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 159 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 2147 Sep 09. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 3445 Nov 07. The total duration of Saros series 159 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2147 Sep 09 23:11:33 TD
Last Eclipse = 3445 Nov 07 04:16:35 TD
Duration of Saros 159 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 159 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 159 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 32 | 43.8% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.5% |
| Total | T | 26 | 35.6% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 159 occur in the order of 23N 8P 26T 7P 9N which corresponds to:
23 Penumbral
8 Partial
26 Total
7 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 159 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2850 Nov 11 Duration = 01h42m15s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2706 Aug 16 Duration = 00h45m46s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3175 May 27 Duration = 03h25m59s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2562 May 20 Duration = 01h02m43s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3301 Aug 11 Duration = 04h40m25s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3445 Nov 07 Duration = 00h27m19s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 159 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3175 May 27 Magnitude = 0.9705
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3283 Jul 31 Magnitude = 0.0712
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 159 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 -39 2147 Sep 09 23:11:33 322 1826 Nb a- -1.5372 0.0123 -0.9380 29.6 - -
02 -38 2165 Sep 20 07:05:16 362 2049 N a- -1.4858 0.1074 -0.8447 86.8 - -
03 -37 2183 Oct 01 15:05:25 403 2272 N a- -1.4396 0.1933 -0.7610 115.5 - -
04 -36 2201 Oct 12 23:14:05 446 2495 N a- -1.4001 0.2669 -0.6897 134.9 - -
05 -35 2219 Oct 24 07:29:32 491 2718 N a- -1.3663 0.3303 -0.6288 149.2 - -
06 -34 2237 Nov 03 15:53:39 538 2941 N a- -1.3394 0.3809 -0.5807 159.5 - -
07 -33 2255 Nov 15 00:24:34 587 3164 N a- -1.3181 0.4213 -0.5429 167.2 - -
08 -32 2273 Nov 25 09:01:53 638 3387 N a- -1.3020 0.4520 -0.5144 172.7 - -
09 -31 2291 Dec 06 17:45:10 691 3610 N a- -1.2908 0.4735 -0.4951 176.6 - -
10 -30 2309 Dec 18 02:32:41 747 3833 N a- -1.2830 0.4888 -0.4815 179.3 - -
11 -29 2327 Dec 29 11:23:32 804 4056 N a- -1.2784 0.4978 -0.4739 180.9 - -
12 -28 2346 Jan 08 20:14:46 863 4279 N a- -1.2743 0.5059 -0.4667 182.4 - -
13 -27 2364 Jan 20 05:07:05 925 4502 N a- -1.2715 0.5114 -0.4618 183.4 - -
14 -26 2382 Jan 30 13:57:10 989 4725 N a- -1.2668 0.5200 -0.4533 185.0 - -
15 -25 2400 Feb 10 22:44:27 1054 4948 N a- -1.2606 0.5313 -0.4417 187.0 - -
16 -24 2418 Feb 21 07:26:24 1122 5171 N a- -1.2504 0.5496 -0.4228 190.0 - -
17 -23 2436 Mar 03 16:03:14 1192 5394 N a- -1.2367 0.5745 -0.3972 194.0 - -
18 -22 2454 Mar 15 00:33:02 1264 5617 N a- -1.2176 0.6089 -0.3617 199.3 - -
19 -21 2472 Mar 25 08:55:10 1338 5840 N a- -1.1927 0.6540 -0.3155 205.9 - -
20 -20 2490 Apr 05 17:09:28 1414 6063 N a- -1.1619 0.7100 -0.2584 213.7 - -
21 -19 2508 Apr 17 01:15:51 1492 6286 N a- -1.1252 0.7768 -0.1907 222.4 - -
22 -18 2526 Apr 28 09:13:29 1572 6509 N a- -1.0819 0.8560 -0.1107 232.0 - -
23 -17 2544 May 08 17:03:20 1655 6732 N a- -1.0325 0.9464 -0.0198 242.2 - -
24 -16 2562 May 20 00:45:23 1739 6955 P a- -0.9772 1.0477 0.0816 252.6 62.7 -
25 -15 2580 May 30 08:21:38 1825 7178 P a- -0.9176 1.1573 0.1908 263.0 94.7 -
26 -14 2598 Jun 10 15:50:01 1914 7401 P a- -0.8521 1.2778 0.3105 273.5 119.1 -
27 -13 2616 Jun 21 23:14:53 2004 7624 P a- -0.7845 1.4027 0.4340 283.3 138.6 -
