Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 155

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 155 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series will begin with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2212 Mar 18. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 3510 May 17. The total duration of Saros series 155 is 1298.17 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  2212 Mar 18   09:06:46 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  3510 May 17   08:51:32 TD

                      Duration of Saros 155  =  1298.17 Years

Saros 155 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 155
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 73100.0%
PenumbralN 29 39.7%
PartialP 16 21.9%
TotalT 28 38.4%

The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 155 occur in the order of 9N 8P 28T 8P 20N which corresponds to:

                                     9  Penumbral
                                     8  Partial
                                    28  Total
                                     8  Partial
                                    20  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 155 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2879 Apr 27      Duration = 01h38m51s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    3005 Jul 13      Duration = 00h30m31s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2500 Sep 09      Duration = 03h08m32s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2374 Jun 25      Duration = 00h26m54s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    3167 Oct 20      Duration = 04h02m21s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2212 Mar 18      Duration = 00h55m28s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 155 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2500 Sep 09      Magnitude = 0.9628
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2374 Jun 25      Magnitude = 0.0140

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 155 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 155

                          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   2212 Mar 18  09:06:46    471   2624   N   a-  -1.5477  0.0361 -0.9998   55.5    -      -  
 02  -36   2230 Mar 29  16:58:24    518   2847   N   a-  -1.5105  0.1012 -0.9285   91.9    -      -  
 03  -35   2248 Apr 09  00:42:30    566   3070   N   a-  -1.4664  0.1790 -0.8443  120.9    -      -  
 04  -34   2266 Apr 20  08:20:18    616   3293   N   a-  -1.4163  0.2677 -0.7494  145.9    -      -  
 05  -33   2284 Apr 30  15:51:43    669   3516   N   a-  -1.3601  0.3677 -0.6431  168.7    -      -  
 06  -32   2302 May 12  23:17:54    723   3739   N   a-  -1.2986  0.4776 -0.5273  189.4    -      -  
 07  -31   2320 May 23  06:38:12    780   3962   N   a-  -1.2312  0.5984 -0.4008  208.6    -      -  
 08  -30   2338 Jun 03  13:55:27    838   4185   N   a-  -1.1602  0.7259 -0.2680  225.8    -      -  
 09  -29   2356 Jun 13  21:09:23    899   4408   N   a-  -1.0858  0.8601 -0.1291  241.4    -      -  
 10  -28   2374 Jun 25  04:21:36    962   4631   P   a-  -1.0090  0.9989  0.0140  255.3   26.9    -  

 11  -27   2392 Jul 05  11:33:11   1026   4854   P   a-  -0.9306  1.1410  0.1598  267.6   88.7    -  
 12  -26   2410 Jul 16  18:45:58   1093   5077   P   a-  -0.8523  1.2829  0.3050  278.2  119.7    -  
 13  -25   2428 Jul 27  02:01:20   1162   5300   P   a-  -0.7754  1.4228  0.4474  287.2  141.5    -  
 14  -24   2446 Aug 07  09:19:05   1233   5523   P   a-  -0.6995  1.5609  0.5875  294.9  158.2    -  
 15  -23   2464 Aug 17  16:42:26   1306   5746   P   a-  -0.6277  1.6921  0.7201  301.2  170.9    -  
 16  -22   2482 Aug 29  00:10:16   1382   5969   P   a-  -0.5588  1.8179  0.8468  306.3  180.9    -  
 17  -21   2500 Sep 09  07:45:59   1459   6192   P   a-  -0.4957  1.9335  0.9628  310.3  188.5    -  
 18  -20   2518 Sep 20  15:27:28   1538   6415   T   a-  -0.4370  2.0413  1.0707  313.4  194.4   39.5
 19  -19   2536 Sep 30  23:18:44   1620   6638   T   a-  -0.3856  2.1357  1.1647  315.6  198.7   58.5
 20  -18   2554 Oct 12  07:17:08   1703   6861   T   p-  -0.3398  2.2201  1.2485  317.3  201.9   69.7

