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 171 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 2675 May 01. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 3937 Jun 07. The total duration of Saros series 171 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2675 May 01 21:07:16 TD
Last Eclipse = 3937 Jun 07 13:54:49 TD
Duration of Saros 171 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 171 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 171 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 27 | 38.0% |
| Partial | P | 18 | 25.4% |
| Total | T | 26 | 36.6% |
The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 171 occur in the order of 8N 10P 26T 8P 19N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
10 Partial
26 Total
8 Partial
19 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 171 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3342 Jun 11 Duration = 01h42m25s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3450 Aug 16 Duration = 00h12m59s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3468 Aug 26 Duration = 03h11m30s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2819 Jul 28 Duration = 00h50m10s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3612 Nov 21 Duration = 04h40m07s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2675 May 01 Duration = 00h59m42s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 171 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2981 Nov 03 Magnitude = 0.9645
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3594 Nov 11 Magnitude = 0.0445
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 171 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 2675 May 01 21:07:16 2314 8352 Nb a- -1.5178 0.0500 -0.9046 59.7 - -
02 -36 2693 May 12 05:00:40 2414 8575 N a- -1.4659 0.1435 -0.8076 100.1 - -
03 -35 2711 May 24 12:47:50 2515 8798 N a- -1.4090 0.2463 -0.7018 129.8 - -
04 -34 2729 Jun 03 20:29:16 2619 9021 N a- -1.3473 0.3582 -0.5872 154.7 - -
05 -33 2747 Jun 15 04:06:13 2724 9244 N a- -1.2818 0.4774 -0.4659 176.4 - -
06 -32 2765 Jun 25 11:39:32 2832 9467 N a- -1.2132 0.6024 -0.3393 195.6 - -
07 -31 2783 Jul 06 19:11:10 2942 9690 N a- -1.1430 0.7309 -0.2100 212.7 - -
08 -30 2801 Jul 17 02:40:12 3054 9913 N a- -1.0705 0.8637 -0.0768 228.0 - -
09 -29 2819 Jul 28 10:10:35 3168 10136 P a- -0.9992 0.9947 0.0538 241.4 50.2 -
10 -28 2837 Aug 07 17:40:59 3284 10359 P a- -0.9279 1.1261 0.1842 253.3 91.2 -
11 -27 2855 Aug 19 01:14:47 3402 10582 P a- -0.8594 1.2526 0.3091 263.6 116.1 -
12 -26 2873 Aug 29 08:50:19 3522 10805 P a- -0.7924 1.3766 0.4310 272.8 134.8 -
13 -25 2891 Sep 09 16:31:35 3644 11028 P a- -0.7303 1.4918 0.5435 280.5 148.9 -
14 -24 2909 Sep 21 00:16:53 3768 11251 P a- -0.6720 1.6003 0.6488 287.2 160.1 -
15 -23 2927 Oct 02 08:08:17 3895 11474 P a- -0.6192 1.6991 0.7441 292.9 168.9 -
16 -22 2945 Oct 12 16:05:42 4023 11697 P a- -0.5716 1.7885 0.8295 297.7 176.0 -
17 -21 2963 Oct 24 00:10:50 4153 11920 P a- -0.5306 1.8657 0.9027 301.8 181.5 -
18 -20 2981 Nov 03 08:22:42 4286 12143 P a- -0.4957 1.9318 0.9645 305.1 185.8 -
19 -19 2999 Nov 14 16:41:25 4421 12366 T a- -0.4669 1.9868 1.0153 308.0 189.1 18.5
20 -18 3017 Nov 26 01:06:47 4557 12589 T p- -0.4440 2.0309 1.0552 310.3 191.6 34.7
21 -17 3035 Dec 07 09:38:44 4696 12812 T p- -0.4267 2.0647 1.0851 312.3 193.5 42.8
22 -16 3053 Dec 17 18:15:16 4837 13035 T p- -0.4136 2.0907 1.1074 314.0 194.9 47.8
23 -15 3071 Dec 29 02:56:36 4980 13258 T p- -0.4046 2.1088 1.1220 315.4 196.0 50.8
24 -14 3090 Jan 08 11:40:20 5125 13481 T p- -0.3980 2.1225 1.1328 316.7 196.9 52.8
25 -13 3108 Jan 20 20:26:23 5272 13704 T p- -0.3936 2.1317 1.1395 317.9 197.6 54.1
