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 12 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 -2360 May 28. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -1062 Jul 17. The total duration of Saros series 12 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2360 May 28 19:39:07 TD
Last Eclipse = -1062 Jul 17 08:48:57 TD
Duration of Saros 12 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 12 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 12 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 16 | 21.9% |
| Partial | P | 30 | 41.1% |
| Total | T | 27 | 37.0% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 12 occur in the order of 9N 22P 27T 8P 7N which corresponds to:
9 Penumbral
22 Partial
27 Total
8 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 12 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1693 Jul 04 Duration = 01h40m02s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1332 Feb 06 Duration = 00h18m13s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1314 Feb 16 Duration = 03h15m54s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2198 Sep 03 Duration = 00h15m31s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1170 May 13 Duration = 04h30m49s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -2360 May 28 Duration = 01h07m03s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 12 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1819 Apr 19 Magnitude = 0.9802
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2198 Sep 03 Magnitude = 0.0049
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 12 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 -2360 May 28 19:39:07 55640 -53922 Nb a- 1.5214 0.0575 -0.9250 67.0 - -
02 -36 -2342 Jun 09 02:46:57 55161 -53699 N a- 1.4444 0.1977 -0.7826 122.3 - -
03 -35 -2324 Jun 19 10:00:08 54684 -53476 N a- 1.3704 0.3327 -0.6461 156.1 - -
04 -34 -2306 Jun 30 17:20:50 54209 -53253 N a- 1.3012 0.4591 -0.5187 180.5 - -
05 -33 -2288 Jul 11 00:48:59 53735 -53030 N a- 1.2372 0.5763 -0.4010 199.3 - -
06 -32 -2270 Jul 22 08:25:15 53265 -52807 N a- 1.1790 0.6830 -0.2941 214.1 - -
07 -31 -2252 Aug 01 16:10:54 52796 -52584 N a- 1.1275 0.7776 -0.1998 225.7 - -
08 -30 -2234 Aug 13 00:06:02 52329 -52361 N a- 1.0830 0.8595 -0.1184 234.7 - -
09 -29 -2216 Aug 23 08:10:11 51864 -52138 N a- 1.0455 0.9287 -0.0499 241.6 - -
10 -28 -2198 Sep 03 16:23:59 51402 -51915 P a- 1.0154 0.9843 0.0049 246.7 15.5 -
11 -27 -2180 Sep 14 00:46:45 50941 -51692 P a- 0.9923 1.0271 0.0470 250.4 47.6 -
12 -26 -2162 Sep 25 09:18:14 50482 -51469 P a- 0.9759 1.0574 0.0767 252.7 60.5 -
13 -25 -2144 Oct 05 17:55:34 50026 -51246 P a- 0.9639 1.0797 0.0988 254.3 68.3 -
14 -24 -2126 Oct 17 02:39:57 49572 -51023 P a- 0.9573 1.0917 0.1107 254.9 72.0 -
15 -23 -2108 Oct 27 11:28:22 49119 -50800 P a- 0.9540 1.0975 0.1170 255.0 73.9 -
16 -22 -2090 Nov 07 20:20:09 48669 -50577 P a- 0.9531 1.0988 0.1192 254.7 74.4 -
17 -21 -2072 Nov 18 05:12:06 48221 -50354 P a- 0.9521 1.0999 0.1216 254.4 75.1 -
18 -20 -2054 Nov 29 14:04:15 47775 -50131 P a- 0.9512 1.1006 0.1242 254.0 75.7 -
19 -19 -2036 Dec 09 22:54:07 47331 -49908 P a- 0.9483 1.1049 0.1308 254.0 77.6 -
20 -18 -2018 Dec 21 07:39:45 46889 -49685 P a- 0.9420 1.1149 0.1436 254.5 81.1 -
21 -17 -2000 Dec 31 16:20:11 46449 -49462 P a- 0.9315 1.1327 0.1643 255.6 86.4 -
22 -16 -1981 Jan 12 00:54:10 46011 -49239 P a- 0.9159 1.1598 0.1947 257.5 93.6 -
23 -15 -1963 Jan 22 09:20:50 45576 -49016 P a- 0.8943 1.1977 0.2360 260.3 102.4 -
24 -14 -1945 Feb 02 17:38:57 45142 -48793 P a- 0.8659 1.2481 0.2898 263.9 112.6 -
25 -13 -1927 Feb 13 01:49:25 44710 -48570 P a- 0.8312 1.3100 0.3550 268.2 123.4 -
26 -12 -1909 Feb 24 09:51:39 44281 -48347 P a- 0.7901 1.3839 0.4319 273.1 134.6 -
27 -11 -1891 Mar 06 17:44:59 43853 -48124 P a- 0.7416 1.4715 0.5224 278.6 146.0 -
28 -10 -1873 Mar 18 01:31:20 43428 -47901 P a- 0.6873 1.5699 0.6231 284.3 157.1 -
