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 169 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series will begin with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2635 Jun 22. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 3879 Jul 17. The total duration of Saros series 169 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2635 Jun 22 17:24:39 TD
Last Eclipse = 3879 Jul 17 04:56:09 TD
Duration of Saros 169 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 169 is composed of 70 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 169 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 25 | 35.7% |
| Partial | P | 32 | 45.7% |
| Total | T | 13 | 18.6% |
The 70 lunar eclipses in Saros 169 occur in the order of 8N 19P 13T 13P 17N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
19 Partial
13 Total
13 Partial
17 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 169 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3248 Jun 28 Duration = 01h46m06s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3338 Aug 22 Duration = 00h15m13s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3104 Apr 02 Duration = 03h26m09s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3573 Jan 11 Duration = 00h16m21s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2761 Sep 06 Duration = 04h37m17s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3879 Jul 17 Duration = 01h00m05s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 169 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3104 Apr 02 Magnitude = 0.9342
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3573 Jan 11 Magnitude = 0.0048
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 169 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 2635 Jun 22 17:24:39 2102 7859 Nb t- -1.5336 0.0567 -0.9688 70.0 - -
02 -33 2653 Jul 03 00:17:37 2197 8082 N t- -1.4619 0.1895 -0.8384 126.9 - -
03 -32 2671 Jul 14 07:06:49 2294 8305 N t- -1.3877 0.3272 -0.7036 165.3 - -
04 -31 2689 Jul 24 13:53:09 2393 8528 N t- -1.3117 0.4683 -0.5658 195.9 - -
05 -30 2707 Aug 05 20:39:14 2494 8751 N t- -1.2359 0.6093 -0.4287 221.3 - -
06 -29 2725 Aug 16 03:25:48 2597 8974 N t- -1.1611 0.7487 -0.2935 242.9 - -
07 -28 2743 Aug 27 10:15:10 2702 9197 N t- -1.0886 0.8839 -0.1628 261.4 - -
08 -27 2761 Sep 06 17:07:18 2809 9420 Nx t- -1.0189 1.0143 -0.0373 277.3 - -
09 -26 2779 Sep 18 00:04:53 2919 9643 P t- -0.9540 1.1361 0.0793 290.8 67.5 -
10 -25 2797 Sep 28 07:07:54 3030 9866 P t- -0.8938 1.2491 0.1870 302.3 102.3 -
11 -24 2815 Oct 09 14:17:15 3143 10089 P t- -0.8391 1.3523 0.2848 312.0 124.8 -
12 -23 2833 Oct 19 21:34:09 3259 10312 P t- -0.7907 1.4438 0.3709 320.2 140.9 -
13 -22 2851 Oct 31 04:58:44 3377 10535 P t- -0.7487 1.5235 0.4454 327.0 152.9 -
14 -21 2869 Nov 10 12:31:37 3496 10758 P t- -0.7140 1.5898 0.5067 332.4 161.8 -
15 -20 2887 Nov 21 20:10:22 3618 10981 P t- -0.6842 1.6467 0.5589 337.0 168.7 -
16 -19 2905 Dec 03 03:57:28 3742 11204 P t- -0.6616 1.6904 0.5984 340.5 173.7 -
17 -18 2923 Dec 14 11:49:27 3868 11427 P t- -0.6429 1.7265 0.6309 343.4 177.6 -
18 -17 2941 Dec 24 19:47:18 3996 11650 P t- -0.6294 1.7528 0.6542 345.6 180.4 -
19 -16 2960 Jan 05 03:46:50 4126 11873 P t- -0.6174 1.7759 0.6749 347.5 182.8 -
20 -15 2978 Jan 15 11:50:00 4258 12096 P t- -0.6086 1.7930 0.6904 348.9 184.5 -
21 -14 2996 Jan 26 19:52:23 4392 12319 P t- -0.5990 1.8109 0.7075 350.2 186.4 -
22 -13 3014 Feb 07 03:54:01 4528 12542 P t- -0.5890 1.8293 0.7259 351.4 188.3 -
23 -12 3032 Feb 18 11:52:02 4667 12765 P t- -0.5760 1.8529 0.7502 352.8 190.8 -
24 -11 3050 Feb 28 19:46:36 4807 12988 P t- -0.5602 1.8812 0.7798 354.2 193.6 -
