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 5 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -2455 Dec 22. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -1084 Mar 24. The total duration of Saros series 5 is 1370.29 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2455 Dec 22 12:44:08 TD
Last Eclipse = -1084 Mar 24 07:28:36 TD
Duration of Saros 5 = 1370.29 Years
Saros 5 is composed of 77 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 5 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 77 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 33 | 42.9% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 19.5% |
| Total | T | 29 | 37.7% |
The 77 lunar eclipses in Saros 5 occur in the order of 11N 7P 29T 8P 22N which corresponds to:
11 Penumbral
7 Partial
29 Total
8 Partial
22 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 5 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1769 Feb 06 Duration = 01h39m50s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1625 May 04 Duration = 00h26m58s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2148 Jun 23 Duration = 03h18m36s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2256 Apr 19 Duration = 00h35m21s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2274 Apr 09 Duration = 04h25m34s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2455 Dec 22 Duration = 00h32m40s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 5 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2148 Jun 23 Magnitude = 0.9507
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2256 Apr 19 Magnitude = 0.0216
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 5 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 -38 -2455 Dec 22 12:44:08 58184 -55090 N t- -1.5786 0.0109 -1.0874 32.7 - -
02 -37 -2436 Jan 02 20:26:57 57694 -54867 N t- -1.5597 0.0435 -1.0507 64.8 - -
03 -36 -2418 Jan 13 04:03:30 57206 -54644 N t- -1.5353 0.0859 -1.0037 90.6 - -
04 -35 -2400 Jan 24 11:30:28 56720 -54421 N t- -1.5025 0.1435 -0.9410 116.2 - -
05 -34 -2382 Feb 03 18:50:33 56236 -54198 N t- -1.4635 0.2125 -0.8666 140.1 - -
06 -33 -2364 Feb 15 01:59:32 55754 -53975 N t- -1.4145 0.2995 -0.7740 164.5 - -
07 -32 -2346 Feb 25 09:02:38 55274 -53752 N t- -1.3597 0.3971 -0.6708 187.0 - -
08 -31 -2328 Mar 07 15:56:03 54797 -53529 N t- -1.2962 0.5109 -0.5515 209.1 - -
09 -30 -2310 Mar 18 22:44:38 54321 -53306 N t- -1.2277 0.6339 -0.4230 229.4 - -
10 -29 -2292 Mar 29 05:25:36 53848 -53083 N t- -1.1517 0.7708 -0.2809 248.6 - -
11 -28 -2274 Apr 09 12:04:37 53376 -52860 N t- -1.0729 0.9128 -0.1340 265.6 - -
12 -27 -2256 Apr 19 18:39:13 52907 -52637 P t- -0.9893 1.0640 0.0216 281.1 35.4 -
