Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 144

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 144 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 1749 Jul 29. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3011 Sep 04. The total duration of Saros series 144 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  1749 Jul 29   16:31:02 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  3011 Sep 04   16:45:53 TD

                      Duration of Saros 144  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 144 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 144
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PenumbralN 30 42.3%
PartialP 21 29.6%
TotalT 20 28.2%

The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 144 occur in the order of 22N 9P 20T 12P 8N which corresponds to:

                                    22  Penumbral
                                     9  Partial
                                    20  Total
                                    12  Partial
                                     8  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 144 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2416 Sep 07      Duration = 01h44m53s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2651 Jan 28      Duration = 00h20m11s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2669 Feb 08      Duration = 03h30m02s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2146 Mar 28      Duration = 00h48m35s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2885 Jun 18      Duration = 04h46m38s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    3011 Sep 04      Duration = 00h45m32s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 144 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2669 Feb 08      Magnitude = 0.9951
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2146 Mar 28      Magnitude = 0.0448

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 144 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 144

                          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  -37   1749 Jul 29  16:31:02     13  -3098   Nb  a-   1.5083  0.0642 -0.8842   67.7    -      -  
 02  -36   1767 Aug 10  00:02:55     16  -2875   N   a-   1.4447  0.1826 -0.7690  113.2    -      -  
 03  -35   1785 Aug 20  07:38:39     17  -2652   N   a-   1.3843  0.2953 -0.6598  142.9    -      -  
 04  -34   1803 Sep 01  15:19:10     12  -2429   N   a-   1.3282  0.4003 -0.5589  165.1    -      -  
 05  -33   1821 Sep 11  23:04:56     11  -2206   N   a-   1.2766  0.4971 -0.4666  182.9    -      -  
 06  -32   1839 Sep 23  06:57:39      5  -1983   N   a-   1.2311  0.5830 -0.3855  197.0    -      -  
 07  -31   1857 Oct 03  14:56:57      7  -1760   N   a-   1.1914  0.6585 -0.3150  208.4    -      -  
 08  -30   1875 Oct 14  23:02:55     -4  -1537   N   a-   1.1577  0.7228 -0.2558  217.7    -      -  
 09  -29   1893 Oct 25  07:16:16     -6  -1314   N   a-   1.1305  0.7753 -0.2084  225.0    -      -  
 10  -28   1911 Nov 06  15:36:45     13  -1091   N   a-   1.1100  0.8154 -0.1733  230.6    -      -  

 11  -27   1929 Nov 17  00:03:13     24   -868   N   a-   1.0947  0.8460 -0.1474  235.0    -      -  
 12  -26   1947 Nov 28  08:34:29     28   -645   N   a-   1.0838  0.8683 -0.1297  238.3    -      -  
 13  -25   1965 Dec 08  17:10:32     36   -422   N   a-   1.0774  0.8820 -0.1201  240.7    -      -  
 14  -24   1983 Dec 20  01:49:57     54   -199   N   a-   1.0746  0.8890 -0.1167  242.3    -      -  
 15  -23   2001 Dec 30  10:30:22     64     24   N   a-   1.0731  0.8933 -0.1155  243.5    -      -  
 16  -22   2020 Jan 10  19:11:11     72    247   N   a-   1.0726  0.8956 -0.1160  244.6    -      -  
 17  -21   2038 Jan 21  03:49:52     83    470   N   a-   1.0710  0.8996 -0.1140  245.8    -      -  
 18  -20   2056 Feb 01  12:26:06    105    693   N   a-   1.0682  0.9056 -0.1096  247.2    -      -  
 19  -19   2074 Feb 11  20:55:58    144    916   N   a-   1.0611  0.9191 -0.0972  249.5    -      -  
 20  -18   2092 Feb 23  05:20:59    184   1139   N   a-   1.0509  0.9383 -0.0789  252.4    -      -  

 21  -17   2110 Mar 06  13:37:20    227   1362   N   a-   1.0345  0.9686 -0.0491  256.4    -      -  
 22  -16   2128 Mar 16  21:46:08    271   1585   Nx  a-   1.0128  1.0086 -0.0093  261.3    -      -  
 23  -15   2146 Mar 28  05:44:28    318   1808   P   a-   0.9832  1.0629  0.0448  267.6   48.6    -  
 24  -14   2164 Apr 07  13:34:34    359   2031   P   h-   0.9479  1.1278  0.1095  274.6   75.5    -  
 25  -13   2182 Apr 18  21:14:14    399   2254   P   h-   0.9049  1.2068  0.1883  282.5   98.3    -  
 26  -12   2200 Apr 30  04:44:34    442   2477   P   t-   0.8550  1.2987  0.2797  291.1  118.6    -  
 27  -11   2218 May 11  12:05:34    487   2700   P   t-   0.7980  1.4036  0.3839  300.0  137.2    -  
 28  -10   2236 May 21  19:18:51    534   2923   P   t-   0.7352  1.5194  0.4987  309.1  154.2    -  
 29  -09   2254 Jun 02  02:24:40    583   3146   P   t-   0.6670  1.6452  0.6231  317.9  169.5    -  
 30  -08   2272 Jun 12  09:23:36    634   3369   P   t-   0.5938  1.7804  0.7565  326.5  183.3    -  

