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 42 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 -1275 Feb 04. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0041 Apr 05. The total duration of Saros series 42 is 1316.20 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1275 Feb 04 06:43:19 TD
Last Eclipse = 0041 Apr 05 09:43:36 TD
Duration of Saros 42 = 1316.20 Years
Saros 42 is composed of 74 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 42 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 74 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 29 | 39.2% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 21.6% |
| Total | T | 29 | 39.2% |
The 74 lunar eclipses in Saros 42 occur in the order of 9N 7P 29T 9P 20N which corresponds to:
9 Penumbral
7 Partial
29 Total
9 Partial
20 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 42 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0590 Mar 22 Duration = 01h38m55s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0987 Jul 27 Duration = 00h20m05s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -1005 Jul 16 Duration = 03h05m50s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0320 Aug 31 Duration = 00h26m37s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1131 May 01 Duration = 04h09m19s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1275 Feb 04 Duration = 01h09m03s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 42 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0464 Jun 06 Magnitude = 0.9439
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0320 Aug 31 Magnitude = 0.0143
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 42 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 -37 -1275 Feb 04 06:43:19 30496 -40506 N a- 1.5391 0.0551 -0.9871 69.0 - -
02 -36 -1257 Feb 15 14:24:00 30141 -40283 N a- 1.5001 0.1232 -0.9123 102.1 - -
03 -35 -1239 Feb 25 21:57:46 29789 -40060 N a- 1.4547 0.2033 -0.8255 129.6 - -
04 -34 -1221 Mar 09 05:23:26 29439 -39837 N a- 1.4017 0.2970 -0.7251 154.6 - -
05 -33 -1203 Mar 19 12:43:30 29090 -39614 N a- 1.3431 0.4013 -0.6143 177.1 - -
06 -32 -1185 Mar 30 19:57:23 28744 -39391 N a- 1.2781 0.5174 -0.4920 197.9 - -
07 -31 -1167 Apr 10 03:06:40 28400 -39168 N a- 1.2083 0.6426 -0.3610 216.8 - -
08 -30 -1149 Apr 21 10:11:37 28058 -38945 N a- 1.1339 0.7765 -0.2217 234.0 - -
09 -29 -1131 May 01 17:15:07 27717 -38722 N a- 1.0569 0.9152 -0.0781 249.3 - -
10 -28 -1113 May 13 00:17:25 27379 -38499 P a- 0.9778 1.0581 0.0691 262.9 59.6 -
11 -27 -1095 May 23 07:19:50 27044 -38276 P a- 0.8976 1.2035 0.2183 274.7 103.4 -
