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 50 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 -1134 Jul 03. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0164 Aug 20. The total duration of Saros series 50 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1134 Jul 03 18:28:54 TD
Last Eclipse = 0164 Aug 20 01:42:21 TD
Duration of Saros 50 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 50 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 50 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 31 | 42.5% |
| Partial | P | 20 | 27.4% |
| Total | T | 22 | 30.1% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 50 occur in the order of 22N 8P 22T 12P 9N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
8 Partial
22 Total
12 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 50 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0503 Jul 16 Duration = 01h45m52s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0214 Jan 05 Duration = 00h14m19s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0611 May 12 Duration = 03h26m27s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0737 Feb 26 Duration = 00h28m48s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0755 Feb 15 Duration = 04h45m56s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0164 Aug 20 Duration = 00h37m26s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 50 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0196 Jan 16 Magnitude = 0.9889
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0737 Feb 26 Magnitude = 0.0136
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 50 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 -1134 Jul 03 18:28:54 27771 -38757 Nb t- 1.5265 0.0674 -0.9532 75.6 - -
02 -34 -1116 Jul 14 01:28:20 27432 -38534 N t- 1.4635 0.1858 -0.8406 124.9 - -
03 -33 -1098 Jul 25 08:32:26 27096 -38311 N t- 1.4048 0.2966 -0.7359 156.9 - -
04 -32 -1080 Aug 04 15:42:43 26762 -38088 N t- 1.3516 0.3975 -0.6414 180.8 - -
05 -31 -1062 Aug 15 23:00:01 26430 -37865 N t- 1.3044 0.4875 -0.5580 199.5 - -
06 -30 -1044 Aug 26 06:23:43 26100 -37642 N t- 1.2627 0.5673 -0.4848 214.5 - -
07 -29 -1026 Sep 06 13:56:06 25772 -37419 N t- 1.2285 0.6332 -0.4252 226.2 - -
08 -28 -1008 Sep 16 21:36:04 25446 -37196 N t- 1.2009 0.6870 -0.3777 235.4 - -
09 -27 -0990 Sep 28 05:23:39 25122 -36973 N t- 1.1798 0.7287 -0.3418 242.4 - -
10 -26 -0972 Oct 08 13:17:41 24800 -36750 N t- 1.1643 0.7599 -0.3161 247.7 - -
11 -25 -0954 Oct 19 21:17:59 24481 -36527 N t- 1.1542 0.7808 -0.3000 251.5 - -
12 -24 -0936 Oct 30 05:23:10 24163 -36304 N t- 1.1485 0.7934 -0.2916 254.0 - -
13 -23 -0918 Nov 10 13:30:28 23848 -36081 N t- 1.1452 0.8011 -0.2872 255.8 - -
14 -22 -0900 Nov 20 21:40:24 23534 -35858 N t- 1.1444 0.8040 -0.2871 256.8 - -
15 -21 -0882 Dec 02 05:49:01 23223 -35635 N t- 1.1434 0.8068 -0.2861 257.8 - -
16 -20 -0864 Dec 12 13:56:12 22913 -35412 N t- 1.1414 0.8110 -0.2829 258.9 - -
17 -19 -0846 Dec 23 21:57:32 22606 -35189 N t- 1.1352 0.8224 -0.2718 260.9 - -
18 -18 -0827 Jan 03 05:54:59 22301 -34966 N t- 1.1264 0.8383 -0.2555 263.4 - -
19 -17 -0809 Jan 14 13:44:07 21998 -34743 N t- 1.1118 0.8646 -0.2282 267.1 - -
20 -16 -0791 Jan 24 21:25:18 21697 -34520 N t- 1.0909 0.9022 -0.1890 272.0 - -
21 -15 -0773 Feb 05 04:56:20 21398 -34297 N t- 1.0621 0.9540 -0.1352 278.5 - -
22 -14 -0755 Feb 15 12:18:31 21101 -34074 Nx t- 1.0263 1.0185 -0.0684 285.9 - -
23 -13 -0737 Feb 26 19:30:20 20806 -33851 P t- 0.9823 1.0980 0.0136 294.5 28.8 -
24 -12 -0719 Mar 09 02:32:11 20513 -33628 P t- 0.9305 1.1917 0.1100 303.8 80.7 -
25 -11 -0701 Mar 20 09:24:35 20223 -33405 P t- 0.8709 1.2998 0.2207 313.5 112.6 -
26 -10 -0683 Mar 30 16:08:39 19934 -33182 P t- 0.8043 1.4207 0.3442 323.2 138.1 -
27 -09 -0665 Apr 10 22:44:33 19648 -32959 P t- 0.7310 1.5541 0.4800 332.7 159.8 -
28 -08 -0647 Apr 21 05:14:14 19363 -32736 P t- 0.6523 1.6973 0.6253 341.6 178.1 -
