Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 51

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 51 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 -1105 Jun 13. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 0193 Jul 31. The total duration of Saros series 51 is 1298.17 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse = -1105 Jun 13   02:00:33 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  0193 Jul 31   16:51:54 TD

                      Duration of Saros  51  =  1298.17 Years

Saros 51 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 51
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 73100.0%
PenumbralN 18 24.7%
PartialP 29 39.7%
TotalT 26 35.6%

The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 51 occur in the order of 11N 19P 26T 10P 7N which corresponds to:

                                    11  Penumbral
                                    19  Partial
                                    26  Total
                                    10  Partial
                                     7  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 51 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:   -0456 Jul 06      Duration = 01h39m47s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:   -0113 Jan 29      Duration = 00h21m45s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0582 Apr 22      Duration = 03h09m33s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0907 Oct 09      Duration = 00h41m33s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:   -0925 Sep 29      Duration = 04h35m09s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:   -1105 Jun 13      Duration = 00h21m31s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 51 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0095 Feb 08      Magnitude = 0.9798
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0907 Oct 09      Magnitude = 0.0312

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 51 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.



Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 51

                          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  -1105 Jun 13  02:00:33  27229 -38399   Nb  t-  -1.5694  0.0050 -1.0479   21.5    -      -  
 02  -35  -1087 Jun 23  08:32:46  26894 -38176   N   t-  -1.4856  0.1580 -0.8937  119.5    -      -  
 03  -34  -1069 Jul 04  15:11:30  26561 -37953   N   t-  -1.4061  0.3036 -0.7474  163.0    -      -  
 04  -33  -1051 Jul 14  21:57:25  26230 -37730   N   t-  -1.3312  0.4408 -0.6097  193.4    -      -  
 05  -32  -1033 Jul 26  04:52:29  25901 -37507   N   t-  -1.2622  0.5673 -0.4831  216.1    -      -  
 06  -31  -1015 Aug 05  11:56:21  25574 -37284   N   t-  -1.1992  0.6829 -0.3676  233.8    -      -  
 07  -30  -0997 Aug 16  19:11:41  25250 -37061   N   t-  -1.1443  0.7839 -0.2669  247.3    -      -  
 08  -29  -0979 Aug 27  02:37:29  24927 -36838   N   h-  -1.0969  0.8710 -0.1802  257.7    -      -  
 09  -28  -0961 Sep 07  10:13:45  24607 -36615   N   h-  -1.0571  0.9443 -0.1072  265.5    -      -  
 10  -27  -0943 Sep 17  18:00:29  24288 -36392   Nx  h-  -1.0247  1.0037 -0.0479  271.2    -      -  

 11  -26  -0925 Sep 29  01:57:48  23972 -36169   Nx  a-  -0.9999  1.0493 -0.0023  275.1    -      -  
 12  -25  -0907 Oct 09  10:04:01  23658 -35946   P   a-  -0.9817  1.0823  0.0312  277.6   41.5    -  
 13  -24  -0889 Oct 20  18:17:41  23345 -35723   P   a-  -0.9688  1.1057  0.0554  279.0   55.0    -  
 14  -23  -0871 Oct 31  02:38:05  23035 -35500   P   a-  -0.9606  1.1200  0.0712  279.4   62.0    -  
 15  -22  -0853 Nov 11  11:04:10  22727 -35277   P   a-  -0.9561  1.1271  0.0803  279.1   65.6    -  
 16  -21  -0835 Nov 21  19:32:32  22421 -35054   P   a-  -0.9528  1.1318  0.0877  278.5   68.2    -  
 17  -20  -0817 Dec 03  04:02:50  22117 -34831   P   a-  -0.9504  1.1346  0.0937  277.8   70.3    -  
 18  -19  -0799 Dec 13  12:31:58  21815 -34608   P   a-  -0.9461  1.1405  0.1036  277.2   73.6    -  
 19  -18  -0781 Dec 24  21:00:21  21516 -34385   P   a-  -0.9406  1.1484  0.1160  276.8   77.5    -  
 20  -17  -0762 Jan 04  05:23:14  21218 -34162   P   a-  -0.9295  1.1661  0.1388  277.2   84.2    -  

