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 26 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -1919 Sep 09. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0404 Mar 06. The total duration of Saros series 26 is 1514.53 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1919 Sep 09 05:36:35 TD
Last Eclipse = -0404 Mar 06 08:13:48 TD
Duration of Saros 26 = 1514.53 Years
Saros 26 is composed of 85 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 26 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 85 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 43 | 50.6% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 16.5% |
| Total | T | 28 | 32.9% |
The 85 lunar eclipses in Saros 26 occur in the order of 21N 6P 28T 8P 22N which corresponds to:
21 Penumbral
6 Partial
28 Total
8 Partial
22 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 26 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1306 Sep 11 Duration = 01h43m28s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0945 Apr 16 Duration = 00h32m19s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1450 Jun 17 Duration = 03h23m36s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0801 Jul 11 Duration = 00h34m16s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1558 Apr 13 Duration = 04h47m45s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1919 Sep 09 Duration = 00h53m48s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 26 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1450 Jun 17 Magnitude = 0.9383
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0801 Jul 11 Magnitude = 0.0244
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 26 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 -35 -1919 Sep 09 05:36:35 44506 -48464 N t- 1.5633 0.0306 -1.0512 53.8 - -
02 -34 -1901 Sep 20 13:15:40 44077 -48241 N t- 1.5417 0.0728 -1.0141 83.0 - -
03 -33 -1883 Sep 30 21:01:40 43651 -48018 N t- 1.5258 0.1044 -0.9873 99.4 - -
04 -32 -1865 Oct 12 04:55:09 43226 -47795 N t- 1.5164 0.1237 -0.9721 108.3 - -
05 -31 -1847 Oct 22 12:52:58 42804 -47572 N t- 1.5102 0.1368 -0.9623 114.0 - -
06 -30 -1829 Nov 02 20:54:20 42384 -47349 N t- 1.5071 0.1439 -0.9578 117.1 - -
07 -29 -1811 Nov 13 04:57:17 41966 -47126 N t- 1.5051 0.1482 -0.9551 119.0 - -
08 -28 -1793 Nov 24 13:01:07 41550 -46903 N t- 1.5041 0.1506 -0.9537 120.0 - -
09 -27 -1775 Dec 04 21:01:40 41136 -46680 N t- 1.5007 0.1569 -0.9473 122.6 - -
10 -26 -1757 Dec 16 04:59:34 40724 -46457 N t- 1.4953 0.1663 -0.9372 126.1 - -
11 -25 -1739 Dec 26 12:50:54 40314 -46234 N t- 1.4848 0.1848 -0.9172 132.8 - -
12 -24 -1720 Jan 06 20:36:26 39906 -46011 N t- 1.4697 0.2113 -0.8883 141.6 - -
13 -23 -1702 Jan 17 04:11:58 39500 -45788 N t- 1.4468 0.2520 -0.8449 154.0 - -
14 -22 -1684 Jan 28 11:40:15 39097 -45565 N t- 1.4181 0.3030 -0.7906 168.0 - -
15 -21 -1666 Feb 07 18:57:50 38695 -45342 N t- 1.3812 0.3689 -0.7212 184.1 - -