 31  -07   2290 Jun 23  16:17:39    687   3592   P   t-   0.5172  1.9221  0.8959  334.4  195.3    -  
 32  -06   2308 Jul 04  23:07:47    742   3815   T   t-   0.4377  2.0694  1.0404  341.6  205.5   31.9
 33  -05   2326 Jul 16  05:54:47    799   4038   T   p-   0.3565  2.2200  1.1878  347.8  214.0   65.9
 34  -04   2344 Jul 26  12:40:59    859   4261   T   pp   0.2752  2.3711  1.3351  353.2  220.7   83.8
 35  -03   2362 Aug 06  19:27:11    920   4484   T+  pp   0.1948  2.5207  1.4807  357.5  225.7   94.9
 36  -02   2380 Aug 17  02:16:10    983   4707   T+  pp   0.1172  2.6655  1.6209  360.8  229.1  101.5
 37  -01   2398 Aug 28  09:06:27   1049   4930   T+  pp   0.0414  2.8069  1.7575  363.3  230.9  104.6
 38   00   2416 Sep 07  16:02:33   1117   5153   T-  pp  -0.0288  2.8326  1.7780  364.9  231.5  104.9
 39   01   2434 Sep 18  23:02:35   1186   5376   T-  pp  -0.0951  2.7137  1.6538  365.8  230.9  102.8
 40   02   2452 Sep 29  06:10:28   1258   5599   T-  pp  -0.1542  2.6079  1.5426  366.2  229.6   98.7


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 144

                          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   03   2470 Oct 10  13:23:39   1332   5822   T-  pp  -0.2084  2.5113  1.4405  366.2  227.5   93.0
 42   04   2488 Oct 20  20:46:19   1408   6045   T-  -p  -0.2544  2.4297  1.3535  365.9  225.2   86.4
 43   05   2506 Nov 02  04:15:24   1486   6268   T   -p  -0.2945  2.3586  1.2773  365.6  222.8   78.8
 44   06   2524 Nov 12  11:52:58   1566   6491   T   -p  -0.3270  2.3013  1.2152  365.2  220.4   71.0
 45   07   2542 Nov 23  19:37:00   1648   6714   T   -t  -0.3540  2.2542  1.1635  364.9  218.3   63.1
 46   08   2560 Dec 04  03:28:39   1732   6937   T   -t  -0.3739  2.2195  1.1250  364.8  216.6   55.9
 47   09   2578 Dec 15  11:24:39   1818   7160   T   -t  -0.3903  2.1911  1.0933  364.7  215.1   48.8
 48   10   2596 Dec 25  19:24:44   1907   7383   T   -t  -0.4030  2.1691  1.0688  364.6  213.9   42.3
 49   11   2615 Jan 07  03:27:06   1997   7606   T   -t  -0.4133  2.1512  1.0490  364.6  213.0   36.0
 50   12   2633 Jan 17  11:31:11   2089   7829   T   -t  -0.4215  2.1367  1.0334  364.5  212.2   29.9

 51   13   2651 Jan 28  19:32:59   2184   8052   T   -t  -0.4314  2.1186  1.0151  364.1  211.2   20.2
 52   14   2669 Feb 08  03:33:04   2281   8275   P   -t  -0.4424  2.0982  0.9951  363.5  210.0    -  
 53   15   2687 Feb 19  11:28:02   2379   8498   P   -t  -0.4574  2.0701  0.9682  362.5  208.3    -  
 54   16   2705 Mar 02  19:18:45   2480   8721   P   -t  -0.4756  2.0358  0.9357  361.1  206.2    -  
 55   17   2723 Mar 14  03:00:48   2583   8944   P   -t  -0.5004  1.9890  0.8913  358.9  202.9    -  
 56   18   2741 Mar 24  10:36:55   2688   9167   P   -t  -0.5301  1.9330  0.8383  356.2  198.7    -  
 57   19   2759 Apr 04  18:03:23   2795   9390   P   -t  -0.5676  1.8626  0.7710  352.5  192.9    -  
 58   20   2777 Apr 15  01:22:23   2904   9613   P   -t  -0.6112  1.7808  0.6927  347.8  185.3    -  
 59   21   2795 Apr 26  08:31:28   3015   9836   P   -t  -0.6630  1.6840  0.5996  341.7  175.0    -  
 60   22   2813 May 06  15:33:47   3128  10059   P   -t  -0.7203  1.5769  0.4963  334.4  161.9    -  

 61   23   2831 May 17  22:27:44   3243  10282   P   -t  -0.7844  1.4574  0.3804  325.5  144.2    -  
 62   24   2849 May 28  05:14:53   3361  10505   P   -t  -0.8542  1.3276  0.2543  314.7  120.0    -  
 63   25   2867 Jun 08  11:56:08   3480  10728   P   -t  -0.9288  1.1890  0.1189  301.8   83.6    -  
 64   26   2885 Jun 18  18:33:10   3601  10951   Nx  -t  -1.0070  1.0439 -0.0230  286.6    -      -  
 65   27   2903 Jul 01  01:07:21   3725  11174   N   -t  -1.0874  0.8950 -0.1692  269.0    -      -  
 66   28   2921 Jul 11  07:38:47   3851  11397   N   -t  -1.1700  0.7422 -0.3194  248.2    -      -  
 67   29   2939 Jul 22  14:10:52   3978  11620   N   -t  -1.2522  0.5904 -0.4692  224.2    -      -  
 68   30   2957 Aug 01  20:43:50   4108  11843   N   -t  -1.3338  0.4397 -0.6182  195.8    -      -  
 69   31   2975 Aug 13  03:19:41   4240  12066   N   -t  -1.4131  0.2936 -0.7631  161.8    -      -  
 70   32   2993 Aug 23  09:59:37   4374  12289   N   -t  -1.4893  0.1534 -0.9024  118.1    -      -  

 71   33   3011 Sep 04  16:45:53   4510  12512   Ne  -t  -1.5605  0.0224 -1.0328   45.5    -      -  


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