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 150 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series will begin with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2013 May 25. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3275 Jun 30. The total duration of Saros series 150 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2013 May 25 04:11:06 TD
Last Eclipse = 3275 Jun 30 05:18:43 TD
Duration of Saros 150 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 150 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 150 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 21 | 29.6% |
| Partial | P | 38 | 53.5% |
| Total | T | 12 | 16.9% |
The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 150 occur in the order of 8N 23P 12T 15P 13N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
23 Partial
12 Total
15 Partial
13 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 150 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2680 Jul 04 Duration = 01h45m16s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2770 Aug 28 Duration = 00h29m38s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2554 Apr 19 Duration = 03h21m24s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3041 Feb 08 Duration = 00h36m39s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3059 Feb 19 Duration = 04h56m51s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2013 May 25 Duration = 00h33m34s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 150 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2554 Apr 19 Magnitude = 0.9929
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3041 Feb 08 Magnitude = 0.0220
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 150 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 -37 2013 May 25 04:11:06 68 165 Nb a- 1.5350 0.0157 -0.9335 33.6 - -
02 -36 2031 Jun 05 11:45:17 78 388 N a- 1.4731 0.1292 -0.8199 95.6 - -
03 -35 2049 Jun 15 19:14:12 92 611 N a- 1.4068 0.2511 -0.6985 132.0 - -
04 -34 2067 Jun 27 02:41:06 129 834 N a- 1.3394 0.3754 -0.5753 159.8 - -
05 -33 2085 Jul 07 10:04:40 169 1057 N a- 1.2694 0.5047 -0.4478 183.5 - -
06 -32 2103 Jul 19 17:28:43 211 1280 N a- 1.2002 0.6328 -0.3220 203.4 - -
07 -31 2121 Jul 30 00:52:44 255 1503 N a- 1.1312 0.7610 -0.1968 220.8 - -
08 -30 2139 Aug 10 08:18:10 301 1726 N a- 1.0638 0.8865 -0.0749 236.0 - -
09 -29 2157 Aug 20 15:46:36 344 1949 P a- 0.9992 1.0070 0.0415 249.2 45.1 -
10 -28 2175 Aug 31 23:19:04 384 2172 P a- 0.9385 1.1207 0.1506 260.6 84.8 -
11 -27 2193 Sep 11 06:57:00 426 2395 P a- 0.8828 1.2256 0.2505 270.4 108.1 -
12 -26 2211 Sep 23 14:39:33 470 2618 P a- 0.8314 1.3226 0.3421 278.9 124.9 -
13 -25 2229 Oct 03 22:29:31 516 2841 P a- 0.7865 1.4077 0.4216 286.0 137.4 -
14 -24 2247 Oct 15 06:25:30 565 3064 P a- 0.7471 1.4829 0.4911 292.2 147.1 -
15 -23 2265 Oct 25 14:28:59 615 3287 P a- 0.7146 1.5454 0.5480 297.3 154.4 -
16 -22 2283 Nov 05 22:38:43 667 3510 P a- 0.6877 1.5976 0.5945 301.6 160.1 -
17 -21 2301 Nov 17 06:56:02 722 3733 P a- 0.6678 1.6368 0.6283 305.1 164.1 -
18 -20 2319 Nov 28 15:18:35 778 3956 P a- 0.6528 1.6670 0.6533 308.0 167.1 -
19 -19 2337 Dec 08 23:45:53 837 4179 P a- 0.6423 1.6887 0.6702 310.4 169.2 -
20 -18 2355 Dec 20 08:16:43 897 4402 P a- 0.6355 1.7033 0.6805 312.4 170.6 -
21 -17 2373 Dec 30 16:50:27 960 4625 P a- 0.6322 1.7113 0.6848 314.0 171.5 -
22 -16 2392 Jan 11 01:23:56 1025 4848 P a- 0.6291 1.7186 0.6889 315.6 172.4 -
23 -15 2410 Jan 21 09:56:47 1091 5071 P a- 0.6263 1.7250 0.6926 317.0 173.2 -
24 -14 2428 Feb 01 18:26:27 1160 5294 P a- 0.6218 1.7344 0.6999 318.6 174.4 -
25 -13 2446 Feb 12 02:53:07 1231 5517 P a- 0.6155 1.7467 0.7106 320.3 175.9 -
