Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 129

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 129 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 1351 Jun 10. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2613 Jul 24. The total duration of Saros series 129 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  1351 Jun 10   08:50:44 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  2613 Jul 24   01:08:17 TD

                      Duration of Saros 129  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 129 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 129
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PenumbralN 18 25.4%
PartialP 42 59.2%
TotalT 11 15.5%

The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 129 occur in the order of 10N 21P 11T 21P 8N which corresponds to:

                                    10  Penumbral
                                    21  Partial
                                    11  Total
                                    21  Partial
                                     8  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 129 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2000 Jul 16      Duration = 01h46m24s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2090 Sep 08      Duration = 00h31m51s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1892 May 11      Duration = 03h26m16s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2469 Apr 26      Duration = 00h20m56s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    1513 Sep 15      Duration = 04h26m46s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    1351 Jun 10      Duration = 00h24m47s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 129 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1892 May 11      Magnitude = 0.9555
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2469 Apr 26      Magnitude = 0.0077

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 129 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 129

                          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   1351 Jun 10  08:50:44    392  -8022   Nb  h-  -1.5474  0.0079 -0.9709   24.8    -      -  
 02  -35   1369 Jun 20  16:01:26    363  -7799   N   h-  -1.4792  0.1346 -0.8474  101.7    -      -  
 03  -34   1387 Jul 01  23:09:54    336  -7576   N   h-  -1.4100  0.2635 -0.7222  141.3    -      -  
 04  -33   1405 Jul 12  06:20:21    310  -7353   N   h-  -1.3426  0.3894 -0.6007  170.4    -      -  
 05  -32   1423 Jul 23  13:30:12    285  -7130   N   h-  -1.2754  0.5152 -0.4798  194.6    -      -  
 06  -31   1441 Aug 02  20:45:02    262  -6907   N   t-  -1.2127  0.6328 -0.3675  214.1    -      -  
 07  -30   1459 Aug 14  04:02:35    240  -6684   N   t-  -1.1531  0.7452 -0.2609  230.9    -      -  
 08  -29   1477 Aug 24  11:25:47    220  -6461   N   t-  -1.0986  0.8482 -0.1639  244.9    -      -  
 09  -28   1495 Sep 04  18:54:17    200  -6238   N   t-  -1.0490  0.9425 -0.0759  256.9    -      -  
 10  -27   1513 Sep 15  02:30:22    182  -6015   Nx  t-  -1.0060  1.0245 -0.0003  266.8    -      -  

 11  -26   1531 Sep 26  10:13:23    165  -5792   P   t-  -0.9696  1.0946  0.0634  275.0   58.4    -  
 12  -25   1549 Oct 06  18:02:25    150  -5569   P   t-  -0.9388  1.1543  0.1168  281.9   78.9    -  
 13  -24   1567 Oct 18  01:59:02    137  -5346   P   t-  -0.9149  1.2012  0.1576  287.4   91.4    -  
 14  -23   1585 Nov 07  10:01:47    126  -5123   P   t-  -0.8965  1.2379  0.1885  291.8   99.8    -  
 15  -22   1603 Nov 18  18:10:30    114  -4900   P   t-  -0.8837  1.2641  0.2093  295.3  105.2    -  
 16  -21   1621 Nov 29  02:23:01     91  -4677   P   t-  -0.8746  1.2832  0.2237  298.1  108.8    -  
 17  -20   1639 Dec 10  10:39:50     64  -4454   P   t-  -0.8695  1.2946  0.2308  300.1  110.7    -  
 18  -19   1657 Dec 20  18:58:00     38  -4231   P   t-  -0.8661  1.3026  0.2353  301.9  112.0    -  
 19  -18   1676 Jan 01  03:16:18     18  -4008   P   t-  -0.8634  1.3091  0.2389  303.4  113.1    -  
 20  -17   1694 Jan 11  11:33:05      8  -3785   P   t-  -0.8598  1.3167  0.2444  305.0  114.6    -  

 21  -16   1712 Jan 23  19:47:09      9  -3562   P   t-  -0.8544  1.3274  0.2535  306.7  116.8    -  
 22  -15   1730 Feb 03  03:55:45     11  -3339   P   t-  -0.8451  1.3449  0.2702  308.9  120.6    -  
 23  -14   1748 Feb 14  11:58:06     13  -3116   P   t-  -0.8312  1.3706  0.2956  311.7  126.0    -  
 24  -13   1766 Feb 24  19:52:51     15  -2893   P   t-  -0.8116  1.4065  0.3317  315.2  133.0    -  
 25  -12   1784 Mar 07  03:39:43     17  -2670   P   t-  -0.7858  1.4535  0.3792  319.4  141.5    -  
 26  -11   1802 Mar 19  11:15:28     13  -2447   P   t-  -0.7517  1.5156  0.4422  324.4  151.7    -  
 27  -10   1820 Mar 29  18:42:43     12  -2224   P   t-  -0.7112  1.5895  0.5171  330.0  162.4    -  
 28  -09   1838 Apr 10  01:58:48      5  -2001   P   t-  -0.6622  1.6788  0.6076  336.1  173.9    -  
 29  -08   1856 Apr 20  09:06:46      7  -1778   P   t-  -0.6068  1.7799  0.7098  342.3  185.1    -  
 30  -07   1874 May 01  16:03:17     -3  -1555   P   t-  -0.5426  1.8971  0.8282  348.7  196.2    -  

