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 73 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 -0378 May 16. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 0902 Jun 23. The total duration of Saros series 73 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0378 May 16 14:33:05 TD
Last Eclipse = 0902 Jun 23 19:56:14 TD
Duration of Saros 73 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 73 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 73 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 14 | 19.4% |
| Partial | P | 44 | 61.1% |
| Total | T | 14 | 19.4% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 73 occur in the order of 7N 23P 14T 21P 7N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
23 Partial
14 Total
21 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 73 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0271 Jun 10 Duration = 01h40m38s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0397 Aug 24 Duration = 00h30m31s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0415 Sep 05 Duration = 03h11m24s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0776 Apr 08 Duration = 00h40m38s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0794 Apr 20 Duration = 04h30m15s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0902 Jun 23 Duration = 01h01m11s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 73 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0145 Mar 26 Magnitude = 0.9730
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0776 Apr 08 Magnitude = 0.0286
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 73 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 -36 -0378 May 16 14:33:05 15119 -29408 Nb a- -1.4958 0.0966 -0.8704 84.9 - -
02 -35 -0360 May 26 21:48:05 14852 -29185 N a- -1.4185 0.2368 -0.7271 130.8 - -
03 -34 -0342 Jun 07 05:02:57 14591 -28962 N a- -1.3403 0.3790 -0.5822 162.8 - -
04 -33 -0324 Jun 17 12:21:15 14336 -28739 N a- -1.2642 0.5177 -0.4416 187.2 - -
05 -32 -0306 Jun 28 19:42:11 14087 -28516 N a- -1.1898 0.6536 -0.3044 206.9 - -
06 -31 -0288 Jul 09 03:08:49 13844 -28293 N a- -1.1192 0.7828 -0.1746 223.0 - -
07 -30 -0270 Jul 20 10:39:55 13605 -28070 N a- -1.0519 0.9063 -0.0510 236.4 - -
08 -29 -0252 Jul 30 18:19:20 13372 -27847 P a- -0.9909 1.0184 0.0607 247.1 53.8 -
09 -28 -0234 Aug 11 02:05:02 13143 -27624 P a- -0.9348 1.1217 0.1632 256.0 86.8 -
10 -27 -0216 Aug 21 09:59:23 12919 -27401 P a- -0.8856 1.2127 0.2529 263.2 106.5 -
11 -26 -0198 Sep 01 18:01:27 12700 -27178 P a- -0.8423 1.2928 0.3315 268.9 120.4 -
12 -25 -0180 Sep 12 02:13:27 12484 -26955 P a- -0.8069 1.3587 0.3957 273.4 130.1 -
13 -24 -0162 Sep 23 10:33:11 12273 -26732 P a- -0.7780 1.4126 0.4479 276.8 137.1 -
14 -23 -0144 Oct 03 19:01:15 12066 -26509 P a- -0.7556 1.4545 0.4880 279.3 142.1 -
15 -22 -0126 Oct 15 03:36:39 11862 -26286 P a- -0.7394 1.4852 0.5171 281.1 145.5 -
16 -21 -0108 Oct 25 12:19:09 11662 -26063 P a- -0.7287 1.5055 0.5360 282.2 147.6 -
17 -20 -0090 Nov 05 21:06:05 11465 -25840 P a- -0.7218 1.5186 0.5481 282.9 148.9 -
18 -19 -0072 Nov 16 05:57:20 11271 -25617 P a- -0.7185 1.5251 0.5538 283.2 149.4 -
19 -18 -0054 Nov 27 14:50:14 11080 -25394 P a- -0.7166 1.5288 0.5572 283.4 149.8 -
20 -17 -0036 Dec 07 23:44:48 10892 -25171 P a- -0.7161 1.5295 0.5581 283.4 149.9 -
21 -16 -0018 Dec 19 08:36:48 10707 -24948 P a- -0.7137 1.5337 0.5629 283.6 150.4 -
22 -15 0000 Dec 29 17:27:44 10524 -24725 P a- -0.7104 1.5392 0.5695 283.9 151.2 -
23 -14 0019 Jan 10 02:13:15 10343 -24502 P a- -0.7026 1.5528 0.5844 284.7 152.8 -
24 -13 0037 Jan 20 10:54:28 10164 -24279 P a- -0.6917 1.5720 0.6053 285.8 155.1 -
25 -12 0055 Jan 31 19:27:30 9987 -24056 P a- -0.6739 1.6036 0.6388 287.6 158.6 -
26 -11 0073 Feb 11 03:54:58 9812 -23833 P a- -0.6518 1.6432 0.6804 289.8 162.7 -
