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 36 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 -1521 Apr 24. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0223 Jun 11. The total duration of Saros series 36 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1521 Apr 24 04:57:22 TD
Last Eclipse = -0223 Jun 11 22:11:42 TD
Duration of Saros 36 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 36 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 36 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 14 | 19.2% |
| Partial | P | 44 | 60.3% |
| Total | T | 15 | 20.5% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 36 occur in the order of 7N 22P 15T 22P 7N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
22 Partial
15 Total
22 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 36 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0872 May 18 Duration = 01h39m29s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0746 Aug 02 Duration = 00h23m57s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1016 Feb 21 Duration = 03h04m39s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0349 Mar 28 Duration = 00h33m04s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0331 Apr 08 Duration = 04h11m35s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1521 Apr 24 Duration = 00h50m25s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 36 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1016 Feb 21 Magnitude = 0.9577
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0349 Mar 28 Magnitude = 0.0207
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 36 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 -36 -1521 Apr 24 04:57:22 35536 -43546 Nb h- 1.5463 0.0298 -0.9884 50.4 - -
02 -35 -1503 May 04 11:48:23 35154 -43323 N h- 1.4663 0.1742 -0.8392 119.9 - -
03 -34 -1485 May 15 18:37:55 34773 -43100 N h- 1.3834 0.3241 -0.6852 160.6 - -
04 -33 -1467 May 26 01:30:38 34394 -42877 N h- 1.3017 0.4724 -0.5334 190.3 - -
05 -32 -1449 Jun 06 08:24:54 34018 -42654 N h- 1.2195 0.6216 -0.3812 214.2 - -
06 -31 -1431 Jun 16 15:24:54 33643 -42431 N a- 1.1409 0.7646 -0.2357 233.3 - -
07 -30 -1413 Jun 27 22:28:45 33271 -42208 N a- 1.0642 0.9044 -0.0940 249.1 - -
08 -29 -1395 Jul 08 05:41:21 32900 -41985 P a- 0.9934 1.0337 0.0367 261.7 43.8 -
09 -28 -1377 Jul 19 13:00:38 32532 -41762 P a- 0.9268 1.1554 0.1594 272.1 89.3 -
10 -27 -1359 Jul 29 20:29:17 32166 -41539 P a- 0.8668 1.2651 0.2696 280.2 114.0 -
11 -26 -1341 Aug 10 04:06:48 31801 -41316 P a- 0.8133 1.3632 0.3679 286.7 130.8 -
12 -25 -1323 Aug 20 11:54:43 31439 -41093 P a- 0.7675 1.4472 0.4519 291.6 142.7 -
13 -24 -1305 Aug 31 19:52:34 31079 -40870 P a- 0.7290 1.5180 0.5225 295.3 151.3 -
14 -23 -1287 Sep 11 03:59:23 30721 -40647 P a- 0.6969 1.5769 0.5813 298.0 157.7 -
15 -22 -1269 Sep 22 12:16:30 30365 -40424 P a- 0.6726 1.6216 0.6258 299.7 162.0 -
16 -21 -1251 Oct 02 20:41:49 30012 -40201 P a- 0.6545 1.6549 0.6592 300.7 164.9 -
17 -20 -1233 Oct 14 05:15:25 29660 -39978 P a- 0.6425 1.6766 0.6813 301.1 166.6 -
18 -19 -1215 Oct 24 13:54:29 29310 -39755 P a- 0.6346 1.6907 0.6961 301.1 167.6 -
19 -18 -1197 Nov 04 22:39:11 28963 -39532 P a- 0.6308 1.6973 0.7037 300.6 167.9 -
20 -17 -1179 Nov 15 07:26:24 28617 -39309 P a- 0.6286 1.7004 0.7084 300.0 168.0 -
21 -16 -1161 Nov 26 16:15:04 28274 -39086 P a- 0.6274 1.7015 0.7117 299.3 167.9 -
22 -15 -1143 Dec 07 01:03:16 27932 -38863 P a- 0.6255 1.7037 0.7165 298.6 168.1 -
23 -14 -1125 Dec 18 09:49:59 27593 -38640 P a- 0.6225 1.7077 0.7235 298.0 168.4 -
24 -13 -1107 Dec 28 18:32:20 27256 -38417 P a- 0.6155 1.7189 0.7382 297.8 169.4 -
25 -12 -1088 Jan 09 03:09:49 26920 -38194 P a- 0.6041 1.7378 0.7610 297.9 171.1 -
26 -11 -1070 Jan 19 11:41:03 26587 -37971 P a- 0.5874 1.7663 0.7937 298.5 173.5 -
27 -10 -1052 Jan 30 20:06:28 26256 -37748 P a- 0.5659 1.8037 0.8353 299.4 176.5 -
