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 162 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 2288 Aug 12. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3550 Sep 19. The total duration of Saros series 162 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2288 Aug 12 20:15:31 TD
Last Eclipse = 3550 Sep 19 10:32:07 TD
Duration of Saros 162 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 162 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 162 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 26 | 36.6% |
| Partial | P | 21 | 29.6% |
| Total | T | 24 | 33.8% |
The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 162 occur in the order of 19N 12P 24T 9P 7N which corresponds to:
19 Penumbral
12 Partial
24 Total
9 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 162 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2955 Sep 23 Duration = 01h42m27s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3262 Mar 27 Duration = 00h18m05s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3280 Apr 07 Duration = 03h23m50s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2631 Mar 10 Duration = 00h17m43s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3442 Jul 15 Duration = 04h35m16s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3550 Sep 19 Duration = 00h54m01s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 162 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2829 Jul 08 Magnitude = 0.9954
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2631 Mar 10 Magnitude = 0.0065
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 162 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 2288 Aug 12 20:15:31 681 3569 Nb a- 1.4946 0.0875 -0.8572 78.4 - -
02 -36 2306 Aug 25 03:53:23 736 3792 N a- 1.4297 0.2071 -0.7385 119.3 - -
03 -35 2324 Sep 04 11:36:05 793 4015 N a- 1.3683 0.3205 -0.6266 146.8 - -
04 -34 2342 Sep 15 19:24:22 852 4238 N a- 1.3113 0.4261 -0.5229 167.6 - -
05 -33 2360 Sep 26 03:19:54 914 4461 N a- 1.2602 0.5211 -0.4303 183.7 - -
06 -32 2378 Oct 07 11:22:21 977 4684 N a- 1.2148 0.6057 -0.3484 196.5 - -
07 -31 2396 Oct 17 19:32:43 1042 4907 N a- 1.1760 0.6783 -0.2786 206.6 - -
08 -30 2414 Oct 29 03:49:51 1109 5130 N a- 1.1430 0.7403 -0.2195 214.7 - -
09 -29 2432 Nov 08 12:15:14 1179 5353 N a- 1.1169 0.7899 -0.1730 220.8 - -
10 -28 2450 Nov 19 20:46:40 1250 5576 N a- 1.0959 0.8297 -0.1360 225.6 - -
11 -27 2468 Nov 30 05:24:27 1324 5799 N a- 1.0806 0.8593 -0.1092 229.2 - -
12 -26 2486 Dec 11 14:07:10 1400 6022 N a- 1.0694 0.8809 -0.0900 231.8 - -
13 -25 2504 Dec 22 22:54:41 1478 6245 N a- 1.0627 0.8943 -0.0787 233.5 - -
14 -24 2523 Jan 03 07:44:09 1557 6468 N a- 1.0579 0.9041 -0.0706 234.9 - -
15 -23 2541 Jan 13 16:35:03 1639 6691 N a- 1.0544 0.9111 -0.0649 235.9 - -
16 -22 2559 Jan 25 01:25:29 1723 6914 N a- 1.0511 0.9176 -0.0592 236.9 - -
17 -21 2577 Feb 04 10:14:49 1809 7137 N a- 1.0475 0.9244 -0.0529 238.0 - -
18 -20 2595 Feb 15 18:59:22 1897 7360 N a- 1.0403 0.9376 -0.0397 239.7 - -
19 -19 2613 Feb 27 03:40:03 1988 7583 N a- 1.0305 0.9555 -0.0216 241.9 - -
20 -18 2631 Mar 10 12:13:33 2080 7806 P a- 1.0154 0.9830 0.0065 245.0 17.7 -
21 -17 2649 Mar 20 20:41:39 2174 8029 P a- 0.9964 1.0174 0.0415 248.8 44.7 -
22 -16 2667 Apr 01 04:59:45 2270 8252 P a- 0.9700 1.0655 0.0903 253.8 65.7 -
23 -15 2685 Apr 11 13:11:29 2369 8475 P a- 0.9389 1.1222 0.1478 259.4 83.5 -
24 -14 2703 Apr 23 21:12:57 2470 8698 P a- 0.8998 1.1937 0.2199 266.0 101.0 -
25 -13 2721 May 04 05:07:36 2572 8921 P a- 0.8558 1.2743 0.3008 272.9 117.1 -
26 -12 2739 May 15 12:52:11 2677 9144 P a- 0.8039 1.3694 0.3960 280.6 132.8 -
27 -11 2757 May 25 20:31:07 2784 9367 P a- 0.7479 1.4723 0.4986 288.3 147.1 -
