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 18 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 -2078 Apr 02. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0780 May 21. The total duration of Saros series 18 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2078 Apr 02 14:19:28 TD
Last Eclipse = -0780 May 21 02:57:48 TD
Duration of Saros 18 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 18 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 18 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 15 | 20.5% |
| Partial | P | 42 | 57.5% |
| Total | T | 16 | 21.9% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 18 occur in the order of 7N 21P 16T 21P 8N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
21 Partial
16 Total
21 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 18 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1411 May 07 Duration = 01h40m18s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1573 Jan 31 Duration = 00h04m10s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1285 Jul 23 Duration = 03h06m56s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0924 Feb 24 Duration = 00h49m00s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0906 Mar 07 Duration = 04h33m09s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0780 May 21 Duration = 01h01m03s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 18 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1591 Jan 19 Magnitude = 0.9565
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0924 Feb 24 Magnitude = 0.0425
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 18 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 -2078 Apr 02 14:19:28 48385 -50436 Nb a- 1.5173 0.0652 -0.9176 71.1 - -
02 -36 -2060 Apr 12 21:33:45 47939 -50213 N a- 1.4456 0.1941 -0.7837 120.8 - -
03 -35 -2042 Apr 24 04:44:09 47494 -49990 N a- 1.3694 0.3317 -0.6417 155.2 - -
04 -34 -2024 May 04 11:55:20 47051 -49767 N a- 1.2929 0.4702 -0.4993 181.7 - -
05 -33 -2006 May 15 19:04:52 46611 -49544 N a- 1.2140 0.6134 -0.3529 203.9 - -
06 -32 -1988 May 26 02:18:15 46172 -49321 N a- 1.1372 0.7530 -0.2107 222.0 - -
07 -31 -1970 Jun 06 09:32:50 45736 -49098 N a- 1.0603 0.8931 -0.0688 237.5 - -
08 -30 -1952 Jun 16 16:52:31 45301 -48875 P a- 0.9869 1.0272 0.0666 250.4 56.8 -
09 -29 -1934 Jun 28 00:16:33 44869 -48652 P a- 0.9163 1.1565 0.1964 261.2 95.6 -
10 -28 -1916 Jul 08 07:48:07 44438 -48429 P a- 0.8512 1.2758 0.3159 270.1 118.8 -
11 -27 -1898 Jul 19 15:26:32 44010 -48206 P a- 0.7913 1.3860 0.4256 277.4 135.4 -
12 -26 -1880 Jul 29 23:12:52 43584 -47983 P a- 0.7374 1.4853 0.5241 283.3 147.7 -
13 -25 -1862 Aug 10 07:08:20 43160 -47760 P a- 0.6905 1.5719 0.6095 287.9 156.9 -
14 -24 -1844 Aug 20 15:12:24 42738 -47537 P a- 0.6502 1.6467 0.6828 291.6 163.8 -
15 -23 -1826 Aug 31 23:25:39 42318 -47314 P a- 0.6173 1.7079 0.7424 294.4 168.9 -
16 -22 -1808 Sep 11 07:47:16 41900 -47091 P a- 0.5909 1.7571 0.7900 296.5 172.6 -
17 -21 -1790 Sep 22 16:17:48 41485 -46868 P a- 0.5716 1.7934 0.8246 297.9 175.1 -
18 -20 -1772 Oct 03 00:55:31 41071 -46645 P a- 0.5580 1.8191 0.8489 298.8 176.7 -
19 -19 -1754 Oct 14 09:39:21 40659 -46422 P a- 0.5493 1.8356 0.8642 299.4 177.7 -
20 -18 -1736 Oct 24 18:28:29 40250 -46199 P a- 0.5449 1.8441 0.8720 299.6 178.1 -
21 -17 -1718 Nov 05 03:21:21 39842 -45976 P a- 0.5439 1.8461 0.8736 299.5 178.1 -
22 -16 -1700 Nov 15 12:15:37 39437 -45753 P a- 0.5438 1.8462 0.8738 299.4 178.0 -
23 -15 -1682 Nov 26 21:09:36 39034 -45530 P a- 0.5436 1.8463 0.8744 299.3 178.0 -
24 -14 -1664 Dec 07 06:02:00 38632 -45307 P a- 0.5423 1.8481 0.8772 299.3 178.2 -
25 -13 -1646 Dec 18 14:51:43 38233 -45084 P a- 0.5392 1.8532 0.8837 299.4 178.7 -
26 -12 -1628 Dec 28 23:35:40 37836 -44861 P a- 0.5314 1.8666 0.8989 299.9 179.8 -
27 -11 -1609 Jan 09 08:14:15 37441 -44638 P a- 0.5196 1.8873 0.9216 300.7 181.4 -