 21  -16  -0744 Jan 15  13:43:15  20922 -33939   P   a-  -0.9152  1.1895  0.1678  278.0   92.0    -  
 22  -15  -0726 Jan 25  21:55:49  20629 -33716   P   a-  -0.8938  1.2259  0.2100  279.9  102.0    -  
 23  -14  -0708 Feb 06  06:02:45  20337 -33493   P   a-  -0.8670  1.2719  0.2622  282.3  112.7    -  
 24  -13  -0690 Feb 16  14:00:54  20048 -33270   P   a-  -0.8321  1.3328  0.3295  285.7  124.8    -  
 25  -12  -0672 Feb 27  21:53:30  19760 -33047   P   a-  -0.7917  1.4038  0.4067  289.5  136.6    -  
 26  -11  -0654 Mar 10  05:38:03  19475 -32824   P   a-  -0.7435  1.4890  0.4982  293.9  148.7    -  
 27  -10  -0636 Mar 20  13:15:57  19192 -32601   P   a-  -0.6890  1.5860  0.6012  298.4  160.3    -  
 28  -09  -0618 Mar 31  20:47:27  18911 -32378   P   a-  -0.6285  1.6941  0.7149  303.0  171.1    -  
 29  -08  -0600 Apr 11  04:14:20  18632 -32155   P   a-  -0.5634  1.8109  0.8371  307.4  180.9    -  
 30  -07  -0582 Apr 22  11:36:24  18355 -31932   P   a-  -0.4934  1.9369  0.9678  311.4  189.5    -  

 31  -06  -0564 May 02  18:55:07  18080 -31709   T   a-  -0.4198  2.0698  1.1050  314.9  197.0   47.9
 32  -05  -0546 May 14  02:12:20  17807 -31486   T   a-  -0.3442  2.2069  1.2457  317.8  203.0   69.9
 33  -04  -0528 May 24  09:29:11  17536 -31263   T-  p-  -0.2677  2.3457  1.3875  319.9  207.6   83.4
 34  -03  -0510 Jun 04  16:46:12  17268 -31040   T-  p-  -0.1907  2.4858  1.5299  321.3  210.9   92.2
 35  -02  -0492 Jun 15  00:05:46  16974 -30817   T-  p-  -0.1151  2.6237  1.6695  322.0  212.9   97.4
 36  -01  -0474 Jun 26  07:28:35  16659 -30594   T-  pp  -0.0417  2.7578  1.8046  321.9  213.6   99.8
 37   00  -0456 Jul 06  14:56:35  16352 -30371   T+  pp   0.0278  2.7830  1.8303  321.3  213.3   99.8
 38   01  -0438 Jul 17  22:28:37  16054 -30148   T+  pp   0.0946  2.6607  1.7077  320.2  212.0   97.8
 39   02  -0420 Jul 28  06:08:44  15764 -29925   T+  -p   0.1547  2.5507  1.5970  318.7  210.1   94.3
 40   03  -0402 Aug 08  13:54:55  15481 -29702   T+  -p   0.2101  2.4497  1.4949  317.0  207.7   89.3


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 51

                          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  -0384 Aug 18  21:50:18  15205 -29479   T+  -p   0.2581  2.3624  1.4060  315.2  205.0   83.6
 42   05  -0366 Aug 30  05:52:34  14936 -29256   T   -p   0.3006  2.2854  1.3271  313.4  202.3   77.0
 43   06  -0348 Sep 09  14:04:56  14673 -29033   T   -p   0.3347  2.2237  1.2634  311.8  199.7   70.6
 44   07  -0330 Sep 20  22:24:32  14417 -28810   T   -p   0.3630  2.1730  1.2105  310.4  197.3   64.1
 45   08  -0312 Oct 01  06:52:17  14166 -28587   T   -p   0.3845  2.1345  1.1700  309.2  195.4   58.3
 46   09  -0294 Oct 12  15:27:02  13921 -28364   T   -p   0.4004  2.1064  1.1398  308.4  193.8   53.3
 47   10  -0276 Oct 23  00:08:53  13681 -28141   T   -p   0.4107  2.0884  1.1200  307.9  192.8   49.7
 48   11  -0258 Nov 03  08:55:38  13446 -27918   T   -p   0.4168  2.0780  1.1081  307.6  192.1   47.3
 49   12  -0240 Nov 13  17:45:53  13216 -27695   T   -p   0.4202  2.0722  1.1012  307.5  191.7   45.8
 50   13  -0222 Nov 25  02:38:57  12990 -27472   T   -p   0.4214  2.0703  1.0987  307.5  191.6   45.3