28 -12 2634 Jul 03 06:34:23 2097 7847 P a- -0.7131 1.5348 0.5640 292.7 155.3 -
29 -11 2652 Jul 13 13:52:27 2192 8070 P a- -0.6410 1.6683 0.6951 301.3 169.3 -
30 -10 2670 Jul 24 21:06:28 2288 8293 P a- -0.5663 1.8070 0.8306 309.3 181.4 -
31 -09 2688 Aug 04 04:22:03 2387 8516 P a- -0.4936 1.9422 0.9620 316.3 191.4 -
32 -08 2706 Aug 16 11:37:00 2488 8739 T a- -0.4214 2.0768 1.0924 322.5 199.6 45.8
33 -07 2724 Aug 26 18:54:49 2591 8962 T p- -0.3524 2.2059 1.2168 327.9 206.3 67.5
34 -06 2742 Sep 07 02:14:46 2696 9185 T p- -0.2857 2.3309 1.3365 332.5 211.5 80.9
35 -05 2760 Sep 17 09:40:35 2803 9408 T- pp -0.2246 2.4458 1.4459 336.3 215.5 89.5
36 -04 2778 Sep 28 17:10:59 2913 9631 T- pp -0.1682 2.5523 1.5464 339.6 218.4 95.2
37 -03 2796 Oct 09 00:47:09 3024 9854 T- pp -0.1173 2.6487 1.6368 342.3 220.5 98.8
38 -02 2814 Oct 20 08:29:42 3137 10077 T- pp -0.0725 2.7340 1.7158 344.7 222.0 100.9
39 -01 2832 Oct 30 16:19:38 3253 10300 T- pp -0.0344 2.8072 1.7828 346.7 222.9 101.9
40 00 2850 Nov 11 00:15:59 3370 10523 T- pp -0.0023 2.8692 1.8387 348.5 223.5 102.2
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 01 2868 Nov 21 08:18:53 3490 10746 T+ pp 0.0238 2.8326 1.7963 350.1 224.0 102.1
42 02 2886 Dec 02 16:27:49 3611 10969 T+ pp 0.0441 2.7981 1.7563 351.6 224.3 101.8
43 03 2904 Dec 14 00:42:23 3735 11192 T+ pp 0.0592 2.7730 1.7261 353.1 224.6 101.5
44 04 2922 Dec 25 08:59:41 3861 11415 T+ pp 0.0713 2.7532 1.7017 354.5 224.9 101.2
45 05 2941 Jan 04 17:20:48 3989 11638 T+ pp 0.0797 2.7398 1.6843 355.8 225.3 100.9
46 06 2959 Jan 16 01:42:19 4119 11861 T+ pp 0.0872 2.7278 1.6688 357.1 225.7 100.7
47 07 2977 Jan 26 10:04:13 4251 12084 T+ pp 0.0936 2.7173 1.6556 358.3 226.1 100.6
48 08 2995 Feb 06 18:22:27 4385 12307 T+ pp 0.1025 2.7020 1.6382 359.4 226.4 100.3
49 09 3013 Feb 18 02:38:44 4521 12530 T+ pp 0.1125 2.6845 1.6193 360.3 226.7 99.9
50 10 3031 Mar 01 10:48:54 4659 12753 T+ pp 0.1271 2.6581 1.5919 361.1 226.8 99.2
51 11 3049 Mar 11 18:52:54 4799 12976 T+ pp 0.1461 2.6235 1.5569 361.7 226.8 98.0
52 12 3067 Mar 23 02:48:28 4942 13199 T+ -p 0.1714 2.5770 1.5103 362.0 226.4 96.1
53 13 3085 Apr 02 10:36:16 5086 13422 T+ -p 0.2026 2.5197 1.4534 362.0 225.6 93.0
54 14 3103 Apr 14 18:14:37 5233 13645 T+ -p 0.2411 2.4488 1.3830 361.6 224.1 88.2
55 15 3121 Apr 25 01:43:02 5381 13868 T -p 0.2871 2.3641 1.2989 360.5 221.7 80.7
56 16 3139 May 06 09:02:08 5532 14091 T -t 0.3401 2.2665 1.2020 358.8 218.2 68.8
57 17 3157 May 16 16:11:44 5685 14314 T -t 0.3998 2.1565 1.0927 356.1 213.1 48.4
58 18 3175 May 27 23:12:05 5840 14537 P -t 0.4666 2.0338 0.9705 352.3 206.0 -
59 19 3193 Jun 07 06:04:16 5996 14760 P -t 0.5394 1.9000 0.8371 347.2 196.4 -
60 20 3211 Jun 18 12:49:21 6155 14983 P -t 0.6170 1.7575 0.6946 340.7 183.7 -
61 21 3229 Jun 28 19:29:12 6316 15206 P -t 0.6981 1.6088 0.5456 332.5 167.2 -
62 22 3247 Jul 10 02:02:58 6479 15429 P -t 0.7833 1.4528 0.3890 322.4 144.9 -
63 23 3265 Jul 20 08:34:58 6645 15652 P -t 0.8690 1.2961 0.2313 310.5 114.6 -
64 24 3283 Jul 31 15:04:21 6812 15875 P -t 0.9559 1.1373 0.0712 296.5 65.1 -
65 25 3301 Aug 11 21:34:51 6981 16098 N -t 1.0414 0.9812 -0.0866 280.4 - -
66 26 3319 Aug 23 04:05:10 7152 16321 N -t 1.1263 0.8265 -0.2433 261.9 - -
67 27 3337 Sep 02 10:40:09 7326 16544 N -t 1.2068 0.6800 -0.3922 241.4 - -
68 28 3355 Sep 13 17:18:40 7501 16767 N -t 1.2836 0.5404 -0.5345 218.4 - -
69 29 3373 Sep 24 00:03:06 7679 16990 N -t 1.3552 0.4104 -0.6673 192.8 - -
70 30 3391 Oct 05 06:54:04 7859 17213 N -t 1.4213 0.2907 -0.7900 164.2 - -
71 31 3409 Oct 16 13:53:32 8040 17436 N -t 1.4803 0.1839 -0.8998 132.0 - -
72 32 3427 Oct 27 21:01:22 8224 17659 N -t 1.5322 0.0902 -0.9966 93.3 - -
73 33 3445 Nov 07 04:16:35 8410 17882 Ne -t 1.5780 0.0076 -1.0821 27.3 - -
[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)"
