Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 103

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 103 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 0472 Sep 03. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 1933 Feb 10. The total duration of Saros series 103 is 1460.44 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  0472 Sep 03   12:30:19 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  1933 Feb 10   13:17:33 TD

                      Duration of Saros 103  =  1460.44 Years

Saros 103 is composed of 82 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 103
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 82100.0%
PenumbralN 39 47.6%
PartialP 14 17.1%
TotalT 29 35.4%

The 82 lunar eclipses in Saros 103 occur in the order of 21N 7P 29T 7P 18N which corresponds to:

                                    21  Penumbral
                                     7  Partial
                                    29  Total
                                     7  Partial
                                    18  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 103 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    1103 Sep 17      Duration = 01h38m57s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    1482 May 03      Duration = 00h11m29s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    0959 Jun 23      Duration = 03h07m13s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1608 Jul 27      Duration = 00h50m30s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    0833 Apr 08      Duration = 04h14m02s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    1933 Feb 10      Duration = 00h39m34s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 103 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    0959 Jun 23      Magnitude = 0.9426
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1608 Jul 27      Magnitude = 0.0520

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 103 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.



Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 103

                          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   0472 Sep 03  12:30:19   5950 -18891   N   t-  -1.5287  0.0828 -0.9764   86.6    -      -  
 02  -35   0490 Sep 14  19:57:05   5773 -18668   N   t-  -1.4826  0.1675 -0.8922  121.9    -      -  
 03  -34   0508 Sep 25  03:35:20   5597 -18445   N   h-  -1.4447  0.2374 -0.8228  143.9    -      -  
 04  -33   0526 Oct 06  11:21:56   5420 -18222   N   h-  -1.4128  0.2961 -0.7643  159.4    -      -  
 05  -32   0544 Oct 16  19:19:38   5244 -17999   N   h-  -1.3888  0.3401 -0.7202  169.7    -      -  
 06  -31   0562 Oct 28  03:24:31   5070 -17776   N   a-  -1.3698  0.3747 -0.6852  177.0    -      -  
 07  -30   0580 Nov 07  11:37:22   4898 -17553   N   a-  -1.3563  0.3990 -0.6599  181.7    -      -  
 08  -29   0598 Nov 18  19:55:27   4726 -17330   N   a-  -1.3461  0.4168 -0.6405  184.8    -      -  
 09  -28   0616 Nov 29  04:19:10   4556 -17107   N   a-  -1.3394  0.4281 -0.6271  186.5    -      -  
 10  -27   0634 Dec 10  12:44:10   4387 -16884   N   a-  -1.3332  0.4381 -0.6143  187.8    -      -  

 11  -26   0652 Dec 20  21:10:19   4220 -16661   N   a-  -1.3269  0.4478 -0.6011  189.0    -      -  
 12  -25   0671 Jan 01  05:35:08   4055 -16438   N   a-  -1.3188  0.4607 -0.5841  190.7    -      -  
 13  -24   0689 Jan 11  13:58:39   3891 -16215   N   a-  -1.3085  0.4772 -0.5629  193.0    -      -  
 14  -23   0707 Jan 22  22:16:17   3730 -15992   N   a-  -1.2927  0.5034 -0.5314  196.9    -      -  
 15  -22   0725 Feb 02  06:29:58   3571 -15769   N   a-  -1.2731  0.5366 -0.4926  201.8    -      -  
 16  -21   0743 Feb 13  14:36:05   3414 -15546   N   a-  -1.2466  0.5823 -0.4409  208.4    -      -  
 17  -20   0761 Feb 23  22:37:07   3260 -15323   N   a-  -1.2151  0.6369 -0.3801  215.8    -      -  
 18  -19   0779 Mar 07  06:28:42   3109 -15100   N   a-  -1.1750  0.7072 -0.3034  224.8    -      -  
 19  -18   0797 Mar 17  14:15:23   2961 -14877   N   a-  -1.1301  0.7865 -0.2178  234.1    -      -  
 20  -17   0815 Mar 28  21:53:31   2816 -14654   N   a-  -1.0774  0.8800 -0.1181  244.1    -      -  