 31  -06   1892 May 11  22:53:20     -6  -1332   P   t-  -0.4734  2.0236  0.9555  354.7  206.3    -  
 32  -05   1910 May 24  05:34:16     11  -1109   T   t-  -0.3975  2.1625  1.0950  360.3  215.4   49.5
 33  -04   1928 Jun 03  12:09:57     24   -886   T   tp  -0.3175  2.3092  1.2421  365.2  223.0   75.3
 34  -03   1946 Jun 14  18:39:17     28   -663   T-  pp  -0.2324  2.4654  1.3983  369.2  229.0   91.1
 35  -02   1964 Jun 25  01:06:50     35   -440   T-  pp  -0.1461  2.6238  1.5565  372.1  233.2  100.8
 36  -01   1982 Jul 06  07:31:47     53   -217   T-  pp  -0.0579  2.7860  1.7179  373.8  235.6  105.7
 37   00   2000 Jul 16  13:56:39     64      6   T+  pp   0.0302  2.8375  1.7684  374.4  236.0  106.4
 38   01   2018 Jul 27  20:22:54     71    229   T+  pp   0.1168  2.6792  1.6087  373.8  234.5  103.0
 39   02   2036 Aug 07  02:52:32     82    452   T+  pp   0.2004  2.5266  1.4544  372.1  231.3   95.3
 40   03   2054 Aug 18  09:26:30    102    675   T   pp   0.2806  2.3805  1.3062  369.5  226.5   82.9


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 129

                          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   2072 Aug 28  16:05:42    141    898   T   -t   0.3563  2.2428  1.1662  366.0  220.3   64.2
 42   05   2090 Sep 08  22:52:29    181   1121   T   -t   0.4257  2.1167  1.0377  362.0  213.1   31.9
 43   06   2108 Sep 20  05:47:11    223   1344   P   -t   0.4884  2.0030  0.9213  357.6  205.1    -  
 44   07   2126 Oct 01  12:49:48    268   1567   P   -t   0.5446  1.9011  0.8169  353.1  196.7    -  
 45   08   2144 Oct 11  20:02:14    314   1790   P   -t   0.5930  1.8136  0.7269  348.7  188.3    -  
 46   09   2162 Oct 23  03:23:58    356   2013   P   -t   0.6340  1.7395  0.6504  344.6  180.3    -  
 47   10   2180 Nov 02  10:55:47    396   2236   P   -t   0.6669  1.6803  0.5891  341.0  173.2    -  
 48   11   2198 Nov 13  18:34:28    439   2459   P   -t   0.6944  1.6306  0.5378  337.7  166.7    -  
 49   12   2216 Nov 25  02:22:56    483   2682   P   -t   0.7144  1.5946  0.5005  335.1  161.6    -  
 50   13   2234 Dec 06  10:17:27    530   2905   P   -t   0.7300  1.5662  0.4715  332.8  157.3    -  

 51   14   2252 Dec 16  18:18:41    579   3128   P   -t   0.7406  1.5468  0.4522  331.0  154.3    -  
 52   15   2270 Dec 28  02:22:42    630   3351   P   -t   0.7493  1.5304  0.4364  329.3  151.7    -  
 53   16   2289 Jan 07  10:30:56    682   3574   P   -t   0.7552  1.5188  0.4263  327.8  149.9    -  
 54   17   2307 Jan 19  18:39:13    738   3797   P   -t   0.7616  1.5060  0.4156  326.1  148.0    -  
 55   18   2325 Jan 30  02:46:50    795   4020   P   -t   0.7692  1.4906  0.4033  324.2  145.8    -  
 56   19   2343 Feb 10  10:51:39    854   4243   P   -t   0.7796  1.4698  0.3860  321.7  142.8    -  
 57   20   2361 Feb 20  18:53:07    915   4466   P   -t   0.7931  1.4428  0.3633  318.7  138.7    -  
 58   21   2379 Mar 04  02:48:34    978   4689   P   -t   0.8120  1.4056  0.3310  314.8  132.8    -  
 59   22   2397 Mar 14  10:38:04   1044   4912   P   -t   0.8363  1.3584  0.2891  310.0  124.6    -  
 60   23   2415 Mar 25  18:20:36   1111   5135   P   -t   0.8667  1.2996  0.2360  304.0  113.1    -  

 61   24   2433 Apr 05  01:56:44   1181   5358   P   -t   0.9030  1.2300  0.1723  296.8   97.3    -  
 62   25   2451 Apr 16  09:23:54   1252   5581   P   -t   0.9471  1.1462  0.0945  287.9   72.7    -  
 63   26   2469 Apr 26  16:45:33   1326   5804   P   -t   0.9960  1.0533  0.0077  277.6   20.9    -  
 64   27   2487 May 07  23:59:40   1401   6027   N   -t   1.0516  0.9483 -0.0913  265.1    -      -  
 65   28   2505 May 19  07:09:44   1479   6250   N   -t   1.1112  0.8360 -0.1978  250.7    -      -  
 66   29   2523 May 30  14:13:13   1559   6473   N   -t   1.1767  0.7131 -0.3152  233.4    -      -  
 67   30   2541 Jun 09  21:15:08   1641   6696   N   -t   1.2440  0.5870 -0.4361  213.4    -      -  
 68   31   2559 Jun 21  04:13:10   1725   6919   N   -t   1.3146  0.4550 -0.5634  189.5    -      -  
 69   32   2577 Jul 01  11:11:08   1811   7142   N   -t   1.3860  0.3218 -0.6922  160.6    -      -  
 70   33   2595 Jul 12  18:08:13   1899   7365   N   -t   1.4585  0.1868 -0.8234  123.4    -      -  

 71   34   2613 Jul 24  01:08:17   1990   7588   Ne  -t   1.5292  0.0555 -0.9514   67.7    -      -  


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