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 126 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 1228 Jul 18. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2472 Aug 19. The total duration of Saros series 126 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1228 Jul 18 18:28:45 TD
Last Eclipse = 2472 Aug 19 03:36:26 TD
Duration of Saros 126 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 126 is composed of 70 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 126 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 29 | 41.4% |
| Partial | P | 27 | 38.6% |
| Total | T | 14 | 20.0% |
The 70 lunar eclipses in Saros 126 occur in the order of 22N 8P 14T 19P 7N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
8 Partial
14 Total
19 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 126 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1859 Aug 13 Duration = 01h46m27s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2003 Nov 09 Duration = 00h21m58s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2021 Nov 19 Duration = 03h28m23s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2346 Jun 05 Duration = 00h34m22s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1607 Mar 13 Duration = 04h41m37s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1228 Jul 18 Duration = 01h27m08s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 126 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2021 Nov 19 Magnitude = 0.9742
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2346 Jun 05 Magnitude = 0.0209
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 126 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 -35 1228 Jul 18 18:28:45 650 -9542 N h- 1.4996 0.0982 -0.8858 87.1 - -
02 -34 1246 Jul 30 01:46:44 605 -9319 N h- 1.4376 0.2144 -0.7746 128.0 - -
03 -33 1264 Aug 09 09:08:46 562 -9096 N h- 1.3792 0.3244 -0.6701 156.5 - -
04 -32 1282 Aug 20 16:34:27 522 -8873 N h- 1.3244 0.4279 -0.5725 178.9 - -
05 -31 1300 Aug 31 00:06:34 485 -8650 N h- 1.2753 0.5211 -0.4854 196.5 - -
06 -30 1318 Sep 11 07:44:46 450 -8427 N h- 1.2321 0.6037 -0.4092 210.8 - -
07 -29 1336 Sep 21 15:30:34 418 -8204 N h- 1.1952 0.6745 -0.3447 222.3 - -
08 -28 1354 Oct 02 23:21:57 387 -7981 N h- 1.1637 0.7355 -0.2900 231.8 - -
09 -27 1372 Oct 13 07:21:39 358 -7758 N h- 1.1395 0.7830 -0.2487 239.1 - -
10 -26 1390 Oct 24 15:27:20 331 -7535 N h- 1.1210 0.8200 -0.2176 244.9 - -
11 -25 1408 Nov 03 23:39:10 305 -7312 N h- 1.1080 0.8465 -0.1965 249.2 - -
12 -24 1426 Nov 15 07:55:22 281 -7089 N h- 1.0992 0.8652 -0.1830 252.5 - -
13 -23 1444 Nov 25 16:15:51 258 -6866 N h- 1.0945 0.8762 -0.1764 254.8 - -
14 -22 1462 Dec 07 00:38:21 236 -6643 N h- 1.0920 0.8826 -0.1738 256.5 - -
15 -21 1480 Dec 17 09:00:49 216 -6420 N h- 1.0903 0.8873 -0.1722 258.0 - -
16 -20 1498 Dec 28 17:22:57 197 -6197 N t- 1.0890 0.8911 -0.1710 259.3 - -
17 -19 1517 Jan 08 01:41:58 179 -5974 N t- 1.0862 0.8971 -0.1668 260.9 - -
18 -18 1535 Jan 19 09:56:17 162 -5751 N t- 1.0800 0.9092 -0.1560 263.1 - -
19 -17 1553 Jan 29 18:03:50 147 -5528 N t- 1.0690 0.9296 -0.1363 266.2 - -
20 -16 1571 Feb 10 02:04:37 135 -5305 N t- 1.0535 0.9582 -0.1079 270.2 - -
21 -15 1589 Mar 02 09:56:49 124 -5082 N t- 1.0319 0.9978 -0.0681 275.3 - -
22 -14 1607 Mar 13 17:38:53 111 -4859 Nx t- 1.0028 1.0510 -0.0145 281.6 - -
23 -13 1625 Mar 24 01:11:28 86 -4636 P t- 0.9665 1.1171 0.0524 289.0 55.0 -
24 -12 1643 Apr 04 08:33:34 59 -4413 P t- 0.9222 1.1982 0.1341 297.3 87.2 -
25 -11 1661 Apr 14 15:46:19 34 -4190 P t- 0.8708 1.2919 0.2286 306.2 112.5 -