28 -09 -1034 Feb 10 04:22:42 25927 -37525 P a- 0.5363 1.8557 0.8917 300.9 180.4 -
29 -08 -1016 Feb 21 12:32:45 25601 -37302 P a- 0.5015 1.9175 0.9577 302.8 184.7 -
30 -07 -0998 Mar 03 20:33:44 25276 -37079 T a- 0.4585 1.9942 1.0386 304.9 189.3 29.0
31 -06 -0980 Mar 14 04:29:13 24953 -36856 T a- 0.4109 2.0798 1.1279 307.2 193.9 51.5
32 -05 -0962 Mar 25 12:15:12 24632 -36633 T p- 0.3550 2.1806 1.2322 309.6 198.5 67.1
33 -04 -0944 Apr 04 19:57:09 24314 -36410 T p- 0.2955 2.2882 1.3427 311.8 202.6 78.5
34 -03 -0926 Apr 16 03:31:51 23997 -36187 T+ p- 0.2296 2.4079 1.4649 313.7 206.2 87.5
35 -02 -0908 Apr 26 11:03:25 23683 -35964 T+ p- 0.1610 2.5328 1.5917 315.3 208.9 93.8
36 -01 -0890 May 07 18:30:09 23370 -35741 T+ pp 0.0882 2.6658 1.7259 316.3 210.8 97.8
37 00 -0872 May 18 01:56:11 23060 -35518 T+ pp 0.0148 2.8003 1.8609 316.8 211.6 99.5
38 01 -0854 May 29 09:20:28 22752 -35295 T- pp -0.0601 2.7173 1.7776 316.7 211.3 98.8
39 02 -0836 Jun 08 16:45:07 22446 -35072 T- -p -0.1345 2.5811 1.6406 315.9 209.9 95.6
40 03 -0818 Jun 20 00:11:00 22142 -34849 T- -p -0.2078 2.4475 1.5054 314.6 207.4 89.9
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 04 -0800 Jun 30 07:40:02 21840 -34626 T -p -0.2784 2.3190 1.3747 312.7 204.0 81.3
42 05 -0782 Jul 11 15:12:49 21540 -34403 T -p -0.3455 2.1973 1.2502 310.4 199.6 69.4
43 06 -0764 Jul 21 22:50:21 21242 -34180 T -a -0.4084 2.0835 1.1331 307.8 194.6 52.5
44 07 -0746 Aug 02 06:34:20 20946 -33957 T -a -0.4658 1.9802 1.0260 305.1 189.1 24.0
45 08 -0728 Aug 12 14:25:10 20652 -33734 P -a -0.5174 1.8877 0.9292 302.3 183.3 -
46 09 -0710 Aug 23 22:22:50 20361 -33511 P -a -0.5629 1.8064 0.8435 299.7 177.5 -
47 10 -0692 Sep 03 06:28:25 20071 -33288 P -a -0.6016 1.7377 0.7700 297.4 172.0 -
48 11 -0674 Sep 14 14:41:35 19784 -33065 P -a -0.6335 1.6816 0.7091 295.5 167.0 -
49 12 -0656 Sep 24 23:02:50 19498 -32842 P -a -0.6587 1.6378 0.6606 294.1 162.7 -
50 13 -0638 Oct 06 07:29:39 19215 -32619 P -a -0.6789 1.6031 0.6212 293.1 159.1 -
51 14 -0620 Oct 16 16:03:53 18933 -32396 P -a -0.6925 1.5803 0.5941 292.7 156.5 -
52 15 -0602 Oct 28 00:42:38 18654 -32173 P -a -0.7019 1.5652 0.5750 292.7 154.8 -
53 16 -0584 Nov 07 09:25:57 18377 -31950 P -a -0.7071 1.5574 0.5636 293.1 153.8 -
54 17 -0566 Nov 18 18:10:36 18102 -31727 P -a -0.7106 1.5524 0.5556 293.7 153.2 -
55 18 -0548 Nov 29 02:56:38 17829 -31504 P -a -0.7127 1.5500 0.5506 294.5 153.0 -
56 19 -0530 Dec 10 11:41:22 17558 -31281 P -a -0.7153 1.5463 0.5448 295.1 152.7 -
57 20 -0512 Dec 20 20:23:10 17289 -31058 P -a -0.7196 1.5391 0.5361 295.5 152.1 -
58 21 -0493 Jan 01 05:00:53 17000 -30835 P -a -0.7268 1.5265 0.5223 295.6 150.8 -
59 22 -0475 Jan 11 13:32:46 16684 -30612 P -a -0.7381 1.5061 0.5013 295.2 148.6 -
60 23 -0457 Jan 22 21:57:27 16376 -30389 P -a -0.7548 1.4755 0.4703 294.1 145.1 -
61 24 -0439 Feb 02 06:13:22 16078 -30166 P -a -0.7784 1.4324 0.4271 292.1 139.6 -
62 25 -0421 Feb 13 14:20:42 15787 -29943 P -a -0.8081 1.3778 0.3725 289.2 131.8 -
63 26 -0403 Feb 23 22:18:43 15503 -29720 P -a -0.8447 1.3107 0.3054 285.2 121.0 -
64 27 -0385 Mar 07 06:05:49 15227 -29497 P -a -0.8894 1.2286 0.2232 279.5 105.0 -
65 28 -0367 Mar 17 13:43:49 14958 -29274 P -a -0.9408 1.1345 0.1288 272.3 81.1 -
66 29 -0349 Mar 28 21:11:44 14694 -29051 P -a -0.9996 1.0269 0.0207 263.1 33.1 -
67 30 -0331 Apr 08 04:31:43 14437 -28828 N -a -1.0638 0.9096 -0.0975 251.6 - -
68 31 -0313 Apr 19 11:41:31 14186 -28605 N -h -1.1349 0.7797 -0.2287 236.9 - -
69 32 -0295 Apr 29 18:45:37 13940 -28382 N -h -1.2096 0.6436 -0.3666 219.1 - -
70 33 -0277 May 11 01:42:39 13700 -28159 N -h -1.2888 0.4993 -0.5131 196.5 - -
71 34 -0259 May 21 08:35:22 13465 -27936 N -h -1.3702 0.3514 -0.6637 167.9 - -
72 35 -0241 Jun 01 15:24:03 13234 -27713 N -h -1.4535 0.2003 -0.8183 129.0 - -
73 36 -0223 Jun 11 22:11:42 13008 -27490 Ne -t -1.5362 0.0503 -0.9720 65.8 - -
[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)"
