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 168 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 2552 Jun 08. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3814 Jul 15. The total duration of Saros series 168 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2552 Jun 08 07:57:03 TD
Last Eclipse = 3814 Jul 15 23:17:08 TD
Duration of Saros 168 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 168 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 168 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 18 | 25.4% |
| Partial | P | 40 | 56.3% |
| Total | T | 13 | 18.3% |
The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 168 occur in the order of 8N 22P 13T 18P 10N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
22 Partial
13 Total
18 Partial
10 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 168 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3219 Jul 19 Duration = 01h42m36s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3093 May 03 Duration = 00h41m36s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3327 Sep 23 Duration = 03h18m15s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3634 Mar 28 Duration = 00h55m06s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3652 Apr 07 Duration = 04h51m11s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2552 Jun 08 Duration = 00h53m48s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 168 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3075 Apr 23 Magnitude = 0.9956
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3634 Mar 28 Magnitude = 0.0512
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 168 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 2552 Jun 08 07:57:03 1692 6832 Nb a- 1.5204 0.0407 -0.9049 53.8 - -
02 -36 2570 Jun 19 15:30:31 1777 7055 N a- 1.4525 0.1642 -0.7793 106.7 - -
03 -35 2588 Jun 29 23:02:17 1865 7278 N a- 1.3830 0.2909 -0.6511 140.2 - -
04 -34 2606 Jul 12 06:31:08 1954 7501 N a- 1.3108 0.4229 -0.5181 166.9 - -
05 -33 2624 Jul 22 14:00:56 2046 7724 N a- 1.2392 0.5542 -0.3865 188.5 - -
06 -32 2642 Aug 02 21:30:59 2139 7947 N a- 1.1673 0.6864 -0.2548 207.0 - -
07 -31 2660 Aug 13 05:03:27 2235 8170 N a- 1.0975 0.8149 -0.1272 222.7 - -
08 -30 2678 Aug 24 12:38:23 2333 8393 N a- 1.0297 0.9402 -0.0036 236.2 - -
09 -29 2696 Sep 03 20:18:25 2432 8616 P a- 0.9661 1.0579 0.1121 247.6 71.8 -
10 -28 2714 Sep 16 04:03:38 2534 8839 P a- 0.9068 1.1680 0.2195 257.3 99.1 -
11 -27 2732 Sep 26 11:53:56 2638 9062 P a- 0.8518 1.2704 0.3189 265.6 117.8 -
12 -26 2750 Oct 07 19:51:22 2744 9285 P a- 0.8030 1.3618 0.4069 272.5 131.4 -
13 -25 2768 Oct 18 03:55:36 2852 9508 P a- 0.7601 1.4423 0.4838 278.3 141.8 -
14 -24 2786 Oct 29 12:07:55 2962 9731 P a- 0.7239 1.5106 0.5483 283.0 149.5 -
15 -23 2804 Nov 08 20:26:02 3074 9954 P a- 0.6928 1.5696 0.6034 287.0 155.7 -
16 -22 2822 Nov 20 04:52:39 3189 10177 P a- 0.6690 1.6152 0.6452 290.1 160.1 -
17 -21 2840 Nov 30 13:24:44 3305 10400 P a- 0.6501 1.6517 0.6781 292.7 163.4 -
18 -20 2858 Dec 11 22:03:11 3424 10623 P a- 0.6370 1.6776 0.7006 294.7 165.7 -
19 -19 2876 Dec 22 06:45:05 3544 10846 P a- 0.6270 1.6974 0.7173 296.4 167.4 -
20 -18 2895 Jan 02 15:31:21 3667 11069 P a- 0.6211 1.7096 0.7268 297.7 168.5 -
21 -17 2913 Jan 14 00:18:24 3791 11292 P a- 0.6164 1.7194 0.7343 298.8 169.4 -
22 -16 2931 Jan 25 09:05:59 3918 11515 P a- 0.6127 1.7271 0.7402 299.9 170.3 -
23 -15 2949 Feb 04 17:51:55 4047 11738 P a- 0.6082 1.7360 0.7477 301.0 171.2 -
24 -14 2967 Feb 16 02:35:56 4178 11961 P a- 0.6030 1.7461 0.7569 302.2 172.3 -
25 -13 2985 Feb 26 11:14:26 4311 12184 P a- 0.5935 1.7637 0.7739 303.8 174.1 -
26 -12 3003 Mar 10 19:48:07 4446 12407 P a- 0.5806 1.7876 0.7975 305.6 176.5 -
