Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 28

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 28 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 -1897 Jul 09. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0581 Sep 06. The total duration of Saros series 28 is 1316.20 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse = -1897 Jul 09   08:15:12 TD
                       Last Eclipse = -0581 Sep 06   05:35:49 TD

                      Duration of Saros  28  =  1316.20 Years

Saros 28 is composed of 74 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 28
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 74100.0%
PenumbralN 33 44.6%
PartialP 14 18.9%
TotalT 27 36.5%

The 74 lunar eclipses in Saros 28 occur in the order of 24N 7P 27T 7P 9N which corresponds to:

                                    24  Penumbral
                                     7  Partial
                                    27  Total
                                     7  Partial
                                     9  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 28 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:   -1212 Aug 23      Duration = 01h44m15s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:   -1338 Jun 09      Duration = 00h05m32s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0851 Mar 28      Duration = 03h24m29s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0743 May 31      Duration = 00h29m51s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:   -0725 Jun 11      Duration = 04h32m37s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:   -0581 Sep 06      Duration = 00h21m58s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 28 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0851 Mar 28      Magnitude = 0.9102
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0743 May 31      Magnitude = 0.0147

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 28 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 28

                          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  -1897 Jul 09  08:15:12  43987 -48194   N   a-   1.4840  0.1081 -0.8387   87.0    -      -  
 02  -37  -1879 Jul 19  15:57:40  43561 -47971   N   a-   1.4295  0.2098 -0.7403  120.3    -      -  
 03  -36  -1861 Jul 30  23:46:14  43137 -47748   N   a-   1.3801  0.3022 -0.6516  143.4    -      -  
 04  -35  -1843 Aug 10  07:42:32  42715 -47525   N   a-   1.3372  0.3831 -0.5748  160.5    -      -  
 05  -34  -1825 Aug 21  15:46:39  42296 -47302   N   a-   1.3010  0.4516 -0.5106  173.5    -      -  
 06  -33  -1807 Aug 31  23:59:26  41878 -47079   N   a-   1.2719  0.5072 -0.4594  183.4    -      -  
 07  -32  -1789 Sep 12  08:18:41  41462 -46856   N   a-   1.2484  0.5526 -0.4185  191.0    -      -  
 08  -31  -1771 Sep 22  16:46:43  41049 -46633   N   a-   1.2324  0.5842 -0.3913  196.3    -      -  
 09  -30  -1753 Oct 04  01:20:51  40637 -46410   N   a-   1.2219  0.6056 -0.3741  199.9    -      -  
 10  -29  -1735 Oct 14  10:01:17  40228 -46187   N   a-   1.2169  0.6167 -0.3667  202.1    -      -  

 11  -28  -1717 Oct 25  18:45:04  39820 -45964   N   a-   1.2152  0.6215 -0.3654  203.3    -      -  
 12  -27  -1699 Nov 05  03:32:28  39415 -45741   N   a-   1.2170  0.6197 -0.3701  203.6    -      -  
 13  -26  -1681 Nov 16  12:20:37  39012 -45518   N   a-   1.2201  0.6153 -0.3769  203.5    -      -  
 14  -25  -1663 Nov 26  21:08:00  38611 -45295   N   a-   1.2234  0.6102 -0.3840  203.3    -      -  
 15  -24  -1645 Dec 08  05:53:16  38212 -45072   N   a-   1.2257  0.6067 -0.3890  203.3    -      -  
 16  -23  -1627 Dec 18  14:34:38  37815 -44849   N   a-   1.2260  0.6067 -0.3899  203.8    -      -  
 17  -22  -1609 Dec 29  23:10:14  37420 -44626   N   a-   1.2221  0.6140 -0.3832  205.4    -      -  
 18  -21  -1590 Jan 09  07:38:32  37027 -44403   N   a-   1.2132  0.6305 -0.3668  208.4    -      -  
 19  -20  -1572 Jan 20  15:59:14  36636 -44180   N   a-   1.1990  0.6565 -0.3409  212.7    -      -  
 20  -19  -1554 Jan 31  00:11:21  36247 -43957   N   a-   1.1789  0.6933 -0.3039  218.4    -      -  

