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 48 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 -1228 Jul 21. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0106 Sep 30. The total duration of Saros series 48 is 1334.23 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1228 Jul 21 11:53:49 TD
Last Eclipse = 0106 Sep 30 20:29:48 TD
Duration of Saros 48 = 1334.23 Years
Saros 48 is composed of 75 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 48 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 75 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 31 | 41.3% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.0% |
| Total | T | 29 | 38.7% |
The 75 lunar eclipses in Saros 48 occur in the order of 21N 8P 29T 7P 10N which corresponds to:
21 Penumbral
8 Partial
29 Total
7 Partial
10 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 48 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0597 Aug 04 Duration = 01h39m39s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0200 Mar 30 Duration = 00h06m35s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0723 May 20 Duration = 03h08m37s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0849 Mar 06 Duration = 00h57m46s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0867 Feb 23 Duration = 04h17m53s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0106 Sep 30 Duration = 00h56m34s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 48 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0723 May 20 Magnitude = 0.9501
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0849 Mar 06 Magnitude = 0.0648
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 48 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 -35 -1228 Jul 21 11:53:49 29567 -39919 N t- 1.5223 0.0946 -0.9647 93.3 - -
02 -34 -1210 Aug 01 18:50:11 29218 -39696 N t- 1.4570 0.2148 -0.8452 138.7 - -
03 -33 -1192 Aug 12 01:58:12 28871 -39473 N t- 1.3996 0.3203 -0.7403 167.3 - -
04 -32 -1174 Aug 23 09:15:59 28526 -39250 N t- 1.3489 0.4137 -0.6476 188.1 - -
05 -31 -1156 Sep 02 16:44:22 28183 -39027 N t- 1.3056 0.4934 -0.5685 203.3 - -
06 -30 -1138 Sep 14 00:23:31 27842 -38804 N h- 1.2701 0.5589 -0.5036 214.5 - -
07 -29 -1120 Sep 24 08:13:09 27503 -38581 N h- 1.2424 0.6098 -0.4529 222.4 - -
08 -28 -1102 Oct 05 16:12:20 27167 -38358 N h- 1.2212 0.6486 -0.4139 227.8 - -
09 -27 -1084 Oct 16 00:18:41 26832 -38135 N a- 1.2051 0.6780 -0.3840 231.6 - -
10 -26 -1066 Oct 27 08:33:07 26500 -37912 N a- 1.1946 0.6967 -0.3642 233.6 - -
11 -25 -1048 Nov 06 16:52:30 26169 -37689 N a- 1.1874 0.7089 -0.3502 234.6 - -
12 -24 -1030 Nov 18 01:15:57 25841 -37466 N a- 1.1827 0.7163 -0.3404 234.8 - -
