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 6 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -2624 Aug 04. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -1091 Feb 10. The total duration of Saros series 6 is 1532.56 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2624 Aug 04 09:59:32 TD
Last Eclipse = -1091 Feb 10 07:57:27 TD
Duration of Saros 6 = 1532.56 Years
Saros 6 is composed of 86 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 6 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 86 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 43 | 50.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 16.3% |
| Total | T | 29 | 33.7% |
The 86 lunar eclipses in Saros 6 occur in the order of 22N 8P 29T 6P 21N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
8 Partial
29 Total
6 Partial
21 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 6 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1704 Feb 08 Duration = 01h41m03s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1578 Apr 24 Duration = 00h26m07s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1560 May 05 Duration = 03h11m53s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2227 Mar 31 Duration = 00h53m55s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1452 Jul 08 Duration = 04h34m18s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2624 Aug 04 Duration = 01h05m09s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 6 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2101 Jun 15 Magnitude = 0.9847
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2227 Mar 31 Magnitude = 0.0622
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 6 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 -50 -2624 Aug 04 09:59:32 62889 -57185 N a- 1.5278 0.0539 -0.9446 65.1 - -
02 -49 -2606 Aug 15 17:51:27 62380 -56962 N a- 1.4854 0.1316 -0.8669 100.8 - -
03 -48 -2588 Aug 26 01:54:20 61872 -56739 N a- 1.4509 0.1949 -0.8038 121.6 - -
04 -47 -2570 Sep 06 10:06:35 61367 -56516 N a- 1.4234 0.2454 -0.7534 135.4 - -
05 -46 -2552 Sep 16 18:28:46 60863 -56293 N a- 1.4030 0.2829 -0.7159 144.5 - -
06 -45 -2534 Sep 28 02:57:27 60362 -56070 N a- 1.3872 0.3117 -0.6868 150.8 - -
07 -44 -2516 Oct 08 11:34:36 59863 -55847 N a- 1.3778 0.3287 -0.6692 154.2 - -
08 -43 -2498 Oct 19 20:16:08 59366 -55624 N a- 1.3717 0.3394 -0.6574 156.1 - -
09 -42 -2480 Oct 30 05:02:31 58871 -55401 N a- 1.3691 0.3434 -0.6519 156.6 - -
10 -41 -2462 Nov 10 13:49:33 58378 -55178 N a- 1.3669 0.3464 -0.6468 156.8 - -
11 -40 -2444 Nov 20 22:38:02 57887 -54955 N a- 1.3654 0.3478 -0.6428 156.7 - -
12 -39 -2426 Dec 02 07:24:11 57398 -54732 N a- 1.3619 0.3526 -0.6349 157.3 - -
13 -38 -2408 Dec 12 16:07:36 56911 -54509 N a- 1.3560 0.3616 -0.6223 158.7 - -
14 -37 -2390 Dec 24 00:46:07 56427 -54286 N a- 1.3461 0.3779 -0.6021 161.5 - -
15 -36 -2371 Jan 03 09:19:41 55944 -54063 N a- 1.3321 0.4014 -0.5744 165.7 - -
16 -35 -2353 Jan 14 17:45:27 55464 -53840 N a- 1.3116 0.4368 -0.5344 171.8 - -
