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 170 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series will begin with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2664 Jun 01. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3926 Jul 09. The total duration of Saros series 170 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2664 Jun 01 00:26:03 TD
Last Eclipse = 3926 Jul 09 04:29:17 TD
Duration of Saros 170 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 170 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 170 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 17 | 23.9% |
| Partial | P | 30 | 42.3% |
| Total | T | 24 | 33.8% |
The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 170 occur in the order of 7N 11P 24T 19P 10N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
11 Partial
24 Total
19 Partial
10 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 170 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3295 Jun 19 Duration = 01h39m54s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2988 Dec 14 Duration = 00h11m36s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2970 Dec 04 Duration = 03h15m01s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3746 Mar 20 Duration = 00h11m35s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2772 Aug 05 Duration = 04h21m39s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2664 Jun 01 Duration = 00h51m27s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 170 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2970 Dec 04 Magnitude = 0.9756
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3746 Mar 20 Magnitude = 0.0028
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 170 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 -35 2664 Jun 01 00:26:03 2255 8217 Nb t- 1.5565 0.0287 -1.0247 51.5 - -
02 -34 2682 Jun 12 07:13:50 2353 8440 N t- 1.4794 0.1679 -0.8809 122.4 - -
03 -33 2700 Jun 23 13:59:43 2454 8663 N t- 1.3996 0.3122 -0.7324 164.2 - -
04 -32 2718 Jul 04 20:42:24 2556 8886 N t- 1.3161 0.4636 -0.5772 196.5 - -
05 -31 2736 Jul 15 03:26:59 2660 9109 N t- 1.2326 0.6151 -0.4222 222.2 - -
06 -30 2754 Jul 26 10:12:00 2767 9332 N t- 1.1479 0.7689 -0.2655 243.8 - -
07 -29 2772 Aug 05 17:00:33 2875 9555 N t- 1.0649 0.9201 -0.1118 261.6 - -
08 -28 2790 Aug 16 23:52:50 2986 9778 P t- 0.9836 1.0681 0.0383 276.5 46.3 -
09 -27 2808 Aug 27 06:51:56 3098 10001 P t- 0.9066 1.2086 0.1804 288.7 98.1 -
10 -26 2826 Sep 07 13:57:35 3213 10224 P h- 0.8337 1.3417 0.3147 298.6 126.6 -
11 -25 2844 Sep 17 21:10:30 3330 10447 P h- 0.7655 1.4664 0.4403 306.7 146.5 -
12 -24 2862 Sep 29 04:32:10 3449 10670 P a- 0.7036 1.5797 0.5542 313.0 160.9 -
13 -23 2880 Oct 09 12:03:07 3570 10893 P a- 0.6484 1.6809 0.6557 317.8 171.6 -
14 -22 2898 Oct 20 19:43:17 3693 11116 P a- 0.5999 1.7697 0.7448 321.5 179.7 -
15 -21 2916 Nov 01 03:32:55 3818 11339 P a- 0.5585 1.8456 0.8208 324.1 185.6 -
16 -20 2934 Nov 12 11:32:00 3945 11562 P a- 0.5241 1.9087 0.8842 325.9 189.9 -
17 -19 2952 Nov 22 19:40:25 4074 11785 P a- 0.4967 1.9587 0.9345 327.0 192.9 -
18 -18 2970 Dec 04 03:55:41 4205 12008 P a- 0.4745 1.9991 0.9756 327.5 195.0 -
19 -17 2988 Dec 14 12:19:11 4339 12231 T a- 0.4584 2.0282 1.0056 327.6 196.3 11.6
20 -16 3006 Dec 26 20:47:49 4474 12454 T a- 0.4463 2.0497 1.0285 327.3 197.2 26.0
21 -15 3025 Jan 06 05:22:02 4612 12677 T a- 0.4379 2.0642 1.0447 326.7 197.6 32.3
22 -14 3043 Jan 17 13:57:30 4751 12900 T a- 0.4301 2.0774 1.0603 326.1 197.9 37.2
23 -13 3061 Jan 27 22:36:14 4893 13123 T a- 0.4244 2.0865 1.0722 325.3 198.1 40.5
24 -12 3079 Feb 08 07:13:53 5037 13346 T a- 0.4175 2.0974 1.0865 324.5 198.4 44.0
25 -11 3097 Feb 18 15:50:31 5183 13569 T a- 0.4089 2.1112 1.1042 323.8 198.9 48.0