 21  -16   0833 Apr 08  05:26:40   2675 -14431   N   a-  -1.0197  0.9828 -0.0092  254.0    -      -  
 22  -15   0851 Apr 19  12:52:52   2538 -14208   P   a-  -0.9554  1.0980  0.1116  264.0   74.6    -  
 23  -14   0869 Apr 29  20:16:05   2404 -13985   P   a-  -0.8876  1.2197  0.2386  273.4  106.9    -  
 24  -13   0887 May 11  03:34:50   2274 -13762   P   a-  -0.8151  1.3503  0.3739  282.2  130.8    -  
 25  -12   0905 May 21  10:51:32   2149 -13539   P   a-  -0.7399  1.4862  0.5141  290.2  149.7    -  
 26  -11   0923 Jun 01  18:07:03   2028 -13316   P   a-  -0.6630  1.6256  0.6571  297.3  165.0    -  
 27  -10   0941 Jun 12  01:23:11   1911 -13093   P   a-  -0.5857  1.7657  0.8003  303.4  177.3    -  
 28  -09   0959 Jun 23  08:40:46   1798 -12870   P   a-  -0.5088  1.9056  0.9426  308.4  187.2    -  
 29  -08   0977 Jul 03  16:00:39   1691 -12647   T   a-  -0.4331  2.0437  1.0824  312.5  195.1   42.6
 30  -07   0995 Jul 14  23:25:10   1587 -12424   T   a-  -0.3607  2.1760  1.2159  315.7  201.0   66.0

 31  -06   1013 Jul 25  06:54:14   1489 -12201   T   p-  -0.2916  2.3024  1.3429  318.0  205.5   79.5
 32  -05   1031 Aug 05  14:28:58   1395 -11978   T-  p-  -0.2270  2.4210  1.4616  319.6  208.6   88.0
 33  -04   1049 Aug 15  22:10:32   1305 -11755   T-  p-  -0.1675  2.5304  1.5706  320.6  210.5   93.5
 34  -03   1067 Aug 27  05:59:57   1220 -11532   T-  p-  -0.1142  2.6286  1.6680  321.1  211.7   96.7
 35  -02   1085 Sep 06  13:57:40   1140 -11309   T-  p-  -0.0677  2.7144  1.7526  321.2  212.1   98.3
 36  -01   1103 Sep 17  22:02:58   1064 -11086   T-  pp  -0.0272  2.7894  1.8262  321.1  212.1   98.9
 37   00   1121 Sep 28  06:17:30    993 -10863   T+  pp   0.0058  2.8295  1.8648  320.8  211.9   98.9
 38   01   1139 Oct 09  14:39:55    925 -10640   T+  pp   0.0327  2.7810  1.8147  320.5  211.4   98.5
 39   02   1157 Oct 19  23:10:14    862 -10417   T+  pp   0.0532  2.7440  1.7763  320.1  211.0   97.9
 40   03   1175 Oct 31  07:47:11    803 -10194   T+  pp   0.0685  2.7167  1.7476  319.8  210.5   97.4


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 103

                          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   1193 Nov 10  16:30:23    747  -9971   T+  -p   0.0789  2.6982  1.7279  319.6  210.2   96.9
 42   05   1211 Nov 22  01:18:37    695  -9748   T+  -p   0.0853  2.6867  1.7157  319.4  209.9   96.6
 43   06   1229 Dec 02  10:09:23    647  -9525   T+  -p   0.0900  2.6784  1.7070  319.2  209.7   96.3
 44   07   1247 Dec 13  19:03:01    601  -9302   T+  -p   0.0924  2.6739  1.7025  319.0  209.6   96.2
 45   08   1265 Dec 24  03:55:57    559  -9079   T+  -p   0.0958  2.6675  1.6966  318.9  209.5   96.0
 46   09   1284 Jan 04  12:48:12    519  -8856   T+  -p   0.0995  2.6603  1.6903  318.7  209.4   95.9
 47   10   1302 Jan 14  21:35:54    482  -8633   T+  -p   0.1072  2.6455  1.6768  318.5  209.3   95.6
 48   11   1320 Jan 26  06:20:48    448  -8410   T+  -p   0.1171  2.6265  1.6594  318.3  209.2   95.2
 49   12   1338 Feb 05  14:59:11    415  -8187   T+  -p   0.1328  2.5967  1.6315  318.0  208.9   94.5
 50   13   1356 Feb 16  23:31:22    385  -7964   T+  -p   0.1535  2.5578  1.5946  317.6  208.5   93.3

