Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 59

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 59 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 -0711 Apr 09. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 0551 May 06. The total duration of Saros series 59 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse = -0711 Apr 09   10:11:53 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  0551 May 06   02:33:23 TD

                      Duration of Saros  59  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 59 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 59
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PenumbralN 30 42.3%
PartialP 20 28.2%
TotalT 21 29.6%

The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 59 occur in the order of 7N 12P 21T 8P 23N which corresponds to:

                                     7  Penumbral
                                    12  Partial
                                    21  Total
                                     8  Partial
                                    23  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 59 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:   -0098 Apr 11      Duration = 01h46m04s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:   -0369 Nov 01      Duration = 00h14m49s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0387 Oct 20      Duration = 03h29m18s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0585 Jun 24      Duration = 00h47m58s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    0154 Sep 09      Duration = 04h34m03s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    0551 May 06      Duration = 01h29m13s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 59 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0387 Oct 20      Magnitude = 0.9908
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0585 Jun 24      Magnitude = 0.0399

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 59 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 59

                          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  -0711 Apr 09  10:11:53  20383 -33528   N   t-  -1.5042  0.1109 -0.9149   97.2    -      -  
 02  -33  -0693 Apr 20  17:09:29  20093 -33305   N   t-  -1.4388  0.2316 -0.7957  139.4    -      -  
 03  -32  -0675 Apr 30  23:59:18  19805 -33082   N   t-  -1.3679  0.3625 -0.6665  172.9    -      -  
 04  -31  -0657 May 12  06:43:56  19520 -32859   N   t-  -1.2934  0.5004 -0.5309  201.3    -      -  
 05  -30  -0639 May 22  13:23:51  19236 -32636   N   t-  -1.2155  0.6448 -0.3892  226.2    -      -  
 06  -29  -0621 Jun 02  20:01:46  18955 -32413   N   t-  -1.1368  0.7909 -0.2464  247.9    -      -  
 07  -28  -0603 Jun 13  02:38:36  18675 -32190   N   t-  -1.0574  0.9383 -0.1027  267.0    -      -  
 08  -27  -0585 Jun 24  09:15:16  18398 -31967   P   t-  -0.9786  1.0850  0.0399  283.9   48.0    -  
 09  -26  -0567 Jul 04  15:54:22  18123 -31744   P   t-  -0.9025  1.2271  0.1774  298.4   99.5    -  
 10  -25  -0549 Jul 15  22:36:32  17850 -31521   P   t-  -0.8295  1.3634  0.3089  311.0  129.1    -  

 11  -24  -0531 Jul 26  05:23:45  17579 -31298   P   t-  -0.7609  1.4919  0.4322  321.7  150.3    -  
 12  -23  -0513 Aug 06  12:16:33  17310 -31075   P   t-  -0.6974  1.6111  0.5460  330.9  166.2    -  
 13  -22  -0495 Aug 16  19:17:01  17025 -30852   P   t-  -0.6405  1.7183  0.6477  338.5  178.4    -  
 14  -21  -0477 Aug 28  02:25:35  16708 -30629   P   t-  -0.5908  1.8122  0.7362  344.8  187.7    -  
 15  -20  -0459 Sep 07  09:41:36  16400 -30406   P   t-  -0.5476  1.8942  0.8129  350.0  195.0    -  
 16  -19  -0441 Sep 18  17:07:07  16100 -30183   P   t-  -0.5123  1.9615  0.8750  354.1  200.3    -  
 17  -18  -0423 Sep 29  00:40:26  15809 -29960   P   t-  -0.4836  2.0166  0.9254  357.4  204.4    -  
 18  -17  -0405 Oct 10  08:22:37  15525 -29737   P   t-  -0.4625  2.0575  0.9619  360.0  207.2    -  
 19  -16  -0387 Oct 20  16:09:54  15248 -29514   P   t-  -0.4458  2.0900  0.9908  362.0  209.3    -  
 20  -15  -0369 Nov 01  00:04:45  14978 -29291   T   t-  -0.4355  2.1103  1.0081  363.4  210.6   14.8

