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 179 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 2816 Sep 27. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 4114 Nov 26. The total duration of Saros series 179 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2816 Sep 27 14:42:10 TD
Last Eclipse = 4114 Nov 26 01:43:41 TD
Duration of Saros 179 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 179 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 179 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 30 | 41.1% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 21.9% |
| Total | T | 27 | 37.0% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 179 occur in the order of 20N 8P 27T 8P 10N which corresponds to:
20 Penumbral
8 Partial
27 Total
8 Partial
10 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 179 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3429 Oct 05 Duration = 01h41m42s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3790 May 12 Duration = 00h17m55s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3303 Jul 21 Duration = 03h16m03s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3177 May 05 Duration = 00h25m37s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3159 Apr 24 Duration = 04h29m26s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 4114 Nov 26 Duration = 00h29m22s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 179 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3303 Jul 21 Magnitude = 0.9459
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3177 May 05 Magnitude = 0.0115
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 179 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 -34 2816 Sep 27 14:42:10 3150 10101 Nb t- -1.5723 0.0135 -1.0670 36.2 - -
02 -33 2834 Oct 08 21:43:36 3265 10324 N t- -1.5145 0.1208 -0.9621 107.4 - -
03 -32 2852 Oct 19 04:52:51 3383 10547 N t- -1.4622 0.2179 -0.8674 143.0 - -
04 -31 2870 Oct 30 12:12:36 3503 10770 N t- -1.4177 0.3007 -0.7869 166.7 - -
05 -30 2888 Nov 09 19:40:54 3625 10993 N t- -1.3793 0.3722 -0.7175 184.1 - -
06 -29 2906 Nov 22 03:18:35 3749 11216 N t- -1.3479 0.4308 -0.6606 196.9 - -
07 -28 2924 Dec 02 11:03:33 3875 11439 N t- -1.3217 0.4795 -0.6132 206.6 - -
08 -27 2942 Dec 13 18:56:57 4003 11662 N t- -1.3016 0.5168 -0.5767 213.4 - -
09 -26 2960 Dec 24 02:55:37 4133 11885 N t- -1.2853 0.5468 -0.5469 218.6 - -
10 -25 2979 Jan 04 10:59:07 4265 12108 N t- -1.2722 0.5705 -0.5227 222.4 - -
11 -24 2997 Jan 14 19:05:35 4399 12331 N t- -1.2609 0.5907 -0.5013 225.4 - -
12 -23 3015 Jan 27 03:14:44 4536 12554 N t- -1.2509 0.6080 -0.4821 227.8 - -
13 -22 3033 Feb 06 11:22:29 4674 12777 N t- -1.2394 0.6279 -0.4595 230.5 - -
14 -21 3051 Feb 17 19:29:07 4815 13000 N h- -1.2263 0.6502 -0.4338 233.4 - -
15 -20 3069 Feb 28 03:31:54 4957 13223 N h- -1.2092 0.6795 -0.4005 237.2 - -
16 -19 3087 Mar 11 11:31:47 5102 13446 N h- -1.1889 0.7144 -0.3611 241.5 - -
17 -18 3105 Mar 22 19:23:54 5249 13669 N h- -1.1617 0.7619 -0.3085 247.4 - -
18 -17 3123 Apr 03 03:11:38 5397 13892 N h- -1.1301 0.8170 -0.2479 253.8 - -
19 -16 3141 Apr 13 10:50:43 5548 14115 N h- -1.0909 0.8861 -0.1731 261.4 - -
20 -15 3159 Apr 24 18:24:29 5701 14338 N h- -1.0465 0.9646 -0.0886 269.4 - -
21 -14 3177 May 05 01:48:56 5856 14561 P h- -0.9935 1.0587 0.0115 278.3 25.6 -
22 -13 3195 May 16 09:09:12 6013 14784 P h- -0.9362 1.1609 0.1197 287.0 81.0 -
23 -12 3213 May 26 16:21:46 6173 15007 P h- -0.8720 1.2758 0.2404 295.7 112.6 -
24 -11 3231 Jun 06 23:30:18 6334 15230 P h- -0.8034 1.3988 0.3691 304.0 136.4 -
25 -10 3249 Jun 17 06:33:36 6497 15453 P h- -0.7296 1.5315 0.5070 311.7 156.0 -
26 -09 3267 Jun 28 13:35:21 6662 15676 P h- -0.6536 1.6685 0.6489 318.6 172.0 -
27 -08 3285 Jul 08 20:34:45 6830 15899 P h- -0.5745 1.8115 0.7963 324.6 185.3 -
