Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 160

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 160 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 2248 Oct 03. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3528 Nov 19. The total duration of Saros series 160 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  2248 Oct 03   15:52:04 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  3528 Nov 19   20:45:41 TD

                      Duration of Saros 160  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 160 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 160
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PenumbralN 32 44.4%
PartialP 15 20.8%
TotalT 25 34.7%

The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 160 occur in the order of 21N 7P 25T 8P 11N which corresponds to:

                                    21  Penumbral
                                     7  Partial
                                    25  Total
                                     8  Partial
                                    11  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 160 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2843 Sep 29      Duration = 01h45m34s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    3186 Apr 25      Duration = 00h26m10s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2735 Jul 27      Duration = 03h24m40s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2627 May 22      Duration = 00h08m02s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2609 May 11      Duration = 04h38m23s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    3528 Nov 19      Duration = 00h31m08s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 160 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    3204 May 06      Magnitude = 0.9443
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2627 May 22      Magnitude = 0.0011

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 160 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 160

                          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  -33   2248 Oct 03  15:52:04    567   3076   Nb  t-   1.5365  0.0611 -0.9836   73.3    -      -  
 02  -32   2266 Oct 14  23:23:02    618   3299   N   t-   1.4969  0.1369 -0.9139  109.4    -      -  
 03  -31   2284 Oct 25  07:01:35    670   3522   N   t-   1.4633  0.2016 -0.8553  132.6    -      -  
 04  -30   2302 Nov 06  14:46:26    724   3745   N   t-   1.4353  0.2560 -0.8068  149.3    -      -  
 05  -29   2320 Nov 16  22:38:58    781   3968   N   t-   1.4138  0.2982 -0.7701  161.1    -      -  
 06  -28   2338 Nov 28  06:37:25    840   4191   N   t-   1.3976  0.3305 -0.7428  169.7    -      -  
 07  -27   2356 Dec 08  14:40:36    900   4414   N   t-   1.3857  0.3546 -0.7232  176.0    -      -  
 08  -26   2374 Dec 19  22:47:53    963   4637   N   t-   1.3775  0.3715 -0.7103  180.5    -      -  
 09  -25   2392 Dec 30  06:57:20   1028   4860   N   t-   1.3717  0.3838 -0.7011  183.8    -      -  
 10  -24   2411 Jan 10  15:08:15   1095   5083   N   t-   1.3675  0.3928 -0.6946  186.2    -      -  

 11  -23   2429 Jan 20  23:16:44   1164   5306   N   t-   1.3620  0.4038 -0.6854  189.1    -      -  
 12  -22   2447 Feb 01  07:24:27   1235   5529   N   t-   1.3562  0.4148 -0.6754  191.8    -      -  
 13  -21   2465 Feb 11  15:26:51   1308   5752   N   t-   1.3470  0.4319 -0.6587  195.8    -      -  
 14  -20   2483 Feb 22  23:24:23   1384   5975   N   t-   1.3340  0.4557 -0.6346  201.0    -      -  
 15  -19   2501 Mar 06  07:13:33   1461   6198   N   t-   1.3146  0.4909 -0.5985  208.2    -      -  
 16  -18   2519 Mar 17  14:56:26   1540   6421   N   t-   1.2905  0.5344 -0.5537  216.6    -      -  
 17  -17   2537 Mar 27  22:29:42   1622   6644   N   t-   1.2589  0.5915 -0.4949  226.8    -      -  
 18  -16   2555 Apr 08  05:53:58   1705   6867   N   t-   1.2203  0.6615 -0.4230  238.4    -      -  
 19  -15   2573 Apr 18  13:08:28   1791   7090   N   t-   1.1738  0.7457 -0.3367  251.2    -      -  
 20  -14   2591 Apr 29  20:14:12   1879   7313   N   t-   1.1201  0.8432 -0.2371  264.6    -      -  

 21  -13   2609 May 11  03:10:50   1968   7536   N   t-   1.0591  0.9539 -0.1241  278.4    -      -  
 22  -12   2627 May 22  09:59:12   2060   7759   P   t-   0.9914  1.0771  0.0011  292.1    8.0    -  
 23  -11   2645 Jun 01  16:40:36   2154   7982   P   t-   0.9179  1.2111  0.1369  305.2   89.8    -  
 24  -10   2663 Jun 12  23:16:24   2250   8205   P   t-   0.8395  1.3542  0.2816  317.7  126.1    -  
 25  -09   2681 Jun 23  05:46:34   2348   8428   P   t-   0.7562  1.5062  0.4350  329.1  153.2    -  
 26  -08   2699 Jul 04  12:14:28   2448   8651   P   t-   0.6708  1.6625  0.5922  339.3  174.3    -  
 27  -07   2717 Jul 15  18:39:40   2550   8874   P   t-   0.5828  1.8237  0.7541  348.2  191.3    -  
 28  -06   2735 Jul 27  01:06:30   2655   9097   P   t-   0.4956  1.9835  0.9141  355.6  204.7    -  
 29  -05   2753 Aug 06  07:32:44   2761   9320   T   t-   0.4075  2.1452  1.0757  361.6  215.2   44.6
 30  -04   2771 Aug 17  14:04:20   2869   9543   T   t-   0.3232  2.3001  1.2302  366.2  223.0   73.8