26 -10 1679 Apr 25 22:48:29 15 -3967 P t- 0.8115 1.4006 0.3379 315.6 134.9 -
27 -09 1697 May 06 05:42:53 8 -3744 P t- 0.7461 1.5203 0.4581 324.9 154.5 -
28 -08 1715 May 18 12:28:52 10 -3521 P t- 0.6739 1.6526 0.5906 334.1 172.1 -
29 -07 1733 May 28 19:08:10 11 -3298 P t- 0.5966 1.7945 0.7324 342.8 187.6 -
30 -06 1751 Jun 09 01:41:59 13 -3075 P t- 0.5150 1.9445 0.8819 350.7 200.8 -
31 -05 1769 Jun 19 08:11:40 16 -2852 T t- 0.4302 2.1005 1.0372 357.6 211.9 31.5
32 -04 1787 Jun 30 14:39:32 17 -2629 T t- 0.3440 2.2592 1.1947 363.5 220.8 68.6
33 -03 1805 Jul 11 21:04:52 12 -2406 T+ pp 0.2561 2.4214 1.3554 368.1 227.6 87.6
34 -02 1823 Jul 23 03:32:23 10 -2183 T+ pp 0.1699 2.5805 1.5124 371.6 232.3 98.6
35 -01 1841 Aug 02 10:00:51 5 -1960 T+ pp 0.0846 2.7381 1.6678 373.8 235.0 104.6
36 00 1859 Aug 13 16:34:26 7 -1737 T+ pp 0.0038 2.8877 1.8148 374.9 236.0 106.5
37 01 1877 Aug 23 23:11:35 -4 -1514 T- pp -0.0739 2.7606 1.6849 375.0 235.4 104.9
38 02 1895 Sep 04 05:56:52 -6 -1291 T- pp -0.1449 2.6317 1.5530 374.4 233.5 100.5
39 03 1913 Sep 15 12:48:19 15 -1068 T- pp -0.2109 2.5122 1.4304 373.0 230.5 93.5
40 04 1931 Sep 26 19:48:29 24 -845 T- pp -0.2698 2.4058 1.3208 371.2 226.9 84.2
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 05 1949 Oct 07 02:56:55 29 -622 T -p -0.3219 2.3118 1.2236 369.2 222.9 72.8
42 06 1967 Oct 18 10:15:48 38 -399 T -t -0.3653 2.2337 1.1426 367.1 218.9 59.8
43 07 1985 Oct 28 17:43:17 55 -176 T -t -0.4022 2.1673 1.0736 365.1 214.9 43.9
44 08 2003 Nov 09 01:19:38 64 47 T -t -0.4319 2.1139 1.0178 363.2 211.4 22.0
45 09 2021 Nov 19 09:04:06 73 270 P -t -0.4552 2.0720 0.9742 361.5 208.4 -
46 10 2039 Nov 30 16:56:28 85 493 P -t -0.4721 2.0418 0.9426 360.1 206.0 -
47 11 2057 Dec 11 00:53:38 109 716 P -t -0.4853 2.0178 0.9181 358.8 204.0 -
48 12 2075 Dec 22 08:55:55 148 939 P -t -0.4945 2.0008 0.9013 357.6 202.5 -
49 13 2094 Jan 01 17:00:06 188 1162 P -t -0.5024 1.9858 0.8871 356.5 201.2 -
50 14 2112 Jan 14 01:06:36 231 1385 P -t -0.5087 1.9735 0.8764 355.3 200.1 -
51 15 2130 Jan 24 09:10:19 276 1608 P -t -0.5173 1.9565 0.8619 353.7 198.7 -
52 16 2148 Feb 04 17:13:45 323 1831 P -t -0.5265 1.9380 0.8465 352.0 197.2 -
53 17 2166 Feb 15 01:11:40 363 2054 P -t -0.5402 1.9109 0.8233 349.8 194.9 -
54 18 2184 Feb 26 09:05:35 404 2277 P -t -0.5579 1.8762 0.7930 347.1 192.0 -
55 19 2202 Mar 09 16:51:36 447 2500 P -t -0.5824 1.8288 0.7505 343.6 187.8 -
56 20 2220 Mar 20 00:32:40 492 2723 P -t -0.6114 1.7728 0.6999 339.4 182.6 -
57 21 2238 Mar 31 08:05:25 539 2946 P -t -0.6477 1.7035 0.6362 334.3 175.6 -
58 22 2256 Apr 10 15:31:04 588 3169 P -t -0.6904 1.6221 0.5606 328.1 166.5 -
59 23 2274 Apr 21 22:48:59 639 3392 P -t -0.7401 1.5280 0.4723 320.8 154.6 -
60 24 2292 May 02 06:00:52 692 3615 P -t -0.7956 1.4233 0.3735 312.0 139.2 -
61 25 2310 May 14 13:06:26 748 3838 P -t -0.8566 1.3085 0.2643 301.8 118.7 -
62 26 2328 May 24 20:06:39 805 4061 P -t -0.9225 1.1848 0.1460 289.9 89.5 -
63 27 2346 Jun 05 03:03:17 865 4284 P -t -0.9921 1.0545 0.0209 276.2 34.4 -
64 28 2364 Jun 15 09:57:15 926 4507 N -t -1.0645 0.9192 -0.1097 260.4 - -
65 29 2382 Jun 26 16:49:14 990 4730 N -t -1.1391 0.7802 -0.2444 242.3 - -
66 30 2400 Jul 06 23:41:22 1056 4953 N -t -1.2140 0.6409 -0.3798 221.8 - -
67 31 2418 Jul 18 06:34:23 1124 5176 N -t -1.2887 0.5020 -0.5153 198.1 - -
68 32 2436 Jul 28 13:31:07 1194 5399 N -t -1.3610 0.3678 -0.6466 171.1 - -
69 33 2454 Aug 08 20:30:20 1265 5622 N -t -1.4320 0.2364 -0.7757 138.2 - -
70 34 2472 Aug 19 03:36:26 1340 5845 N -t -1.4981 0.1141 -0.8961 96.8 - -
[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)"
