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 15 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 -2219 Apr 30. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0921 Jun 19. The total duration of Saros series 15 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2219 Apr 30 17:06:12 TD
Last Eclipse = -0921 Jun 19 05:40:06 TD
Duration of Saros 15 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 15 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 15 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 14 | 19.2% |
| Partial | P | 44 | 60.3% |
| Total | T | 15 | 20.5% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 15 occur in the order of 7N 23P 15T 21P 7N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
23 Partial
15 Total
21 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 15 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1552 Jun 05 Duration = 01h40m10s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1678 Mar 21 Duration = 00h16m40s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1408 Aug 30 Duration = 03h10m38s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2093 Jul 15 Duration = 00h34m56s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1029 Apr 15 Duration = 04h29m29s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0921 Jun 19 Duration = 01h00m17s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 15 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1408 Aug 30 Magnitude = 0.9667
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -2093 Jul 15 Magnitude = 0.0249
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 15 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 -2219 Apr 30 17:06:12 51950 -52179 Nb a- -1.5240 0.0518 -0.9288 63.5 - -
02 -36 -2201 May 12 00:10:45 51486 -51956 N a- -1.4436 0.1974 -0.7796 121.9 - -
03 -35 -2183 May 22 07:17:11 51025 -51733 N a- -1.3637 0.3424 -0.6315 157.8 - -
04 -34 -2165 Jun 02 14:27:01 50567 -51510 N a- -1.2856 0.4845 -0.4870 184.5 - -
05 -33 -2147 Jun 12 21:40:12 50110 -51287 N a- -1.2093 0.6237 -0.3460 205.8 - -
06 -32 -2129 Jun 24 04:59:49 49655 -51064 N a- -1.1373 0.7553 -0.2133 222.8 - -
07 -31 -2111 Jul 04 12:25:11 49202 -50841 N a- -1.0693 0.8798 -0.0882 236.7 - -
08 -30 -2093 Jul 15 19:59:27 48752 -50618 P a- -1.0077 0.9928 0.0249 247.7 34.9 -
09 -29 -2075 Jul 26 03:40:26 48303 -50395 P a- -0.9509 1.0971 0.1288 256.9 78.2 -
10 -28 -2057 Aug 06 11:32:01 47857 -50172 P a- -0.9025 1.1862 0.2172 263.9 100.1 -
11 -27 -2039 Aug 16 19:31:49 47412 -49949 P a- -0.8605 1.2639 0.2939 269.5 114.9 -
12 -26 -2021 Aug 28 03:41:54 46970 -49726 P a- -0.8264 1.3269 0.3558 273.7 125.0 -
13 -25 -2003 Sep 07 12:00:10 46530 -49503 P a- -0.7988 1.3782 0.4059 276.9 132.2 -
14 -24 -1985 Sep 18 20:27:52 46092 -49280 P a- -0.7787 1.4156 0.4422 279.0 137.0 -
15 -23 -1967 Sep 29 05:02:47 45655 -49057 P a- -0.7646 1.4420 0.4676 280.3 140.1 -
16 -22 -1949 Oct 10 13:44:03 45221 -48834 P a- -0.7556 1.4589 0.4838 281.0 142.0 -
17 -21 -1931 Oct 20 22:30:56 44790 -48611 P a- -0.7511 1.4673 0.4918 281.2 142.8 -
18 -20 -1913 Nov 01 07:21:56 44360 -48388 P a- -0.7498 1.4698 0.4944 281.1 143.0 -
19 -19 -1895 Nov 11 16:15:10 43932 -48165 P a- -0.7504 1.4684 0.4935 280.7 142.7 -
20 -18 -1877 Nov 23 01:08:26 43506 -47942 P a- -0.7508 1.4671 0.4931 280.3 142.6 -
21 -17 -1859 Dec 03 10:00:51 43082 -47719 P a- -0.7507 1.4667 0.4942 280.0 142.6 -
22 -16 -1841 Dec 14 18:50:51 42661 -47496 P a- -0.7482 1.4702 0.4996 280.0 143.2 -
23 -15 -1823 Dec 25 03:35:55 42241 -47273 P a- -0.7416 1.4812 0.5128 280.4 144.8 -
24 -14 -1804 Jan 05 12:15:52 41824 -47050 P a- -0.7307 1.5000 0.5341 281.3 147.2 -
25 -13 -1786 Jan 15 20:48:49 41408 -46827 P a- -0.7139 1.5295 0.5663 282.9 150.9 -
26 -12 -1768 Jan 27 05:14:46 40995 -46604 P a- -0.6914 1.5693 0.6090 285.0 155.4 -
27 -11 -1750 Feb 06 13:31:39 40584 -46381 P a- -0.6613 1.6232 0.6656 287.8 161.1 -
