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 77 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 -0190 Apr 09. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 1090 May 16. The total duration of Saros series 77 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0190 Apr 09 11:10:50 TD
Last Eclipse = 1090 May 16 09:30:58 TD
Duration of Saros 77 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 77 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 77 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 30 | 41.7% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 40.3% |
| Total | T | 13 | 18.1% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 77 occur in the order of 8N 21P 13T 8P 22N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
21 Partial
13 Total
8 Partial
22 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 77 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0459 May 03 Duration = 01h46m32s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0549 Jun 26 Duration = 00h19m53s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0315 Feb 06 Duration = 03h27m05s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0693 Sep 20 Duration = 00h51m02s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0711 Oct 01 Duration = 04h48m45s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1090 May 16 Duration = 00h39m10s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 77 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0315 Feb 06 Magnitude = 0.9807
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0693 Sep 20 Magnitude = 0.0438
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 77 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 -0190 Apr 09 11:10:50 12609 -27084 Nb a- -1.5269 0.0466 -0.9344 59.9 - -
02 -35 -0172 Apr 19 18:34:28 12395 -26861 N a- -1.4686 0.1541 -0.8280 108.3 - -
03 -34 -0154 May 01 01:50:19 12185 -26638 N h- -1.4048 0.2719 -0.7116 142.8 - -
04 -33 -0136 May 11 09:02:06 11979 -26415 N h- -1.3381 0.3954 -0.5903 170.9 - -
05 -32 -0118 May 22 16:07:23 11777 -26192 N h- -1.2668 0.5275 -0.4608 195.7 - -
06 -31 -0100 Jun 01 23:11:44 11578 -25969 N h- -1.1954 0.6602 -0.3313 217.0 - -
07 -30 -0082 Jun 13 06:12:46 11383 -25746 N t- -1.1223 0.7963 -0.1990 236.1 - -
08 -29 -0064 Jun 23 13:14:32 11190 -25523 N t- -1.0505 0.9303 -0.0694 252.9 - -
09 -28 -0046 Jul 04 20:15:49 11001 -25300 P t- -0.9789 1.0641 0.0595 267.9 56.1 -
10 -27 -0028 Jul 15 03:20:42 10814 -25077 P t- -0.9111 1.1912 0.1812 280.9 96.6 -
11 -26 -0010 Jul 26 10:28:25 10630 -24854 P t- -0.8465 1.3127 0.2969 292.3 122.0 -
12 -25 0008 Aug 05 17:40:45 10448 -24631 P t- -0.7865 1.4259 0.4039 302.2 140.5 -
13 -24 0026 Aug 17 00:58:51 10268 -24408 P t- -0.7322 1.5288 0.5005 310.7 154.6 -
14 -23 0044 Aug 27 08:23:54 10090 -24185 P t- -0.6843 1.6199 0.5850 317.9 165.4 -
15 -22 0062 Sep 07 15:56:02 9913 -23962 P t- -0.6428 1.6993 0.6579 324.0 173.8 -
16 -21 0080 Sep 17 23:35:36 9738 -23739 P t- -0.6082 1.7661 0.7182 329.1 180.3 -
17 -20 0098 Sep 29 07:22:36 9564 -23516 P t- -0.5804 1.8203 0.7661 333.4 185.2 -
18 -19 0116 Oct 09 15:17:08 9392 -23293 P t- -0.5594 1.8617 0.8016 336.9 188.8 -
19 -18 0134 Oct 20 23:16:55 9220 -23070 P t- -0.5435 1.8937 0.8281 339.8 191.5 -
20 -17 0152 Oct 31 07:23:25 9048 -22847 P t- -0.5336 1.9145 0.8439 342.1 193.2 -
21 -16 0170 Nov 11 15:33:27 8877 -22624 P t- -0.5269 1.9289 0.8539 344.1 194.5 -
22 -15 0188 Nov 21 23:47:05 8706 -22401 P t- -0.5240 1.9361 0.8575 345.6 195.2 -
23 -14 0206 Dec 03 07:59:57 8535 -22178 P t- -0.5211 1.9430 0.8615 347.0 196.0 -
24 -13 0224 Dec 13 16:13:39 8364 -21955 P t- -0.5194 1.9471 0.8635 348.1 196.6 -
25 -12 0242 Dec 25 00:23:45 8192 -21732 P t- -0.5150 1.9558 0.8707 349.4 197.6 -
26 -11 0261 Jan 04 08:29:58 8020 -21509 P t- -0.5081 1.9688 0.8831 350.8 198.9 -
