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 39 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 -1380 Mar 26. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0082 May 14. The total duration of Saros series 39 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1380 Mar 26 01:54:14 TD
Last Eclipse = -0082 May 14 19:40:04 TD
Duration of Saros 39 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 39 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 39 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 16 | 21.9% |
| Partial | P | 31 | 42.5% |
| Total | T | 26 | 35.6% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 39 occur in the order of 7N 10P 26T 21P 9N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
10 Partial
26 Total
21 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 39 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0731 Apr 19 Duration = 01h39m23s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1074 Sep 26 Duration = 00h27m46s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1092 Sep 14 Duration = 03h10m23s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0244 Feb 07 Duration = 00h10m37s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0226 Feb 17 Duration = 04h16m10s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0082 May 14 Duration = 00h52m53s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 39 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1092 Sep 14 Magnitude = 0.9952
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0244 Feb 07 Magnitude = 0.0021
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 39 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 -1380 Mar 26 01:54:14 32599 -41803 Nb h- -1.5235 0.0736 -0.9487 78.9 - -
02 -35 -1362 Apr 06 08:58:11 32233 -41580 N h- -1.4530 0.1999 -0.8163 128.0 - -
03 -34 -1344 Apr 16 15:57:02 31868 -41357 N h- -1.3770 0.3367 -0.6740 163.3 - -
04 -33 -1326 Apr 27 22:54:49 31506 -41134 N a- -1.2987 0.4776 -0.5279 191.0 - -
05 -32 -1308 May 08 05:50:48 31145 -40911 N a- -1.2177 0.6242 -0.3769 214.3 - -
06 -31 -1290 May 19 12:46:57 30787 -40688 N a- -1.1352 0.7734 -0.2237 233.9 - -
07 -30 -1272 May 29 19:45:21 30431 -40465 N a- -1.0535 0.9217 -0.0720 250.4 - -
08 -29 -1254 Jun 10 02:46:55 30077 -40242 P a- -0.9732 1.0675 0.0767 264.2 62.8 -
09 -28 -1236 Jun 20 09:53:36 29724 -40019 P a- -0.8957 1.2086 0.2200 275.7 103.9 -
10 -27 -1218 Jul 01 17:05:14 29374 -39796 P a- -0.8213 1.3444 0.3575 285.3 129.4 -
11 -26 -1200 Jul 12 00:25:01 29026 -39573 P a- -0.7525 1.4700 0.4842 292.9 147.2 -
12 -25 -1182 Jul 23 07:51:56 28680 -39350 P a- -0.6890 1.5862 0.6012 299.0 160.6 -
13 -24 -1164 Aug 02 15:27:26 28337 -39127 P a- -0.6318 1.6910 0.7062 303.8 170.6 -
14 -23 -1146 Aug 13 23:11:41 27995 -38904 P a- -0.5811 1.7841 0.7992 307.5 178.1 -
15 -22 -1128 Aug 24 07:06:12 27655 -38681 P a- -0.5382 1.8630 0.8778 310.2 183.6 -
16 -21 -1110 Sep 04 15:09:55 27318 -38458 P a- -0.5026 1.9284 0.9428 312.0 187.6 -
17 -20 -1092 Sep 14 23:22:40 26982 -38235 P a- -0.4740 1.9812 0.9952 313.3 190.4 -
18 -19 -1074 Sep 26 07:44:37 26649 -38012 T a- -0.4525 2.0207 1.0343 314.0 192.2 27.8
19 -18 -1056 Oct 06 16:15:04 26317 -37789 T a- -0.4375 2.0484 1.0617 314.2 193.3 36.8
20 -17 -1038 Oct 18 00:52:09 25988 -37566 T a- -0.4276 2.0665 1.0799 314.1 193.9 41.6
21 -16 -1020 Oct 28 09:35:08 25660 -37343 T a- -0.4222 2.0763 1.0901 313.8 194.0 44.0
22 -15 -1002 Nov 08 18:22:14 25335 -37120 T a- -0.4197 2.0805 1.0952 313.2 193.9 45.0
23 -14 -0984 Nov 19 03:12:56 25012 -36897 T a- -0.4196 2.0799 1.0959 312.5 193.6 45.1
24 -13 -0966 Nov 30 12:03:16 24691 -36674 T p- -0.4188 2.0804 1.0982 311.9 193.4 45.6
25 -12 -0948 Dec 10 20:54:20 24372 -36451 T p- -0.4183 2.0804 1.1004 311.2 193.3 46.0
26 -11 -0930 Dec 22 05:41:47 24055 -36228 T p- -0.4141 2.0866 1.1094 310.8 193.5 47.8
27 -10 -0911 Jan 01 14:26:23 23740 -36005 T p- -0.4076 2.0969 1.1228 310.4 194.0 50.4