29 -09 -1855 Mar 28 09:10:38 43005 -47678 P a- 0.6272 1.6793 0.7344 290.1 167.6 -
30 -08 -1837 Apr 08 16:45:03 42583 -47455 P a- 0.5632 1.7961 0.8525 295.7 177.1 -
31 -07 -1819 Apr 19 00:12:57 42164 -47232 P a- 0.4938 1.9230 0.9802 301.1 185.9 -
32 -06 -1801 Apr 30 07:38:52 41747 -47009 T a- 0.4228 2.0532 1.1104 306.0 193.4 48.2
33 -05 -1783 May 10 15:01:12 41332 -46786 T p- 0.3488 2.1895 1.2460 310.4 199.8 69.0
34 -04 -1765 May 21 22:22:53 40919 -46563 T p- 0.2745 2.3263 1.3816 314.1 204.9 82.1
35 -03 -1747 Jun 01 05:43:31 40508 -46340 T+ p- 0.1997 2.4646 1.5178 317.2 208.9 91.0
36 -02 -1729 Jun 12 13:06:26 40100 -46117 T+ pp 0.1272 2.5991 1.6496 319.6 211.6 96.4
37 -01 -1711 Jun 22 20:31:26 39693 -45894 T+ pp 0.0568 2.7299 1.7771 321.4 213.2 99.3
38 00 -1693 Jul 04 03:59:35 39288 -45671 T- pp -0.0105 2.8169 1.8602 322.6 213.8 100.0
39 01 -1675 Jul 14 11:32:56 38886 -45448 T- pp -0.0728 2.7048 1.7436 323.4 213.6 98.9
40 02 -1657 Jul 25 19:11:47 38485 -45225 T- -p -0.1299 2.6024 1.6363 323.8 212.7 96.3
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 -1639 Aug 05 02:57:27 38087 -45002 T- -p -0.1808 2.5119 1.5404 324.0 211.4 92.5
42 04 -1621 Aug 16 10:49:00 37690 -44779 T- -p -0.2260 2.4316 1.4546 324.0 209.8 87.9
43 05 -1603 Aug 26 18:49:14 37296 -44556 T- -p -0.2636 2.3656 1.3829 324.1 208.1 83.0
44 06 -1585 Sep 07 02:56:13 36904 -44333 T -p -0.2951 2.3107 1.3223 324.3 206.6 78.0
45 07 -1567 Sep 17 11:11:15 36514 -44110 T -p -0.3191 2.2694 1.2754 324.7 205.3 73.4
46 08 -1549 Sep 28 19:32:38 36126 -43887 T -p -0.3374 2.2385 1.2390 325.3 204.3 69.3
47 09 -1531 Oct 09 04:01:25 35740 -43664 T -p -0.3490 2.2199 1.2154 326.1 203.8 66.4
48 10 -1513 Oct 20 12:34:23 35356 -43441 T -p -0.3567 2.2081 1.1989 327.1 203.5 64.3
49 11 -1495 Oct 30 21:11:11 34974 -43218 T -p -0.3606 2.2030 1.1896 328.2 203.6 63.1
50 12 -1477 Nov 11 05:49:58 34594 -42995 T -p -0.3623 2.2017 1.1846 329.4 203.9 62.5
51 13 -1459 Nov 21 14:30:00 34217 -42772 T -p -0.3620 2.2039 1.1838 330.7 204.4 62.5
52 14 -1441 Dec 02 23:07:29 33841 -42549 T -p -0.3633 2.2027 1.1801 331.8 204.8 62.1
53 15 -1423 Dec 13 07:42:22 33467 -42326 T -a -0.3659 2.1989 1.1743 332.9 205.1 61.4
54 16 -1405 Dec 24 16:11:25 33096 -42103 T -a -0.3726 2.1874 1.1615 333.7 205.1 59.5
55 17 -1386 Jan 04 00:35:26 32726 -41880 T -a -0.3826 2.1695 1.1427 334.2 204.8 56.4
56 18 -1368 Jan 15 08:49:30 32359 -41657 T -a -0.3997 2.1384 1.1110 334.4 203.8 50.4
57 19 -1350 Jan 25 16:56:22 31994 -41434 T -a -0.4219 2.0978 1.0701 334.1 202.3 40.7
58 20 -1332 Feb 06 00:51:45 31631 -41211 T -a -0.4527 2.0412 1.0135 333.2 199.6 18.2
59 21 -1314 Feb 16 08:38:47 31269 -40988 P -a -0.4896 1.9736 0.9459 331.7 195.9 -
60 22 -1296 Feb 27 16:13:13 30910 -40765 P -a -0.5358 1.8888 0.8609 329.3 190.4 -
61 23 -1278 Mar 09 23:39:27 30553 -40542 P -h -0.5879 1.7933 0.7652 325.9 183.1 -
62 24 -1260 Mar 20 06:54:02 30199 -40319 P -h -0.6485 1.6823 0.6537 321.2 173.0 -
63 25 -1242 Mar 31 14:00:14 29846 -40096 P -t -0.7151 1.5606 0.5313 315.1 159.7 -
64 26 -1224 Apr 10 20:56:55 29495 -39873 P -t -0.7884 1.4266 0.3962 307.1 141.3 -
65 27 -1206 Apr 22 03:47:23 29146 -39650 P -t -0.8657 1.2855 0.2536 297.4 115.8 -
66 28 -1188 May 02 10:31:21 28800 -39427 P -t -0.9471 1.1372 0.1032 285.4 75.7 -
67 29 -1170 May 13 17:10:03 28455 -39204 N -t -1.0314 0.9838 -0.0526 270.8 - -
68 30 -1152 May 23 23:45:49 28113 -38981 N -t -1.1169 0.8284 -0.2110 253.5 - -
69 31 -1134 Jun 04 06:19:42 27772 -38758 N -t -1.2027 0.6727 -0.3701 232.9 - -
70 32 -1116 Jun 14 12:53:10 27434 -38535 N -t -1.2874 0.5192 -0.5275 208.5 - -
71 33 -1098 Jun 25 19:27:54 27098 -38312 N -t -1.3698 0.3702 -0.6808 179.2 - -
72 34 -1080 Jul 06 02:06:02 26763 -38089 N -t -1.4482 0.2286 -0.8271 143.1 - -
73 35 -1062 Jul 17 08:48:57 26431 -37866 Ne -t -1.5218 0.0961 -0.9646 94.2 - -
[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)"