27 -10 0279 Jan 15 16:29:20 7847 -21286 P t- -0.4961 1.9910 0.9051 352.5 201.0 -
28 -09 0297 Jan 26 00:22:08 7674 -21063 P t- -0.4791 2.0218 0.9366 354.4 203.7 -
29 -08 0315 Feb 06 08:06:11 7500 -20840 P t- -0.4553 2.0650 0.9807 356.6 207.1 -
30 -07 0333 Feb 16 15:40:44 7324 -20617 T t- -0.4241 2.1215 1.0387 359.2 211.2 31.9
31 -06 0351 Feb 27 23:05:34 7148 -20394 T t- -0.3851 2.1922 1.1110 362.1 215.7 53.0
32 -05 0369 Mar 10 06:20:35 6972 -20171 T p- -0.3386 2.2767 1.1973 365.0 220.4 68.7
33 -04 0387 Mar 21 13:25:12 6794 -19948 T pp -0.2838 2.3763 1.2989 367.9 225.1 81.7
34 -03 0405 Mar 31 20:20:38 6616 -19725 T- pp -0.2216 2.4895 1.4139 370.5 229.3 92.1
35 -02 0423 Apr 12 03:07:14 6438 -19502 T- pp -0.1525 2.6154 1.5416 372.6 232.7 99.9
36 -01 0441 Apr 22 09:46:51 6259 -19279 T- pp -0.0778 2.7516 1.6793 374.1 235.1 104.8
37 00 0459 May 03 16:18:09 6081 -19056 T+ pp 0.0033 2.8877 1.8167 374.6 236.0 106.5
38 01 0477 May 13 22:45:17 5904 -18833 T+ pp 0.0875 2.7327 1.6627 374.1 235.2 104.6
39 02 0495 May 25 05:07:40 5727 -18610 T+ pp 0.1752 2.5715 1.5022 372.4 232.6 98.2
40 03 0513 Jun 04 11:29:13 5550 -18387 T+ pp 0.2636 2.4091 1.3401 369.5 227.8 86.4
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 0531 Jun 15 17:48:24 5374 -18164 T -t 0.3536 2.2440 1.1749 365.2 220.8 65.8
42 05 0549 Jun 26 00:10:45 5199 -17941 T -t 0.4409 2.0839 1.0144 359.8 211.7 19.9
43 06 0567 Jul 07 06:34:55 5025 -17718 P -t 0.5263 1.9277 0.8573 353.2 200.3 -
44 07 0585 Jul 17 13:04:06 4853 -17495 P -t 0.6076 1.7791 0.7076 345.7 186.6 -
45 08 0603 Jul 28 19:38:19 4682 -17272 P -t 0.6849 1.6380 0.5650 337.3 170.6 -
46 09 0621 Aug 08 02:20:49 4512 -17049 P -t 0.7556 1.5091 0.4345 328.6 152.6 -
47 10 0639 Aug 19 09:11:47 4344 -16826 P -t 0.8194 1.3930 0.3166 319.8 132.5 -
48 11 0657 Aug 29 16:11:01 4177 -16603 P -t 0.8767 1.2888 0.2106 310.9 109.6 -
49 12 0675 Sep 09 23:21:02 4012 -16380 P -t 0.9254 1.2004 0.1203 302.7 83.8 -
50 13 0693 Sep 20 06:40:41 3849 -16157 P -t 0.9666 1.1256 0.0438 295.2 51.0 -
51 14 0711 Oct 01 14:11:14 3688 -15934 Nx -t 0.9994 1.0661 -0.0173 288.8 - -
52 15 0729 Oct 11 21:49:56 3530 -15711 Nx -t 1.0260 1.0180 -0.0666 283.2 - -
53 16 0747 Oct 23 05:38:53 3374 -15488 N -t 1.0447 0.9841 -0.1013 279.0 - -
54 17 0765 Nov 02 13:34:44 3221 -15265 N -t 1.0583 0.9594 -0.1264 275.6 - -
55 18 0783 Nov 13 21:37:37 3070 -15042 N -t 1.0667 0.9438 -0.1417 273.2 - -
56 19 0801 Nov 24 05:45:07 2923 -14819 N -t 1.0719 0.9336 -0.1508 271.4 - -
57 20 0819 Dec 05 13:57:15 2779 -14596 N -t 1.0742 0.9286 -0.1541 270.1 - -
58 21 0837 Dec 15 22:10:08 2639 -14373 N -t 1.0763 0.9235 -0.1568 268.7 - -
59 22 0855 Dec 27 06:23:14 2503 -14150 N -t 1.0789 0.9172 -0.1599 267.1 - -
60 23 0874 Jan 06 14:34:28 2370 -13927 N -t 1.0837 0.9064 -0.1668 264.9 - -
61 24 0892 Jan 17 22:43:39 2241 -13704 N -t 1.0911 0.8904 -0.1782 262.1 - -
62 25 0910 Jan 28 06:46:30 2117 -13481 N -t 1.1043 0.8636 -0.1998 257.8 - -
63 26 0928 Feb 08 14:45:03 1997 -13258 N -t 1.1216 0.8291 -0.2287 252.4 - -
64 27 0946 Feb 18 22:35:45 1881 -13035 N -t 1.1459 0.7814 -0.2704 245.2 - -
65 28 0964 Mar 01 06:21:13 1770 -12812 N -t 1.1752 0.7245 -0.3210 236.4 - -
66 29 0982 Mar 12 13:56:56 1663 -12589 N -t 1.2130 0.6518 -0.3873 224.8 - -
67 30 1000 Mar 22 21:27:53 1561 -12366 N -t 1.2555 0.5707 -0.4620 211.0 - -
68 31 1018 Apr 03 04:50:06 1464 -12143 N -t 1.3052 0.4762 -0.5501 193.6 - -
69 32 1036 Apr 13 12:07:45 1371 -11920 N -t 1.3593 0.3738 -0.6463 172.4 - -
70 33 1054 Apr 24 19:18:25 1283 -11697 N -t 1.4195 0.2604 -0.7538 144.7 - -
71 34 1072 May 05 02:26:49 1199 -11474 N -t 1.4820 0.1429 -0.8658 107.8 - -
72 35 1090 May 16 09:30:58 1120 -11251 Ne -t 1.5484 0.0186 -0.9850 39.2 - -
[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)"