28 -07 3303 Jul 21 03:33:44 6999 16122 P a- -0.4940 1.9571 0.9459 329.6 196.1 -
29 -06 3321 Jul 31 10:34:10 7171 16345 T a- -0.4138 2.1025 1.0948 333.5 204.5 47.3
30 -05 3339 Aug 11 17:37:05 7345 16568 T a- -0.3348 2.2461 1.2413 336.4 210.9 71.7
31 -04 3357 Aug 22 00:43:39 7520 16791 T- p- -0.2576 2.3864 1.3841 338.3 215.5 85.8
32 -03 3375 Sep 02 07:54:59 7698 17014 T- p- -0.1835 2.5214 1.5211 339.3 218.5 94.3
33 -02 3393 Sep 12 15:12:57 7878 17237 T- pp -0.1138 2.6485 1.6497 339.5 220.0 99.2
34 -01 3411 Sep 24 22:37:54 8060 17460 T- pp -0.0494 2.7661 1.7684 339.0 220.5 101.4
35 00 3429 Oct 05 06:09:30 8244 17683 T+ pp 0.0103 2.8375 1.8405 338.0 220.1 101.7
36 01 3447 Oct 16 13:50:07 8430 17906 T+ pp 0.0633 2.7401 1.7435 336.7 219.0 100.5
37 02 3465 Oct 26 21:39:08 8618 18129 T+ pp 0.1101 2.6541 1.6576 335.1 217.5 98.3
38 03 3483 Nov 07 05:37:35 8809 18352 T+ pp 0.1496 2.5817 1.5853 333.4 215.7 95.6
39 04 3501 Nov 18 13:43:40 9001 18575 T+ -p 0.1834 2.5196 1.5232 331.7 213.9 92.5
40 05 3519 Nov 29 21:59:14 9195 18798 T+ -p 0.2099 2.4710 1.4747 330.1 212.2 89.7
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 06 3537 Dec 10 06:22:06 9392 19021 T+ -p 0.2311 2.4320 1.4358 328.5 210.7 87.0
42 07 3555 Dec 21 14:51:59 9590 19244 T+ -p 0.2471 2.4024 1.4067 327.2 209.3 84.8
43 08 3573 Dec 31 23:27:34 9791 19467 T+ -p 0.2590 2.3803 1.3852 325.9 208.2 83.0
44 09 3592 Jan 12 08:08:02 9994 19690 T+ -p 0.2675 2.3640 1.3701 324.7 207.3 81.7
45 10 3610 Jan 22 16:51:53 10198 19913 T -p 0.2738 2.3519 1.3594 323.7 206.5 80.7
46 11 3628 Feb 03 01:36:39 10405 20136 T -p 0.2800 2.3394 1.3489 322.6 205.8 79.7
47 12 3646 Feb 13 10:22:36 10614 20359 T -p 0.2858 2.3276 1.3395 321.5 205.1 78.7
48 13 3664 Feb 24 19:06:48 10825 20582 T -p 0.2937 2.3117 1.3264 320.3 204.4 77.5
49 14 3682 Mar 07 03:48:23 11038 20805 T -p 0.3040 2.2910 1.3090 319.0 203.4 75.8
50 15 3700 Mar 18 12:25:07 11253 21028 T -p 0.3188 2.2621 1.2837 317.5 202.2 73.2
51 16 3718 Mar 29 20:57:29 11470 21251 T -p 0.3376 2.2257 1.2510 315.7 200.7 69.5
52 17 3736 Apr 09 05:23:50 11690 21474 T -p 0.3620 2.1789 1.2084 313.7 198.7 64.2
53 18 3754 Apr 20 13:43:02 11911 21697 T -p 0.3924 2.1209 1.1545 311.2 196.0 56.2
54 19 3772 Apr 30 21:55:36 12134 21920 T -p 0.4287 2.0524 1.0900 308.4 192.6 43.7
55 20 3790 May 12 06:01:07 12360 22143 T -a 0.4709 1.9730 1.0145 305.0 188.3 17.9
56 21 3808 May 23 14:00:01 12587 22366 P -a 0.5190 1.8828 0.9281 300.9 182.7 -
57 22 3826 Jun 03 21:51:52 12817 22589 P -a 0.5733 1.7814 0.8301 296.0 175.6 -
58 23 3844 Jun 14 05:38:46 13049 22812 P -a 0.6320 1.6721 0.7238 290.4 166.8 -
59 24 3862 Jun 25 13:20:32 13282 23035 P -a 0.6949 1.5554 0.6097 283.7 155.9 -
60 25 3880 Jul 05 20:58:00 13518 23258 P -a 0.7618 1.4317 0.4880 276.0 142.1 -
61 26 3898 Jul 17 04:32:33 13756 23481 P -a 0.8311 1.3038 0.3616 267.2 124.6 -
62 27 3916 Jul 28 12:04:55 13996 23704 P -a 0.9023 1.1727 0.2314 257.0 101.5 -
63 28 3934 Aug 08 19:37:01 14238 23927 P -a 0.9737 1.0415 0.1005 245.7 68.1 -
64 29 3952 Aug 19 03:07:54 14482 24150 N -a 1.0460 0.9089 -0.0324 232.9 - -
65 30 3970 Aug 30 10:41:35 14729 24373 N -a 1.1157 0.7816 -0.1607 218.9 - -
66 31 3988 Sep 09 18:16:27 14977 24596 N -a 1.1843 0.6566 -0.2872 203.3 - -
67 32 4006 Sep 21 01:55:55 15227 24819 N -a 1.2488 0.5391 -0.4068 186.6 - -
68 33 4024 Oct 01 09:38:24 15480 25042 N -a 1.3107 0.4268 -0.5216 168.0 - -
69 34 4042 Oct 12 17:27:31 15734 25265 N -a 1.3670 0.3252 -0.6263 148.3 - -
70 35 4060 Oct 23 01:21:25 15991 25488 N -a 1.4190 0.2315 -0.7235 126.4 - -
71 36 4078 Nov 03 09:21:57 16249 25711 N -a 1.4655 0.1480 -0.8106 102.0 - -
72 37 4096 Nov 13 17:28:56 16510 25934 N -a 1.5067 0.0743 -0.8881 73.0 - -
73 38 4114 Nov 26 01:43:41 16773 26157 Ne -a 1.5418 0.0119 -0.9546 29.4 - -
[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)"
