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 21 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -1955 Feb 22. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0639 Apr 23. The total duration of Saros series 21 is 1316.20 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1955 Feb 22 03:20:00 TD
Last Eclipse = -0639 Apr 23 00:10:14 TD
Duration of Saros 21 = 1316.20 Years
Saros 21 is composed of 74 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 21 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 74 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 27 | 36.5% |
| Partial | P | 19 | 25.7% |
| Total | T | 28 | 37.8% |
The 74 lunar eclipses in Saros 21 occur in the order of 8N 8P 28T 11P 19N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
8 Partial
28 Total
11 Partial
19 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 21 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1270 Apr 09 Duration = 01h40m05s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1667 Aug 14 Duration = 00h18m18s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1162 Jun 13 Duration = 03h11m53s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0982 Sep 29 Duration = 00h31m59s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0856 Dec 14 Duration = 04h27m34s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0639 Apr 23 Duration = 00h43m47s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 21 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1162 Jun 13 Magnitude = 0.9903
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0982 Sep 29 Magnitude = 0.0191
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 21 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 -38 -1955 Feb 22 03:20:00 45381 -48916 N a- -1.5328 0.0425 -0.9519 57.7 - -
02 -37 -1937 Mar 05 10:56:43 44948 -48693 N a- -1.4792 0.1377 -0.8505 102.6 - -
03 -36 -1919 Mar 15 18:28:43 44517 -48470 N a- -1.4210 0.2415 -0.7407 134.0 - -
04 -35 -1901 Mar 27 01:54:06 44089 -48247 N a- -1.3563 0.3575 -0.6192 160.6 - -
05 -34 -1883 Apr 06 09:14:50 43662 -48024 N a- -1.2868 0.4823 -0.4892 183.6 - -
06 -33 -1865 Apr 17 16:32:08 43238 -47801 N a- -1.2138 0.6141 -0.3529 203.7 - -
07 -32 -1847 Apr 27 23:47:34 42816 -47578 N a- -1.1383 0.7506 -0.2124 221.4 - -
08 -31 -1829 May 09 07:01:55 42395 -47355 N a- -1.0609 0.8910 -0.0687 236.9 - -
09 -30 -1811 May 19 14:16:11 41977 -47132 P a- -0.9823 1.0338 0.0767 250.5 60.8 -
10 -29 -1793 May 30 21:32:54 41561 -46909 P a- -0.9050 1.1746 0.2195 262.2 100.6 -
11 -28 -1775 Jun 10 04:52:44 41147 -46686 P a- -0.8297 1.3122 0.3584 272.1 125.7 -