27 -11 3021 Mar 21 04:14:20 4583 12630 P a- 0.5622 1.8214 0.8313 307.9 179.6 -
28 -10 3039 Apr 01 12:34:28 4722 12853 P a- 0.5393 1.8633 0.8733 310.5 183.2 -
29 -09 3057 Apr 11 20:44:19 4863 13076 P a- 0.5085 1.9197 0.9299 313.6 187.6 -
30 -08 3075 Apr 23 04:47:33 5006 13299 P a- 0.4728 1.9853 0.9956 317.0 192.4 -
31 -07 3093 May 03 12:40:22 5152 13522 T p- 0.4286 2.0663 1.0766 320.8 197.6 41.6
32 -06 3111 May 15 20:26:24 5299 13745 T p- 0.3796 2.1563 1.1664 324.6 202.8 59.8
33 -05 3129 May 26 04:01:46 5449 13968 T p- 0.3223 2.2616 1.2712 328.5 207.9 73.9
34 -04 3147 Jun 06 11:31:35 5600 14191 T+ p- 0.2612 2.3743 1.3830 332.2 212.5 84.7
35 -03 3165 Jun 16 18:52:53 5754 14414 T+ pp 0.1934 2.4993 1.5066 335.6 216.6 93.0
36 -02 3183 Jun 28 02:08:54 5910 14637 T+ pp 0.1222 2.6310 1.6366 338.4 219.7 98.8
37 -01 3201 Jul 08 09:19:03 6067 14860 T+ pp 0.0467 2.7707 1.7739 340.7 221.7 102.1
38 00 3219 Jul 19 16:26:17 6227 15083 T- pp -0.0304 2.8020 1.8024 342.3 222.5 102.6
39 01 3237 Jul 29 23:30:36 6389 15306 T- pp -0.1090 2.6594 1.6564 343.0 222.0 100.2
40 02 3255 Aug 10 06:32:59 6553 15529 T- -p -0.1883 2.5159 1.5090 342.9 220.0 94.4
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 3273 Aug 20 13:35:55 6719 15752 T- -p -0.2663 2.3749 1.3637 342.0 216.6 84.7
42 04 3291 Aug 31 20:40:09 6887 15975 T -a -0.3425 2.2375 1.2214 340.3 211.7 69.6
43 05 3309 Sep 12 03:47:05 7058 16198 T -a -0.4155 2.1063 1.0850 337.9 205.6 45.2
44 06 3327 Sep 23 10:57:34 7230 16421 P -a -0.4846 1.9822 0.9553 334.9 198.2 -
45 07 3345 Oct 03 18:13:47 7404 16644 P -a -0.5482 1.8685 0.8357 331.6 190.0 -
46 08 3363 Oct 15 01:35:36 7581 16867 P -h -0.6064 1.7648 0.7260 328.0 181.0 -
47 09 3381 Oct 25 09:03:00 7759 17090 P -h -0.6592 1.6710 0.6262 324.4 171.4 -
48 10 3399 Nov 05 16:37:34 7940 17313 P -h -0.7052 1.5896 0.5387 321.0 161.7 -
49 11 3417 Nov 17 00:19:20 8123 17536 P -h -0.7442 1.5210 0.4642 317.9 152.3 -
50 12 3435 Nov 28 08:08:01 8307 17759 P -h -0.7771 1.4635 0.4011 315.2 143.3 -
51 13 3453 Dec 08 16:02:16 8494 17982 P -h -0.8046 1.4158 0.3480 313.0 134.9 -
52 14 3471 Dec 20 00:02:48 8683 18205 P -h -0.8260 1.3789 0.3062 311.3 127.6 -
53 15 3489 Dec 30 08:08:11 8874 18428 P -h -0.8428 1.3504 0.2734 310.1 121.5 -
54 16 3508 Jan 11 16:16:11 9067 18651 P -h -0.8565 1.3269 0.2463 309.2 116.0 -
55 17 3526 Jan 22 00:26:42 9262 18874 P -h -0.8677 1.3081 0.2244 308.6 111.3 -
56 18 3544 Feb 02 08:37:08 9459 19097 P -t -0.8782 1.2898 0.2038 307.8 106.6 -
57 19 3562 Feb 12 16:47:18 9659 19320 P -t -0.8884 1.2719 0.1843 307.0 101.9 -
58 20 3580 Feb 24 00:52:58 9860 19543 P -t -0.9017 1.2481 0.1595 305.6 95.3 -
59 21 3598 Mar 06 08:56:09 10063 19766 P -t -0.9165 1.2211 0.1322 303.7 87.3 -
60 22 3616 Mar 16 16:52:14 10269 19989 P -t -0.9364 1.1844 0.0959 300.8 74.8 -
61 23 3634 Mar 28 00:42:12 10476 20212 P -t -0.9610 1.1389 0.0512 296.8 55.1 -
62 24 3652 Apr 07 08:22:49 10686 20435 Nx -t -0.9927 1.0800 -0.0065 291.2 - -
63 25 3670 Apr 18 15:56:19 10897 20658 Nx -t -1.0297 1.0114 -0.0735 284.1 - -
64 26 3688 Apr 28 23:19:55 11111 20881 N -t -1.0741 0.9289 -0.1542 274.8 - -
65 27 3706 May 11 06:34:23 11327 21104 N -t -1.1254 0.8339 -0.2472 263.1 - -
66 28 3724 May 21 13:39:40 11545 21327 N -t -1.1835 0.7263 -0.3530 248.3 - -
67 29 3742 Jun 01 20:36:40 11765 21550 N -t -1.2479 0.6071 -0.4702 229.8 - -
68 30 3760 Jun 12 03:25:41 11987 21773 N -t -1.3179 0.4778 -0.5977 206.4 - -
69 31 3778 Jun 23 10:07:38 12211 21996 N -t -1.3929 0.3394 -0.7345 176.3 - -
70 32 3796 Jul 03 16:44:18 12437 22219 N -t -1.4714 0.1945 -0.8780 135.2 - -
71 33 3814 Jul 15 23:17:08 12665 22442 Ne -t -1.5526 0.0450 -1.0265 65.9 - -
[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)"