 31  -03   2789 Aug 27  20:38:53   2980   9766   T+  pp   0.2408  2.4518  1.3811  369.5  228.5   89.7
 32  -02   2807 Sep 08  03:21:14   3092   9989   T+  pp   0.1643  2.5926  1.5210  371.5  232.0   98.8
 33  -01   2825 Sep 18  10:09:06   3207  10212   T+  pp   0.0918  2.7262  1.6533  372.6  233.9  103.7
 34   00   2843 Sep 29  17:07:01   3324  10435   T+  pp   0.0270  2.8459  1.7717  372.8  234.5  105.6
 35   01   2861 Oct 10  00:12:28   3442  10658   T-  pp  -0.0322  2.8371  1.7613  372.4  234.0  105.2
 36   02   2879 Oct 21  07:27:46   3563  10881   T-  pp  -0.0838  2.7431  1.6660  371.5  232.9  103.4
 37   03   2897 Oct 31  14:52:00   3686  11104   T-  pp  -0.1285  2.6618  1.5833  370.3  231.3  100.6
 38   04   2915 Nov 12  22:26:46   3811  11327   T-  pp  -0.1646  2.5961  1.5165  368.9  229.6   97.4
 39   05   2933 Nov 23  06:10:08   3938  11550   T-  pp  -0.1945  2.5417  1.4612  367.5  227.8   94.1
 40   06   2951 Dec 04  14:01:47   4067  11773   T-  pp  -0.2179  2.4989  1.4179  366.1  226.1   91.0


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 160

                          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   07   2969 Dec 14  22:00:51   4198  11996   T-  pp  -0.2358  2.4661  1.3852  364.7  224.7   88.3
 42   08   2987 Dec 26  06:06:34   4332  12219   T-  pp  -0.2484  2.4426  1.3623  363.4  223.5   86.3
 43   09   3006 Jan 06  14:16:17   4467  12442   T-  -p  -0.2584  2.4237  1.3447  362.1  222.4   84.6
 44   10   3024 Jan 17  22:29:43   4604  12665   T-  -p  -0.2657  2.4093  1.3322  360.7  221.5   83.3
 45   11   3042 Jan 28  06:44:20   4744  12888   T   -p  -0.2728  2.3950  1.3205  359.3  220.6   82.0
 46   12   3060 Feb 08  14:59:46   4885  13111   T   -p  -0.2797  2.3807  1.3094  357.8  219.7   80.8
 47   13   3078 Feb 18  23:12:07   5029  13334   T   -p  -0.2897  2.3603  1.2930  356.0  218.6   79.0
 48   14   3096 Mar 01  07:22:49   5175  13557   T   -p  -0.3018  2.3358  1.2730  354.0  217.3   76.7
 49   15   3114 Mar 13  15:28:11   5322  13780   T   -p  -0.3188  2.3021  1.2444  351.7  215.7   73.2
 50   16   3132 Mar 23  23:28:37   5472  14003   T   -p  -0.3407  2.2592  1.2070  349.1  213.5   68.1

 51   17   3150 Apr 04  07:21:47   5624  14226   T   -p  -0.3692  2.2039  1.1575  345.9  210.7   60.3
 52   18   3168 Apr 14  15:09:27   5778  14449   T   -p  -0.4030  2.1389  1.0986  342.3  207.1   48.5
 53   19   3186 Apr 25  22:49:53   5934  14672   T   -t  -0.4433  2.0617  1.0275  338.0  202.5   26.2
 54   20   3204 May 06  06:23:07   6092  14895   P   -t  -0.4904  1.9722  0.9443  333.0  196.6    -  
 55   21   3222 May 17  13:50:12   6253  15118   P   -t  -0.5433  1.8721  0.8502  327.2  189.1    -  
 56   22   3240 May 27  21:11:30   6415  15341   P   -t  -0.6018  1.7616  0.7457  320.3  179.8    -  
 57   23   3258 Jun 08  04:28:16   6579  15564   P   -t  -0.6647  1.6435  0.6332  312.5  168.3    -  
 58   24   3276 Jun 18  11:40:21   6746  15787   P   -t  -0.7321  1.5171  0.5121  303.4  153.8    -  
 59   25   3294 Jun 29  18:50:47   6914  16010   P   -t  -0.8018  1.3868  0.3866  293.3  135.8    -  
 60   26   3312 Jul 11  01:59:31   7085  16233   P   -t  -0.8738  1.2525  0.2567  281.8  112.4    -  

 61   27   3330 Jul 22  09:07:56   7257  16456   P   -h  -0.9468  1.1166  0.1246  268.9   79.5    -  
 62   28   3348 Aug 01  16:17:22   7432  16679   N   -h  -1.0196  0.9814 -0.0073  254.8    -      -  
 63   29   3366 Aug 12  23:29:11   7609  16902   N   -h  -1.0912  0.8486 -0.1373  239.3    -      -  
 64   30   3384 Aug 23  06:45:12   7788  17125   N   -h  -1.1600  0.7211 -0.2626  222.6    -      -  
 65   31   3402 Sep 04  14:04:51   7968  17348   N   -a  -1.2267  0.5980 -0.3840  204.5    -      -  
 66   32   3420 Sep 14  21:31:16   8151  17571   N   -a  -1.2884  0.4841 -0.4967  185.5    -      -  
 67   33   3438 Sep 26  05:03:44   8337  17794   N   -a  -1.3459  0.3783 -0.6019  165.1    -      -  
 68   34   3456 Oct 06  12:44:12   8524  18017   N   -a  -1.3973  0.2837 -0.6960  143.8    -      -  
 69   35   3474 Oct 17  20:31:50   8713  18240   N   -a  -1.4436  0.1989 -0.7809  121.0    -      -  
 70   36   3492 Oct 28  04:28:20   8904  18463   N   -a  -1.4834  0.1259 -0.8540   96.7    -      -  

 71   37   3510 Nov 09  12:33:10   9097  18686   N   -a  -1.5171  0.0643 -0.9160   69.3    -      -  
 72   38   3528 Nov 19  20:45:41   9293  18909   N   -a  -1.5452  0.0129 -0.9679   31.1    -      -  


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