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 40 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 -1369 Feb 24. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0071 Apr 12. The total duration of Saros series 40 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1369 Feb 24 05:30:25 TD
Last Eclipse = -0071 Apr 12 20:04:09 TD
Duration of Saros 40 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 40 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 40 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 30 | 41.1% |
| Partial | P | 18 | 24.7% |
| Total | T | 25 | 34.2% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 40 occur in the order of 9N 10P 25T 8P 21N which corresponds to:
9 Penumbral
10 Partial
25 Total
8 Partial
21 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 40 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0666 Apr 21 Duration = 01h44m48s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -1027 Sep 17 Duration = 00h17m32s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0576 Jun 14 Duration = 03h27m19s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1207 Jun 01 Duration = 00h59m41s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0432 Sep 08 Duration = 04h51m47s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1369 Feb 24 Duration = 00h47m29s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 40 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0576 Jun 14 Magnitude = 0.9867
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0450 Aug 29 Magnitude = 0.0607
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 40 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 -39 -1369 Feb 24 05:30:25 32377 -41668 N a- 1.5278 0.0316 -0.9231 47.5 - -
02 -38 -1351 Mar 06 13:28:52 32012 -41445 N a- 1.4866 0.1063 -0.8464 86.5 - -
03 -37 -1333 Mar 17 21:17:51 31649 -41222 N a- 1.4380 0.1945 -0.7564 116.1 - -
04 -36 -1315 Mar 28 05:00:41 31287 -40999 N a- 1.3848 0.2914 -0.6581 141.0 - -
05 -35 -1297 Apr 08 12:36:03 30928 -40776 N a- 1.3256 0.3997 -0.5490 163.6 - -
06 -34 -1279 Apr 18 20:07:03 30571 -40553 N a- 1.2632 0.5140 -0.4344 183.8 - -
07 -33 -1261 Apr 30 03:31:26 30216 -40330 N a- 1.1957 0.6380 -0.3108 202.7 - -
08 -32 -1243 May 10 10:54:04 29863 -40107 N a- 1.1271 0.7645 -0.1853 219.5 - -
09 -31 -1225 May 21 18:13:18 29512 -39884 N a- 1.0558 0.8963 -0.0553 235.0 - -
10 -30 -1207 Jun 01 01:32:01 29163 -39661 P a- 0.9844 1.0283 0.0744 248.9 59.7 -
11 -29 -1189 Jun 12 08:50:27 28817 -39438 P a- 0.9132 1.1606 0.2035 261.4 97.2 -
12 -28 -1171 Jun 22 16:10:57 28472 -39215 P a- 0.8442 1.2890 0.3283 272.5 121.6 -
13 -27 -1153 Jul 03 23:34:23 28129 -38992 P a- 0.7782 1.4124 0.4474 282.2 139.7 -
14 -26 -1135 Jul 14 07:00:37 27789 -38769 P a- 0.7151 1.5306 0.5608 290.8 154.1 -
15 -25 -1117 Jul 25 14:32:32 27451 -38546 P a- 0.6573 1.6393 0.6642 298.2 165.4 -
16 -24 -1099 Aug 04 22:09:45 27114 -38323 P a- 0.6044 1.7392 0.7584 304.6 174.5 -
17 -23 -1081 Aug 16 05:54:07 26780 -38100 P a- 0.5583 1.8268 0.8401 310.0 181.5 -
18 -22 -1063 Aug 26 13:44:42 26448 -37877 P a- 0.5180 1.9038 0.9110 314.7 187.2 -
19 -21 -1045 Sep 06 21:43:55 26117 -37654 P a- 0.4854 1.9667 0.9678 318.7 191.5 -
20 -20 -1027 Sep 17 05:49:58 25789 -37431 T p- 0.4591 2.0181 1.0130 322.1 194.8 17.5
21 -19 -1009 Sep 28 14:03:13 25463 -37208 T p- 0.4395 2.0571 1.0461 324.9 197.2 32.7
22 -18 -0991 Oct 08 22:22:39 25139 -36985 T p- 0.4255 2.0856 1.0691 327.3 199.0 39.8
23 -17 -0973 Oct 20 06:48:27 24818 -36762 T p- 0.4178 2.1023 1.0806 329.3 200.2 43.0
24 -16 -0955 Oct 30 15:17:56 24498 -36539 T p- 0.4134 2.1128 1.0863 331.0 201.0 44.5
25 -15 -0937 Nov 10 23:50:10 24180 -36316 T p- 0.4120 2.1173 1.0868 332.5 201.6 44.7
26 -14 -0919 Nov 21 08:23:25 23864 -36093 T p- 0.4124 2.1185 1.0844 333.9 202.0 44.2
27 -13 -0901 Dec 02 16:56:59 23551 -35870 T p- 0.4139 2.1171 1.0801 335.1 202.4 43.2