13 -26 -2238 May 01 01:12:56 52440 -52414 P t- -0.9036 1.2191 0.1809 294.7 99.7 -
14 -25 -2220 May 11 07:46:30 51974 -52191 P t- -0.8168 1.3767 0.3419 306.4 133.4 -
15 -24 -2202 May 22 14:22:31 51511 -51968 P t- -0.7309 1.5327 0.5010 316.2 157.1 -
16 -23 -2184 Jun 01 21:02:03 51050 -51745 P t- -0.6465 1.6863 0.6572 324.3 174.9 -
17 -22 -2166 Jun 13 03:45:58 50591 -51522 P t- -0.5646 1.8356 0.8086 330.7 188.5 -
18 -21 -2148 Jun 23 10:37:15 50134 -51299 P t- -0.4876 1.9761 0.9507 335.6 198.6 -
19 -20 -2130 Jul 04 17:35:59 49679 -51076 T h- -0.4158 2.1073 1.0831 339.2 206.1 44.8
20 -19 -2112 Jul 15 00:43:13 49227 -50853 T a- -0.3499 2.2278 1.2044 341.7 211.5 67.4
21 -18 -2094 Jul 26 07:59:58 48776 -50630 T p- -0.2907 2.3362 1.3133 343.2 215.2 80.0
22 -17 -2076 Aug 05 15:27:39 48327 -50407 T- p- -0.2394 2.4302 1.4075 344.0 217.6 87.8
23 -16 -2058 Aug 16 23:06:02 47881 -50184 T- p- -0.1962 2.5094 1.4868 344.1 219.0 92.7
24 -15 -2040 Aug 27 06:54:28 47436 -49961 T- p- -0.1603 2.5751 1.5526 343.9 219.7 95.7
25 -14 -2022 Sep 07 14:53:54 46994 -49738 T- p- -0.1327 2.6257 1.6033 343.3 219.9 97.4
26 -13 -2004 Sep 17 23:03:26 46553 -49515 T- p- -0.1126 2.6626 1.6404 342.6 219.7 98.3
27 -12 -1986 Sep 29 07:21:46 46115 -49292 T- p- -0.0990 2.6872 1.6656 341.6 219.4 98.8
28 -11 -1968 Oct 09 15:47:22 45679 -49069 T- p- -0.0907 2.7019 1.6812 340.6 218.9 98.9
29 -10 -1950 Oct 21 00:19:31 45245 -48846 T- p- -0.0873 2.7076 1.6883 339.5 218.4 98.8
30 -09 -1932 Oct 31 08:56:42 44813 -48623 T- p- -0.0872 2.7067 1.6892 338.3 217.8 98.6
31 -08 -1914 Nov 11 17:35:59 44383 -48400 T- p- -0.0882 2.7036 1.6887 337.1 217.2 98.4
32 -07 -1896 Nov 22 02:17:20 43955 -48177 T- p- -0.0902 2.6984 1.6864 335.8 216.7 98.2
33 -06 -1878 Dec 03 10:57:29 43529 -47954 T- p- -0.0903 2.6964 1.6881 334.5 216.2 98.1
34 -05 -1860 Dec 13 19:36:06 43105 -47731 T- p- -0.0887 2.6973 1.6930 333.3 215.8 98.1
35 -04 -1842 Dec 25 04:09:24 42683 -47508 T- p- -0.0818 2.7076 1.7080 332.0 215.5 98.3
36 -03 -1823 Jan 04 12:39:16 42264 -47285 T- p- -0.0714 2.7242 1.7296 330.8 215.3 98.7
37 -02 -1805 Jan 15 21:02:10 41846 -47062 T- pp -0.0540 2.7535 1.7642 329.6 215.1 99.2
38 -01 -1787 Jan 26 05:18:27 41431 -46839 T- pp -0.0306 2.7937 1.8099 328.4 215.0 99.6
39 00 -1769 Feb 06 13:26:34 41017 -46616 T+ pp 0.0004 2.8463 1.8680 327.1 214.7 99.8
40 01 -1751 Feb 16 21:28:04 40606 -46393 T+ pp 0.0376 2.7753 1.8025 325.7 214.3 99.5
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 02 -1733 Feb 28 05:21:35 40197 -46170 T+ pp 0.0822 2.6907 1.7232 324.1 213.4 98.4
42 03 -1715 Mar 10 13:07:40 39789 -45947 T+ pp 0.1337 2.5937 1.6313 322.2 212.0 95.9
43 04 -1697 Mar 21 20:47:23 39384 -45724 T+ -p 0.1911 2.4861 1.5283 319.9 209.8 91.6