 21  -14  -0351 Nov 11  08:02:50  14714 -29068   T   t-  -0.4279  2.1255  1.0210  364.5  211.6   23.8
 22  -13  -0333 Nov 22  16:04:36  14457 -28845   T   t-  -0.4234  2.1344  1.0285  365.2  212.2   27.6
 23  -12  -0315 Dec 03  00:06:05  14205 -28622   T   t-  -0.4189  2.1432  1.0366  365.8  212.7   31.2
 24  -11  -0297 Dec 14  08:07:52  13959 -28399   T   t-  -0.4145  2.1510  1.0447  366.1  213.3   34.5
 25  -10  -0279 Dec 24  16:05:58  13718 -28176   T   t-  -0.4072  2.1639  1.0586  366.6  214.2   39.3
 26  -09  -0260 Jan 05  00:00:02  13482 -27953   T   t-  -0.3965  2.1827  1.0792  367.0  215.4   45.4
 27  -08  -0242 Jan 15  07:47:53  13252 -27730   T   t-  -0.3804  2.2109  1.1099  367.7  217.2   53.0
 28  -07  -0224 Jan 26  15:29:33  13025 -27507   T   p-  -0.3590  2.2486  1.1506  368.4  219.3   61.2
 29  -06  -0206 Feb 05  23:01:45  12804 -27284   T   p-  -0.3297  2.3006  1.2062  369.4  221.9   70.3
 30  -05  -0188 Feb 17  06:26:15  12586 -27061   T   p-  -0.2938  2.3644  1.2740  370.4  224.8   79.0

 31  -04  -0170 Feb 27  13:41:04  12373 -26838   T-  pp  -0.2496  2.4433  1.3573  371.4  227.8   87.5
 32  -03  -0152 Mar 09  20:48:37  12164 -26615   T-  pp  -0.1989  2.5342  1.4526  372.3  230.5   94.7
 33  -02  -0134 Mar 21  03:45:27  11958 -26392   T-  pp  -0.1389  2.6419  1.5649  372.9  232.8  100.7
 34  -01  -0116 Mar 31  10:36:25  11756 -26169   T-  pp  -0.0739  2.7590  1.6864  372.9  234.3  104.6
 35   00  -0098 Apr 11  17:18:59  11558 -25946   T-  pp  -0.0016  2.8895  1.8212  372.2  234.8  106.1
 36   01  -0080 Apr 21  23:57:43  11363 -25723   T+  pp   0.0744  2.7538  1.6896  370.7  233.8  104.6
 37   02  -0062 May 03  06:29:39  11171 -25500   T+  pp   0.1564  2.6014  1.5409  368.1  231.3   99.5
 38   03  -0044 May 13  13:00:48  10981 -25277   T+  pp   0.2398  2.4468  1.3898  364.5  226.9   89.9
 39   04  -0026 May 24  19:28:54  10795 -25054   T   pt   0.3257  2.2876  1.2336  359.7  220.6   73.6
 40   05  -0008 Jun 04  01:58:18  10611 -24831   T   -t   0.4111  2.1294  1.0782  353.7  212.2   44.8


