Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series
Saros Series 23
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 23 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 -1825 Feb 25. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0527 Apr 14. The total duration of Saros series 23 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1825 Feb 25 16:58:50 TD
Last Eclipse = -0527 Apr 14 19:28:57 TD
Duration of Saros 23 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 23 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 23 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 30 | 41.1% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.5% |
| Total | T | 28 | 38.4% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 23 occur in the order of 8N 6P 28T 9P 22N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
6 Partial
28 Total
9 Partial
22 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 23 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1212 Feb 28 Duration = 01h41m56s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1573 Jul 26 Duration = 00h23m34s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1591 Jul 15 Duration = 03h20m49s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0924 Aug 19 Duration = 00h29m45s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1699 May 11 Duration = 04h47m01s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0527 Apr 14 Duration = 01h13m06s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 23 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1068 May 24 Magnitude = 0.9175
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0924 Aug 19 Magnitude = 0.0184
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 23 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 23
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 -1825 Feb 25 16:58:50 42307 -47308 N t- -1.5387 0.0766 -1.0068 86.0 - -
02 -33 -1807 Mar 07 23:49:11 41889 -47085 N t- -1.4800 0.1827 -0.8975 131.5 - -
03 -32 -1789 Mar 19 06:32:35 41473 -46862 N t- -1.4150 0.3002 -0.7767 166.6 - -
04 -31 -1771 Mar 29 13:06:10 41060 -46639 N t- -1.3417 0.4333 -0.6406 197.5 - -
05 -30 -1753 Apr 09 19:35:43 40648 -46416 N t- -1.2645 0.5736 -0.4975 224.0 - -
06 -29 -1735 Apr 20 01:58:14 40239 -46193 N t- -1.1811 0.7253 -0.3433 247.8 - -
07 -28 -1717 May 01 08:19:01 39831 -45970 N t- -1.0955 0.8813 -0.1851 268.6 - -
08 -27 -1699 May 11 14:36:06 39426 -45747 Nx t- -1.0060 1.0446 -0.0201 287.0 - -
09 -26 -1681 May 22 20:55:07 39023 -45524 P t- -0.9173 1.2066 0.1435 302.6 91.4 -
10 -25 -1663 Jun 02 03:14:41 38622 -45301 P t- -0.8284 1.3692 0.3070 316.0 130.4 -
11 -24 -1645 Jun 13 09:37:51 38222 -45078 P t- -0.7416 1.5282 0.4666 327.2 156.6 -
12 -23 -1627 Jun 23 16:06:05 37825 -44855 P t- -0.6582 1.6812 0.6198 336.3 175.8 -
13 -22 -1609 Jul 04 22:40:59 37430 -44632 P t- -0.5795 1.8256 0.7641 343.5 190.1 -
14 -21 -1591 Jul 15 05:24:02 37037 -44409 P t- -0.5065 1.9598 0.8979 349.1 200.8 -
15 -20 -1573 Jul 26 12:15:10 36647 -44186 T t- -0.4392 2.0835 1.0210 353.4 208.8 23.6
16 -19 -1555 Aug 05 19:17:23 36258 -43963 T t- -0.3804 2.1920 1.1286 356.3 214.5 56.3
17 -18 -1537 Aug 17 02:29:32 35871 -43740 T t- -0.3289 2.2868 1.2226 358.3 218.5 71.5
18 -17 -1519 Aug 27 09:53:02 35487 -43517 T p- -0.2859 2.3663 1.3012 359.5 221.2 80.7
19 -16 -1501 Sep 07 17:26:56 35104 -43294 T- p- -0.2505 2.4315 1.3657 360.0 222.9 86.5
20 -15 -1483 Sep 18 01:12:25 34723 -43071 T- p- -0.2237 2.4809 1.4146 360.1 223.8 90.1
21 -14 -1465 Sep 29 09:07:03 34345 -42848 T- p- -0.2039 2.5173 1.4509 359.8 224.2 92.3
22 -13 -1447 Oct 09 17:10:08 33969 -42625 T- p- -0.1903 2.5421 1.4761 359.1 224.2 93.6
23 -12 -1429 Oct 21 01:20:42 33594 -42402 T- p- -0.1820 2.5568 1.4916 358.3 224.0 94.2
24 -11 -1411 Oct 31 09:37:50 33222 -42179 T- p- -0.1783 2.5629 1.4992 357.2 223.5 94.4
25 -10 -1393 Nov 11 17:58:21 32852 -41956 T- p- -0.1767 2.5647 1.5032 356.0 223.0 94.4
26 -09 -1375 Nov 22 02:21:21 32484 -41733 T- p- -0.1764 2.5638 1.5052 354.6 222.5 94.3
27 -08 -1357 Dec 03 10:44:35 32118 -41510 T- p- -0.1755 2.5637 1.5087 353.2 222.0 94.3