12 -27 -1757 Jun 21 12:16:23 40735 -46463 P a- -0.7570 1.4453 0.4921 280.5 144.1 -
13 -26 -1739 Jul 01 19:45:44 40325 -46240 P a- -0.6884 1.5712 0.6181 287.5 158.0 -
14 -25 -1721 Jul 13 03:21:41 39917 -46017 P a- -0.6249 1.6879 0.7343 293.3 168.7 -
15 -24 -1703 Jul 23 11:05:03 39511 -45794 P a- -0.5673 1.7941 0.8394 297.9 176.9 -
16 -23 -1685 Aug 03 18:55:11 39108 -45571 P a- -0.5152 1.8905 0.9344 301.6 183.3 -
17 -22 -1667 Aug 14 02:54:28 38706 -45348 T a- -0.4707 1.9731 1.0151 304.5 188.0 18.3
18 -21 -1649 Aug 25 11:01:55 38306 -45125 T a- -0.4330 2.0433 1.0833 306.7 191.6 42.0
19 -20 -1631 Sep 04 19:18:21 37909 -44902 T p- -0.4025 2.1002 1.1381 308.4 194.1 53.2
20 -19 -1613 Sep 16 03:42:35 37513 -44679 T p- -0.3786 2.1452 1.1809 309.6 195.9 59.9
21 -18 -1595 Sep 26 12:15:20 37120 -44456 T p- -0.3618 2.1771 1.2108 310.5 197.1 64.0
22 -17 -1577 Oct 07 20:55:00 36729 -44233 T p- -0.3506 2.1985 1.2303 311.1 197.8 66.4
23 -16 -1559 Oct 18 05:39:56 36340 -44010 T p- -0.3439 2.2117 1.2420 311.4 198.2 67.8
24 -15 -1541 Oct 29 14:30:16 35952 -43787 T p- -0.3415 2.2167 1.2457 311.6 198.3 68.2
25 -14 -1523 Nov 08 23:23:18 35567 -43564 T p- -0.3411 2.2179 1.2461 311.7 198.3 68.2
26 -13 -1505 Nov 20 08:18:21 35184 -43341 T p- -0.3426 2.2152 1.2430 311.7 198.2 67.9
27 -12 -1487 Nov 30 17:11:44 34804 -43118 T p- -0.3427 2.2151 1.2430 311.8 198.2 67.9
28 -11 -1469 Dec 12 02:04:27 34425 -42895 T p- -0.3424 2.2153 1.2438 311.9 198.4 68.0
29 -10 -1451 Dec 22 10:52:47 34048 -42672 T p- -0.3382 2.2225 1.2519 312.2 198.8 69.0
30 -09 -1432 Jan 02 19:36:18 33673 -42449 T p- -0.3304 2.2361 1.2669 312.7 199.6 70.8
31 -08 -1414 Jan 13 04:12:24 33301 -42226 T p- -0.3166 2.2607 1.2930 313.5 200.8 73.6
32 -07 -1396 Jan 24 12:41:54 32930 -42003 T p- -0.2976 2.2948 1.3287 314.5 202.3 77.1
33 -06 -1378 Feb 03 21:02:42 32561 -41780 T- p- -0.2716 2.3416 1.3773 315.7 204.2 81.3
34 -05 -1360 Feb 15 05:14:50 32195 -41557 T- p- -0.2385 2.4014 1.4388 317.1 206.3 85.9
35 -04 -1342 Feb 25 13:18:04 31831 -41334 T- p- -0.1983 2.4744 1.5133 318.7 208.5 90.4
36 -03 -1324 Mar 07 21:12:55 31468 -41111 T- p- -0.1515 2.5598 1.5999 320.3 210.6 94.4
37 -02 -1306 Mar 19 04:58:44 31108 -40888 T- pp -0.0974 2.6585 1.6995 321.7 212.4 97.7
38 -01 -1288 Mar 29 12:37:16 30750 -40665 T- pp -0.0375 2.7683 1.8097 322.9 213.7 99.7
39 00 -1270 Apr 09 20:08:29 30394 -40442 T+ pp 0.0280 2.7857 1.8271 323.7 214.3 100.1
40 01 -1252 Apr 20 03:34:47 30040 -40219 T+ pp 0.0974 2.6588 1.6995 323.9 213.9 98.4
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 02 -1234 May 01 10:54:14 29688 -39996 T+ -p 0.1718 2.5229 1.5624 323.5 212.3 94.0
42 03 -1216 May 11 18:11:44 29338 -39773 T+ -p 0.2471 2.3855 1.4231 322.4 209.5 86.3