27 -10 0091 Feb 22 12:13:30 9638 -23610 P a- -0.6221 1.6966 0.7358 292.7 167.9 -
28 -09 0109 Mar 04 20:24:13 9464 -23387 P a- -0.5863 1.7614 0.8025 295.9 173.6 -
29 -08 0127 Mar 16 04:25:48 9292 -23164 P a- -0.5431 1.8397 0.8825 299.7 179.8 -
30 -07 0145 Mar 26 12:20:04 9120 -22941 P a- -0.4942 1.9288 0.9730 303.6 186.1 -
31 -06 0163 Apr 06 20:06:21 8949 -22718 T a- -0.4388 2.0300 1.0752 307.6 192.3 40.3
32 -05 0181 Apr 17 03:45:05 8778 -22495 T p- -0.3774 2.1423 1.1881 311.6 198.2 61.7
33 -04 0199 Apr 28 11:17:53 8607 -22272 T p- -0.3115 2.2632 1.3090 315.4 203.5 76.1
34 -03 0217 May 08 18:45:21 8436 -22049 T- p- -0.2419 2.3913 1.4366 318.7 208.0 86.6
35 -02 0235 May 20 02:08:10 8265 -21826 T- pp -0.1688 2.5259 1.5700 321.6 211.6 94.0
36 -01 0253 May 30 09:27:57 8093 -21603 T- pp -0.0938 2.6646 1.7068 323.9 214.1 98.6
37 00 0271 Jun 10 16:45:36 7920 -21380 T- pp -0.0177 2.8055 1.8453 325.5 215.4 100.6
38 01 0289 Jun 21 00:03:20 7747 -21157 T+ pp 0.0577 2.7336 1.7703 326.5 215.5 100.1
39 02 0307 Jul 02 07:20:25 7573 -20934 T+ -p 0.1328 2.5977 1.6306 326.8 214.5 96.9
40 03 0325 Jul 12 14:40:46 7398 -20711 T+ -p 0.2043 2.4686 1.4973 326.4 212.5 91.2
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 04 0343 Jul 23 22:03:33 7223 -20488 T -p 0.2729 2.3452 1.3690 325.6 209.4 82.7
42 05 0361 Aug 03 05:31:47 7046 -20265 T -a 0.3363 2.2315 1.2500 324.4 205.6 71.1
43 06 0379 Aug 14 13:04:11 6869 -20042 T -a 0.3954 2.1259 1.1387 322.9 201.1 55.0
44 07 0397 Aug 24 20:43:52 6691 -19819 T -a 0.4476 2.0332 1.0401 321.3 196.3 30.5
45 08 0415 Sep 05 04:29:29 6513 -19596 P -a 0.4939 1.9513 0.9519 319.7 191.4 -
46 09 0433 Sep 15 12:22:19 6335 -19373 P -a 0.5334 1.8820 0.8764 318.3 186.7 -
47 10 0451 Sep 26 20:22:09 6156 -19150 P -a 0.5664 1.8247 0.8129 317.3 182.3 -
48 11 0469 Oct 07 04:29:25 5978 -18927 P -a 0.5925 1.7797 0.7619 316.6 178.5 -
49 12 0487 Oct 18 12:43:16 5802 -18704 P -a 0.6122 1.7466 0.7229 316.3 175.5 -
50 13 0505 Oct 28 21:01:51 5625 -18481 P -a 0.6272 1.7217 0.6926 316.4 173.2 -
51 14 0523 Nov 09 05:26:03 5448 -18258 P -a 0.6368 1.7065 0.6725 317.0 171.7 -
52 15 0541 Nov 19 13:52:58 5273 -18035 P -a 0.6438 1.6959 0.6576 317.7 170.7 -
53 16 0559 Nov 30 22:22:15 5098 -17812 P -a 0.6480 1.6902 0.6480 318.6 170.2 -
54 17 0577 Dec 11 06:50:38 4925 -17589 P -a 0.6524 1.6837 0.6384 319.5 169.7 -
55 18 0595 Dec 22 15:18:33 4754 -17366 P -a 0.6565 1.6774 0.6296 320.3 169.2 -
56 19 0614 Jan 01 23:42:34 4583 -17143 P -a 0.6634 1.6658 0.6160 320.7 168.2 -
57 20 0632 Jan 13 08:02:02 4414 -16920 P -a 0.6733 1.6482 0.5971 320.7 166.6 -
58 21 0650 Jan 23 16:14:37 4247 -16697 P -a 0.6885 1.6209 0.5690 320.1 163.9 -
59 22 0668 Feb 04 00:20:07 4081 -16474 P -a 0.7087 1.5840 0.5316 318.8 159.8 -
60 23 0686 Feb 14 08:15:54 3917 -16251 P -h 0.7362 1.5336 0.4811 316.5 153.7 -
61 24 0704 Feb 25 16:02:28 3756 -16028 P -h 0.7706 1.4704 0.4181 313.1 145.1 -
62 25 0722 Mar 07 23:38:28 3596 -15805 P -t 0.8127 1.3929 0.3409 308.4 133.0 -
63 26 0740 Mar 18 07:05:14 3439 -15582 P -t 0.8617 1.3029 0.2511 302.2 116.0 -
64 27 0758 Mar 29 14:19:50 3285 -15359 P -t 0.9195 1.1967 0.1453 293.8 89.8 -
65 28 0776 Apr 08 21:26:01 3133 -15136 P -t 0.9831 1.0800 0.0286 283.4 40.6 -
66 29 0794 Apr 20 04:21:44 2985 -14913 N -t 1.0539 0.9501 -0.1015 270.2 - -
67 30 0812 Apr 30 11:11:23 2839 -14690 N -t 1.1289 0.8127 -0.2393 254.2 - -
68 31 0830 May 11 17:51:21 2698 -14467 N -t 1.2104 0.6635 -0.3893 233.7 - -
69 32 0848 May 22 00:28:20 2560 -14244 N -t 1.2933 0.5121 -0.5418 208.9 - -
70 33 0866 Jun 02 06:59:17 2425 -14021 N -t 1.3794 0.3549 -0.7006 177.0 - -
71 34 0884 Jun 12 13:29:13 2295 -13798 N -t 1.4652 0.1984 -0.8591 134.6 - -
72 35 0902 Jun 23 19:56:14 2169 -13575 Ne -t 1.5524 0.0397 -1.0203 61.2 - -
[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)"