28 -10 2775 Jun 06 04:01:54 2892 9590 P a- 0.6856 1.5871 0.6126 296.1 160.6 -
29 -09 2793 Jun 16 11:27:20 3003 9813 P a- 0.6193 1.7093 0.7336 303.6 172.9 -
30 -08 2811 Jun 27 18:46:47 3116 10036 P a- 0.5485 1.8401 0.8626 310.9 183.9 -
31 -07 2829 Jul 08 02:03:07 3231 10259 P a- 0.4755 1.9752 0.9954 317.6 193.5 -
32 -06 2847 Jul 19 09:16:19 3348 10482 T p- 0.4007 2.1139 1.1312 323.6 201.7 53.9
33 -05 2865 Jul 29 16:27:39 3468 10705 T p- 0.3250 2.2547 1.2685 329.0 208.5 73.9
34 -04 2883 Aug 09 23:39:02 3589 10928 T+ pp 0.2499 2.3944 1.4042 333.5 213.9 86.6
35 -03 2901 Aug 21 06:51:31 3712 11151 T+ pp 0.1763 2.5318 1.5371 337.3 217.9 94.8
36 -02 2919 Sep 01 14:05:41 3838 11374 T+ pp 0.1051 2.6649 1.6652 340.4 220.6 99.8
37 -01 2937 Sep 11 21:23:18 3965 11597 T+ pp 0.0376 2.7916 1.7865 342.7 222.2 102.2
38 00 2955 Sep 23 04:45:05 4095 11820 T- pp -0.0255 2.8167 1.8058 344.5 222.9 102.4
39 01 2973 Oct 03 12:12:54 4226 12043 T- pp -0.0829 2.7144 1.6974 345.8 222.7 101.0
40 02 2991 Oct 14 19:45:08 4360 12266 T- pp -0.1358 2.6204 1.5973 346.8 221.9 98.1
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 3009 Oct 26 03:25:16 4496 12489 T- -p -0.1813 2.5400 1.5107 347.5 220.8 94.4
42 04 3027 Nov 06 11:11:30 4634 12712 T- -p -0.2208 2.4708 1.4352 348.1 219.5 90.0
43 05 3045 Nov 16 19:05:41 4773 12935 T- -p -0.2531 2.4144 1.3729 348.6 218.2 85.5
44 06 3063 Nov 28 03:05:01 4915 13158 T -p -0.2804 2.3673 1.3199 349.2 216.9 80.9
45 07 3081 Dec 08 11:11:31 5060 13381 T -p -0.3013 2.3317 1.2790 349.9 215.9 76.8
46 08 3099 Dec 19 19:22:17 5206 13604 T -p -0.3178 2.3039 1.2462 350.7 215.1 73.2
47 09 3117 Dec 31 03:37:06 5354 13827 T -p -0.3302 2.2834 1.2214 351.5 214.5 70.1
48 10 3136 Jan 11 11:54:16 5504 14050 T -p -0.3400 2.2673 1.2015 352.4 214.2 67.5
49 11 3154 Jan 21 20:12:47 5656 14273 T -p -0.3479 2.2544 1.1855 353.3 213.9 65.2
50 12 3172 Feb 02 04:30:18 5811 14496 T -a -0.3560 2.2408 1.1694 354.0 213.7 62.8
51 13 3190 Feb 12 12:45:01 5967 14719 T -a -0.3657 2.2238 1.1507 354.6 213.3 59.7
52 14 3208 Feb 23 20:56:14 6126 14942 T -a -0.3775 2.2027 1.1284 354.9 212.6 55.7
53 15 3226 Mar 06 05:02:00 6287 15165 T -h -0.3929 2.1748 1.1000 354.9 211.6 49.7
54 16 3244 Mar 16 13:00:14 6449 15388 T -t -0.4139 2.1362 1.0613 354.4 209.9 39.5
55 17 3262 Mar 27 20:50:47 6614 15611 T -t -0.4407 2.0870 1.0124 353.4 207.4 18.1
56 18 3280 Apr 07 04:32:29 6781 15834 P -t -0.4741 2.0253 0.9514 351.7 203.8 -
57 19 3298 Apr 18 12:05:38 6950 16057 P -t -0.5139 1.9517 0.8788 349.3 198.9 -
58 20 3316 Apr 29 19:27:58 7121 16280 P -t -0.5619 1.8632 0.7912 345.8 192.1 -
59 21 3334 May 11 02:41:56 7294 16503 P -t -0.6163 1.7628 0.6920 341.1 183.1 -
60 22 3352 May 21 09:46:04 7469 16726 P -t -0.6784 1.6484 0.5786 335.1 171.0 -
61 23 3370 Jun 01 16:42:21 7646 16949 P -t -0.7461 1.5236 0.4548 327.4 154.9 -
62 24 3388 Jun 11 23:30:02 7826 17172 P -t -0.8203 1.3872 0.3190 317.8 132.6 -
63 25 3406 Jun 24 06:12:11 8007 17395 P -t -0.8983 1.2437 0.1760 306.2 100.8 -
64 26 3424 Jul 04 12:48:41 8190 17618 P -t -0.9805 1.0929 0.0253 292.2 39.1 -
65 27 3442 Jul 15 19:20:33 8376 17841 N -t -1.0656 0.9369 -0.1309 275.3 - -
66 28 3460 Jul 26 01:50:01 8563 18064 N -t -1.1519 0.7788 -0.2896 255.3 - -
67 29 3478 Aug 06 08:18:07 8753 18287 N -t -1.2387 0.6200 -0.4492 231.6 - -
68 30 3496 Aug 16 14:47:40 8945 18510 N -t -1.3235 0.4649 -0.6055 203.8 - -
69 31 3514 Aug 28 21:17:41 9139 18733 N -t -1.4073 0.3120 -0.7600 169.4 - -
70 32 3532 Sep 08 03:52:58 9334 18956 N -t -1.4864 0.1677 -0.9062 125.9 - -
71 33 3550 Sep 19 10:32:07 9532 19179 Ne -t -1.5620 0.0301 -1.0460 54.0 - -
[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)"