43 04 -1198 May 23 01:25:00 28991 -39550 T -a 0.3251 2.2437 1.2788 320.5 205.2 73.9
44 05 -1180 Jun 02 08:38:34 28645 -39327 T -a 0.4023 2.1037 1.1356 317.7 199.4 54.1
45 06 -1162 Jun 13 15:49:47 28301 -39104 P -a 0.4804 1.9623 0.9903 314.1 191.9 -
46 07 -1144 Jun 23 23:04:32 27960 -38881 P -a 0.5546 1.8284 0.8520 309.9 182.9 -
47 08 -1126 Jul 05 06:20:12 27620 -38658 P -a 0.6267 1.6985 0.7171 305.1 172.2 -
48 09 -1108 Jul 15 13:40:43 27283 -38435 P -a 0.6938 1.5783 0.5914 299.8 160.1 -
49 10 -1090 Jul 26 21:05:03 26948 -38212 P -a 0.7567 1.4658 0.4730 294.2 146.3 -
50 11 -1072 Aug 06 04:36:41 26614 -37989 P -a 0.8126 1.3663 0.3674 288.7 131.4 -
51 12 -1054 Aug 17 12:13:58 26283 -37766 P -a 0.8627 1.2777 0.2722 283.4 115.1 -
52 13 -1036 Aug 27 19:58:26 25954 -37543 P -a 0.9060 1.2016 0.1896 278.5 97.5 -
53 14 -1018 Sep 08 03:50:12 25627 -37320 P -a 0.9422 1.1385 0.1199 274.3 78.6 -
54 15 -1000 Sep 18 11:50:01 25302 -37097 P -a 0.9711 1.0887 0.0637 271.0 57.9 -
55 16 -0982 Sep 29 19:56:29 24979 -36874 P -a 0.9937 1.0502 0.0191 268.5 32.0 -
56 17 -0964 Oct 10 04:09:32 24658 -36651 Nx -a 1.0103 1.0227 -0.0142 266.9 - -
57 18 -0946 Oct 21 12:28:00 24339 -36428 Nx -a 1.0216 1.0046 -0.0376 266.2 - -
58 19 -0928 Oct 31 20:50:45 24023 -36205 N -a 1.0288 0.9939 -0.0531 266.1 - -
59 20 -0910 Nov 12 05:15:08 23708 -35982 N -a 1.0337 0.9869 -0.0642 266.4 - -
60 21 -0892 Nov 22 13:41:18 23396 -35759 N -a 1.0367 0.9833 -0.0713 267.1 - -
61 22 -0874 Dec 03 22:05:58 23085 -35536 N -a 1.0402 0.9782 -0.0792 267.5 - -
62 23 -0856 Dec 14 06:28:20 22777 -35313 N -a 1.0448 0.9708 -0.0886 267.6 - -
63 24 -0838 Dec 25 14:44:59 22470 -35090 N -a 1.0532 0.9561 -0.1048 266.8 - -
64 25 -0819 Jan 04 22:56:35 22166 -34867 N -h 1.0650 0.9348 -0.1269 265.2 - -
65 26 -0801 Jan 16 07:00:07 21864 -34644 N -h 1.0829 0.9022 -0.1599 262.2 - -
66 27 -0783 Jan 26 14:54:40 21564 -34421 N -h 1.1073 0.8575 -0.2045 257.5 - -
67 28 -0765 Feb 06 22:39:14 21266 -34198 N -t 1.1389 0.7993 -0.2624 250.7 - -
68 29 -0747 Feb 17 06:13:50 20970 -33975 N -t 1.1778 0.7275 -0.3336 241.5 - -
69 30 -0729 Feb 28 13:38:16 20676 -33752 N -t 1.2243 0.6420 -0.4185 229.4 - -
70 31 -0711 Mar 10 20:51:17 20384 -33529 N -t 1.2791 0.5411 -0.5187 213.2 - -
71 32 -0693 Mar 22 03:54:48 20094 -33306 N -t 1.3406 0.4279 -0.6314 192.0 - -
72 33 -0675 Apr 01 10:48:10 19807 -33083 N -t 1.4091 0.3020 -0.7569 163.6 - -
73 34 -0657 Apr 12 17:33:17 19521 -32860 N -t 1.4831 0.1662 -0.8926 123.1 - -
74 35 -0639 Apr 23 00:10:14 19238 -32637 Ne -t 1.5626 0.0204 -1.0386 43.8 - -
[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)"