16 -20 -1648 Feb 19 02:06:00 38296 -45119 N t- 1.3364 0.4492 -0.6369 201.5 - -
17 -19 -1630 Mar 01 09:04:05 37898 -44896 N t- 1.2832 0.5449 -0.5374 219.6 - -
18 -18 -1612 Mar 11 15:54:06 37503 -44673 N t- 1.2231 0.6532 -0.4251 237.5 - -
19 -17 -1594 Mar 22 22:36:05 37110 -44450 N t- 1.1560 0.7743 -0.3002 255.1 - -
20 -16 -1576 Apr 02 05:10:15 36718 -44227 N t- 1.0821 0.9081 -0.1626 272.0 - -
21 -15 -1558 Apr 13 11:39:29 36329 -44004 Nx t- 1.0033 1.0509 -0.0165 287.8 - -
22 -14 -1540 Apr 23 18:04:21 35942 -43781 P t- 0.9200 1.2023 0.1380 302.1 89.7 -
23 -13 -1522 May 05 00:27:10 35557 -43558 P t- 0.8341 1.3585 0.2970 314.9 128.4 -
24 -12 -1504 May 15 06:48:18 35174 -43335 P t- 0.7460 1.5190 0.4599 326.1 155.5 -
25 -11 -1486 May 26 13:11:30 34793 -43112 P t- 0.6584 1.6788 0.6216 335.5 175.8 -
26 -10 -1468 Jun 05 19:36:46 34414 -42889 P t- 0.5714 1.8375 0.7818 343.3 191.6 -
27 -09 -1450 Jun 17 02:05:46 34038 -42666 P t- 0.4865 1.9929 0.9383 349.4 203.6 -
28 -08 -1432 Jun 27 08:40:12 33663 -42443 T t- 0.4051 2.1418 1.0879 354.1 212.6 47.3
29 -07 -1414 Jul 08 15:21:54 33291 -42220 T t- 0.3287 2.2818 1.2283 357.5 219.1 72.5
30 -06 -1396 Jul 18 22:12:07 32920 -41997 T+ p- 0.2584 2.4109 1.3574 359.6 223.6 86.3
31 -05 -1378 Jul 30 05:10:39 32552 -41774 T+ pp 0.1939 2.5292 1.4755 360.8 226.4 94.7
32 -04 -1360 Aug 09 12:20:10 32185 -41551 T+ pp 0.1375 2.6329 1.5788 361.2 228.0 99.5
33 -03 -1342 Aug 20 19:40:01 31821 -41328 T+ pp 0.0886 2.7229 1.6683 361.1 228.6 102.1
34 -02 -1324 Aug 31 03:10:43 31459 -41105 T+ pp 0.0479 2.7978 1.7429 360.5 228.6 103.3
35 -01 -1306 Sep 11 10:51:51 31099 -40882 T+ pp 0.0148 2.8587 1.8034 359.6 228.1 103.5
36 00 -1288 Sep 21 18:43:39 30741 -40659 T- pp -0.0105 2.8665 1.8112 358.6 227.5 103.2
37 01 -1270 Oct 03 02:45:26 30385 -40436 T- pp -0.0286 2.8333 1.7781 357.5 226.7 102.7
38 02 -1252 Oct 13 10:54:31 30031 -40213 T- pp -0.0417 2.8089 1.7546 356.3 226.0 102.2
39 03 -1234 Oct 24 19:12:05 29679 -39990 T- pp -0.0486 2.7957 1.7424 355.0 225.3 101.8
40 04 -1216 Nov 04 03:34:41 29329 -39767 T- pp -0.0517 2.7890 1.7376 353.8 224.6 101.5
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 05 -1198 Nov 15 12:01:58 28981 -39544 T- pp -0.0523 2.7868 1.7378 352.4 224.0 101.3
42 06 -1180 Nov 25 20:29:26 28636 -39321 T- pp -0.0533 2.7834 1.7375 351.0 223.4 101.1
43 07 -1162 Dec 07 04:58:40 28292 -39098 T- pp -0.0536 2.7809 1.7388 349.6 222.9 101.0
44 08 -1144 Dec 17 13:25:21 27951 -38875 T- pp -0.0565 2.7733 1.7356 348.0 222.3 100.8
45 09 -1126 Dec 28 21:49:15 27611 -38652 T- pp -0.0624 2.7599 1.7272 346.4 221.7 100.6
46 10 -1107 Jan 08 06:07:40 27274 -38429 T- pp -0.0733 2.7372 1.7099 344.6 221.0 100.2
47 11 -1089 Jan 19 14:21:08 26939 -38206 T- pp -0.0893 2.7049 1.6835 342.8 220.3 99.5
48 12 -1071 Jan 29 22:27:18 26605 -37983 T- pp -0.1119 2.6603 1.6452 340.8 219.3 98.4
49 13 -1053 Feb 10 06:26:30 26274 -37760 T- pp -0.1410 2.6036 1.5949 338.5 218.0 96.6
50 14 -1035 Feb 20 14:18:18 25945 -37537 T- pp -0.1771 2.5342 1.5319 336.0 216.3 93.8