28 -09 -0893 Jan 12 23:03:50 23428 -35782 T p- -0.3948 2.1188 1.1481 310.5 195.0 54.9
29 -08 -0875 Jan 23 07:36:50 23117 -35559 T p- -0.3781 2.1476 1.1805 310.7 196.4 60.0
30 -07 -0857 Feb 03 16:01:25 22808 -35336 T p- -0.3539 2.1901 1.2268 311.3 198.2 66.3
31 -06 -0839 Feb 14 00:18:53 22502 -35113 T p- -0.3237 2.2436 1.2841 312.1 200.4 72.8
32 -05 -0821 Feb 25 08:27:18 22197 -34890 T p- -0.2859 2.3111 1.3553 313.1 202.9 79.4
33 -04 -0803 Mar 07 16:28:57 21895 -34667 T- p- -0.2422 2.3895 1.4372 314.2 205.3 85.5
34 -03 -0785 Mar 19 00:22:21 21595 -34444 T- p- -0.1914 2.4811 1.5320 315.3 207.6 90.9
35 -02 -0767 Mar 29 08:08:40 21296 -34221 T- p- -0.1344 2.5843 1.6379 316.2 209.5 95.3
36 -01 -0749 Apr 09 15:48:46 21000 -33998 T- pp -0.0721 2.6975 1.7534 316.9 210.9 98.2
37 00 -0731 Apr 19 23:23:47 20706 -33775 T- pp -0.0054 2.8189 1.8766 317.1 211.5 99.4
38 01 -0713 May 01 06:53:55 20414 -33552 T+ pp 0.0653 2.7085 1.7673 316.9 211.2 98.6
39 02 -0695 May 11 14:21:08 20124 -33329 T+ -p 0.1387 2.5736 1.6328 316.0 209.8 95.4
40 03 -0677 May 22 21:45:50 19836 -33106 T+ -p 0.2139 2.4358 1.4948 314.4 207.3 89.3
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 -0659 Jun 02 05:10:26 19550 -32883 T -p 0.2890 2.2983 1.3564 312.2 203.5 79.9
42 05 -0641 Jun 13 12:33:47 19267 -32660 T -a 0.3649 2.1599 1.2164 309.3 198.4 65.3
43 06 -0623 Jun 23 20:00:14 18985 -32437 T -a 0.4377 2.0274 1.0816 305.9 192.2 41.8
44 07 -0605 Jul 05 03:28:10 18705 -32214 P -a 0.5086 1.8988 0.9502 301.8 184.7 -
45 08 -0587 Jul 15 11:01:32 18428 -31991 P -a 0.5747 1.7793 0.8272 297.5 176.3 -
46 09 -0569 Jul 26 18:38:05 18152 -31768 P -a 0.6374 1.6662 0.7101 292.8 166.8 -
47 10 -0551 Aug 06 02:22:10 17879 -31545 P -a 0.6933 1.5660 0.6054 288.2 156.9 -
48 11 -0533 Aug 17 10:11:30 17608 -31322 P -a 0.7441 1.4751 0.5098 283.7 146.4 -
49 12 -0515 Aug 27 18:08:42 17338 -31099 P -a 0.7878 1.3974 0.4270 279.5 135.9 -
50 13 -0497 Sep 08 02:12:37 17059 -30876 P -a 0.8256 1.3307 0.3551 275.8 125.5 -
51 14 -0479 Sep 18 10:25:09 16741 -30653 P -a 0.8560 1.2776 0.2968 272.8 116.0 -
52 15 -0461 Sep 29 18:44:34 16432 -30430 P -a 0.8799 1.2363 0.2503 270.6 107.5 -
53 16 -0443 Oct 10 03:10:31 16132 -30207 P -a 0.8982 1.2052 0.2143 269.0 100.2 -
54 17 -0425 Oct 21 11:42:52 15840 -29984 P -a 0.9107 1.1846 0.1890 268.2 94.6 -
55 18 -0407 Oct 31 20:20:06 15555 -29761 P -a 0.9192 1.1713 0.1714 268.0 90.6 -
56 19 -0389 Nov 12 05:00:52 15277 -29538 P -a 0.9241 1.1642 0.1605 268.4 88.0 -
57 20 -0371 Nov 22 13:42:59 15007 -29315 P -a 0.9275 1.1596 0.1526 268.8 86.1 -
58 21 -0353 Dec 03 22:25:46 14742 -29092 P -a 0.9299 1.1566 0.1469 269.5 84.8 -
59 22 -0335 Dec 14 07:07:05 14484 -28869 P -a 0.9331 1.1518 0.1399 269.9 83.0 -
60 23 -0317 Dec 25 15:44:46 14232 -28646 P -a 0.9386 1.1425 0.1288 270.0 80.0 -
61 24 -0298 Jan 05 00:17:48 13985 -28423 P -a 0.9476 1.1266 0.1118 269.4 74.9 -
62 25 -0280 Jan 16 08:44:17 13744 -28200 P -a 0.9613 1.1018 0.0862 268.0 66.2 -
63 26 -0262 Jan 26 17:03:07 13508 -27977 P -a 0.9807 1.0666 0.0505 265.5 51.1 -
64 27 -0244 Feb 07 01:12:47 13276 -27754 P -a 1.0070 1.0185 0.0021 261.6 10.6 -
65 28 -0226 Feb 17 09:13:30 13049 -27531 N -a 1.0399 0.9581 -0.0583 256.2 - -
66 29 -0208 Feb 28 17:04:34 12827 -27308 N -a 1.0801 0.8843 -0.1322 248.8 - -
67 30 -0190 Mar 11 00:44:45 12609 -27085 N -a 1.1284 0.7958 -0.2209 239.0 - -
68 31 -0172 Mar 21 08:15:20 12396 -26862 N -a 1.1835 0.6949 -0.3222 226.4 - -
69 32 -0154 Apr 01 15:36:03 12186 -26639 N -h 1.2457 0.5812 -0.4365 210.1 - -
70 33 -0136 Apr 11 22:48:55 11980 -26416 N -h 1.3133 0.4575 -0.5611 189.3 - -
71 34 -0118 Apr 23 05:51:52 11778 -26193 N -h 1.3877 0.3216 -0.6983 161.4 - -
72 35 -0100 May 03 12:49:33 11579 -25970 N -h 1.4651 0.1806 -0.8411 123.0 - -
73 36 -0082 May 14 19:40:04 11384 -25747 Ne -t 1.5465 0.0323 -0.9917 52.9 - -
[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)"