44 05 -1679 Apr 01 04:21:26 38981 -45501 T+ -p 0.2536 2.3692 1.4156 317.0 206.6 84.8
45 06 -1661 Apr 12 11:50:29 38580 -45278 T -p 0.3207 2.2442 1.2942 313.4 202.3 74.4
46 07 -1643 Apr 22 19:15:48 38181 -45055 T -p 0.3916 2.1127 1.1658 309.2 196.7 58.2
47 08 -1625 May 04 02:38:48 37784 -44832 T -a 0.4646 1.9774 1.0329 304.1 189.6 27.0
48 09 -1607 May 14 10:00:50 37390 -44609 P -a 0.5388 1.8404 0.8976 298.3 180.8 -
49 10 -1589 May 25 17:21:52 36997 -44386 P -a 0.6141 1.7016 0.7599 291.6 170.1 -
50 11 -1571 Jun 05 00:45:31 36606 -44163 P -a 0.6874 1.5670 0.6255 284.3 157.6 -
51 12 -1553 Jun 16 08:10:54 36218 -43940 P -a 0.7593 1.4353 0.4935 276.2 142.8 -
52 13 -1535 Jun 26 15:41:38 35831 -43717 P -a 0.8271 1.3115 0.3686 267.8 125.6 -
53 14 -1517 Jul 07 23:15:38 35447 -43494 P -a 0.8922 1.1928 0.2484 258.8 104.9 -
54 15 -1499 Jul 18 06:57:33 35065 -43271 P -a 0.9507 1.0866 0.1400 250.0 79.9 -
55 16 -1481 Jul 29 14:44:44 34684 -43048 P -a 1.0048 0.9886 0.0393 241.2 42.9 -
56 17 -1463 Aug 08 22:40:18 34306 -42825 N -a 1.0519 0.9037 -0.0487 232.8 - -
57 18 -1445 Aug 20 06:42:31 33930 -42602 N -a 1.0937 0.8288 -0.1269 225.0 - -
58 19 -1427 Aug 30 14:54:15 33556 -42379 N -a 1.1275 0.7684 -0.1908 218.2 - -
59 20 -1409 Sep 10 23:12:59 33184 -42156 N -a 1.1554 0.7191 -0.2437 212.5 - -
60 21 -1391 Sep 21 07:39:42 32814 -41933 N -a 1.1767 0.6818 -0.2846 208.0 - -
61 22 -1373 Oct 02 16:13:15 32446 -41710 N -a 1.1924 0.6548 -0.3151 204.7 - -
62 23 -1355 Oct 13 00:53:43 32080 -41487 N -a 1.2025 0.6378 -0.3353 202.7 - -
63 24 -1337 Oct 24 09:38:41 31717 -41264 N -a 1.2089 0.6276 -0.3483 201.6 - -
64 25 -1319 Nov 03 18:27:26 31355 -41041 N -a 1.2122 0.6228 -0.3556 201.3 - -
65 26 -1301 Nov 15 03:18:13 30996 -40818 N -a 1.2137 0.6209 -0.3595 201.4 - -
66 27 -1283 Nov 25 12:10:19 30638 -40595 N -a 1.2144 0.6205 -0.3615 201.7 - -
67 28 -1265 Dec 06 21:00:15 30283 -40372 N -a 1.2168 0.6167 -0.3663 201.6 - -
68 29 -1247 Dec 17 05:48:19 29929 -40149 N -a 1.2207 0.6097 -0.3739 200.9 - -
69 30 -1229 Dec 28 14:31:03 29578 -39926 N -a 1.2290 0.5946 -0.3892 199.1 - -
70 31 -1210 Jan 07 23:08:43 29229 -39703 N -a 1.2411 0.5724 -0.4113 196.2 - -
71 32 -1192 Jan 19 07:37:48 28882 -39480 N -a 1.2601 0.5374 -0.4459 191.2 - -
72 33 -1174 Jan 29 16:00:00 28537 -39257 N -a 1.2843 0.4927 -0.4900 184.2 - -
73 34 -1156 Feb 10 00:12:32 28194 -39034 N -a 1.3162 0.4338 -0.5483 174.3 - -
74 35 -1138 Feb 20 08:15:50 27853 -38811 N -a 1.3550 0.3624 -0.6192 160.8 - -
75 36 -1120 Mar 02 16:08:53 27514 -38588 N -a 1.4014 0.2770 -0.7043 142.1 - -
76 37 -1102 Mar 13 23:53:16 27177 -38365 N -a 1.4542 0.1801 -0.8010 115.9 - -
77 38 -1084 Mar 24 07:28:36 26843 -38142 Ne -a 1.5136 0.0712 -0.9103 73.8 - -
[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)"
