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 176 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 2747 Dec 09. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 4154 Apr 11. The total duration of Saros series 176 is 1406.35 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2747 Dec 09 01:24:50 TD
Last Eclipse = 4154 Apr 11 21:33:08 TD
Duration of Saros 176 = 1406.35 Years
Saros 176 is composed of 79 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 176 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 79 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 37 | 46.8% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 17.7% |
| Total | T | 28 | 35.4% |
The 79 lunar eclipses in Saros 176 occur in the order of 18N 6P 28T 8P 19N which corresponds to:
18 Penumbral
6 Partial
28 Total
8 Partial
19 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 176 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3324 Nov 23 Duration = 01h40m38s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3180 Aug 27 Duration = 00h27m44s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3162 Aug 17 Duration = 03h11m54s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3811 Sep 16 Duration = 00h42m27s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3054 Jun 12 Duration = 04h33m28s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2747 Dec 09 Duration = 01h01m31s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 176 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3685 Jun 30 Magnitude = 0.9430
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3811 Sep 16 Magnitude = 0.0384
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 176 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 -33 2747 Dec 09 01:24:50 2727 9250 N t- 1.5632 0.0390 -1.0588 61.5 - -
02 -32 2765 Dec 19 09:20:56 2835 9473 N t- 1.5466 0.0698 -1.0288 82.1 - -
03 -31 2783 Dec 30 17:20:31 2945 9696 N t- 1.5323 0.0959 -1.0027 95.9 - -
04 -30 2802 Jan 10 01:25:15 3057 9919 N t- 1.5217 0.1152 -0.9828 104.7 - -
05 -29 2820 Jan 21 09:30:50 3171 10142 N t- 1.5117 0.1328 -0.9639 112.1 - -
06 -28 2838 Jan 31 17:37:23 3287 10365 N t- 1.5016 0.1502 -0.9442 118.8 - -
07 -27 2856 Feb 12 01:40:49 3405 10588 N t- 1.4886 0.1726 -0.9190 126.8 - -
08 -26 2874 Feb 22 09:42:48 3525 10811 N t- 1.4739 0.1979 -0.8901 135.1 - -
09 -25 2892 Mar 04 17:39:19 3647 11034 N t- 1.4542 0.2318 -0.8520 145.3 - -
10 -24 2910 Mar 17 01:30:26 3772 11257 N t- 1.4298 0.2742 -0.8049 157.0 - -
11 -23 2928 Mar 27 09:14:32 3898 11480 N t- 1.3992 0.3278 -0.7462 170.2 - -
12 -22 2946 Apr 07 16:52:13 4026 11703 N t- 1.3626 0.3922 -0.6763 184.4 - -
13 -21 2964 Apr 18 00:21:54 4157 11926 N t- 1.3188 0.4696 -0.5932 199.6 - -
