Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 121

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 121 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 1047 Oct 06. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2508 Mar 18. The total duration of Saros series 121 is 1460.44 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  1047 Oct 06   19:05:28 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  2508 Mar 18   15:08:38 TD

                      Duration of Saros 121  =  1460.44 Years

Saros 121 is composed of 82 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 121
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 82100.0%
PenumbralN 40 48.8%
PartialP 13 15.9%
TotalT 29 35.4%

The 82 lunar eclipses in Saros 121 occur in the order of 20N 6P 29T 7P 20N which corresponds to:

                                    20  Penumbral
                                     6  Partial
                                    29  Total
                                     7  Partial
                                    20  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 121 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    1660 Oct 18      Duration = 01h40m29s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2021 May 26      Duration = 00h14m30s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1498 Jul 03      Duration = 03h10m47s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2147 Aug 11      Duration = 01h06m01s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    1390 Apr 29      Duration = 04h31m51s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2508 Mar 18      Duration = 01h04m50s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 121 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1498 Jul 03      Magnitude = 0.8867
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2147 Aug 11      Magnitude = 0.0941

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 121 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 121

                          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  -35   1047 Oct 06  19:05:28   1314 -11778   N   t-  -1.5573  0.0467 -1.0450   67.2    -      -  
 02  -34   1065 Oct 17  02:42:50   1229 -11555   N   t-  -1.5292  0.0992 -0.9943   97.5    -      -  
 03  -33   1083 Oct 28  10:27:33   1148 -11332   N   t-  -1.5062  0.1421 -0.9530  116.2    -      -  
 04  -32   1101 Nov 07  18:20:53   1072 -11109   N   t-  -1.4895  0.1732 -0.9228  127.7    -      -  
 05  -31   1119 Nov 19  02:18:55   1000 -10886   N   t-  -1.4760  0.1981 -0.8981  136.2    -      -  
 06  -30   1137 Nov 29  10:23:17    932 -10663   N   t-  -1.4668  0.2147 -0.8810  141.3    -      -  
 07  -29   1155 Dec 10  18:29:45    868 -10440   N   t-  -1.4587  0.2291 -0.8655  145.5    -      -  
 08  -28   1173 Dec 21  02:37:51    809 -10217   N   t-  -1.4510  0.2421 -0.8504  149.1    -      -  
 09  -27   1192 Jan 01  10:45:09    753  -9994   N   t-  -1.4420  0.2573 -0.8325  153.1    -      -  
 10  -26   1210 Jan 11  18:51:00    700  -9771   N   t-  -1.4309  0.2758 -0.8105  157.8    -      -  

 11  -25   1228 Jan 23  02:52:19    651  -9548   N   h-  -1.4157  0.3017 -0.7805  164.1    -      -  
 12  -24   1246 Feb 02  10:48:40    606  -9325   N   h-  -1.3956  0.3361 -0.7413  172.1    -      -  
 13  -23   1264 Feb 13  18:38:57    563  -9102   N   h-  -1.3699  0.3805 -0.6915  181.7    -      -  
 14  -22   1282 Feb 24  02:23:04    523  -8879   N   h-  -1.3383  0.4357 -0.6307  192.7    -      -  
 15  -21   1300 Mar 06  09:58:08    486  -8656   N   h-  -1.2987  0.5054 -0.5550  205.4    -      -  
 16  -20   1318 Mar 17  17:27:00    451  -8433   N   h-  -1.2533  0.5856 -0.4687  218.5    -      -  
 17  -19   1336 Mar 28  00:47:28    418  -8210   N   h-  -1.2002  0.6799 -0.3682  232.3    -      -  
 18  -18   1354 Apr 08  08:02:44    388  -7987   N   h-  -1.1418  0.7840 -0.2580  245.7    -      -  
 19  -17   1372 Apr 18  15:09:54    359  -7764   N   h-  -1.0757  0.9022 -0.1338  259.3    -      -  
 20  -16   1390 Apr 29  22:13:51    332  -7541   Nx  h-  -1.0059  1.0275 -0.0029  271.9    -      -  