28 -07 -1339 Dec 13 19:07:44 31754 -41287 T- p- -0.1736 2.5650 1.5142 351.8 221.6 94.5
29 -06 -1321 Dec 25 03:26:11 31392 -41064 T- p- -0.1670 2.5747 1.5289 350.3 221.3 95.0
30 -05 -1302 Jan 04 11:42:00 31033 -40841 T- p- -0.1572 2.5900 1.5495 348.9 221.2 95.9
31 -04 -1284 Jan 15 19:50:45 30675 -40618 T- p- -0.1404 2.6176 1.5832 347.6 221.2 97.2
32 -03 -1266 Jan 26 03:54:43 30319 -40395 T- p- -0.1190 2.6538 1.6256 346.2 221.4 98.6
33 -02 -1248 Feb 06 11:49:34 29966 -40172 T- pp -0.0888 2.7059 1.6842 344.8 221.5 100.1
34 -01 -1230 Feb 16 19:39:20 29614 -39949 T- pp -0.0534 2.7675 1.7524 343.4 221.6 101.3
35 00 -1212 Feb 28 03:20:05 29265 -39726 T- pp -0.0095 2.8449 1.8364 341.8 221.4 101.9
36 01 -1194 Mar 10 10:54:44 28918 -39503 T+ pp 0.0405 2.7846 1.7827 339.9 220.7 101.5
37 02 -1176 Mar 20 18:21:43 28572 -39280 T+ pp 0.0977 2.6766 1.6808 337.6 219.3 99.6
38 03 -1158 Apr 01 01:44:23 28229 -39057 T+ pp 0.1593 2.5605 1.5707 334.7 217.0 95.8
39 04 -1140 Apr 11 09:01:41 27888 -38834 T+ pp 0.2264 2.4346 1.4503 331.3 213.7 89.2
40 05 -1122 Apr 22 16:15:22 27549 -38611 T -p 0.2973 2.3019 1.3226 327.1 209.1 79.1
Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 23
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 -1104 May 02 23:26:51 27212 -38388 T -p 0.3708 2.1649 1.1900 322.1 203.2 63.3
42 07 -1086 May 14 06:37:19 26877 -38165 T -a 0.4458 2.0254 1.0544 316.4 195.7 35.2
43 08 -1068 May 24 13:48:02 26544 -37942 P -a 0.5212 1.8853 0.9175 309.8 186.6 -
44 09 -1050 Jun 04 21:00:16 26214 -37719 P -a 0.5962 1.7464 0.7811 302.5 175.8 -
45 10 -1032 Jun 15 04:16:03 25885 -37496 P -a 0.6690 1.6119 0.6485 294.6 163.2 -
46 11 -1014 Jun 26 11:36:32 25558 -37273 P -a 0.7383 1.4841 0.5220 286.2 149.0 -
47 12 -0996 Jul 06 19:01:42 25234 -37050 P -a 0.8044 1.3624 0.4010 277.4 132.7 -
48 13 -0978 Jul 18 02:34:21 24911 -36827 P -a 0.8649 1.2513 0.2901 268.6 114.4 -
49 14 -0960 Jul 28 10:13:34 24591 -36604 P -a 0.9205 1.1496 0.1879 259.8 93.3 -
50 15 -0942 Aug 08 18:01:57 24273 -36381 P -a 0.9691 1.0608 0.0984 251.6 68.2 -
51 16 -0924 Aug 19 01:57:19 23956 -36158 P -a 1.0124 0.9820 0.0184 243.7 29.8 -
52 17 -0906 Aug 30 10:02:56 23642 -35935 N -a 1.0475 0.9181 -0.0468 236.9 - -
53 18 -0888 Sep 09 18:16:20 23330 -35712 N -a 1.0768 0.8651 -0.1013 230.9 - -
54 19 -0870 Sep 21 02:39:04 23020 -35489 N -a 1.0989 0.8253 -0.1425 226.2 - -
55 20 -0852 Oct 01 11:09:09 22712 -35266 N -a 1.1154 0.7958 -0.1736 222.6 - -
56 21 -0834 Oct 12 19:47:07 22406 -35043 N -a 1.1260 0.7770 -0.1936 220.2 - -
57 22 -0816 Oct 23 04:30:47 22102 -34820 N -a 1.1321 0.7663 -0.2054 218.8 - -
58 23 -0798 Nov 03 13:18:53 21801 -34597 N -a 1.1352 0.7610 -0.2113 218.0 - -
59 24 -0780 Nov 13 22:10:51 21501 -34374 N -a 1.1354 0.7607 -0.2119 217.8 - -
60 25 -0762 Nov 25 07:04:43 21203 -34151 N -a 1.1349 0.7615 -0.2108 217.8 - -
61 26 -0744 Dec 05 15:58:42 20908 -33928 N -a 1.1345 0.7620 -0.2097 217.8 - -
62 27 -0726 Dec 17 00:50:34 20614 -33705 N -a 1.1363 0.7582 -0.2124 217.2 - -
63 28 -0708 Dec 27 09:39:42 20323 -33482 N -a 1.1405 0.7496 -0.2196 216.1 - -
64 29 -0689 Jan 07 18:24:31 20034 -33259 N -a 1.1489 0.7333 -0.2339 214.0 - -
65 30 -0671 Jan 18 03:02:42 19746 -33036 N -a 1.1628 0.7067 -0.2585 210.6 - -
66 31 -0653 Jan 29 11:34:26 19461 -32813 N -a 1.1823 0.6698 -0.2931 205.8 - -
67 32 -0635 Feb 08 19:58:04 19178 -32590 N -a 1.2085 0.6206 -0.3400 199.1 - -
68 33 -0617 Feb 20 04:14:04 18897 -32367 N -a 1.2409 0.5599 -0.3984 190.3 - -
69 34 -0599 Mar 02 12:20:32 18618 -32144 N -a 1.2812 0.4850 -0.4712 178.5 - -
70 35 -0581 Mar 13 20:19:31 18341 -31921 N -a 1.3274 0.3991 -0.5551 163.4 - -
71 36 -0563 Mar 24 04:10:03 18066 -31698 N -a 1.3803 0.3013 -0.6514 143.4 - -
72 37 -0545 Apr 04 11:52:54 17794 -31475 N -a 1.4393 0.1925 -0.7590 115.9 - -
73 38 -0527 Apr 14 19:28:57 17523 -31252 Ne -a 1.5033 0.0747 -0.8762 73.1 - -
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:
- pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
- 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
- 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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Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