 21  -17   2572 Oct 22  15:24:53   1789   7084   T   p-  -0.3012  2.2913  1.3190  318.4  204.1   76.9
 22  -16   2590 Nov 02  23:40:12   1876   7307   T-  p-  -0.2685  2.3518  1.3786  319.1  205.7   81.9
 23  -15   2608 Nov 14  08:04:33   1966   7530   T-  p-  -0.2426  2.3997  1.4256  319.5  206.7   85.1
 24  -14   2626 Nov 25  16:35:27   2058   7753   T-  p-  -0.2223  2.4374  1.4626  319.7  207.3   87.3
 25  -13   2644 Dec 06  01:12:54   2151   7976   T-  p-  -0.2069  2.4659  1.4906  319.7  207.6   88.8
 26  -12   2662 Dec 17  09:55:29   2247   8199   T-  p-  -0.1956  2.4867  1.5111  319.6  207.8   89.8
 27  -11   2680 Dec 27  18:43:05   2345   8422   T-  p-  -0.1879  2.5008  1.5253  319.4  207.9   90.4
 28  -10   2699 Jan 08  03:32:27   2445   8645   T-  p-  -0.1816  2.5121  1.5371  319.2  207.9   90.8
 29  -09   2717 Jan 19  12:23:43   2548   8868   T-  p-  -0.1768  2.5205  1.5464  318.9  207.9   91.2
 30  -08   2735 Jan 30  21:13:45   2652   9091   T-  p-  -0.1706  2.5312  1.5584  318.6  208.0   91.7

 31  -07   2753 Feb 10  06:03:22   2758   9314   T-  p-  -0.1639  2.5425  1.5715  318.4  208.1   92.2
 32  -06   2771 Feb 21  14:47:55   2866   9537   T-  p-  -0.1527  2.5621  1.5931  318.2  208.4   93.1
 33  -05   2789 Mar 03  23:29:51   2977   9760   T-  p-  -0.1391  2.5859  1.6193  318.1  208.8   94.1
 34  -04   2807 Mar 15  08:04:45   3089   9983   T-  p-  -0.1195  2.6205  1.6566  318.1  209.3   95.3
 35  -03   2825 Mar 25  16:34:39   3204  10206   T-  p-  -0.0956  2.6629  1.7017  318.1  209.9   96.5
 36  -02   2843 Apr 06  00:55:44   3320  10429   T-  pp  -0.0642  2.7192  1.7608  318.2  210.5   97.7
 37  -01   2861 Apr 16  09:11:05   3439  10652   T-  pp  -0.0280  2.7842  1.8286  318.2  210.9   98.6
 38   00   2879 Apr 27  17:18:01   3560  10875   T+  pp   0.0154  2.8060  1.8529  318.0  211.1   98.8
 39   01   2897 May 08  01:17:49   3683  11098   T+  pp   0.0647  2.7144  1.7636  317.6  210.8   98.1
 40   02   2915 May 20  09:10:06   3808  11321   T+  -p   0.1200  2.6119  1.6631  317.0  210.0   96.0


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 155

                          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   2933 May 30  16:56:40   3935  11544   T+  -p   0.1800  2.5011  1.5539  315.8  208.4   92.1
 42   04   2951 Jun 11  00:37:15   4064  11767   T+  -p   0.2448  2.3816  1.4354  314.1  205.7   85.7
 43   05   2969 Jun 21  08:12:26   4195  11990   T   -p   0.3140  2.2544  1.3088  311.8  201.9   75.6
 44   06   2987 Jul 02  15:44:11   4328  12213   T   -a   0.3856  2.1229  1.1772  308.7  196.8   59.8
 45   07   3005 Jul 13  23:13:22   4463  12436   T   -a   0.4589  1.9888  1.0424  304.8  190.2   30.5
 46   08   3023 Jul 25  06:40:39   4601  12659   P   -a   0.5335  1.8525  0.9049  300.1  181.9    -  
 47   09   3041 Aug 04  14:07:39   4740  12882   P   -a   0.6081  1.7167  0.7672  294.7  171.7    -  
 48   10   3059 Aug 15  21:35:48   4882  13105   P   -a   0.6812  1.5839  0.6318  288.4  159.5    -  
 49   11   3077 Aug 26  05:06:33   5025  13328   P   -a   0.7515  1.4564  0.5012  281.6  145.3    -  
 50   12   3095 Sep 06  12:39:07   5171  13551   P   -a   0.8199  1.3328  0.3739  274.1  128.2    -  