17 -34 -2335 Jan 25 02:04:18 54985 -53617 N a- 1.2850 0.4833 -0.4834 179.5 - -
18 -33 -2317 Feb 05 10:14:54 54509 -53394 N a- 1.2517 0.5420 -0.4202 188.5 - -
19 -32 -2299 Feb 15 18:18:49 54034 -53171 N a- 1.2129 0.6110 -0.3468 198.4 - -
20 -31 -2281 Feb 27 02:13:09 53562 -52948 N a- 1.1662 0.6948 -0.2589 209.4 - -
21 -30 -2263 Mar 09 10:01:40 53092 -52725 N a- 1.1144 0.7879 -0.1620 220.5 - -
22 -29 -2245 Mar 20 17:42:16 52624 -52502 N a- 1.0558 0.8936 -0.0530 231.9 - -
23 -28 -2227 Mar 31 01:18:42 52158 -52279 P a- 0.9938 1.0060 0.0622 242.8 53.9 -
24 -27 -2209 Apr 11 08:47:51 51694 -52056 P a- 0.9258 1.1298 0.1882 253.6 92.1 -
25 -26 -2191 Apr 21 16:15:19 51232 -51833 P a- 0.8562 1.2566 0.3166 263.5 117.3 -
26 -25 -2173 May 02 23:38:28 50772 -51610 P a- 0.7827 1.3910 0.4518 272.9 137.4 -
27 -24 -2155 May 13 07:01:30 50314 -51387 P a- 0.7093 1.5257 0.5867 281.3 153.3 -
28 -23 -2137 May 24 14:23:16 49859 -51164 P a- 0.6346 1.6630 0.7235 288.8 166.6 -
29 -22 -2119 Jun 03 21:47:39 49405 -50941 P a- 0.5621 1.7967 0.8559 295.4 177.3 -
30 -21 -2101 Jun 15 05:14:10 48953 -50718 P a- 0.4914 1.9274 0.9847 301.0 186.0 -
31 -20 -2083 Jun 25 12:44:10 48504 -50495 T a- 0.4237 2.0529 1.1077 305.8 193.0 47.6
32 -19 -2065 Jul 06 20:19:17 48057 -50272 T p- 0.3603 2.1707 1.2223 309.9 198.5 66.0
33 -18 -2047 Jul 17 04:00:05 47611 -50049 T p- 0.3018 2.2800 1.3280 313.2 202.7 77.3
34 -17 -2029 Jul 28 11:47:53 47168 -49826 T+ p- 0.2495 2.3780 1.4219 316.0 205.9 84.8
35 -16 -2011 Aug 07 19:42:16 46727 -49603 T+ p- 0.2030 2.4656 1.5050 318.3 208.2 89.9
36 -15 -1993 Aug 19 03:45:11 46288 -49380 T+ p- 0.1639 2.5396 1.5744 320.2 209.8 93.2
37 -14 -1975 Aug 29 11:55:30 45851 -49157 T+ p- 0.1314 2.6018 1.6318 321.8 211.0 95.3
38 -13 -1957 Sep 09 20:13:35 45416 -48934 T+ pp 0.1059 2.6510 1.6762 323.3 211.9 96.6
39 -12 -1939 Sep 20 04:38:42 44983 -48711 T+ pp 0.0866 2.6887 1.7092 324.6 212.5 97.4
40 -11 -1921 Oct 01 13:10:59 44552 -48488 T+ pp 0.0741 2.7140 1.7300 325.8 213.0 97.9
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 -10 -1903 Oct 11 21:48:28 44123 -48265 T+ pp 0.0661 2.7307 1.7426 326.9 213.4 98.1
42 -09 -1885 Oct 23 06:30:03 43697 -48042 T+ pp 0.0620 2.7402 1.7483 328.0 213.8 98.3
43 -08 -1867 Nov 02 15:14:41 43272 -47819 T+ pp 0.0610 2.7436 1.7485 329.1 214.2 98.4
44 -07 -1849 Nov 14 00:01:20 42850 -47596 T+ pp 0.0623 2.7426 1.7447 330.1 214.6 98.5
45 -06 -1831 Nov 24 08:46:54 42429 -47373 T+ pp 0.0631 2.7421 1.7421 331.1 215.0 98.6
46 -05 -1813 Dec 05 17:30:53 42011 -47150 T+ pp 0.0633 2.7428 1.7410 332.1 215.5 98.7
47 -04 -1795 Dec 16 02:10:11 41594 -46927 T+ pp 0.0600 2.7493 1.7464 333.1 216.1 99.0
48 -03 -1777 Dec 27 10:45:26 41180 -46704 T+ pp 0.0540 2.7608 1.7571 334.1 216.7 99.4
49 -02 -1758 Jan 06 19:11:58 40768 -46481 T+ pp 0.0416 2.7837 1.7796 335.2 217.4 100.0
50 -01 -1740 Jan 18 03:32:07 40358 -46258 T+ pp 0.0246 2.8149 1.8106 336.3 218.2 100.5
51 00 -1722 Jan 28 11:41:42 39950 -46035 T- pp -0.0002 2.8598 1.8555 337.3 218.9 101.0
