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 178 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 2769 Oct 07. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 4013 Nov 01. The total duration of Saros series 178 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2769 Oct 07 18:39:36 TD
Last Eclipse = 4013 Nov 01 05:42:44 TD
Duration of Saros 178 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 178 is composed of 70 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 178 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 31 | 44.3% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 21.4% |
| Total | T | 24 | 34.3% |
The 70 lunar eclipses in Saros 178 occur in the order of 22N 7P 24T 8P 9N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
7 Partial
24 Total
8 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 178 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3400 Oct 25 Duration = 01h45m44s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3292 Aug 20 Duration = 00h28m20s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3725 May 10 Duration = 03h27m39s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3166 Jun 06 Duration = 00h25m17s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3869 Aug 05 Duration = 04h33m30s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 4013 Nov 01 Duration = 01h05m48s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 178 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3725 May 10 Magnitude = 0.9868
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3166 Jun 06 Magnitude = 0.0110
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 178 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 2769 Oct 07 18:39:36 2858 9520 N a- 1.5105 0.0826 -0.9101 80.0 - -
02 -34 2787 Oct 19 02:29:28 2968 9743 N a- 1.4715 0.1571 -0.8415 110.1 - -
03 -33 2805 Oct 29 10:25:36 3081 9966 N a- 1.4380 0.2215 -0.7830 130.5 - -
04 -32 2823 Nov 09 18:28:33 3195 10189 N a- 1.4106 0.2749 -0.7355 145.3 - -
05 -31 2841 Nov 20 02:38:13 3311 10412 N a- 1.3890 0.3173 -0.6988 156.1 - -
06 -30 2859 Dec 01 10:54:30 3430 10635 N a- 1.3737 0.3481 -0.6734 163.8 - -
07 -29 2877 Dec 11 19:15:31 3551 10858 N a- 1.3625 0.3712 -0.6554 169.4 - -
08 -28 2895 Dec 23 03:40:24 3673 11081 N a- 1.3551 0.3871 -0.6441 173.4 - -
09 -27 2914 Jan 03 12:08:10 3798 11304 N a- 1.3509 0.3969 -0.6384 176.1 - -
10 -26 2932 Jan 14 20:38:00 3925 11527 N a- 1.3492 0.4018 -0.6371 177.8 - -
11 -25 2950 Jan 25 05:06:25 4054 11750 N h- 1.3472 0.4071 -0.6348 179.5 - -
12 -24 2968 Feb 05 13:34:06 4185 11973 N h- 1.3453 0.4118 -0.6325 181.0 - -
13 -23 2986 Feb 15 21:57:16 4318 12196 N h- 1.3404 0.4215 -0.6245 183.6 - -
14 -22 3004 Feb 28 06:16:54 4453 12419 N h- 1.3335 0.4349 -0.6124 186.9 - -
15 -21 3022 Mar 10 14:28:10 4590 12642 N h- 1.3208 0.4587 -0.5895 192.0 - -
16 -20 3040 Mar 20 22:34:00 4729 12865 N t- 1.3043 0.4891 -0.5594 198.3 - -
17 -19 3058 Apr 01 06:29:43 4871 13088 N t- 1.2804 0.5330 -0.5157 206.8 - -
18 -18 3076 Apr 11 14:17:44 5014 13311 N t- 1.2509 0.5872 -0.4615 216.5 - -
19 -17 3094 Apr 22 21:54:30 5160 13534 N t- 1.2128 0.6572 -0.3915 228.2 - -
20 -16 3112 May 04 05:23:22 5307 13757 N t- 1.1689 0.7376 -0.3109 240.5 - -
21 -15 3130 May 15 12:41:35 5457 13980 N t- 1.1170 0.8329 -0.2157 253.8 - -
22 -14 3148 May 25 19:51:04 5608 14203 N t- 1.0585 0.9401 -0.1085 267.5 - -
23 -13 3166 Jun 06 02:51:41 5762 14426 P t- 0.9933 1.0601 0.0110 281.3 25.3 -
24 -12 3184 Jun 16 09:45:27 5918 14649 P t- 0.9228 1.1898 0.1401 294.7 88.8 -
25 -11 3202 Jun 27 16:32:36 6076 14872 P t- 0.8474 1.3287 0.2779 307.5 122.9 -
26 -10 3220 Jul 07 23:14:15 6236 15095 P t- 0.7680 1.4751 0.4229 319.5 148.6 -