29 -07 -0629 May 02 11:38:28 19081 -32513 P t- 0.5689 1.8495 0.7794 349.6 193.7 -
30 -06 -0611 May 12 18:00:01 18800 -32290 P t- 0.4830 2.0064 0.9377 356.6 206.4 -
31 -05 -0593 May 24 00:17:59 18522 -32067 T t- 0.3938 2.1695 1.1019 362.3 216.8 51.4
32 -04 -0575 Jun 03 06:37:20 18246 -31844 T tp 0.3053 2.3315 1.2647 366.8 224.6 78.3
33 -03 -0557 Jun 14 12:56:46 17972 -31621 T+ pp 0.2163 2.4946 1.4282 369.9 230.1 93.4
34 -02 -0539 Jun 24 19:21:28 17700 -31398 T+ pp 0.1312 2.6508 1.5843 371.7 233.4 101.8
35 -01 -0521 Jul 06 01:48:34 17430 -31175 T+ pp 0.0477 2.8042 1.7374 372.4 234.9 105.7
36 00 -0503 Jul 16 08:24:17 17162 -30952 T- pp -0.0296 2.8377 1.7702 372.0 234.7 105.9
37 01 -0485 Jul 27 15:05:43 16849 -30729 T- pp -0.1028 2.7038 1.6353 370.8 233.1 103.1
38 02 -0467 Aug 06 21:57:12 16537 -30506 T- pp -0.1684 2.5840 1.5145 369.0 230.5 97.9
39 03 -0449 Aug 18 04:56:55 16233 -30283 T- pp -0.2278 2.4756 1.4048 366.6 227.2 90.8
40 04 -0431 Aug 28 12:08:33 15938 -30060 T pp -0.2782 2.3839 1.3117 364.1 223.6 82.4
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 -0413 Sep 08 19:30:02 15651 -29837 T -p -0.3213 2.3055 1.2321 361.6 219.9 73.0
42 06 -0395 Sep 19 03:02:04 15371 -29614 T -p -0.3565 2.2413 1.1669 359.1 216.4 63.2
43 07 -0377 Sep 30 10:44:01 15098 -29391 T -p -0.3842 2.1910 1.1158 356.8 213.3 53.4
44 08 -0359 Oct 10 18:35:59 14832 -29168 T -p -0.4041 2.1546 1.0791 354.8 210.7 44.6
45 09 -0341 Oct 22 02:35:49 14572 -28945 T -p -0.4184 2.1283 1.0528 353.0 208.7 36.6
46 10 -0323 Nov 01 10:42:41 14317 -28722 T -p -0.4274 2.1114 1.0366 351.5 207.2 30.6
47 11 -0305 Nov 12 18:55:06 14069 -28499 T -p -0.4327 2.1010 1.0276 350.1 206.2 26.6
48 12 -0287 Nov 23 03:12:00 13826 -28276 T -p -0.4348 2.0962 1.0248 348.8 205.5 25.1
49 13 -0269 Dec 04 11:29:58 13588 -28053 T -p -0.4365 2.0917 1.0230 347.5 204.9 24.2
50 14 -0251 Dec 14 19:49:11 13355 -27830 T -p -0.4378 2.0874 1.0222 346.0 204.3 23.7
51 15 -0233 Dec 26 04:06:15 13126 -27607 T -p -0.4416 2.0785 1.0175 344.4 203.5 21.0
52 16 -0214 Jan 05 12:20:59 12903 -27384 T -p -0.4480 2.0643 1.0081 342.4 202.4 14.3
53 17 -0196 Jan 16 20:30:01 12683 -27161 P -p -0.4598 2.0398 0.9889 340.0 200.6 -
54 18 -0178 Jan 27 04:34:54 12468 -26938 P -t -0.4758 2.0075 0.9625 337.2 198.4 -
55 19 -0160 Feb 07 12:32:51 12257 -26715 P -t -0.4980 1.9637 0.9248 333.9 195.3 -
56 20 -0142 Feb 17 20:23:30 12050 -26492 P -t -0.5273 1.9067 0.8744 329.8 191.0 -
57 21 -0124 Feb 29 04:06:47 11847 -26269 P -t -0.5634 1.8372 0.8114 325.1 185.5 -
58 22 -0106 Mar 11 11:43:08 11647 -26046 P -t -0.6060 1.7556 0.7365 319.5 178.5 -
59 23 -0088 Mar 21 19:13:00 11450 -25823 P -t -0.6547 1.6630 0.6503 313.0 169.6 -
60 24 -0070 Apr 02 02:35:39 11257 -25600 P -t -0.7100 1.5584 0.5521 305.4 158.3 -
61 25 -0052 Apr 12 09:53:46 11066 -25377 P -t -0.7698 1.4456 0.4452 296.6 144.0 -
62 26 -0034 Apr 23 17:06:58 10878 -25154 P -h -0.8346 1.3239 0.3290 286.5 125.6 -
63 27 -0016 May 04 00:17:18 10693 -24931 P -h -0.9024 1.1969 0.2071 275.1 101.1 -
64 28 0002 May 15 07:24:42 10510 -24708 P -h -0.9732 1.0647 0.0795 262.0 63.5 -
65 29 0020 May 25 14:32:20 10330 -24485 N -h -1.0447 0.9315 -0.0497 247.5 - -
66 30 0038 Jun 05 21:40:23 10151 -24262 N -h -1.1165 0.7980 -0.1798 231.4 - -
67 31 0056 Jun 16 04:50:14 9974 -24039 N -a -1.1878 0.6659 -0.3092 213.4 - -
68 32 0074 Jun 27 12:03:48 9798 -23816 N -a -1.2566 0.5384 -0.4345 193.6 - -
69 33 0092 Jul 07 19:21:59 9624 -23593 N -a -1.3227 0.4165 -0.5548 171.7 - -
70 34 0110 Jul 19 02:46:36 9451 -23370 N -a -1.3840 0.3034 -0.6669 147.6 - -
71 35 0128 Jul 29 10:16:54 9279 -23147 N -a -1.4415 0.1976 -0.7722 120.0 - -
72 36 0146 Aug 09 17:55:43 9107 -22924 N -a -1.4930 0.1032 -0.8666 87.2 - -
73 37 0164 Aug 20 01:42:21 8936 -22701 Ne -a -1.5391 0.0188 -0.9514 37.4 - -
[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)"