 21  -18  -1536 Feb 11  08:13:02  35861 -43734   N   a-   1.1511  0.7442 -0.2528  225.8    -      -  
 22  -17  -1518 Feb 21  16:05:37  35476 -43511   N   a-   1.1167  0.8073 -0.1897  234.4    -      -  
 23  -16  -1500 Mar 03  23:47:48  35094 -43288   N   a-   1.0746  0.8846 -0.1125  244.2    -      -  
 24  -15  -1482 Mar 15  07:21:28  34713 -43065   N   a-   1.0264  0.9734 -0.0241  254.7    -      -  
 25  -14  -1464 Mar 25  14:44:12  34335 -42842   P   h-   0.9703  1.0767  0.0784  265.9   63.6    -  
 26  -13  -1446 Apr 05  21:59:59  33959 -42619   P   h-   0.9092  1.1892  0.1899  277.1   97.7    -  
 27  -12  -1428 Apr 16  05:07:17  33584 -42396   P   t-   0.8420  1.3134  0.3124  288.3  123.6    -  
 28  -11  -1410 Apr 27  12:08:38  33212 -42173   P   t-   0.7708  1.4451  0.4420  299.1  144.7    -  
 29  -10  -1392 May 07  19:04:14  32842 -41950   P   t-   0.6957  1.5843  0.5784  309.3  162.6    -  
 30  -09  -1374 May 19  01:56:43  32474 -41727   P   t-   0.6189  1.7270  0.7179  318.7  177.7    -  

 31  -08  -1356 May 29  08:46:45  32108 -41504   P   t-   0.5409  1.8721  0.8591  327.3  190.4    -  
 32  -07  -1338 Jun 09  15:34:58  31744 -41281   T   t-   0.4622  2.0185  1.0012  334.9  201.0    5.5
 33  -06  -1320 Jun 19  22:24:36  31383 -41058   T   t-   0.3855  2.1618  1.1395  341.5  209.5   57.2
 34  -05  -1302 Jul 01  05:15:56  31023 -40835   T   p-   0.3108  2.3016  1.2740  347.1  216.3   76.8
 35  -04  -1284 Jul 11  12:11:43  30665 -40612   T+  pp   0.2406  2.4332  1.4000  351.7  221.4   88.7
 36  -03  -1266 Jul 22  19:10:59  30310 -40389   T+  pp   0.1741  2.5583  1.5190  355.6  225.1   96.4
 37  -02  -1248 Aug 02  02:18:00  29956 -40166   T+  pp   0.1146  2.6707  1.6251  358.7  227.6  100.9
 38  -01  -1230 Aug 13  09:30:39  29605 -39943   T+  pp   0.0603  2.7735  1.7215  361.2  229.2  103.4
 39   00  -1212 Aug 23  16:51:15  29255 -39720   T+  pp   0.0135  2.8627  1.8043  363.2  230.1  104.2
 40   01  -1194 Sep 04  00:18:48  28908 -39497   T-  pp  -0.0270  2.8409  1.7763  364.8  230.4  104.1


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 28

                          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  -1176 Sep 14  07:55:34  28563 -39274   T-  pp  -0.0590  2.7854  1.7146  366.3  230.5  103.3
 42   03  -1158 Sep 25  15:39:08  28220 -39051   T-  pp  -0.0850  2.7405  1.6641  367.6  230.5  102.3
 43   04  -1140 Oct 05  23:29:35  27879 -38828   T-  pp  -0.1046  2.7071  1.6255  368.7  230.4  101.3
 44   05  -1122 Oct 17  07:26:03  27540 -38605   T-  pp  -0.1186  2.6838  1.5975  369.8  230.4  100.4
 45   06  -1104 Oct 27  15:28:20  27203 -38382   T-  pp  -0.1269  2.6706  1.5803  370.9  230.5   99.9
 46   07  -1086 Nov 07  23:32:47  26868 -38159   T-  pp  -0.1332  2.6608  1.5673  371.8  230.6   99.4
 47   08  -1068 Nov 18  07:39:36  26535 -37936   T-  pp  -0.1367  2.6555  1.5595  372.7  230.8   99.2
 48   09  -1050 Nov 29  15:45:33  26205 -37713   T-  pp  -0.1406  2.6491  1.5515  373.4  231.0   99.0
 49   10  -1032 Dec 09  23:50:59  25876 -37490   T-  pp  -0.1446  2.6423  1.5439  374.0  231.2   98.8
 50   11  -1014 Dec 21  07:50:44  25549 -37267   T-  pp  -0.1525  2.6278  1.5294  374.3  231.2   98.2