 51   14   1374 Feb 27  07:55:14    356  -7741   T+  -p   0.1809  2.5063  1.5452  317.0  207.8   91.3
 52   15   1392 Mar 09  16:12:14    329  -7518   T+  -p   0.2141  2.4444  1.4854  316.1  206.7   88.4
 53   16   1410 Mar 21  00:20:45    303  -7295   T+  -p   0.2544  2.3696  1.4125  315.0  205.0   83.9
 54   17   1428 Mar 31  08:21:15    279  -7072   T   -p   0.3013  2.2826  1.3273  313.4  202.5   77.2
 55   18   1446 Apr 11  16:14:02    256  -6849   T   -p   0.3545  2.1841  1.2303  311.3  199.1   67.0
 56   19   1464 Apr 22  00:00:10    235  -6626   T   -a   0.4130  2.0764  1.1235  308.5  194.6   50.8
 57   20   1482 May 03  07:39:00    214  -6403   T   -a   0.4772  1.9582  1.0059  305.0  188.5   11.5
 58   21   1500 May 13  15:12:36    195  -6180   P   -a   0.5457  1.8326  0.8802  300.5  180.6    -  
 59   22   1518 May 24  22:40:54    177  -5957   P   -a   0.6180  1.7002  0.7473  295.0  170.5    -  
 60   23   1536 Jun 04  06:06:33    161  -5734   P   -a   0.6920  1.5650  0.6109  288.5  157.9    -  

 61   24   1554 Jun 15  13:27:59    146  -5511   P   -a   0.7688  1.4250  0.4691  280.7  141.8    -  
 62   25   1572 Jun 25  20:49:39    134  -5288   P   -a   0.8446  1.2872  0.3288  271.9  121.5    -  
 63   26   1590 Jul 17  04:09:55    123  -5065   P   -a   0.9206  1.1493  0.1879  261.7   93.9    -  
 64   27   1608 Jul 27  11:33:02    109  -4842   P   -a   0.9936  1.0172  0.0520  250.7   50.5    -  
 65   28   1626 Aug 07  18:56:24     84  -4619   N   -a   1.0655  0.8874 -0.0820  238.2    -      -  
 66   29   1644 Aug 18  02:25:18     57  -4396   N   -a   1.1319  0.7679 -0.2062  225.2    -      -  
 67   30   1662 Aug 29  09:57:01     32  -4173   N   -a   1.1951  0.6546 -0.3247  211.1    -      -  
 68   31   1680 Sep 08  17:35:19     14  -3950   N   -a   1.2521  0.5527 -0.4320  196.8    -      -  
 69   32   1698 Sep 20  01:18:39      8  -3727   N   -a   1.3043  0.4598 -0.5308  181.8    -      -  
 70   33   1716 Oct 01  09:10:11     10  -3504   N   -a   1.3494  0.3802 -0.6163  167.3    -      -  

 71   34   1734 Oct 12  17:08:05     11  -3281   N   -a   1.3883  0.3117 -0.6908  153.1    -      -  
 72   35   1752 Oct 23  01:12:56     13  -3058   N   -a   1.4211  0.2545 -0.7539  139.7    -      -  
 73   36   1770 Nov 03  09:24:30     16  -2835   N   -a   1.4478  0.2085 -0.8057  127.5    -      -  
 74   37   1788 Nov 13  17:42:36     16  -2612   N   -a   1.4689  0.1725 -0.8471  116.8    -      -  
 75   38   1806 Nov 26  02:05:38     12  -2389   N   -a   1.4853  0.1450 -0.8797  107.8    -      -  
 76   39   1824 Dec 06  10:32:41     10  -2166   N   -a   1.4980  0.1241 -0.9053  100.3    -      -  
 77   40   1842 Dec 17  19:02:29      6  -1943   N   -a   1.5078  0.1082 -0.9253   94.1    -      -  
 78   41   1860 Dec 28  03:33:54      8  -1720   N   -a   1.5159  0.0950 -0.9419   88.7    -      -  
 79   42   1879 Jan 08  12:04:10     -5  -1497   N   -a   1.5243  0.0812 -0.9587   82.3    -      -  
 80   43   1897 Jan 18  20:33:07     -6  -1274   N   -a   1.5332  0.0659 -0.9763   74.5    -      -  


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 103

                          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

 81   44   1915 Jan 31  04:57:42     17  -1051   N   -a   1.5450  0.0451 -0.9989   62.0    -      -  
 82   45   1933 Feb 10  13:17:33     24   -828   N   -a   1.5600  0.0182 -1.0270   39.6    -      -  


Footnotes

[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.


Calendar

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..


Predictions

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

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.


Acknowledgments

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)"


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2009 Sep 29