26 -12 2464 Feb 23 11:12:18 1304 5740 P a- 0.6041 1.7683 0.7311 322.4 178.3 -
27 -11 2482 Mar 05 19:26:14 1380 5963 P a- 0.5889 1.7964 0.7585 324.9 181.3 -
28 -10 2500 Mar 17 03:30:27 1457 6186 P h- 0.5665 1.8378 0.7996 327.9 185.4 -
29 -09 2518 Mar 28 11:27:42 1536 6409 P t- 0.5390 1.8883 0.8498 331.2 190.1 -
30 -08 2536 Apr 07 19:13:18 1617 6632 P t- 0.5027 1.9550 0.9165 335.1 195.6 -
31 -07 2554 Apr 19 02:51:33 1701 6855 P t- 0.4610 2.0315 0.9929 339.2 201.4 -
32 -06 2572 Apr 29 10:18:28 1786 7078 T p- 0.4106 2.1240 1.0853 343.6 207.5 45.6
33 -05 2590 May 10 17:36:56 1874 7301 T p- 0.3540 2.2281 1.1891 347.9 213.5 65.8
34 -04 2608 May 22 00:45:18 1963 7524 T pp 0.2896 2.3465 1.3069 352.1 219.1 80.7
35 -03 2626 Jun 02 07:46:44 2055 7747 T+ pp 0.2203 2.4741 1.4338 355.8 223.9 91.7
36 -02 2644 Jun 12 14:40:34 2149 7970 T+ pp 0.1454 2.6121 1.5705 359.0 227.7 99.4
37 -01 2662 Jun 23 21:28:04 2245 8193 T+ pp 0.0662 2.7583 1.7152 361.5 230.3 104.0
38 00 2680 Jul 04 04:11:07 2343 8416 T- pp -0.0161 2.8511 1.8060 363.0 231.3 105.3
39 01 2698 Jul 15 10:51:12 2443 8639 T- pp -0.1003 2.6979 1.6503 363.5 230.7 102.9
40 02 2716 Jul 26 17:28:56 2545 8862 T- pp -0.1855 2.5429 1.4926 363.0 228.4 96.4
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 2734 Aug 07 00:06:17 2649 9085 T- -t -0.2703 2.3889 1.3353 361.3 224.2 84.8
42 04 2752 Aug 17 06:45:06 2755 9308 T -t -0.3533 2.2385 1.1814 358.7 218.2 66.0
43 05 2770 Aug 28 13:27:15 2863 9531 T -t -0.4330 2.0943 1.0331 355.1 210.4 29.6
44 06 2788 Sep 07 20:12:11 2974 9754 P -t -0.5098 1.9554 0.8901 350.6 200.9 -
45 07 2806 Sep 19 03:03:31 3086 9977 P -t -0.5808 1.8275 0.7577 345.6 190.1 -
46 08 2824 Sep 29 10:00:55 3201 10200 P -t -0.6461 1.7100 0.6356 340.2 178.0 -
47 09 2842 Oct 10 17:06:32 3317 10423 P -t -0.7043 1.6054 0.5264 334.7 165.2 -
48 10 2860 Oct 21 00:18:17 3436 10646 P -t -0.7571 1.5109 0.4273 329.2 151.3 -
49 11 2878 Nov 01 07:39:31 3557 10869 P -t -0.8017 1.4312 0.3432 324.0 137.6 -
50 12 2896 Nov 11 15:07:55 3679 11092 P -t -0.8401 1.3629 0.2708 319.3 123.6 -
51 13 2914 Nov 23 22:44:30 3804 11315 P -t -0.8712 1.3076 0.2118 315.3 110.4 -
52 14 2932 Dec 04 06:27:49 3931 11538 P -t -0.8966 1.2627 0.1636 311.8 97.8 -
53 15 2950 Dec 15 14:18:10 4060 11761 P -t -0.9159 1.2287 0.1269 309.1 86.6 -
54 16 2968 Dec 25 22:13:36 4191 11984 P -t -0.9309 1.2023 0.0984 306.9 76.6 -
55 17 2987 Jan 06 06:11:45 4324 12207 P -t -0.9434 1.1800 0.0748 304.9 67.0 -
56 18 3005 Jan 17 14:13:07 4460 12430 P -t -0.9532 1.1624 0.0565 303.3 58.4 -
57 19 3023 Jan 28 22:14:41 4597 12653 P -t -0.9622 1.1457 0.0401 301.6 49.3 -
58 20 3041 Feb 08 06:15:20 4736 12876 P -t -0.9723 1.1267 0.0220 299.6 36.6 -
59 21 3059 Feb 19 14:12:24 4878 13099 Nx -t -0.9852 1.1022 -0.0007 296.9 - -
60 22 3077 Mar 01 22:06:23 5021 13322 Nx -t -1.0006 1.0727 -0.0279 293.4 - -
61 23 3095 Mar 13 05:54:33 5167 13545 Nx -t -1.0207 1.0342 -0.0634 288.9 - -
62 24 3113 Mar 24 13:35:42 5314 13768 N -t -1.0465 0.9850 -0.1089 282.9 - -
63 25 3131 Apr 04 21:09:41 5464 13991 N -t -1.0782 0.9249 -0.1651 275.3 - -
64 26 3149 Apr 15 04:35:46 5616 14214 N -t -1.1165 0.8526 -0.2332 265.7 - -
65 27 3167 Apr 26 11:53:58 5770 14437 N -t -1.1610 0.7686 -0.3126 253.8 - -
66 28 3185 May 06 19:03:40 5926 14660 N -t -1.2124 0.6719 -0.4047 239.0 - -
67 29 3203 May 18 02:06:38 6084 14883 N -t -1.2693 0.5651 -0.5068 220.8 - -
68 30 3221 May 28 09:02:35 6244 15106 N -t -1.3320 0.4478 -0.6196 198.2 - -
69 31 3239 Jun 08 15:52:00 6406 15329 N -t -1.3999 0.3209 -0.7420 169.3 - -
70 32 3257 Jun 18 22:37:18 6570 15552 N -t -1.4712 0.1881 -0.8707 130.8 - -
71 33 3275 Jun 30 05:18:43 6737 15775 Ne -t -1.5457 0.0495 -1.0054 67.7 - -
[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)"