12 -26 -1077 Jun 03 14:24:28 26710 -38053 P a- 0.8180 1.3479 0.3658 284.8 130.6 -
13 -25 -1059 Jun 13 21:32:25 26378 -37830 P a- 0.7398 1.4901 0.5105 293.4 150.4 -
14 -24 -1041 Jun 25 04:45:24 26048 -37607 P a- 0.6650 1.6265 0.6488 300.4 165.4 -
15 -23 -1023 Jul 05 12:03:02 25721 -37384 P a- 0.5929 1.7582 0.7818 306.1 177.0 -
16 -22 -1005 Jul 16 19:28:37 25395 -37161 P a- 0.5263 1.8798 0.9043 310.6 185.8 -
17 -21 -0987 Jul 27 03:01:33 25071 -36938 T a- 0.4647 1.9928 1.0175 314.1 192.6 20.1
18 -20 -0969 Aug 07 10:42:59 24750 -36715 T a- 0.4096 2.0940 1.1187 316.6 197.6 50.6
19 -19 -0951 Aug 17 18:33:21 24431 -36492 T a- 0.3611 2.1832 1.2075 318.5 201.2 64.9
20 -18 -0933 Aug 29 02:33:22 24113 -36269 T p- 0.3200 2.2588 1.2825 319.7 203.8 73.7
21 -17 -0915 Sep 08 10:43:07 23798 -36046 T p- 0.2864 2.3210 1.3438 320.4 205.5 79.3
22 -16 -0897 Sep 19 19:00:27 23485 -35823 T+ p- 0.2584 2.3726 1.3947 320.8 206.6 83.2
23 -15 -0879 Sep 30 03:27:21 23174 -35600 T+ p- 0.2381 2.4103 1.4317 320.9 207.3 85.6
24 -14 -0861 Oct 11 12:01:11 22865 -35377 T+ p- 0.2234 2.4376 1.4584 320.8 207.6 87.2
25 -13 -0843 Oct 21 20:42:26 22558 -35154 T+ p- 0.2143 2.4544 1.4750 320.6 207.6 88.0
26 -12 -0825 Nov 02 05:27:24 22253 -34931 T+ p- 0.2082 2.4656 1.4862 320.2 207.5 88.5
27 -11 -0807 Nov 12 14:17:34 21950 -34708 T+ p- 0.2060 2.4694 1.4905 319.8 207.4 88.6
28 -10 -0789 Nov 23 23:09:09 21650 -34485 T+ p- 0.2048 2.4710 1.4931 319.3 207.2 88.7
29 -09 -0771 Dec 04 08:01:46 21351 -34262 T+ p- 0.2043 2.4712 1.4948 318.8 207.0 88.7
30 -08 -0753 Dec 15 16:52:28 21055 -34039 T+ p- 0.2021 2.4744 1.4998 318.3 206.9 88.9
31 -07 -0735 Dec 26 01:41:18 20760 -33816 T+ p- 0.1980 2.4806 1.5083 317.9 207.0 89.3
32 -06 -0716 Jan 06 10:25:02 20468 -33593 T+ p- 0.1897 2.4946 1.5249 317.6 207.2 90.2
33 -05 -0698 Jan 16 19:03:39 20177 -33370 T+ p- 0.1768 2.5167 1.5501 317.5 207.7 91.4
34 -04 -0680 Jan 28 03:35:20 19889 -33147 T+ p- 0.1582 2.5493 1.5858 317.4 208.3 92.9
35 -03 -0662 Feb 07 12:00:48 19603 -32924 T+ p- 0.1344 2.5913 1.6310 317.5 209.1 94.6
36 -02 -0644 Feb 18 20:16:34 19319 -32701 T+ p- 0.1024 2.6484 1.6914 317.6 209.9 96.4
37 -01 -0626 Mar 01 04:25:36 19037 -32478 T+ pp 0.0646 2.7161 1.7622 317.8 210.6 97.9
38 00 -0608 Mar 11 12:25:26 18757 -32255 T+ pp 0.0193 2.7979 1.8468 317.8 211.1 98.9
39 01 -0590 Mar 22 20:19:18 18479 -32032 T- pp -0.0309 2.7753 1.8267 317.6 211.2 98.9
40 02 -0572 Apr 02 04:03:37 18203 -31809 T- pp -0.0890 2.6677 1.7212 317.1 210.7 97.5
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 03 -0554 Apr 13 11:43:42 17929 -31586 T- -p -0.1506 2.5539 1.6090 316.2 209.4 94.4
42 04 -0536 Apr 23 19:16:29 17657 -31363 T- -p -0.2184 2.4290 1.4851 314.6 207.0 88.7