13 -23 -1012 Nov 28 09:40:43 25514 -37243 N a- 1.1785 0.7225 -0.3310 234.8 - -
14 -22 -0994 Dec 09 18:06:28 25190 -37020 N a- 1.1741 0.7287 -0.3211 234.8 - -
15 -21 -0976 Dec 20 02:30:03 24868 -36797 N a- 1.1672 0.7391 -0.3063 235.2 - -
16 -20 -0958 Dec 31 10:50:16 24548 -36574 N a- 1.1568 0.7556 -0.2847 236.5 - -
17 -19 -0939 Jan 10 19:05:57 24230 -36351 N a- 1.1420 0.7799 -0.2548 238.6 - -
18 -18 -0921 Jan 22 03:16:17 23914 -36128 N a- 1.1225 0.8128 -0.2160 241.7 - -
19 -17 -0903 Feb 01 11:18:55 23600 -35905 N a- 1.0957 0.8587 -0.1637 246.1 - -
20 -16 -0885 Feb 12 19:14:49 23288 -35682 N a- 1.0626 0.9162 -0.0998 251.6 - -
21 -15 -0867 Feb 23 03:02:59 22978 -35459 N a- 1.0225 0.9865 -0.0229 257.9 - -
22 -14 -0849 Mar 06 10:44:51 22671 -35236 P a- 0.9764 1.0677 0.0648 264.7 57.8 -
23 -13 -0831 Mar 16 18:17:58 22365 -35013 P a- 0.9223 1.1638 0.1673 272.2 91.2 -
24 -12 -0813 Mar 28 01:46:36 22062 -34790 P a- 0.8636 1.2684 0.2779 279.6 115.3 -
25 -11 -0795 Apr 07 09:08:25 21760 -34567 P a- 0.7981 1.3858 0.4010 287.0 135.6 -
26 -10 -0777 Apr 18 16:27:38 21461 -34344 P a- 0.7297 1.5088 0.5292 293.8 152.3 -
27 -09 -0759 Apr 28 23:41:43 21163 -34121 P a- 0.6559 1.6418 0.6669 300.3 166.8 -
28 -08 -0741 May 10 06:56:05 20868 -33898 P a- 0.5813 1.7766 0.8059 305.9 178.6 -
29 -07 -0723 May 20 14:08:12 20575 -33675 P a- 0.5036 1.9174 0.9501 310.8 188.6 -
30 -06 -0705 May 31 21:21:59 20284 -33452 T a- 0.4264 2.0575 1.0932 314.7 196.5 45.3
31 -05 -0687 Jun 11 04:36:57 19995 -33229 T a- 0.3493 2.1979 1.2358 317.9 202.8 68.8
32 -04 -0669 Jun 22 11:56:15 19708 -33006 T p- 0.2749 2.3336 1.3731 320.1 207.3 82.3
33 -03 -0651 Jul 02 19:19:41 19423 -32783 T+ p- 0.2033 2.4646 1.5050 321.5 210.4 90.9
34 -02 -0633 Jul 14 02:48:38 19140 -32560 T+ p- 0.1356 2.5886 1.6295 322.3 212.3 96.1
35 -01 -0615 Jul 24 10:24:22 18859 -32337 T+ pp 0.0730 2.7035 1.7443 322.5 213.2 98.8
36 00 -0597 Aug 04 18:07:23 18581 -32114 T+ pp 0.0158 2.8088 1.8489 322.2 213.3 99.7
37 01 -0579 Aug 15 01:58:11 18304 -31891 T- pp -0.0351 2.7738 1.8129 321.7 212.7 99.2
38 02 -0561 Aug 26 09:57:21 18030 -31668 T- pp -0.0794 2.6932 1.7310 320.9 211.8 97.9
39 03 -0543 Sep 05 18:05:26 17757 -31445 T- -p -0.1167 2.6255 1.6618 320.1 210.7 96.0
40 04 -0525 Sep 17 02:22:22 17487 -31222 T- -p -0.1470 2.5709 1.6054 319.3 209.5 94.0
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 05 -0507 Sep 27 10:46:53 17218 -30999 T- -p -0.1713 2.5271 1.5600 318.5 208.4 92.0
42 06 -0489 Oct 08 19:20:03 16916 -30776 T- -p -0.1886 2.4960 1.5274 317.9 207.5 90.4
43 07 -0471 Oct 19 03:59:38 16602 -30553 T- -p -0.2008 2.4744 1.5045 317.4 206.8 89.1