 51   12  -0996 Dec 31  15:47:08  25225 -37044   T-  pp  -0.1629  2.6084  1.5107  374.5  231.1   97.4
 52   13  -0977 Jan 11  23:34:51  24903 -36821   T-  pp  -0.1798  2.5767  1.4804  374.3  230.7   95.9
 53   14  -0959 Jan 22  07:16:03  24582 -36598   T-  pp  -0.2019  2.5350  1.4407  373.8  230.0   93.6
 54   15  -0941 Feb 02  14:46:05  24264 -36375   T-  pp  -0.2329  2.4770  1.3851  372.8  228.6   89.7
 55   16  -0923 Feb 12  22:08:44  23948 -36152   T-  -p  -0.2695  2.4084  1.3192  371.3  226.5   83.9
 56   17  -0905 Feb 24  05:19:57  23634 -35929   T   -t  -0.3149  2.3236  1.2374  369.1  223.4   74.7
 57   18  -0887 Mar 06  12:21:58  23322 -35706   T   -t  -0.3677  2.2251  1.1420  366.1  219.0   59.7
 58   19  -0869 Mar 17  19:13:49  23012 -35483   T   -t  -0.4285  2.1121  1.0319  362.0  212.8   29.4
 59   20  -0851 Mar 28  01:57:43  22704 -35260   P   -t  -0.4957  1.9872  0.9102  356.8  204.5    -  
 60   21  -0833 Apr 08  08:33:46  22398 -35037   P   -t  -0.5690  1.8513  0.7771  350.1  193.5    -  

 61   22  -0815 Apr 18  15:02:58  22094 -34814   P   -t  -0.6475  1.7059  0.6344  341.9  179.1    -  
 62   23  -0797 Apr 29  21:27:38  21792 -34591   P   -t  -0.7297  1.5539  0.4847  331.9  160.3    -  
 63   24  -0779 May 10  03:49:05  21493 -34368   P   -t  -0.8145  1.3972  0.3300  320.1  135.3    -  
 64   25  -0761 May 21  10:08:26  21195 -34145   P   -t  -0.9010  1.2377  0.1721  306.3   99.9    -  
 65   26  -0743 May 31  16:28:12  20900 -33922   P   -t  -0.9871  1.0791  0.0147  290.5   29.9    -  
 66   27  -0725 Jun 11  22:49:32  20606 -33699   N   -t  -1.0721  0.9227 -0.1409  272.6    -      -  
 67   28  -0707 Jun 22  05:14:56  20315 -33476   N   -t  -1.1540  0.7723 -0.2909  252.8    -      -  
 68   29  -0689 Jul 03  11:43:55  20026 -33253   N   -t  -1.2332  0.6269 -0.4362  230.7    -      -  
 69   30  -0671 Jul 13  18:20:30  19739 -33030   N   -t  -1.3065  0.4925 -0.5708  206.8    -      -  
 70   31  -0653 Jul 25  01:04:03  19453 -32807   N   -t  -1.3747  0.3677 -0.6961  180.4    -      -  

 71   32  -0635 Aug 04  07:57:27  19170 -32584   N   -t  -1.4352  0.2571 -0.8075  152.1    -      -  
 72   33  -0617 Aug 15  14:59:18  18890 -32361   N   -t  -1.4892  0.1583 -0.9072  120.2    -      -  
 73   34  -0599 Aug 25  22:12:46  18611 -32138   N   -t  -1.5348  0.0752 -0.9911   83.3    -      -  
 74   35  -0581 Sep 06  05:35:49  18334 -31915   Ne  -t  -1.5732  0.0052 -1.0622   22.0    -      -  


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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. 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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2009 Sep 29