52 01 -1704 Feb 08 19:42:44 39544 -45812 T- pp -0.0313 2.8026 1.7983 338.3 219.5 101.1
53 02 -1686 Feb 19 03:31:51 39140 -45589 T- pp -0.0716 2.7287 1.7245 339.2 219.8 100.4
54 03 -1668 Mar 01 11:12:32 38738 -45366 T- -p -0.1178 2.6441 1.6397 339.7 219.6 98.6
55 04 -1650 Mar 12 18:42:09 38339 -45143 T- -p -0.1720 2.5447 1.5399 339.8 218.6 95.1
56 05 -1632 Mar 23 02:02:37 37941 -44920 T- -p -0.2329 2.4335 1.4279 339.3 216.6 88.9
57 06 -1614 Apr 03 09:13:48 37545 -44697 T -a -0.3005 2.3100 1.3032 338.0 213.2 78.6
58 07 -1596 Apr 13 16:18:14 37152 -44474 T -a -0.3728 2.1781 1.1697 335.9 208.2 61.8
59 08 -1578 Apr 24 23:15:47 36760 -44251 T -h -0.4497 2.0381 1.0276 332.6 201.3 26.1
60 09 -1560 May 05 06:07:29 36371 -44028 P -h -0.5302 1.8916 0.8785 328.2 191.9 -
61 10 -1542 May 16 12:55:45 35984 -43805 P -h -0.6125 1.7422 0.7259 322.4 179.7 -
62 11 -1524 May 26 19:41:44 35598 -43582 P -t -0.6958 1.5913 0.5712 315.3 164.1 -
63 12 -1506 Jun 07 02:26:22 35215 -43359 P -t -0.7790 1.4408 0.4165 306.8 144.0 -
64 13 -1488 Jun 17 09:11:54 34834 -43136 P -t -0.8603 1.2940 0.2650 297.1 117.9 -
65 14 -1470 Jun 28 15:59:33 34455 -42913 P -t -0.9386 1.1529 0.1187 286.1 80.8 -
66 15 -1452 Jul 08 22:51:31 34078 -42690 Nx -t -1.0123 1.0205 -0.0194 274.3 - -
67 16 -1434 Jul 20 05:46:19 33703 -42467 N -t -1.0826 0.8945 -0.1512 261.4 - -
68 17 -1416 Jul 30 12:48:27 33330 -42244 N -t -1.1458 0.7817 -0.2702 248.3 - -
69 18 -1398 Aug 10 19:56:11 32960 -42021 N -t -1.2034 0.6790 -0.3790 234.8 - -
70 19 -1380 Aug 21 03:12:46 32591 -41798 N -t -1.2529 0.5914 -0.4728 221.9 - -
71 20 -1362 Sep 01 10:35:34 32225 -41575 N -t -1.2963 0.5148 -0.5556 209.4 - -
72 21 -1344 Sep 11 18:08:19 31860 -41352 N -t -1.3312 0.4538 -0.6224 198.4 - -
73 22 -1326 Sep 23 01:47:49 31498 -41129 N -t -1.3598 0.4040 -0.6777 188.8 - -
74 23 -1308 Oct 03 09:35:09 31137 -40906 N -t -1.3814 0.3669 -0.7199 181.1 - -
75 24 -1290 Oct 14 17:28:23 30779 -40683 N -t -1.3978 0.3391 -0.7522 175.0 - -
76 25 -1272 Oct 25 01:27:54 30423 -40460 N -t -1.4083 0.3217 -0.7733 171.2 - -
77 26 -1254 Nov 05 09:30:33 30069 -40237 N -t -1.4162 0.3087 -0.7893 168.3 - -
78 27 -1236 Nov 15 17:35:03 29716 -40014 N -t -1.4221 0.2990 -0.8011 166.1 - -
79 28 -1218 Nov 27 01:40:07 29366 -39791 N -t -1.4270 0.2907 -0.8108 164.2 - -
80 29 -1200 Dec 07 09:44:03 29019 -39568 N -t -1.4320 0.2818 -0.8202 162.0 - -
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
81 30 -1182 Dec 18 17:43:32 28673 -39345 N -t -1.4403 0.2665 -0.8352 157.9 - -
82 31 -1164 Dec 29 01:38:08 28329 -39122 N -t -1.4517 0.2449 -0.8558 151.8 - -
83 32 -1145 Jan 09 09:25:25 27987 -38899 N -t -1.4686 0.2130 -0.8859 142.0 - -
84 33 -1127 Jan 19 17:05:49 27648 -38676 N -t -1.4904 0.1719 -0.9248 128.0 - -
85 34 -1109 Jan 31 00:35:41 27310 -38453 N -t -1.5198 0.1166 -0.9773 105.9 - -
86 35 -1091 Feb 10 07:57:27 26974 -38230 Ne -t -1.5551 0.0501 -1.0406 69.9 - -
[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)"