51 15 -1017 Mar 03 22:03:38 25618 -37314 T- -p -0.2192 2.4536 1.4577 333.1 214.0 89.6
52 16 -0999 Mar 14 05:40:48 25293 -37091 T- -p -0.2691 2.3589 1.3692 329.8 210.9 83.1
53 17 -0981 Mar 25 13:12:57 24970 -36868 T -p -0.3242 2.2550 1.2711 325.9 206.8 73.6
54 18 -0963 Apr 04 20:38:42 24650 -36645 T -p -0.3854 2.1398 1.1616 321.2 201.5 58.8
55 19 -0945 Apr 16 04:01:26 24331 -36422 T -a -0.4499 2.0189 1.0457 315.9 194.9 32.3
56 20 -0927 Apr 26 11:18:29 24014 -36199 P -a -0.5199 1.8882 0.9195 309.6 186.5 -
57 21 -0909 May 07 18:35:30 23700 -35976 P -a -0.5906 1.7564 0.7916 302.6 176.5 -
58 22 -0891 May 18 01:49:58 23387 -35753 P -a -0.6644 1.6193 0.6579 294.5 164.0 -
59 23 -0873 May 29 09:06:28 23077 -35530 P -a -0.7370 1.4848 0.5261 285.8 149.4 -
60 24 -0855 Jun 08 16:22:40 22768 -35307 P -a -0.8103 1.3494 0.3926 276.0 131.4 -
61 25 -0837 Jun 19 23:44:04 22462 -35084 P -a -0.8798 1.2210 0.2657 265.7 109.8 -
62 26 -0819 Jun 30 07:08:01 22158 -34861 P -a -0.9479 1.0958 0.1411 254.6 81.3 -
63 27 -0801 Jul 11 14:37:59 21856 -34638 P -a -1.0115 0.9789 0.0244 243.2 34.3 -
64 28 -0783 Jul 21 22:13:29 21556 -34415 N -a -1.0711 0.8699 -0.0851 231.5 - -
65 29 -0765 Aug 02 05:57:11 21258 -34192 N -a -1.1244 0.7725 -0.1833 220.0 - -
66 30 -0747 Aug 12 13:48:32 20962 -33969 N -a -1.1720 0.6858 -0.2714 208.9 - -
67 31 -0729 Aug 23 21:47:53 20668 -33746 N -a -1.2137 0.6101 -0.3487 198.3 - -
68 32 -0711 Sep 03 05:56:33 20376 -33523 N -a -1.2483 0.5475 -0.4131 188.8 - -
69 33 -0693 Sep 14 14:13:30 20087 -33300 N -a -1.2769 0.4961 -0.4666 180.5 - -
70 34 -0675 Sep 24 22:38:53 19799 -33077 N -a -1.2990 0.4566 -0.5081 173.8 - -
71 35 -0657 Oct 06 07:11:32 19513 -32854 N -a -1.3157 0.4269 -0.5396 168.5 - -
72 36 -0639 Oct 16 15:51:37 19230 -32631 N -a -1.3268 0.4073 -0.5610 164.8 - -
73 37 -0621 Oct 28 00:37:07 18949 -32408 N -a -1.3339 0.3950 -0.5747 162.5 - -
74 38 -0603 Nov 07 09:26:42 18669 -32185 N -a -1.3380 0.3881 -0.5827 161.2 - -
75 39 -0585 Nov 18 18:19:31 18392 -31962 N -a -1.3398 0.3852 -0.5863 160.6 - -
76 40 -0567 Nov 29 03:13:54 18117 -31739 N -a -1.3401 0.3847 -0.5870 160.5 - -
77 41 -0549 Dec 10 12:07:26 17844 -31516 N -a -1.3416 0.3818 -0.5897 160.0 - -
78 42 -0531 Dec 20 20:58:38 17573 -31293 N -a -1.3451 0.3750 -0.5958 158.7 - -
79 43 -0512 Jan 01 05:46:22 17304 -31070 N -a -1.3515 0.3628 -0.6069 156.3 - -
80 44 -0494 Jan 11 14:29:48 17018 -30847 N -a -1.3612 0.3442 -0.6242 152.6 - -
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
81 45 -0476 Jan 22 23:05:49 16701 -30624 N -a -1.3771 0.3142 -0.6525 146.2 - -
82 46 -0458 Feb 02 07:35:34 16393 -30401 N -a -1.3980 0.2750 -0.6900 137.4 - -
83 47 -0440 Feb 13 15:56:27 16093 -30178 N -a -1.4263 0.2221 -0.7410 124.2 - -
84 48 -0422 Feb 24 00:10:19 15802 -29955 N -a -1.4600 0.1594 -0.8020 105.9 - -
85 49 -0404 Mar 06 08:13:48 15518 -29732 N -a -1.5019 0.0817 -0.8781 76.4 - -
[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)"