 51   13   3113 Sep 17  20:16:45   5318  13774   P   -a   0.8834  1.2182  0.2553  266.3  108.0    -  
 52   14   3131 Sep 29  03:58:39   5468  13997   P   -a   0.9430  1.1113  0.1438  258.2   82.5    -  
 53   15   3149 Oct 09  11:47:09   5620  14220   P   -a   0.9965  1.0155  0.0432  250.2   45.9    -  
 54   16   3167 Oct 20  19:40:44   5774  14443   N   -a   1.0452  0.9287 -0.0488  242.4    -      -  
 55   17   3185 Oct 31  03:42:04   5930  14666   N   -a   1.0870  0.8547 -0.1280  235.1    -      -  
 56   18   3203 Nov 11  11:49:47   6088  14889   N   -a   1.1230  0.7912 -0.1968  228.5    -      -  
 57   19   3221 Nov 21  20:03:51   6248  15112   N   -a   1.1534  0.7382 -0.2550  222.8    -      -  
 58   20   3239 Dec 03  04:24:23   6410  15335   N   -a   1.1780  0.6956 -0.3027  218.0    -      -  
 59   21   3257 Dec 13  12:50:24   6575  15558   N   -a   1.1978  0.6616 -0.3415  214.1    -      -  
 60   22   3275 Dec 24  21:21:38   6741  15781   N   -a   1.2128  0.6364 -0.3712  211.2    -      -  

 61   23   3294 Jan 04  05:55:01   6909  16004   N   -a   1.2258  0.6146 -0.3970  208.7    -      -  
 62   24   3312 Jan 16  14:32:07   7080  16227   N   -a   1.2353  0.5989 -0.4163  207.1    -      -  
 63   25   3330 Jan 26  23:09:09   7253  16450   N   -a   1.2449  0.5827 -0.4354  205.3    -      -  
 64   26   3348 Feb 07  07:46:09   7427  16673   N   -a   1.2540  0.5674 -0.4532  203.6    -      -  
 65   27   3366 Feb 17  16:19:28   7604  16896   N   -a   1.2656  0.5471 -0.4755  200.9    -      -  
 66   28   3384 Feb 29  00:50:02   7783  17119   N   -a   1.2790  0.5232 -0.5009  197.6    -      -  
 67   29   3402 Mar 12  09:14:29   7964  17342   N   -a   1.2970  0.4908 -0.5344  192.5    -      -  
 68   30   3420 Mar 22  17:32:23   8147  17565   N   -a   1.3197  0.4495 -0.5764  185.6    -      -  
 69   31   3438 Apr 03  01:42:09   8332  17788   N   -a   1.3483  0.3972 -0.6291  175.8    -      -  
 70   32   3456 Apr 13  09:43:56   8519  18011   N   -a   1.3824  0.3348 -0.6919  162.9    -      -  

 71   33   3474 Apr 24  17:35:45   8708  18234   N   -a   1.4238  0.2589 -0.7680  144.7    -      -  
 72   34   3492 May 05  01:18:38   8899  18457   N   -a   1.4717  0.1712 -0.8559  119.0    -      -  
 73   35   3510 May 17  08:51:32   9092  18680   Ne  -h   1.5264  0.0710 -0.9564   77.5    -      -  


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)"


Return to: Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Return to: Five Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses

2009 Sep 29