 21  -15   1408 May 10  05:12:17    306  -7318   P   h-  -0.9307  1.1628  0.1378  283.7   86.1    -  
 22  -14   1426 May 21  12:09:04    282  -7095   P   h-  -0.8528  1.3032  0.2833  294.4  120.4    -  
 23  -13   1444 May 31  19:03:18    259  -6872   P   h-  -0.7715  1.4502  0.4347  303.9  145.3    -  
 24  -12   1462 Jun 12  01:58:55    237  -6649   P   h-  -0.6901  1.5974  0.5860  312.0  164.2    -  
 25  -11   1480 Jun 22  08:55:27    216  -6426   P   h-  -0.6085  1.7455  0.7375  318.9  179.1    -  
 26  -10   1498 Jul 03  15:54:47    197  -6203   P   a-  -0.5279  1.8917  0.8867  324.4  190.8    -  
 27  -09   1516 Jul 13  22:58:24    179  -5980   T   a-  -0.4501  2.0335  1.0308  328.7  199.7   27.4
 28  -08   1534 Jul 25  06:07:01    163  -5757   T   a-  -0.3754  2.1695  1.1688  331.9  206.4   61.1
 29  -07   1552 Aug 04  13:22:37    148  -5534   T   a-  -0.3055  2.2970  1.2978  334.1  211.3   77.5
 30  -06   1570 Aug 15  20:44:34    135  -5311   T-  p-  -0.2401  2.4165  1.4183  335.4  214.6   87.6

 31  -05   1588 Sep 05  04:15:59    124  -5088   T-  p-  -0.1818  2.5231  1.5254  336.0  216.6   93.8
 32  -04   1606 Sep 16  11:55:21    111  -4865   T-  p-  -0.1295  2.6189  1.6216  336.0  217.7   97.5
 33  -03   1624 Sep 26  19:44:24     87  -4642   T-  pp  -0.0845  2.7014  1.7042  335.6  218.0   99.5
 34  -02   1642 Oct 08  03:42:19     60  -4419   T-  pp  -0.0462  2.7719  1.7746  335.0  217.9  100.3
 35  -01   1660 Oct 18  11:50:08     34  -4196   T-  pp  -0.0151  2.8289  1.8316  334.2  217.5  100.5
 36   00   1678 Oct 29  20:06:20     15  -3973   T+  pp   0.0093  2.8395  1.8422  333.2  216.9  100.2
 37   01   1696 Nov 09  04:30:21      8  -3750   T+  pp   0.0281  2.8049  1.8078  332.3  216.3   99.8
 38   02   1714 Nov 21  13:01:44     10  -3527   T+  pp   0.0414  2.7803  1.7836  331.3  215.6   99.4
 39   03   1732 Dec 01  21:39:42     11  -3304   T+  pp   0.0502  2.7638  1.7678  330.4  215.1   99.0
 40   04   1750 Dec 13  06:21:46     13  -3081   T+  pp   0.0561  2.7524  1.7576  329.5  214.5   98.7


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 121

                          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   05   1768 Dec 23  15:07:13     16  -2858   T+  pp   0.0597  2.7449  1.7517  328.6  214.1   98.4
 42   06   1787 Jan 03  23:53:37     17  -2635   T+  pp   0.0632  2.7375  1.7465  327.6  213.6   98.2
 43   07   1805 Jan 15  08:40:58     12  -2412   T+  pp   0.0663  2.7305  1.7420  326.7  213.2   98.1
 44   08   1823 Jan 26  17:24:54     11  -2189   T+  pp   0.0729  2.7169  1.7314  325.7  212.8   97.8
 45   09   1841 Feb 06  02:07:13      5  -1966   T+  pp   0.0812  2.6999  1.7178  324.7  212.4   97.5
 46   10   1859 Feb 17  10:43:28      7  -1743   T+  pp   0.0950  2.6727  1.6944  323.6  211.9   96.9
 47   11   1877 Feb 27  19:15:38     -4  -1520   T+  -p   0.1125  2.6386  1.6644  322.5  211.3   96.2
 48   12   1895 Mar 11  03:39:10     -6  -1297   T+  -p   0.1376  2.5904  1.6204  321.2  210.5   94.8
 49   13   1913 Mar 22  11:57:49     15  -1074   T+  -p   0.1671  2.5340  1.5683  319.7  209.4   92.8
 50   14   1931 Apr 02  20:07:55     24   -851   T+  -p   0.2043  2.4637  1.5021  317.9  207.8   89.6