27 -09 3238 Jul 19 05:52:12 6398 15318 P t- 0.6859 1.6267 0.5727 330.4 169.3 -
28 -08 3256 Jul 29 12:28:11 6562 15541 P t- 0.6023 1.7811 0.7249 340.2 186.1 -
29 -07 3274 Aug 09 19:02:22 6728 15764 P t- 0.5177 1.9377 0.8790 348.8 199.9 -
30 -06 3292 Aug 20 01:38:07 6897 15987 T t- 0.4345 2.0918 1.0300 356.0 210.8 28.3
31 -05 3310 Sep 01 08:15:34 7067 16210 T t- 0.3531 2.2428 1.1778 362.0 219.3 65.8
32 -04 3328 Sep 11 14:58:10 7239 16433 T pp 0.2760 2.3862 1.3176 366.7 225.6 83.7
33 -03 3346 Sep 22 21:43:53 7414 16656 T+ pp 0.2016 2.5246 1.4521 370.3 230.2 94.7
34 -02 3364 Oct 03 04:37:12 7590 16879 T+ pp 0.1336 2.6513 1.5748 373.0 233.1 101.1
35 -01 3382 Oct 14 11:36:15 7769 17102 T+ pp 0.0706 2.7690 1.6885 374.8 234.8 104.6
36 00 3400 Oct 25 18:44:12 7950 17325 T+ pp 0.0151 2.8730 1.7884 376.0 235.4 105.7
37 01 3418 Nov 06 01:58:59 8133 17548 T- pp -0.0347 2.8390 1.7504 376.7 235.3 105.4
38 02 3436 Nov 16 09:23:26 8317 17771 T- pp -0.0764 2.7643 1.6720 377.0 234.8 104.0
39 03 3454 Nov 27 16:55:19 8504 17994 T- pp -0.1118 2.7010 1.6053 377.0 234.0 102.0
40 04 3472 Dec 08 00:34:55 8693 18217 T- pp -0.1406 2.6497 1.5510 376.9 233.1 99.8
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 05 3490 Dec 19 08:21:24 8884 18440 T- pp -0.1638 2.6084 1.5072 376.7 232.1 97.6
42 06 3508 Dec 30 16:14:05 9077 18663 T- pp -0.1813 2.5772 1.4741 376.5 231.3 95.8
43 07 3527 Jan 11 00:11:19 9273 18886 T- pp -0.1955 2.5518 1.4475 376.2 230.6 94.1
44 08 3545 Jan 21 08:10:54 9470 19109 T- pp -0.2077 2.5297 1.4249 375.7 229.9 92.5
45 09 3563 Feb 01 16:12:54 9669 19332 T- pp -0.2179 2.5108 1.4063 375.2 229.3 91.1
46 10 3581 Feb 12 00:14:51 9871 19555 T- pp -0.2280 2.4918 1.3884 374.5 228.6 89.7
47 11 3599 Feb 23 08:14:46 10074 19778 T- pp -0.2401 2.4686 1.3670 373.6 227.8 88.0
48 12 3617 Mar 05 16:11:27 10280 20001 T- -p -0.2550 2.4400 1.3409 372.5 226.8 85.6
49 13 3635 Mar 17 00:03:42 10487 20224 T -p -0.2740 2.4036 1.3076 371.0 225.4 82.4
50 14 3653 Mar 27 07:50:36 10697 20447 T -p -0.2976 2.3585 1.2662 369.1 223.6 77.8
51 15 3671 Apr 07 15:29:56 10909 20670 T -p -0.3275 2.3015 1.2133 366.7 221.1 71.0
52 16 3689 Apr 17 23:02:50 11123 20893 T -p -0.3631 2.2339 1.1502 363.7 217.8 60.8
53 17 3707 Apr 30 06:27:46 11339 21116 T -t -0.4057 2.1534 1.0745 360.1 213.4 43.9
54 18 3725 May 10 13:45:00 11557 21339 P -t -0.4548 2.0607 0.9868 355.6 207.7 -
55 19 3743 May 21 20:54:29 11777 21562 P -t -0.5108 1.9555 0.8866 350.1 200.2 -
56 20 3761 Jun 01 03:57:37 11999 21785 P -t -0.5723 1.8401 0.7762 343.5 190.6 -
57 21 3779 Jun 12 10:55:06 12223 22008 P -t -0.6388 1.7156 0.6564 335.7 178.6 -
58 22 3797 Jun 22 17:46:33 12449 22231 P -t -0.7107 1.5813 0.5268 326.4 163.0 -
59 23 3815 Jul 05 00:35:16 12678 22454 P -t -0.7855 1.4420 0.3918 315.7 143.2 -
60 24 3833 Jul 15 07:20:45 12908 22677 P -t -0.8634 1.2970 0.2507 303.3 116.7 -
61 25 3851 Jul 26 14:06:25 13141 22900 P -t -0.9416 1.1517 0.1090 289.4 78.3 -
62 26 3869 Aug 05 20:50:37 13375 23123 Nx -t -1.0214 1.0036 -0.0359 273.5 - -
63 27 3887 Aug 17 03:38:28 13612 23346 N -t -1.0991 0.8598 -0.1770 256.0 - -
64 28 3905 Aug 28 10:28:24 13851 23569 N -t -1.1756 0.7182 -0.3162 236.5 - -
65 29 3923 Sep 08 17:23:24 14091 23792 N -t -1.2485 0.5834 -0.4492 215.3 - -
66 30 3941 Sep 19 00:23:25 14334 24015 N -t -1.3179 0.4554 -0.5757 191.9 - -
67 31 3959 Sep 30 07:31:21 14579 24238 N -t -1.3814 0.3384 -0.6916 166.7 - -
68 32 3977 Oct 10 14:46:54 14826 24461 N -t -1.4394 0.2314 -0.7978 138.7 - -
69 33 3995 Oct 21 22:10:18 15075 24684 N -t -1.4918 0.1351 -0.8936 106.6 - -
70 34 4013 Nov 01 05:42:44 15326 24907 N -t -1.5375 0.0511 -0.9773 65.8 - -
[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)"
