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 53 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 -0993 Jun 05. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 0287 Jul 12. The total duration of Saros series 53 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0993 Jun 05 15:41:34 TD
Last Eclipse = 0287 Jul 12 14:48:45 TD
Duration of Saros 53 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 53 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 53 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 18 | 25.0% |
| Partial | P | 43 | 59.7% |
| Total | T | 11 | 15.3% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 53 occur in the order of 10N 20P 11T 23P 8N which corresponds to:
10 Penumbral
20 Partial
11 Total
23 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 53 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0380 Jun 06 Duration = 01h46m11s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0272 Aug 10 Duration = 00h32m32s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0470 Apr 14 Duration = 03h28m46s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0143 Apr 17 Duration = 00h44m09s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0831 Sep 10 Duration = 04h44m00s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0287 Jul 12 Duration = 00h39m23s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 53 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0470 Apr 14 Magnitude = 0.9716
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0143 Apr 17 Magnitude = 0.0380
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 53 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 -34 -0993 Jun 05 15:41:34 25181 -37014 Nb t- -1.5151 0.0869 -0.9312 85.8 - -
02 -33 -0975 Jun 15 22:28:08 24859 -36791 N t- -1.4416 0.2242 -0.7984 136.7 - -
03 -32 -0957 Jun 27 05:17:36 24539 -36568 N t- -1.3708 0.3565 -0.6711 171.1 - -
04 -31 -0939 Jul 07 12:08:28 24221 -36345 N t- -1.3019 0.4856 -0.5473 198.2 - -
05 -30 -0921 Jul 18 19:04:05 23905 -36122 N t- -1.2373 0.6070 -0.4316 220.0 - -
06 -29 -0903 Jul 29 02:03:46 23592 -35899 N t- -1.1765 0.7216 -0.3230 238.3 - -
07 -28 -0885 Aug 09 09:11:02 23280 -35676 N t- -1.1223 0.8242 -0.2266 253.2 - -
08 -27 -0867 Aug 19 16:24:54 22970 -35453 N t- -1.0743 0.9155 -0.1417 265.5 - -
09 -26 -0849 Aug 30 23:45:28 22662 -35230 N t- -1.0324 0.9956 -0.0678 275.8 - -
10 -25 -0831 Sep 10 07:14:32 22357 -35007 Nx t- -0.9979 1.0620 -0.0075 284.0 - -
11 -24 -0813 Sep 21 14:51:15 22053 -34784 P t- -0.9701 1.1158 0.0405 290.6 48.6 -
12 -23 -0795 Oct 01 22:36:08 21752 -34561 P t- -0.9495 1.1564 0.0757 295.6 66.2 -
13 -22 -0777 Oct 13 06:26:36 21453 -34338 P t- -0.9338 1.1877 0.1020 299.5 76.8 -
14 -21 -0759 Oct 23 14:24:26 21155 -34115 P t- -0.9246 1.2068 0.1168 302.2 82.2 -
15 -20 -0741 Nov 03 22:26:03 20860 -33892 P t- -0.9186 1.2196 0.1260 304.2 85.4 -
16 -19 -0723 Nov 14 06:31:01 20567 -33669 P t- -0.9157 1.2264 0.1300 305.6 86.8 -
17 -18 -0705 Nov 25 14:36:42 20276 -33446 P t- -0.9135 1.2314 0.1329 306.7 87.9 -
18 -17 -0687 Dec 05 22:42:47 19987 -33223 P t- -0.9118 1.2352 0.1356 307.6 88.8 -
19 -16 -0669 Dec 17 06:45:36 19700 -33000 P t- -0.9076 1.2430 0.1429 308.7 91.2 -
20 -15 -0651 Dec 27 14:44:25 19415 -32777 P t- -0.9005 1.2560 0.1563 310.2 95.3 -
21 -14 -0632 Jan 07 22:37:18 19133 -32554 P t- -0.8885 1.2773 0.1787 312.3 101.7 -
22 -13 -0614 Jan 18 06:23:46 18852 -32331 P t- -0.8714 1.3078 0.2109 315.1 110.1 -
23 -12 -0596 Jan 29 14:00:06 18573 -32108 P t- -0.8463 1.3527 0.2581 318.9 121.0 -
24 -11 -0578 Feb 08 21:28:32 18297 -31885 P t- -0.8150 1.4089 0.3169 323.4 133.0 -
25 -10 -0560 Feb 20 04:46:04 18022 -31662 P t- -0.7748 1.4812 0.3922 328.8 146.4 -
26 -09 -0542 Mar 02 11:55:56 17750 -31439 P t- -0.7281 1.5652 0.4794 334.5 159.7 -