 51   15   1949 Apr 13  04:11:25     29   -628   T+  -p   0.2474  2.3825  1.4251  315.8  205.7   84.9
 52   16   1967 Apr 24  12:07:04     38   -405   T   -p   0.2972  2.2892  1.3356  313.3  202.8   77.9
 53   17   1985 May 04  19:57:19     55   -182   T   -p   0.3519  2.1870  1.2369  310.2  198.9   67.7
 54   18   2003 May 16  03:41:13     64     41   T   -a   0.4123  2.0747  1.1276  306.5  193.9   51.4
 55   19   2021 May 26  11:19:53     72    264   T   -a   0.4774  1.9540  1.0095  302.0  187.4   14.5
 56   20   2039 Jun 06  18:54:25     84    487   P   -a   0.5460  1.8272  0.8846  296.7  179.3    -  
 57   21   2057 Jun 17  02:26:20    108    710   P   -a   0.6167  1.6967  0.7555  290.6  169.3    -  
 58   22   2075 Jun 28  09:55:35    147    933   P   -a   0.6897  1.5624  0.6220  283.4  157.0    -  
 59   23   2093 Jul 08  17:24:18    187   1156   P   -a   0.7632  1.4275  0.4872  275.3  141.9    -  
 60   24   2111 Jul 21  00:53:17    230   1379   P   -a   0.8362  1.2938  0.3530  266.3  123.2    -  

 61   25   2129 Jul 31  08:24:31    275   1602   P   -a   0.9070  1.1644  0.2224  256.5   99.7    -  
 62   26   2147 Aug 11  15:57:02    322   1825   P   -a   0.9765  1.0378  0.0941  245.8   66.0    -  
 63   27   2165 Aug 21  23:34:21    362   2048   N   -a   1.0417  0.9193 -0.0269  234.5    -      -  
 64   28   2183 Sep 02  07:15:22    403   2271   N   -a   1.1036  0.8072 -0.1419  222.7    -      -  
 65   29   2201 Sep 13  15:03:17    445   2494   N   -a   1.1597  0.7059 -0.2464  210.7    -      -  
 66   30   2219 Sep 24  22:55:52    490   2717   N   -a   1.2116  0.6125 -0.3435  198.5    -      -  
 67   31   2237 Oct 05  06:57:02    537   2940   N   -a   1.2563  0.5325 -0.4275  186.9    -      -  
 68   32   2255 Oct 16  15:04:25    587   3163   N   -a   1.2959  0.4621 -0.5021  175.7    -      -  
 69   33   2273 Oct 26  23:19:49    638   3386   N   -a   1.3288  0.4037 -0.5647  165.5    -      -  
 70   34   2291 Nov 07  07:41:44    691   3609   N   -a   1.3564  0.3553 -0.6174  156.4    -      -  

 71   35   2309 Nov 18  16:10:56    746   3832   N   -a   1.3782  0.3174 -0.6594  148.7    -      -  
 72   36   2327 Nov 30  00:45:50    804   4055   N   -a   1.3949  0.2887 -0.6920  142.6    -      -  
 73   37   2345 Dec 10  09:24:58    863   4278   N   -a   1.4083  0.2658 -0.7184  137.4    -      -  
 74   38   2363 Dec 21  18:08:30    925   4501   N   -a   1.4179  0.2498 -0.7376  133.8    -      -  
 75   39   2382 Jan 01  02:54:07    988   4724   N   -a   1.4262  0.2361 -0.7541  130.5    -      -  
 76   40   2400 Jan 12  11:40:47   1054   4947   N   -a   1.4330  0.2247 -0.7678  127.8    -      -  
 77   41   2418 Jan 22  20:25:46   1122   5170   N   -a   1.4410  0.2109 -0.7835  124.3    -      -  
 78   42   2436 Feb 03  05:08:57   1192   5393   N   -a   1.4502  0.1947 -0.8010  119.9    -      -  
 79   43   2454 Feb 13  13:48:10   1264   5616   N   -a   1.4626  0.1725 -0.8241  113.4    -      -  
 80   44   2472 Feb 24  22:21:41   1338   5839   N   -a   1.4791  0.1425 -0.8547  103.6    -      -  


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 121

                          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   45   2490 Mar 07  06:48:56   1414   6062   N   -a   1.5004  0.1035 -0.8940   88.8    -      -  
 82   46   2508 Mar 18  15:08:38   1492   6285   N   -a   1.5273  0.0544 -0.9433   64.8    -      -  


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