26 -10 3115 Mar 03 00:22:50 5330 13792 T a- 0.3963 2.1321 1.1293 323.2 199.7 52.9
27 -09 3133 Mar 13 08:52:01 5480 14015 T a- 0.3804 2.1589 1.1608 322.8 200.8 58.3
28 -08 3151 Mar 24 17:15:04 5632 14238 T p- 0.3591 2.1955 1.2023 322.6 202.2 64.4
29 -07 3169 Apr 04 01:32:12 5787 14461 T p- 0.3324 2.2420 1.2540 322.6 204.0 70.9
30 -06 3187 Apr 15 09:42:20 5943 14684 T p- 0.2993 2.3001 1.3173 322.8 206.0 77.4
31 -05 3205 Apr 25 17:46:21 6101 14907 T+ p- 0.2604 2.3688 1.3912 323.0 208.0 83.6
32 -04 3223 May 07 01:42:32 6261 15130 T+ p- 0.2146 2.4503 1.4778 323.3 210.0 89.3
33 -03 3241 May 17 09:32:45 6424 15353 T+ p- 0.1632 2.5422 1.5745 323.4 211.8 94.0
34 -02 3259 May 28 17:16:41 6588 15576 T+ p- 0.1060 2.6448 1.6817 323.3 213.0 97.5
35 -01 3277 Jun 08 00:56:30 6755 15799 T+ pp 0.0447 2.7551 1.7962 322.9 213.7 99.6
36 00 3295 Jun 19 08:30:20 6923 16022 T- pp -0.0221 2.7947 1.8395 322.0 213.5 99.9
37 01 3313 Jun 30 16:02:34 7094 16245 T- pp -0.0910 2.6668 1.7148 320.6 212.5 98.2
38 02 3331 Jul 11 23:31:14 7267 16468 T- -p -0.1635 2.5324 1.5829 318.6 210.3 94.0
39 03 3349 Jul 22 07:00:15 7441 16691 T- -p -0.2360 2.3983 1.4509 316.0 207.1 87.0
40 04 3367 Aug 02 14:27:18 7618 16914 T -p -0.3107 2.2607 1.3146 312.6 202.6 76.3
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 05 3385 Aug 12 21:57:43 7797 17137 T -p -0.3830 2.1277 1.1824 308.7 197.0 60.6
42 06 3403 Aug 25 05:29:08 7978 17360 T -a -0.4549 1.9957 1.0505 304.2 190.1 33.1
43 07 3421 Sep 04 13:04:44 8161 17583 P -a -0.5234 1.8701 0.9246 299.2 182.3 -
44 08 3439 Sep 15 20:44:03 8347 17806 P -a -0.5889 1.7504 0.8038 293.8 173.4 -
45 09 3457 Sep 26 04:29:39 8534 18029 P -a -0.6492 1.6405 0.6925 288.3 163.8 -
46 10 3475 Oct 07 12:20:53 8723 18252 P -a -0.7049 1.5392 0.5893 282.8 153.5 -
47 11 3493 Oct 17 20:18:09 8914 18475 P -a -0.7558 1.4470 0.4948 277.3 142.7 -
48 12 3511 Oct 30 04:23:06 9108 18698 P -a -0.8002 1.3668 0.4121 272.2 131.8 -
49 13 3529 Nov 09 12:35:08 9303 18921 P -a -0.8386 1.2976 0.3402 267.5 121.0 -
50 14 3547 Nov 20 20:54:54 9501 19144 P -a -0.8708 1.2400 0.2797 263.4 110.7 -
51 15 3565 Dec 01 05:21:01 9701 19367 P -a -0.8978 1.1919 0.2289 259.8 100.9 -
52 16 3583 Dec 12 13:54:47 9903 19590 P -a -0.9186 1.1550 0.1893 257.1 92.3 -
53 17 3601 Dec 22 22:33:38 10106 19813 P -a -0.9353 1.1257 0.1575 254.9 84.6 -
54 18 3620 Jan 03 07:17:32 10312 20036 P -a -0.9478 1.1039 0.1334 253.3 78.2 -
55 19 3638 Jan 13 16:04:46 10520 20259 P -a -0.9577 1.0867 0.1144 252.1 72.6 -
56 20 3656 Jan 25 00:55:01 10730 20482 P -a -0.9649 1.0742 0.1003 251.3 68.2 -
57 21 3674 Feb 04 09:45:16 10942 20705 P -a -0.9722 1.0613 0.0864 250.4 63.5 -
58 22 3692 Feb 15 18:35:04 11157 20928 P -a -0.9799 1.0476 0.0720 249.5 58.1 -
59 23 3710 Feb 27 03:22:16 11373 21151 P -a -0.9894 1.0302 0.0544 248.2 50.7 -
60 24 3728 Mar 09 12:06:48 11591 21374 P -a -1.0009 1.0092 0.0334 246.5 39.9 -
61 25 3746 Mar 20 20:44:44 11811 21597 P -a -1.0177 0.9782 0.0028 243.9 11.6 -
62 26 3764 Mar 31 05:17:46 12034 21820 N -a -1.0382 0.9402 -0.0346 240.4 - -
63 27 3782 Apr 11 13:42:37 12259 22043 N -a -1.0653 0.8901 -0.0840 235.5 - -
64 28 3800 Apr 22 22:01:33 12485 22266 N -a -1.0969 0.8318 -0.1415 229.5 - -
65 29 3818 May 04 06:10:14 12714 22489 N -a -1.1365 0.7588 -0.2138 221.2 - -
66 30 3836 May 14 14:12:48 12945 22712 N -a -1.1808 0.6772 -0.2949 211.2 - -
67 31 3854 May 25 22:05:36 13177 22935 N -a -1.2330 0.5812 -0.3905 198.0 - -
68 32 3872 Jun 05 05:52:16 13412 23158 N -a -1.2896 0.4773 -0.4943 181.7 - -
69 33 3890 Jun 16 13:29:54 13649 23381 N -a -1.3531 0.3610 -0.6110 160.2 - -
70 34 3908 Jun 27 21:02:59 13888 23604 N -a -1.4197 0.2392 -0.7336 132.2 - -
71 35 3926 Jul 09 04:29:17 14130 23827 N -a -1.4912 0.1086 -0.8655 90.4 - -
[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)"