43 05 -0518 May 05 02:46:09 17388 -31140 T -p -0.2884 2.3002 1.3567 312.5 203.5 79.9
44 06 -0500 May 15 10:10:36 17119 -30917 T -a -0.3627 2.1641 1.2203 309.6 198.6 65.8
45 07 -0482 May 26 17:34:51 16799 -30694 T -a -0.4368 2.0284 1.0838 306.0 192.4 42.4
46 08 -0464 Jun 06 00:56:59 16488 -30471 P -a -0.5126 1.8902 0.9439 301.5 184.4 -
47 09 -0446 Jun 17 08:20:03 16187 -30248 P -a -0.5873 1.7543 0.8058 296.3 174.8 -
48 10 -0428 Jun 27 15:44:26 15893 -30025 P -a -0.6606 1.6214 0.6699 290.4 163.3 -
49 11 -0410 Jul 08 23:12:12 15607 -29802 P -a -0.7306 1.4947 0.5397 283.9 149.9 -
50 12 -0392 Jul 19 06:43:43 15328 -29579 P -a -0.7969 1.3750 0.4159 277.0 134.3 -
51 13 -0374 Jul 30 14:19:32 15056 -29356 P -a -0.8591 1.2632 0.2996 269.8 116.2 -
52 14 -0356 Aug 09 22:01:56 14791 -29133 P -a -0.9154 1.1624 0.1938 262.7 95.1 -
53 15 -0338 Aug 21 05:50:30 14531 -28910 P -a -0.9662 1.0718 0.0979 255.7 68.7 -
54 16 -0320 Aug 31 13:46:13 14278 -28687 P -a -1.0103 0.9937 0.0143 249.2 26.6 -
55 17 -0302 Sep 11 21:49:04 14030 -28464 N -a -1.0480 0.9274 -0.0576 243.3 - -
56 18 -0284 Sep 22 05:59:57 13788 -28241 N -a -1.0785 0.8743 -0.1163 238.5 - -
57 19 -0266 Oct 03 14:17:30 13551 -28018 N -a -1.1031 0.8320 -0.1642 234.6 - -
58 20 -0248 Oct 13 22:41:01 13318 -27795 N -a -1.1223 0.7993 -0.2021 231.6 - -
59 21 -0230 Oct 25 07:10:31 13091 -27572 N -a -1.1361 0.7764 -0.2299 229.6 - -
60 22 -0212 Nov 04 15:44:57 12868 -27349 N -a -1.1451 0.7621 -0.2486 228.7 - -
61 23 -0194 Nov 16 00:22:07 12649 -27126 N -a -1.1518 0.7520 -0.2627 228.2 - -
62 24 -0176 Nov 26 09:00:50 12435 -26903 N -a -1.1565 0.7450 -0.2731 228.1 - -
63 25 -0158 Dec 07 17:39:19 12224 -26680 N -a -1.1609 0.7383 -0.2826 228.0 - -
64 26 -0140 Dec 18 02:16:49 12018 -26457 N -a -1.1656 0.7309 -0.2923 227.8 - -
65 27 -0122 Dec 29 10:49:20 11815 -26234 N -a -1.1735 0.7172 -0.3077 226.7 - -
66 28 -0103 Jan 08 19:17:49 11616 -26011 N -a -1.1840 0.6986 -0.3276 224.9 - -
67 29 -0085 Jan 20 03:38:16 11419 -25788 N -a -1.2003 0.6691 -0.3579 221.5 - -
68 30 -0067 Jan 30 11:52:04 11226 -25565 N -a -1.2211 0.6311 -0.3964 216.6 - -
69 31 -0049 Feb 10 19:55:00 11036 -25342 N -a -1.2500 0.5783 -0.4494 209.1 - -
70 32 -0031 Feb 21 03:49:48 10849 -25119 N -a -1.2843 0.5153 -0.5125 199.2 - -
71 33 -0013 Mar 04 11:33:13 10664 -24896 N -a -1.3268 0.4373 -0.5906 185.5 - -
72 34 0005 Mar 14 19:06:49 10482 -24673 N -h -1.3763 0.3466 -0.6814 167.1 - -
73 35 0023 Mar 26 02:29:29 10301 -24450 N -h -1.4336 0.2416 -0.7867 141.4 - -
74 36 0041 Apr 05 09:43:36 10123 -24227 N -h -1.4966 0.1263 -0.9026 103.6 - -
[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)"