26 -12 3126 Jan 31 05:10:58 5421 13927 T p- -0.3884 2.1424 1.1482 319.0 198.4 55.7
27 -11 3144 Feb 11 13:55:25 5572 14150 T p- -0.3834 2.1522 1.1565 320.2 199.2 57.2
28 -10 3162 Feb 21 22:35:26 5725 14373 T p- -0.3752 2.1680 1.1711 321.5 200.3 59.7
29 -09 3180 Mar 04 07:11:39 5881 14596 T p- -0.3644 2.1881 1.1904 322.9 201.7 62.7
30 -08 3198 Mar 15 15:40:25 6038 14819 T p- -0.3480 2.2185 1.2203 324.6 203.5 67.0
31 -07 3216 Mar 26 00:03:32 6198 15042 T p- -0.3276 2.2559 1.2576 326.5 205.6 71.7
32 -06 3234 Apr 06 08:17:56 6359 15265 T p- -0.3004 2.3059 1.3075 328.6 208.1 77.2
33 -05 3252 Apr 16 16:23:56 6523 15488 T- p- -0.2671 2.3671 1.3686 330.8 210.8 82.9
34 -04 3270 Apr 28 00:20:35 6689 15711 T- p- -0.2267 2.4413 1.4427 333.2 213.6 88.6
35 -03 3288 May 08 08:08:58 6856 15934 T- pp -0.1802 2.5266 1.5279 335.6 216.3 93.7
36 -02 3306 May 20 15:48:20 7026 16157 T- pp -0.1268 2.6248 1.6257 337.8 218.7 98.0
37 -01 3324 May 30 23:19:14 7198 16380 T- pp -0.0670 2.7348 1.7350 339.8 220.7 101.1
38 00 3342 Jun 11 06:42:41 7372 16603 T- pp -0.0018 2.8552 1.8542 341.3 221.8 102.4
39 01 3360 Jun 21 13:59:42 7548 16826 T+ pp 0.0677 2.7350 1.7325 342.3 222.0 101.6
40 02 3378 Jul 02 21:10:03 7726 17049 T+ pp 0.1420 2.5996 1.5952 342.5 221.0 98.0
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 03 3396 Jul 13 04:15:53 7907 17272 T+ -p 0.2193 2.4590 1.4521 342.0 218.6 91.0
42 04 3414 Jul 25 11:17:45 8089 17495 T -a 0.2988 2.3146 1.3048 340.5 214.5 79.2
43 05 3432 Aug 04 18:18:17 8273 17718 T -a 0.3785 2.1702 1.1569 338.0 208.8 59.9
44 06 3450 Aug 16 01:16:05 8460 17941 T -h 0.4592 2.0240 1.0067 334.6 201.0 13.0
45 07 3468 Aug 26 08:15:44 8648 18164 P -h 0.5373 1.8830 0.8613 330.3 191.5 -
46 08 3486 Sep 06 15:15:54 8839 18387 P -h 0.6138 1.7451 0.7186 325.0 179.8 -
47 09 3504 Sep 17 22:20:12 9031 18610 P -h 0.6859 1.6154 0.5836 319.2 166.2 -
48 10 3522 Sep 29 05:26:51 9226 18833 P -h 0.7550 1.4913 0.4540 312.7 150.1 -
49 11 3540 Oct 09 12:40:00 9423 19056 P -h 0.8179 1.3789 0.3359 305.9 131.8 -
50 12 3558 Oct 20 19:58:19 9622 19279 P -h 0.8754 1.2763 0.2274 299.1 110.5 -
51 13 3576 Oct 31 03:23:02 9823 19502 P -h 0.9269 1.1848 0.1300 292.3 85.0 -
52 14 3594 Nov 11 10:54:54 10026 19725 P -h 0.9719 1.1052 0.0445 285.9 50.5 -
53 15 3612 Nov 21 18:34:14 10231 19948 Nx -h 1.0104 1.0375 -0.0288 280.1 - -
54 16 3630 Dec 03 02:21:01 10438 20171 N -h 1.0419 0.9823 -0.0894 275.2 - -
55 17 3648 Dec 13 10:12:46 10647 20394 N -h 1.0689 0.9352 -0.1415 270.7 - -
56 18 3666 Dec 24 18:11:21 10858 20617 N -h 1.0898 0.8993 -0.1819 267.3 - -
57 19 3685 Jan 04 02:13:46 11072 20840 N -t 1.1073 0.8690 -0.2161 264.4 - -
58 20 3703 Jan 16 10:20:05 11287 21063 N -t 1.1210 0.8455 -0.2428 262.1 - -
59 21 3721 Jan 26 18:27:05 11505 21286 N -t 1.1338 0.8234 -0.2675 259.9 - -
60 22 3739 Feb 07 02:35:29 11724 21509 N -t 1.1449 0.8040 -0.2888 257.9 - -
61 23 3757 Feb 17 10:41:32 11946 21732 N -t 1.1574 0.7816 -0.3123 255.3 - -
62 24 3775 Feb 28 18:44:46 12170 21955 N -t 1.1717 0.7555 -0.3388 252.1 - -
63 25 3793 Mar 11 02:42:56 12395 22178 N -t 1.1897 0.7223 -0.3718 247.6 - -
64 26 3811 Mar 23 10:36:05 12623 22401 N -t 1.2113 0.6824 -0.4109 241.9 - -
65 27 3829 Apr 02 18:20:50 12853 22624 N -t 1.2392 0.6306 -0.4614 233.9 - -
66 28 3847 Apr 14 01:58:31 13085 22847 N -t 1.2723 0.5689 -0.5214 223.6 - -
67 29 3865 Apr 24 09:26:52 13319 23070 N -t 1.3124 0.4942 -0.5939 210.0 - -
68 30 3883 May 05 16:47:56 13556 23293 N -t 1.3581 0.4093 -0.6766 192.7 - -
69 31 3901 May 16 23:57:46 13794 23516 N -t 1.4121 0.3089 -0.7745 169.0 - -
70 32 3919 May 28 07:01:10 14034 23739 N -t 1.4707 0.2002 -0.8808 137.4 - -
71 33 3937 Jun 07 13:54:49 14276 23962 Ne -t 1.5362 0.0787 -0.9999 87.1 - -
[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)"