 51   14  -0204 Dec 05  11:33:13  12769 -27249   T   -p   0.4221  2.0692  1.0974  307.6  191.6   45.0
 52   15  -0186 Dec 16  20:26:04  12553 -27026   T   -p   0.4239  2.0658  1.0942  307.6  191.5   44.3
 53   16  -0168 Dec 27  05:16:35  12340 -26803   T   -p   0.4278  2.0583  1.0873  307.4  191.3   42.8
 54   17  -0149 Jan 07  14:02:52  12131 -26580   T   -a   0.4354  2.0439  1.0739  307.1  190.7   39.6
 55   18  -0131 Jan 17  22:44:32  11926 -26357   T   -a   0.4468  2.0223  1.0537  306.5  189.8   34.0
 56   19  -0113 Jan 29  07:18:26  11725 -26134   T   -a   0.4647  1.9887  1.0215  305.6  188.2   21.8
 57   20  -0095 Feb 08  15:45:57  11527 -25911   P   -a   0.4879  1.9452  0.9798  304.2  185.9    -  
 58   21  -0077 Feb 20  00:04:33  11332 -25688   P   -a   0.5184  1.8886  0.9247  302.3  182.7    -  
 59   22  -0059 Mar 02  08:15:01  11141 -25465   P   -a   0.5553  1.8199  0.8577  299.7  178.3    -  
 60   23  -0041 Mar 13  16:16:04  10952 -25242   P   -a   0.5999  1.7374  0.7765  296.4  172.3    -  

 61   24  -0023 Mar 24  00:09:25  10766 -25019   P   -a   0.6505  1.6440  0.6843  292.1  164.5    -  
 62   25  -0005 Apr 04  07:54:39  10582 -24796   P   -a   0.7076  1.5390  0.5799  286.8  154.3    -  
 63   26   0013 Apr 14  15:31:46  10401 -24573   P   -a   0.7709  1.4226  0.4638  280.2  140.8    -  
 64   27   0031 Apr 25  23:02:48  10221 -24350   P   -a   0.8386  1.2986  0.3395  272.2  123.0    -  
 65   28   0049 May 06  06:27:57  10044 -24127   P   -a   0.9106  1.1669  0.2070  262.6   98.1    -  
 66   29   0067 May 17  13:49:02   9868 -23904   P   -a   0.9854  1.0303  0.0690  251.2   57.9    -  
 67   30   0085 May 27  21:05:37   9693 -23681   N   -a   1.0632  0.8886 -0.0748  237.6    -      -  
 68   31   0103 Jun 08  04:21:27   9519 -23458   N   -a   1.1408  0.7476 -0.2185  221.8    -      -  
 69   32   0121 Jun 18  11:35:45   9347 -23235   N   -a   1.2185  0.6066 -0.3628  203.4    -      -  
 70   33   0139 Jun 29  18:51:03   9175 -23012   N   -a   1.2945  0.4692 -0.5041  182.0    -      -  

 71   34   0157 Jul 10  02:07:35   9004 -22789   N   -a   1.3687  0.3354 -0.6425  156.5    -      -  
 72   35   0175 Jul 21  09:27:54   8833 -22566   N   -a   1.4385  0.2097 -0.7732  125.7    -      -  
 73   36   0193 Jul 31  16:51:54   8662 -22343   N   -a   1.5044  0.0916 -0.8968   84.3    -      -  


Footnotes

[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.


Calendar

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..


Predictions

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

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.


Acknowledgments

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)"


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2009 Sep 29