28 -10 -1732 Feb 17 21:40:58 40175 -46158 P a- -0.6249 1.6885 0.7336 291.1 167.3 -
29 -09 -1714 Feb 28 05:41:40 39768 -45935 P a- -0.5815 1.7670 0.8145 294.9 174.1 -
30 -08 -1696 Mar 10 13:33:53 39363 -45712 P a- -0.5311 1.8583 0.9080 298.9 181.0 -
31 -07 -1678 Mar 21 21:18:27 38960 -45489 T a- -0.4746 1.9611 1.0125 303.1 187.8 16.7
32 -06 -1660 Apr 01 04:56:16 38559 -45266 T a- -0.4128 2.0739 1.1265 307.1 194.2 51.3
33 -05 -1642 Apr 12 12:28:33 38160 -45043 T p- -0.3465 2.1953 1.2485 311.0 200.0 69.3
34 -04 -1624 Apr 22 19:54:17 37763 -44820 T p- -0.2750 2.3265 1.3797 314.5 205.0 82.0
35 -03 -1606 May 04 03:17:23 37369 -44597 T- p- -0.2018 2.4612 1.5137 317.4 208.9 90.8
36 -02 -1588 May 14 10:37:01 36976 -44374 T- pp -0.1261 2.6008 1.6520 319.8 211.8 96.6
37 -01 -1570 May 25 17:56:21 36585 -44151 T- pp -0.0505 2.7404 1.7896 321.5 213.5 99.7
38 00 -1552 Jun 05 01:14:16 36197 -43928 T+ pp 0.0258 2.7871 1.8337 322.6 214.1 100.2
39 01 -1534 Jun 16 08:35:13 35811 -43705 T+ pp 0.0990 2.6545 1.6977 323.0 213.5 98.2
40 02 -1516 Jun 26 15:57:57 35426 -43482 T+ -p 0.1700 2.5263 1.5655 322.9 211.9 93.9
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 03 -1498 Jul 07 23:24:30 35044 -43259 T+ -p 0.2370 2.4055 1.4402 322.3 209.4 87.2
42 04 -1480 Jul 18 06:55:31 34664 -43036 T -p 0.2998 2.2930 1.3226 321.3 206.2 78.0
43 05 -1462 Jul 29 14:32:50 34286 -42813 T -a 0.3562 2.1921 1.2163 320.1 202.5 66.3
44 06 -1444 Aug 08 22:16:31 33910 -42590 T -a 0.4067 2.1024 1.1208 318.8 198.5 51.2
45 07 -1426 Aug 20 06:06:48 33536 -42367 T -a 0.4507 2.0246 1.0370 317.6 194.4 29.1
46 08 -1408 Aug 30 14:04:44 33164 -42144 P -a 0.4874 1.9603 0.9667 316.6 190.6 -
47 09 -1390 Sep 10 22:10:26 32794 -41921 P -a 0.5169 1.9094 0.9096 316.0 187.3 -
48 10 -1372 Sep 21 06:22:44 32426 -41698 P -a 0.5401 1.8697 0.8641 315.7 184.5 -
49 11 -1354 Oct 02 14:42:01 32061 -41475 P -a 0.5567 1.8421 0.8308 315.9 182.5 -
50 12 -1336 Oct 12 23:06:50 31697 -41252 P -a 0.5682 1.8237 0.8072 316.4 181.1 -
51 13 -1318 Oct 24 07:37:04 31336 -41029 P -a 0.5743 1.8149 0.7935 317.3 180.4 -
52 14 -1300 Nov 03 16:09:07 30976 -40806 P -a 0.5783 1.8097 0.7840 318.3 180.2 -
53 15 -1282 Nov 15 00:44:33 30619 -40583 P -a 0.5790 1.8104 0.7810 319.6 180.4 -
54 16 -1264 Nov 25 09:19:01 30264 -40360 P -a 0.5801 1.8098 0.7774 320.8 180.6 -
55 17 -1246 Dec 06 17:52:44 29910 -40137 P -a 0.5811 1.8093 0.7744 321.9 180.9 -
56 18 -1228 Dec 17 02:21:11 29559 -39914 P -a 0.5858 1.8015 0.7647 322.7 180.6 -
57 19 -1210 Dec 28 10:45:49 29210 -39691 P -a 0.5930 1.7890 0.7510 323.1 179.9 -
58 20 -1191 Jan 07 19:02:47 28863 -39468 P -a 0.6061 1.7654 0.7265 323.0 178.2 -
59 21 -1173 Jan 19 03:11:40 28518 -39245 P -a 0.6249 1.7311 0.6917 322.3 175.5 -
60 22 -1155 Jan 29 11:10:40 28175 -39022 P -a 0.6513 1.6829 0.6433 320.7 171.1 -
61 23 -1137 Feb 09 19:00:07 27835 -38799 P -a 0.6844 1.6220 0.5824 318.2 165.0 -
62 24 -1119 Feb 20 02:38:37 27496 -38576 P -h 0.7258 1.5461 0.5066 314.5 156.2 -
63 25 -1101 Mar 03 10:06:23 27159 -38353 P -h 0.7751 1.4556 0.4162 309.4 144.1 -
64 26 -1083 Mar 13 17:23:33 26825 -38130 P -t 0.8321 1.3510 0.3115 302.7 127.0 -
65 27 -1065 Mar 25 00:31:18 26492 -37907 P -t 0.8957 1.2345 0.1947 294.1 102.5 -
66 28 -1047 Apr 04 07:28:45 26162 -37684 P -t 0.9667 1.1045 0.0642 283.1 60.1 -
67 29 -1029 Apr 15 14:18:49 25833 -37461 N -t 1.0425 0.9658 -0.0755 269.5 - -
68 30 -1011 Apr 25 21:01:20 25507 -37238 N -t 1.1232 0.8185 -0.2241 252.7 - -
69 31 -0993 May 07 03:39:20 25183 -37015 N -t 1.2066 0.6663 -0.3781 232.3 - -
70 32 -0975 May 17 10:10:53 24861 -36792 N -t 1.2939 0.5073 -0.5393 206.5 - -
71 33 -0957 May 28 16:41:40 24541 -36569 N -t 1.3804 0.3499 -0.6993 174.6 - -
72 34 -0939 Jun 07 23:09:51 24223 -36346 N -t 1.4674 0.1917 -0.8606 131.5 - -
73 35 -0921 Jun 19 05:40:06 23907 -36123 Ne -t 1.5516 0.0389 -1.0168 60.3 - -
[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)"
