 1.5426 326.6 213.4 93.5
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 03 2148 Jul 31 07:56:37 324 1837 T+ -p 0.2554 2.3755 1.4030 325.7 210.4 85.3
42 04 2166 Aug 11 15:17:07 364 2060 T -a 0.3273 2.2456 1.2688 324.1 206.3 73.3
43 05 2184 Aug 21 22:38:35 405 2283 T -a 0.3977 2.1190 1.1374 321.9 201.0 54.8
44 06 2202 Sep 03 06:05:57 448 2506 T -a 0.4622 2.0031 1.0163 319.5 194.9 19.6
45 07 2220 Sep 13 13:36:52 493 2729 P -a 0.5228 1.8948 0.9023 316.6 188.0 -
46 08 2238 Sep 24 21:14:02 540 2952 P -a 0.5775 1.7975 0.7992 313.7 180.6 -
47 09 2256 Oct 05 04:57:13 589 3175 P -a 0.6264 1.7108 0.7064 310.9 173.0 -
48 10 2274 Oct 16 12:48:09 641 3398 P -a 0.6683 1.6369 0.6264 308.3 165.5 -
49 11 2292 Oct 26 20:45:26 694 3621 P -a 0.7041 1.5743 0.5577 306.0 158.3 -
50 12 2310 Nov 08 04:49:17 749 3844 P -a 0.7339 1.5227 0.5001 304.2 151.8 -
51 13 2328 Nov 18 12:59:37 807 4067 P -a 0.7574 1.4824 0.4541 302.9 146.1 -
52 14 2346 Nov 29 21:15:59 866 4290 P -a 0.7756 1.4517 0.4180 302.1 141.3 -
53 15 2364 Dec 10 05:36:17 928 4513 P -a 0.7898 1.4281 0.3895 301.8 137.4 -
54 16 2382 Dec 21 14:00:40 992 4736 P -a 0.8002 1.4114 0.3684 301.8 134.4 -
55 17 2400 Dec 31 22:26:34 1058 4959 P -a 0.8085 1.3980 0.3512 301.9 132.0 -
56 18 2419 Jan 12 06:53:23 1126 5182 P -a 0.8154 1.3869 0.3369 302.2 129.9 -
57 19 2437 Jan 22 15:17:33 1195 5405 P -a 0.8239 1.3726 0.3201 302.2 127.3 -
58 20 2455 Feb 02 23:40:14 1267 5628 P -a 0.8331 1.3567 0.3023 302.0 124.4 -
59 21 2473 Feb 13 07:57:35 1342 5851 P -a 0.8462 1.3335 0.2776 301.1 120.0 -
60 22 2491 Feb 24 16:09:26 1418 6074 P -a 0.8630 1.3030 0.2463 299.6 113.8 -
61 23 2509 Mar 08 00:13:07 1496 6297 P -h 0.8858 1.2614 0.2042 297.0 104.6 -
62 24 2527 Mar 19 08:09:29 1576 6520 P -h 0.9140 1.2096 0.1524 293.3 91.3 -
63 25 2545 Mar 29 15:56:33 1659 6743 P -h 0.9493 1.1448 0.0878 288.1 70.1 -
64 26 2563 Apr 09 23:33:33 1743 6966 P -t 0.9919 1.0664 0.0097 281.2 23.7 -
65 27 2581 Apr 20 07:01:04 1830 7189 N -t 1.0414 0.9755 -0.0809 272.2 - -
66 28 2599 May 01 14:18:45 1918 7412 N -t 1.0978 0.8717 -0.1843 260.8 - -
67 29 2617 May 12 21:27:24 2009 7635 N -t 1.1607 0.7562 -0.2996 246.3 - -
68 30 2635 May 24 04:26:35 2102 7858 N -t 1.2304 0.6284 -0.4273 228.0 - -
69 31 2653 Jun 03 11:18:15 2196 8081 N -t 1.3049 0.4919 -0.5641 204.8 - -
70 32 2671 Jun 14 18:03:01 2293 8304 N -t 1.3835 0.3478 -0.7088 175.0 - -
71 33 2689 Jun 25 00:41:31 2392 8527 N -t 1.4660 0.1969 -0.8606 133.8 - -
72 34 2707 Jul 07 07:16:15 2493 8750 Ne -t 1.5504 0.0428 -1.0160 63.4 - -
[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)"