28 -12 -0883 Dec 13 01:26:46 23239 -35647 T p- 0.4131 2.1197 1.0805 336.4 203.0 43.4
29 -11 -0865 Dec 24 09:53:23 22930 -35424 T p- 0.4106 2.1252 1.0842 337.7 203.8 44.5
30 -10 -0846 Jan 03 18:12:50 22623 -35201 T p- 0.4031 2.1396 1.0974 339.3 205.1 47.8
31 -09 -0828 Jan 15 02:26:40 22317 -34978 T p- 0.3918 2.1607 1.1178 341.1 206.8 52.4
32 -08 -0810 Jan 25 10:29:45 22014 -34755 T p- 0.3728 2.1957 1.1525 343.3 209.2 59.1
33 -07 -0792 Feb 05 18:25:25 21713 -34532 T p- 0.3485 2.2403 1.1970 345.7 212.0 66.4
34 -06 -0774 Feb 16 02:09:11 21414 -34309 T p- 0.3154 2.3010 1.2578 348.4 215.3 74.6
35 -05 -0756 Feb 27 09:43:52 21117 -34086 T pp 0.2755 2.3741 1.3310 351.2 218.7 82.6
36 -04 -0738 Mar 09 17:06:14 20822 -33863 T+ pp 0.2263 2.4644 1.4214 354.1 222.3 90.3
37 -03 -0720 Mar 20 00:20:20 20529 -33640 T+ pp 0.1711 2.5657 1.5227 356.8 225.6 96.7
38 -02 -0702 Mar 31 07:23:37 20238 -33417 T+ pp 0.1079 2.6818 1.6385 359.2 228.3 101.6
39 -01 -0684 Apr 10 14:18:17 19950 -33194 T+ pp 0.0384 2.8097 1.7658 361.1 230.1 104.5
40 00 -0666 Apr 21 21:04:40 19663 -32971 T- pp -0.0372 2.8122 1.7674 362.3 230.8 104.8
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 01 -0648 May 02 03:45:08 19378 -32748 T- pp -0.1170 2.6664 1.6204 362.5 230.0 101.8
42 02 -0630 May 13 10:20:00 19096 -32525 T- pp -0.2005 2.5142 1.4664 361.7 227.4 94.8
43 03 -0612 May 23 16:50:25 18815 -32302 T -t -0.2866 2.3573 1.3073 359.8 222.9 82.0
44 04 -0594 Jun 03 23:19:08 18537 -32079 T -t -0.3733 2.1995 1.1468 356.6 216.3 60.1
45 05 -0576 Jun 14 05:47:17 18261 -31856 P -t -0.4598 2.0424 0.9867 352.2 207.3 -
46 06 -0558 Jun 25 12:15:47 17987 -31633 P -t -0.5451 1.8876 0.8285 346.6 195.9 -
47 07 -0540 Jul 05 18:47:26 17715 -31410 P -t -0.6270 1.7392 0.6763 340.0 182.0 -
48 08 -0522 Jul 17 01:23:12 17444 -31187 P -t -0.7048 1.5985 0.5315 332.6 165.5 -
49 09 -0504 Jul 27 08:05:25 17176 -30964 P -t -0.7768 1.4686 0.3972 324.6 146.4 -
50 10 -0486 Aug 07 14:52:37 16866 -30741 P -t -0.8442 1.3472 0.2713 316.0 123.5 -
51 11 -0468 Aug 17 21:49:01 16553 -30518 P -t -0.9036 1.2405 0.1600 307.6 96.5 -
52 12 -0450 Aug 29 04:53:05 16249 -30295 P -t -0.9565 1.1457 0.0607 299.3 60.3 -
53 13 -0432 Sep 08 12:07:00 15954 -30072 Nx -t -1.0010 1.0662 -0.0232 291.8 - -
54 14 -0414 Sep 19 19:28:59 15666 -29849 N -t -1.0387 0.9992 -0.0944 284.9 - -
55 15 -0396 Sep 30 03:01:04 15386 -29626 N -t -1.0682 0.9469 -0.1503 279.3 - -
56 16 -0378 Oct 11 10:41:00 15113 -29403 N -t -1.0911 0.9066 -0.1939 274.7 - -
57 17 -0360 Oct 21 18:27:46 14846 -29180 N -t -1.1082 0.8765 -0.2267 271.2 - -
58 18 -0342 Nov 02 02:21:05 14585 -28957 N -t -1.1200 0.8558 -0.2494 268.6 - -
59 19 -0324 Nov 12 10:19:00 14331 -28734 N -t -1.1276 0.8426 -0.2638 266.9 - -
60 20 -0306 Nov 23 18:20:07 14082 -28511 N -t -1.1328 0.8331 -0.2736 265.7 - -
61 21 -0288 Dec 04 02:21:11 13838 -28288 N -t -1.1380 0.8235 -0.2828 264.2 - -
62 22 -0270 Dec 15 10:22:56 13600 -28065 N -t -1.1425 0.8145 -0.2905 262.8 - -
63 23 -0252 Dec 25 18:21:48 13367 -27842 N -t -1.1490 0.8015 -0.3015 260.7 - -
64 24 -0233 Jan 06 02:16:29 13138 -27619 N -t -1.1592 0.7814 -0.3187 257.5 - -
65 25 -0215 Jan 16 10:05:16 12914 -27396 N -t -1.1740 0.7524 -0.3442 252.9 - -
66 26 -0197 Jan 27 17:47:49 12695 -27173 N -t -1.1942 0.7133 -0.3791 246.7 - -
67 27 -0179 Feb 07 01:22:56 12480 -26950 N -t -1.2204 0.6629 -0.4249 238.4 - -
68 28 -0161 Feb 18 08:49:27 12268 -26727 N -t -1.2535 0.5996 -0.4831 227.5 - -
69 29 -0143 Feb 28 16:08:07 12061 -26504 N -t -1.2932 0.5242 -0.5533 213.6 - -
70 30 -0125 Mar 11 23:18:18 11857 -26281 N -t -1.3398 0.4360 -0.6362 195.8 - -
71 31 -0107 Mar 22 06:20:20 11657 -26058 N -t -1.3931 0.3354 -0.7313 172.8 - -
72 32 -0089 Apr 02 13:15:17 11461 -25835 N -t -1.4522 0.2243 -0.8371 142.2 - -
73 33 -0071 Apr 12 20:04:09 11267 -25612 Ne -t -1.5162 0.1041 -0.9521 97.6 - -
[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)"