27 -08 -0524 Mar 12 18:53:29 17479 -31216 P t- -0.6714 1.6676 0.5851 340.8 173.4 -
28 -07 -0506 Mar 24 01:44:46 17211 -30993 P t- -0.6093 1.7799 0.7007 347.0 186.2 -
29 -06 -0488 Apr 03 08:25:26 16907 -30770 P t- -0.5385 1.9082 0.8321 353.1 198.3 -
30 -05 -0470 Apr 14 15:01:14 16593 -30547 P t- -0.4633 2.0447 0.9716 358.5 208.8 -
31 -04 -0452 Apr 24 21:29:03 16289 -30324 T t- -0.3810 2.1943 1.1239 363.4 217.9 56.2
32 -03 -0434 May 06 03:54:57 15992 -30101 T tp -0.2967 2.3478 1.2799 367.2 225.1 80.0
33 -02 -0416 May 16 10:16:37 15703 -29878 T- pp -0.2087 2.5082 1.4423 370.0 230.4 94.4
34 -01 -0398 May 27 16:38:05 15422 -29655 T- pp -0.1199 2.6702 1.6061 371.5 233.7 102.7
35 00 -0380 Jun 06 22:59:28 15148 -29432 T- pp -0.0308 2.8332 1.7703 371.8 235.0 106.2
36 01 -0362 Jun 18 05:23:59 14880 -29209 T+ pp 0.0561 2.7863 1.7243 371.0 234.4 105.5
37 02 -0344 Jun 28 11:51:56 14619 -28986 T+ pp 0.1408 2.6305 1.5691 369.0 232.0 100.8
38 03 -0326 Jul 09 18:24:59 14364 -28763 T+ pp 0.2218 2.4819 1.4207 366.1 228.1 92.3
39 04 -0308 Jul 20 01:05:15 14114 -28540 T pp 0.2971 2.3438 1.2823 362.4 222.8 79.5
40 05 -0290 Jul 31 07:53:26 13870 -28317 T -t 0.3662 2.2172 1.1553 358.2 216.6 61.5
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 06 -0272 Aug 10 14:50:35 13631 -28094 T -t 0.4286 2.1030 1.0405 353.6 209.8 32.5
42 07 -0254 Aug 21 21:57:32 13397 -27871 P -t 0.4835 2.0027 0.9394 349.0 202.6 -
43 08 -0236 Sep 01 05:15:24 13168 -27648 P -t 0.5303 1.9173 0.8532 344.6 195.7 -
44 09 -0218 Sep 12 12:43:55 12943 -27425 P -t 0.5687 1.8471 0.7823 340.5 189.2 -
45 10 -0200 Sep 22 20:21:52 12723 -27202 P -t 0.6002 1.7896 0.7242 336.7 183.4 -
46 11 -0182 Oct 04 04:10:42 12507 -26979 P -t 0.6235 1.7470 0.6813 333.6 178.7 -
47 12 -0164 Oct 14 12:08:40 12296 -26756 P -t 0.6404 1.7160 0.6504 331.0 175.1 -
48 13 -0146 Oct 25 20:15:14 12088 -26533 P -t 0.6508 1.6966 0.6315 329.0 172.6 -
49 14 -0128 Nov 05 04:27:48 11884 -26310 P -t 0.6572 1.6843 0.6203 327.3 170.9 -
50 15 -0110 Nov 16 12:46:28 11683 -26087 P -t 0.6594 1.6795 0.6172 326.0 170.1 -
51 16 -0092 Nov 26 21:08:40 11486 -25864 P -h 0.6596 1.6779 0.6180 324.8 169.7 -
52 17 -0074 Dec 08 05:32:02 11292 -25641 P -h 0.6595 1.6765 0.6196 323.5 169.4 -
53 18 -0056 Dec 18 13:55:43 11101 -25418 P -h 0.6600 1.6737 0.6205 322.1 169.1 -
54 19 -0038 Dec 29 22:17:13 10913 -25195 P -h 0.6631 1.6658 0.6170 320.3 168.2 -
55 20 -0019 Jan 09 06:35:52 10727 -24972 P -h 0.6692 1.6521 0.6083 318.2 166.8 -
56 21 -0001 Jan 20 14:48:33 10544 -24749 P -h 0.6811 1.6275 0.5893 315.4 164.2 -
57 22 0017 Jan 30 22:56:51 10363 -24526 P -h 0.6974 1.5946 0.5622 312.0 160.6 -
58 23 0035 Feb 11 06:57:48 10184 -24303 P -h 0.7207 1.5488 0.5227 307.7 155.4 -
59 24 0053 Feb 21 14:51:48 10006 -24080 P -h 0.7505 1.4908 0.4711 302.5 148.3 -
60 25 0071 Mar 04 22:38:14 9831 -23857 P -h 0.7872 1.4201 0.4069 296.3 138.7 -
61 26 0089 Mar 15 06:18:11 9656 -23634 P -h 0.8302 1.3379 0.3312 288.9 126.2 -
62 27 0107 Mar 26 13:51:50 9483 -23411 P -h 0.8794 1.2445 0.2441 280.3 109.4 -
63 28 0125 Apr 05 21:18:32 9311 -23188 P -h 0.9350 1.1394 0.1450 270.0 85.2 -
64 29 0143 Apr 17 04:40:57 9139 -22965 P -h 0.9949 1.0267 0.0380 258.3 44.1 -
65 30 0161 Apr 27 11:58:38 8968 -22742 N -h 1.0592 0.9060 -0.0774 244.7 - -
66 31 0179 May 08 19:13:37 8797 -22519 N -h 1.1264 0.7803 -0.1984 229.0 - -
67 32 0197 May 19 02:26:09 8626 -22296 N -a 1.1963 0.6500 -0.3245 210.9 - -
68 33 0215 May 30 09:38:48 8455 -22073 N -a 1.2666 0.5192 -0.4517 190.2 - -
69 34 0233 Jun 09 16:52:15 8283 -21850 N -a 1.3365 0.3894 -0.5785 166.2 - -
70 35 0251 Jun 21 00:07:12 8111 -21627 N -a 1.4057 0.2612 -0.7044 137.3 - -
71 36 0269 Jul 01 07:26:01 7939 -21404 N -a 1.4722 0.1383 -0.8256 100.7 - -
72 37 0287 Jul 12 14:48:45 7766 -21181 Ne -a 1.5359 0.0208 -0.9419 39.4 - -
[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)"