25 -10 3068 Mar 11 03:34:17 4950 13211 P t- -0.5387 1.9197 0.8203 356.0 197.2 -
26 -09 3086 Mar 22 11:15:39 5094 13434 P t- -0.5118 1.9677 0.8709 358.0 201.4 -
27 -08 3104 Apr 02 18:48:49 5241 13657 P t- -0.4781 2.0280 0.9342 360.2 206.2 -
28 -07 3122 Apr 14 02:14:52 5389 13880 T t- -0.4384 2.0991 1.0086 362.6 211.2 15.4
29 -06 3140 Apr 24 09:30:29 5540 14103 T t- -0.3901 2.1860 1.0991 365.2 216.6 50.6
30 -05 3158 May 05 16:39:06 5693 14326 T t- -0.3361 2.2833 1.2000 367.6 221.7 69.5
31 -04 3176 May 15 23:38:16 5848 14549 T pp -0.2741 2.3951 1.3156 369.8 226.5 83.7
32 -03 3194 May 27 06:31:56 6005 14772 T- pp -0.2072 2.5160 1.4402 371.5 230.4 94.1
33 -02 3212 Jun 06 13:16:32 6164 14995 T- pp -0.1327 2.6509 1.5785 372.7 233.3 101.5
34 -01 3230 Jun 17 19:58:13 6325 15218 T- pp -0.0556 2.7907 1.7216 372.9 234.9 105.5
35 00 3248 Jun 28 02:33:51 6488 15441 T+ pp 0.0264 2.8429 1.7768 372.2 235.0 106.1
36 01 3266 Jul 09 09:08:34 6654 15664 T+ pp 0.1097 2.6887 1.6253 370.5 233.3 103.1
37 02 3284 Jul 19 15:40:08 6821 15887 T+ pp 0.1960 2.5291 1.4680 367.6 229.9 95.6
38 03 3302 Jul 31 22:13:51 6990 16110 T pp 0.2811 2.3720 1.3129 363.7 224.6 83.0
39 04 3320 Aug 11 04:48:36 7162 16333 T -t 0.3655 2.2163 1.1588 358.6 217.4 62.3
40 05 3338 Aug 22 11:26:48 7335 16556 T -t 0.4477 2.0649 1.0086 352.6 208.4 15.2
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 3356 Sep 01 18:09:47 7511 16779 P -t 0.5263 1.9202 0.8647 345.7 197.7 -
42 07 3374 Sep 13 00:59:06 7689 17002 P -t 0.6003 1.7841 0.7291 338.2 185.5 -
43 08 3392 Sep 23 07:56:09 7868 17225 P -t 0.6687 1.6586 0.6038 330.4 171.9 -
44 09 3410 Oct 05 15:00:33 8050 17448 P -t 0.7315 1.5434 0.4886 322.3 157.1 -
45 10 3428 Oct 15 22:14:31 8234 17671 P -t 0.7870 1.4417 0.3866 314.5 141.6 -
46 11 3446 Oct 27 05:37:16 8420 17894 P -t 0.8359 1.3521 0.2967 306.9 125.4 -
47 12 3464 Nov 06 13:09:48 8608 18117 P -t 0.8775 1.2759 0.2202 299.9 109.0 -
48 13 3482 Nov 17 20:51:27 8798 18340 P -t 0.9123 1.2121 0.1563 293.6 92.4 -
49 14 3500 Nov 29 04:43:06 8991 18563 P -t 0.9398 1.1617 0.1059 288.2 76.4 -
50 15 3518 Dec 10 12:43:03 9185 18786 P -t 0.9610 1.1226 0.0671 283.7 61.0 -
51 16 3536 Dec 20 20:50:30 9381 19009 P -t 0.9769 1.0931 0.0381 280.0 46.0 -
52 17 3555 Jan 01 05:04:35 9580 19232 P -h 0.9882 1.0717 0.0179 277.1 31.5 -
53 18 3573 Jan 11 13:24:33 9780 19455 P -h 0.9958 1.0571 0.0048 274.7 16.3 -
54 19 3591 Jan 22 21:47:36 9983 19678 Nx -h 1.0015 1.0455 -0.0045 272.7 - -
55 20 3609 Feb 02 06:13:06 10187 19901 Nx -h 1.0059 1.0361 -0.0113 270.8 - -
56 21 3627 Feb 13 14:38:49 10394 20124 Nx -h 1.0110 1.0250 -0.0190 268.7 - -
57 22 3645 Feb 23 23:04:50 10603 20347 Nx -h 1.0167 1.0125 -0.0275 266.4 - -
58 23 3663 Mar 07 07:26:39 10814 20570 N -h 1.0266 0.9921 -0.0434 263.2 - -
59 24 3681 Mar 17 15:46:13 11027 20793 N -h 1.0390 0.9669 -0.0636 259.5 - -
60 25 3699 Mar 28 23:59:34 11242 21016 N -h 1.0569 0.9313 -0.0938 254.5 - -
61 26 3717 Apr 09 08:08:34 11459 21239 N -h 1.0790 0.8879 -0.1316 248.6 - -
62 27 3735 Apr 20 16:09:20 11678 21462 N -h 1.1085 0.8308 -0.1828 240.8 - -
63 28 3753 May 01 00:05:31 11899 21685 N -h 1.1423 0.7658 -0.2419 231.7 - -
64 29 3771 May 12 07:53:51 12122 21908 N -h 1.1828 0.6884 -0.3134 220.5 - -
65 30 3789 May 22 15:36:20 12348 22131 N -h 1.2287 0.6013 -0.3947 206.9 - -
66 31 3807 Jun 03 23:12:02 12575 22354 N -h 1.2804 0.5036 -0.4868 190.4 - -
67 32 3825 Jun 14 06:43:41 12805 22577 N -a 1.3360 0.3990 -0.5860 170.4 - -
68 33 3843 Jun 25 14:10:43 13036 22800 N -a 1.3959 0.2866 -0.6935 145.4 - -
69 34 3861 Jul 05 21:34:16 13270 23023 N -a 1.4589 0.1686 -0.8071 112.3 - -
70 35 3879 Jul 17 04:56:09 13506 23246 Ne -a 1.5238 0.0476 -0.9241 60.1 - -
[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)"