14 -20 2982 Apr 29 07:44:37 4290 12149 N t- 1.2686 0.5588 -0.4982 215.1 - -
15 -19 3000 May 10 15:00:16 4424 12372 N t- 1.2117 0.6604 -0.3907 230.6 - -
16 -18 3018 May 21 22:10:31 4561 12595 N t- 1.1493 0.7719 -0.2736 245.5 - -
17 -17 3036 Jun 01 05:13:45 4700 12818 N t- 1.0801 0.8962 -0.1438 260.1 - -
18 -16 3054 Jun 12 12:14:13 4841 13041 Nx t- 1.0074 1.0269 -0.0079 273.5 - -
19 -15 3072 Jun 22 19:10:11 4984 13264 P t- 0.9297 1.1671 0.1373 285.9 86.3 -
20 -14 3090 Jul 04 02:06:14 5129 13487 P t- 0.8509 1.3095 0.2841 296.8 121.2 -
21 -13 3108 Jul 15 08:59:25 5276 13710 P h- 0.7684 1.4588 0.4374 306.7 146.5 -
22 -12 3126 Jul 26 15:55:45 5425 13933 P h- 0.6872 1.6059 0.5881 314.8 165.4 -
23 -11 3144 Aug 05 22:52:13 5576 14156 P h- 0.6048 1.7556 0.7408 321.8 180.4 -
24 -10 3162 Aug 17 05:53:32 5730 14379 P h- 0.5255 1.8998 0.8876 327.3 191.9 -
25 -09 3180 Aug 27 12:57:54 5885 14602 T a- 0.4477 2.0415 1.0314 331.7 200.9 27.7
26 -08 3198 Sep 07 20:09:58 6042 14825 T a- 0.3753 2.1736 1.1651 334.8 207.4 60.8
27 -07 3216 Sep 18 03:27:52 6202 15048 T a- 0.3067 2.2989 1.2916 336.9 212.2 77.2
28 -06 3234 Sep 29 10:53:52 6364 15271 T+ p- 0.2439 2.4136 1.4072 338.2 215.4 87.2
29 -05 3252 Oct 09 18:27:56 6527 15494 T+ p- 0.1871 2.5176 1.5117 338.8 217.5 93.4
30 -04 3270 Oct 21 02:11:21 6693 15717 T+ p- 0.1375 2.6084 1.6028 338.8 218.6 97.2
31 -03 3288 Oct 31 10:03:42 6861 15940 T+ p- 0.0944 2.6875 1.6821 338.5 219.0 99.3
32 -02 3306 Nov 12 18:04:45 7031 16163 T+ pp 0.0578 2.7545 1.7492 337.8 218.9 100.3
33 -01 3324 Nov 23 02:15:05 7203 16386 T+ pp 0.0281 2.8090 1.8038 337.0 218.6 100.6
34 00 3342 Dec 04 10:33:36 7377 16609 T+ pp 0.0047 2.8518 1.8470 336.1 218.0 100.5
35 01 3360 Dec 14 18:59:27 7553 16832 T- pp -0.0133 2.8358 1.8315 335.1 217.5 100.3
36 02 3378 Dec 26 03:31:55 7731 17055 T- pp -0.0262 2.8116 1.8082 334.1 216.9 99.9
37 03 3397 Jan 05 12:09:22 7911 17278 T- pp -0.0357 2.7936 1.7914 333.1 216.3 99.6
38 04 3415 Jan 17 20:50:42 8094 17501 T- pp -0.0423 2.7806 1.7800 332.1 215.8 99.3
39 05 3433 Jan 28 05:33:07 8278 17724 T- pp -0.0486 2.7680 1.7695 331.1 215.3 99.0
40 06 3451 Feb 08 14:17:04 8465 17947 T- pp -0.0539 2.7569 1.7611 330.0 214.8 98.8
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 07 3469 Feb 18 22:59:34 8653 18170 T- pp -0.0606 2.7432 1.7504 329.0 214.3 98.6
42 08 3487 Mar 02 07:39:42 8844 18393 T- pp -0.0698 2.7245 1.7353 327.8 213.9 98.2
43 09 3505 Mar 13 16:15:19 9037 18616 T- pp -0.0831 2.6981 1.7126 326.7 213.4 97.7
44 10 3523 Mar 25 00:46:37 9231 18839 T- pp -0.1004 2.6643 1.6830 325.4 212.7 97.0
45 11 3541 Apr 04 09:12:15 9428 19062 T- -p -0.1228 2.6209 1.6440 324.0 212.0 95.9