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 59

                          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   0010 Jun 15  08:28:25  10429 -24608   P   -t   0.4965  1.9717  0.9226  346.6  201.7    -  
 42   07   0028 Jun 25  15:03:17  10249 -24385   P   -t   0.5784  1.8204  0.7731  338.5  189.1    -  
 43   08   0046 Jul 06  21:43:01  10071 -24162   P   -t   0.6571  1.6755  0.6295  329.7  174.3    -  
 44   09   0064 Jul 17  04:28:44   9895 -23939   P   -t   0.7315  1.5385  0.4935  320.2  157.3    -  
 45   10   0082 Jul 28  11:22:28   9720 -23716   P   -t   0.7998  1.4128  0.3684  310.4  138.2    -  
 46   11   0100 Aug 07  18:24:40   9547 -23493   P   -t   0.8618  1.2989  0.2548  300.6  116.5    -  
 47   12   0118 Aug 19  01:36:55   9374 -23270   P   -t   0.9165  1.1985  0.1545  291.1   91.8    -  
 48   13   0136 Aug 29  08:58:32   9202 -23047   P   -t   0.9642  1.1110  0.0669  282.1   61.0    -  
 49   14   0154 Sep 09  16:31:39   9031 -22824   Nx  -t   1.0034  1.0391 -0.0052  274.0    -      -  
 50   15   0172 Sep 20  00:14:49   8860 -22601   N   -t   1.0351  0.9810 -0.0633  267.1    -      -  

 51   16   0190 Oct 01  08:08:00   8689 -22378   N   -h   1.0594  0.9363 -0.1080  261.4    -      -  
 52   17   0208 Oct 11  16:10:24   8518 -22155   N   -h   1.0771  0.9037 -0.1403  256.8    -      -  
 53   18   0226 Oct 23  00:21:58   8346 -21932   N   -h   1.0884  0.8828 -0.1606  253.6    -      -  
 54   19   0244 Nov 02  08:40:26   8175 -21709   N   -h   1.0945  0.8709 -0.1714  251.3    -      -  
 55   20   0262 Nov 13  17:04:33   8003 -21486   N   -a   1.0970  0.8656 -0.1751  249.9    -      -  
 56   21   0280 Nov 24  01:33:04   7830 -21263   N   -a   1.0967  0.8650 -0.1735  248.9    -      -  
 57   22   0298 Dec 05  10:05:11   7656 -21040   N   -a   1.0946  0.8675 -0.1683  248.3    -      -  
 58   23   0316 Dec 15  18:37:07   7482 -20817   N   -a   1.0934  0.8679 -0.1644  247.5    -      -  
 59   24   0334 Dec 27  03:09:05   7306 -20594   N   -a   1.0930  0.8668 -0.1616  246.4    -      -  
 60   25   0353 Jan 06  11:37:48   7130 -20371   N   -a   1.0961  0.8586 -0.1652  244.4    -      -  

 61   26   0371 Jan 17  20:04:09   6953 -20148   N   -a   1.1020  0.8454 -0.1734  241.9    -      -  
 62   27   0389 Jan 28  04:23:33   6776 -19925   N   -a   1.1144  0.8198 -0.1936  237.8    -      -  
 63   28   0407 Feb 08  12:38:57   6598 -19702   N   -a   1.1310  0.7864 -0.2212  232.7    -      -  
 64   29   0425 Feb 18  20:46:11   6419 -19479   N   -a   1.1550  0.7395 -0.2622  225.8    -      -  
 65   30   0443 Mar 02  04:47:16   6241 -19256   N   -a   1.1846  0.6821 -0.3135  217.2    -      -  
 66   31   0461 Mar 12  12:39:38   6063 -19033   N   -a   1.2219  0.6105 -0.3790  206.1    -      -  
 67   32   0479 Mar 23  20:26:33   5886 -18810   N   -a   1.2643  0.5298 -0.4539  192.7    -      -  
 68   33   0497 Apr 03  04:06:04   5709 -18587   N   -a   1.3134  0.4369 -0.5412  175.8    -      -  
 69   34   0515 Apr 14  11:39:47   5532 -18364   N   -a   1.3677  0.3345 -0.6382  154.7    -      -  
 70   35   0533 Apr 24  19:08:13   5356 -18141   N   -a   1.4266  0.2241 -0.7438  127.5    -      -  

 71   36   0551 May 06  02:33:23   5181 -17918   N   -a   1.4885  0.1083 -0.8553   89.2    -      -  


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