28 -10 -1591 Jan 19 16:44:55 37048 -44415 P a- 0.5011 1.9200 0.9565 302.0 183.8 -
29 -09 -1573 Jan 31 01:09:05 36657 -44192 T a- 0.4776 1.9620 1.0008 303.6 186.7 4.2
30 -08 -1555 Feb 10 09:23:13 36268 -43969 T a- 0.4460 2.0188 1.0598 305.7 190.2 35.8
31 -07 -1537 Feb 21 17:30:36 35881 -43746 T p- 0.4091 2.0855 1.1286 308.0 194.0 51.6
32 -06 -1519 Mar 04 01:28:24 35497 -43523 T p- 0.3644 2.1666 1.2115 310.6 198.1 64.5
33 -05 -1501 Mar 15 09:18:51 35114 -43300 T p- 0.3139 2.2587 1.3050 313.2 202.1 75.2
34 -04 -1483 Mar 25 17:00:38 34734 -43077 T+ p- 0.2561 2.3640 1.4114 315.9 205.9 84.3
35 -03 -1465 Apr 06 00:36:24 34355 -42854 T+ p- 0.1939 2.4780 1.5260 318.3 209.2 91.4
36 -02 -1447 Apr 16 08:05:43 33979 -42631 T+ pp 0.1266 2.6014 1.6493 320.3 211.8 96.5
37 -01 -1429 Apr 27 15:29:33 33604 -42408 T+ pp 0.0554 2.7325 1.7798 321.9 213.6 99.5
38 00 -1411 May 07 22:49:37 33232 -42185 T- pp -0.0186 2.8007 1.8466 323.0 214.3 100.3
39 01 -1393 May 19 06:07:12 32862 -41962 T- pp -0.0942 2.6629 1.7068 323.3 213.8 98.6
40 02 -1375 May 29 13:23:23 32494 -41739 T- -p -0.1702 2.5247 1.5661 323.0 212.2 94.1
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 -1357 Jun 09 20:38:58 32128 -41516 T- -p -0.2460 2.3873 1.4253 322.0 209.3 86.4
42 04 -1339 Jun 20 03:56:14 31764 -41293 T -a -0.3197 2.2542 1.2883 320.4 205.3 74.8
43 05 -1321 Jul 01 11:15:59 31402 -41070 T -a -0.3907 2.1262 1.1557 318.2 200.1 57.6
44 06 -1303 Jul 11 18:38:55 31042 -40847 T -a -0.4582 2.0047 1.0292 315.6 193.9 26.0
45 07 -1285 Jul 23 02:07:14 30684 -40624 P -a -0.5207 1.8929 0.9119 312.6 186.9 -
46 08 -1267 Aug 02 09:41:15 30329 -40401 P -a -0.5775 1.7917 0.8047 309.6 179.4 -
47 09 -1249 Aug 13 17:22:52 29975 -40178 P -a -0.6275 1.7031 0.7100 306.6 171.7 -
48 10 -1231 Aug 24 01:10:06 29624 -39955 P -a -0.6720 1.6245 0.6251 303.8 163.8 -
49 11 -1213 Sep 04 09:06:12 29274 -39732 P -a -0.7085 1.5607 0.5550 301.5 156.6 -
50 12 -1195 Sep 14 17:08:26 28927 -39509 P -a -0.7393 1.5074 0.4954 299.6 149.7 -
51 13 -1177 Sep 26 01:18:55 28582 -39286 P -a -0.7625 1.4680 0.4499 298.4 144.1 -
52 14 -1159 Oct 06 09:34:25 28238 -39063 P -a -0.7807 1.4375 0.4136 297.6 139.4 -
53 15 -1141 Oct 17 17:56:55 27897 -38840 P -a -0.7925 1.4186 0.3893 297.6 136.1 -
54 16 -1123 Oct 28 02:22:32 27558 -38617 P -a -0.8009 1.4055 0.3714 297.9 133.7 -
55 17 -1105 Nov 08 10:51:41 27221 -38394 P -a -0.8056 1.3991 0.3607 298.7 132.4 -
56 18 -1087 Nov 18 19:21:32 26886 -38171 P -a -0.8090 1.3947 0.3526 299.5 131.4 -
57 19 -1069 Nov 30 03:51:49 26553 -37948 P -a -0.8109 1.3927 0.3477 300.5 131.0 -
58 20 -1051 Dec 10 12:18:49 26222 -37725 P -a -0.8150 1.3863 0.3390 301.1 129.9 -
59 21 -1033 Dec 21 20:42:05 25894 -37502 P -a -0.8215 1.3753 0.3263 301.3 128.0 -
60 22 -1014 Jan 01 04:59:21 25567 -37279 P -a -0.8320 1.3566 0.3064 300.9 124.8 -
61 23 -0996 Jan 12 13:10:30 25242 -37056 P -a -0.8466 1.3302 0.2793 299.7 120.0 -
62 24 -0978 Jan 22 21:11:35 24920 -36833 P -a -0.8686 1.2899 0.2388 297.4 112.0 -
63 25 -0960 Feb 03 05:04:24 24599 -36610 P -h -0.8965 1.2386 0.1876 294.0 100.3 -
64 26 -0942 Feb 13 12:45:43 24281 -36387 P -h -0.9330 1.1715 0.1207 288.9 81.4 -
65 27 -0924 Feb 24 20:18:14 23965 -36164 P -t -0.9758 1.0930 0.0425 282.2 49.0 -
66 28 -0906 Mar 07 03:37:51 23650 -35941 N -t -1.0277 0.9975 -0.0527 273.1 - -
67 29 -0888 Mar 17 10:49:04 23338 -35718 N -t -1.0855 0.8913 -0.1587 261.8 - -
68 30 -0870 Mar 28 17:48:55 23028 -35495 N -t -1.1513 0.7706 -0.2795 247.1 - -
69 31 -0852 Apr 08 00:40:39 22720 -35272 N -t -1.2226 0.6400 -0.4103 228.8 - -
70 32 -0834 Apr 19 07:23:02 22414 -35049 N -t -1.3001 0.4981 -0.5528 205.2 - -
71 33 -0816 Apr 29 13:59:50 22110 -34826 N -t -1.3808 0.3504 -0.7015 175.0 - -
72 34 -0798 May 10 20:30:55 21809 -34603 N -t -1.4648 0.1969 -0.8564 133.4 - -
73 35 -0780 May 21 02:57:48 21509 -34380 Ne -t -1.5509 0.0399 -1.0152 61.0 - -
[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)"