44 08 -0453 Oct 30 12:45:41 16297 -30330 T- -p -0.2080 2.4617 1.4907 317.1 206.3 88.3
45 09 -0435 Nov 09 21:34:46 16000 -30107 T- -p -0.2130 2.4528 1.4811 316.8 205.9 87.7
46 10 -0417 Nov 21 06:28:03 15711 -29884 T- -p -0.2146 2.4501 1.4781 316.6 205.8 87.5
47 11 -0399 Dec 01 15:21:58 15430 -29661 T- -p -0.2157 2.4479 1.4761 316.5 205.7 87.3
48 12 -0381 Dec 13 00:15:56 15155 -29438 T- -p -0.2169 2.4455 1.4744 316.4 205.6 87.2
49 13 -0363 Dec 23 09:07:05 14887 -29215 T- -p -0.2203 2.4387 1.4686 316.2 205.5 86.9
50 14 -0344 Jan 03 17:55:10 14626 -28992 T- -p -0.2263 2.4269 1.4583 315.9 205.3 86.4
51 15 -0326 Jan 14 02:37:53 14370 -28769 T- -p -0.2367 2.4070 1.4401 315.5 204.9 85.3
52 16 -0308 Jan 25 11:14:05 14121 -28546 T- -p -0.2521 2.3776 1.4127 314.9 204.3 83.5
53 17 -0290 Feb 04 19:43:14 13876 -28323 T -p -0.2734 2.3375 1.3747 314.2 203.3 80.8
54 18 -0272 Feb 16 04:04:45 13637 -28100 T -p -0.3007 2.2863 1.3257 313.2 201.9 76.8
55 19 -0254 Feb 26 12:17:26 13403 -27877 T -p -0.3354 2.2216 1.2631 311.8 199.8 70.6
56 20 -0236 Mar 08 20:21:46 13174 -27654 T -p -0.3769 2.1444 1.1878 309.9 196.9 61.2
57 21 -0218 Mar 20 04:17:50 12949 -27431 T -a -0.4251 2.0552 1.1002 307.5 193.0 46.0
58 22 -0200 Mar 30 12:06:45 12729 -27208 T -a -0.4790 1.9556 1.0019 304.4 187.8 6.6
59 23 -0182 Apr 10 19:46:59 12513 -26985 P -a -0.5400 1.8434 0.8905 300.4 180.9 -
60 24 -0164 Apr 21 03:22:03 12301 -26762 P -a -0.6049 1.7240 0.7715 295.5 172.2 -
61 25 -0146 May 02 10:50:40 12093 -26539 P -a -0.6751 1.5953 0.6425 289.4 160.8 -
62 26 -0128 May 12 18:16:06 11889 -26316 P -a -0.7474 1.4632 0.5095 282.3 146.5 -
63 27 -0110 May 24 01:36:16 11688 -26093 P -a -0.8234 1.3244 0.3692 273.7 127.6 -
64 28 -0092 Jun 03 08:55:57 11491 -25870 P -a -0.8993 1.1864 0.2290 263.9 102.8 -
65 29 -0074 Jun 14 16:13:31 11297 -25647 P -a -0.9763 1.0465 0.0862 252.5 64.5 -
66 30 -0056 Jun 24 23:31:52 11106 -25424 N -a -1.0518 0.9096 -0.0541 239.6 - -
67 31 -0038 Jul 06 06:51:17 10918 -25201 N -a -1.1257 0.7762 -0.1916 225.3 - -
68 32 -0020 Jul 16 14:14:06 10732 -24978 N -a -1.1958 0.6497 -0.3226 209.5 - -
69 33 -0002 Jul 27 21:41:06 10549 -24755 N -a -1.2618 0.5313 -0.4462 192.5 - -
70 34 0016 Aug 07 05:12:17 10367 -24532 N -a -1.3235 0.4207 -0.5622 173.8 - -
71 35 0034 Aug 18 12:50:05 10188 -24309 N -a -1.3791 0.3217 -0.6671 154.1 - -
72 36 0052 Aug 28 20:33:55 10011 -24086 N -a -1.4292 0.2328 -0.7621 132.7 - -
73 37 0070 Sep 09 04:25:28 9835 -23863 N -a -1.4723 0.1570 -0.8441 110.2 - -
74 38 0088 Sep 19 12:23:25 9661 -23640 N -a -1.5096 0.0917 -0.9156 85.1 - -
75 39 0106 Sep 30 20:29:48 9488 -23417 N -a -1.5395 0.0398 -0.9737 56.6 - -
[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)"