46 12 3559 Apr 15 17:30:48 9627 19285 T- -p -0.1515 2.5660 1.5936 322.5 210.9 94.1
47 13 3577 Apr 26 01:43:13 9828 19508 T- -p -0.1858 2.5008 1.5329 320.7 209.5 91.5
48 14 3595 May 07 09:48:30 10031 19731 T- -p -0.2268 2.4234 1.4599 318.6 207.5 87.5
49 15 3613 May 17 17:47:37 10236 19954 T -p -0.2733 2.3360 1.3766 316.1 204.9 81.6
50 16 3631 May 29 01:39:22 10443 20177 T -p -0.3264 2.2366 1.2812 313.2 201.4 72.9
51 17 3649 Jun 08 09:26:16 10653 20400 T -p -0.3840 2.1290 1.1772 309.6 196.8 59.8
52 18 3667 Jun 19 17:07:54 10864 20623 T -a -0.4465 2.0127 1.0640 305.3 191.0 37.2
53 19 3685 Jun 30 00:44:59 11078 20846 P -a -0.5132 1.8890 0.9430 300.3 183.6 -
54 20 3703 Jul 12 08:19:07 11293 21069 P -a -0.5826 1.7607 0.8167 294.4 174.6 -
55 21 3721 Jul 22 15:50:55 11511 21292 P -a -0.6542 1.6286 0.6860 287.5 163.4 -
56 22 3739 Aug 02 23:22:25 11730 21515 P -a -0.7260 1.4963 0.5546 279.9 149.9 -
57 23 3757 Aug 13 06:52:40 11952 21738 P -a -0.7990 1.3623 0.4208 271.2 133.2 -
58 24 3775 Aug 24 14:25:10 12176 21961 P -a -0.8701 1.2319 0.2901 261.7 112.7 -
59 25 3793 Sep 03 21:59:16 12402 22184 P -a -0.9401 1.1041 0.1613 251.4 85.6 -
60 26 3811 Sep 16 05:37:11 12630 22407 P -a -1.0067 0.9827 0.0384 240.4 42.5 -
61 27 3829 Sep 26 13:18:54 12859 22630 N -a -1.0701 0.8674 -0.0790 228.8 - -
62 28 3847 Oct 07 21:06:44 13092 22853 N -a -1.1284 0.7616 -0.1873 216.9 - -
63 29 3865 Oct 18 05:00:38 13326 23076 N -a -1.1817 0.6653 -0.2866 204.9 - -
64 30 3883 Oct 29 13:00:31 13562 23299 N -a -1.2302 0.5779 -0.3772 192.9 - -
65 31 3901 Nov 09 21:07:55 13800 23522 N -a -1.2725 0.5021 -0.4564 181.4 - -
66 32 3919 Nov 21 05:22:03 14041 23745 N -a -1.3090 0.4369 -0.5252 170.6 - -
67 33 3937 Dec 01 13:44:03 14283 23968 N -a -1.3394 0.3830 -0.5827 160.8 - -
68 34 3955 Dec 12 22:11:08 14527 24191 N -a -1.3655 0.3369 -0.6324 151.7 - -
69 35 3973 Dec 23 06:45:44 14774 24414 N -a -1.3854 0.3020 -0.6707 144.4 - -
70 36 3992 Jan 03 15:24:23 15023 24637 N -a -1.4019 0.2733 -0.7025 138.0 - -
71 37 4010 Jan 14 00:08:07 15273 24860 N -a -1.4141 0.2523 -0.7263 133.1 - -
72 38 4028 Jan 25 08:53:30 15526 25083 N -a -1.4249 0.2338 -0.7472 128.7 - -
73 39 4046 Feb 04 17:41:23 15781 25306 N -a -1.4335 0.2190 -0.7640 124.9 - -
74 40 4064 Feb 16 02:28:14 16038 25529 N -a -1.4427 0.2030 -0.7817 120.7 - -
75 41 4082 Feb 26 11:13:50 16297 25752 N -a -1.4527 0.1853 -0.8006 115.7 - -
76 42 4100 Mar 09 19:56:03 16558 25975 N -a -1.4651 0.1628 -0.8238 108.9 - -
77 43 4118 Mar 21 04:34:51 16821 26198 N -a -1.4800 0.1356 -0.8514 99.9 - -
78 44 4136 Mar 31 13:06:55 17087 26421 N -a -1.5003 0.0985 -0.8887 85.6 - -
79 45 4154 Apr 11 21:33:08 17354 26644 N -a -1.5251 0.0530 -0.9341 63.2 - -
[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)"
