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 68 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 -0595 Jul 14. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0685 Aug 20. The total duration of Saros series 68 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0595 Jul 14 02:24:19 TD
Last Eclipse = 0685 Aug 20 00:54:09 TD
Duration of Saros 68 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 68 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 68 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 31 | 43.1% |
| Partial | P | 18 | 25.0% |
| Total | T | 23 | 31.9% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 68 occur in the order of 23N 8P 23T 10P 8N which corresponds to:
23 Penumbral
8 Partial
23 Total
10 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 68 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0054 Aug 07 Duration = 01h46m09s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0361 Feb 06 Duration = 00h33m58s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0054 Jun 03 Duration = 03h27m09s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0180 Mar 19 Duration = 00h26m40s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0198 Mar 09 Duration = 04h32m13s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0685 Aug 20 Duration = 01h02m35s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 68 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0379 Feb 18 Magnitude = 0.9913
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0180 Mar 19 Magnitude = 0.0122
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 68 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 -36 -0595 Jul 14 02:24:19 18551 -32090 N a- 1.4981 0.0988 -0.8809 86.8 - -
02 -35 -0577 Jul 25 09:47:47 18274 -31867 N a- 1.4410 0.2064 -0.7789 124.8 - -
03 -34 -0559 Aug 04 17:17:31 18000 -31644 N h- 1.3894 0.3040 -0.6871 150.8 - -
04 -33 -0541 Aug 16 00:52:44 17728 -31421 N h- 1.3426 0.3930 -0.6043 170.8 - -
05 -32 -0523 Aug 26 08:35:01 17458 -31198 N h- 1.3023 0.4701 -0.5336 186.3 - -
06 -31 -0505 Sep 06 16:24:10 17190 -30975 N h- 1.2682 0.5360 -0.4740 198.6 - -
07 -30 -0487 Sep 17 00:21:24 16881 -30752 N h- 1.2412 0.5887 -0.4277 208.0 - -
08 -29 -0469 Sep 28 08:25:24 16568 -30529 N h- 1.2202 0.6305 -0.3922 215.3 - -
09 -28 -0451 Oct 08 16:35:47 16264 -30306 N h- 1.2048 0.6616 -0.3671 220.9 - -
10 -27 -0433 Oct 20 00:52:16 15968 -30083 N h- 1.1951 0.6823 -0.3520 224.8 - -
11 -26 -0415 Oct 30 09:14:17 15680 -29860 N h- 1.1908 0.6927 -0.3466 227.3 - -
12 -25 -0397 Nov 10 17:39:09 15400 -29637 N h- 1.1892 0.6979 -0.3459 228.9 - -
13 -24 -0379 Nov 21 02:06:22 15126 -29414 N h- 1.1904 0.6978 -0.3499 229.8 - -
14 -23 -0361 Dec 02 10:33:18 14859 -29191 N h- 1.1920 0.6963 -0.3545 230.4 - -
15 -22 -0343 Dec 12 18:59:43 14598 -28968 N h- 1.1940 0.6939 -0.3595 230.9 - -
16 -21 -0325 Dec 24 03:21:03 14343 -28745 N h- 1.1931 0.6966 -0.3586 232.1 - -
17 -20 -0306 Jan 03 11:38:53 14094 -28522 N h- 1.1901 0.7028 -0.3538 233.7 - -
18 -19 -0288 Jan 14 19:48:28 13850 -28299 N t- 1.1814 0.7191 -0.3383 236.7 - -
19 -18 -0270 Jan 25 03:51:37 13612 -28076 N t- 1.1683 0.7433 -0.3143 240.8 - -
20 -17 -0252 Feb 05 11:43:40 13378 -27853 N t- 1.1471 0.7822 -0.2754 246.8 - -
21 -16 -0234 Feb 15 19:27:50 13150 -27630 N t- 1.1203 0.8312 -0.2260 253.8 - -
22 -15 -0216 Feb 27 03:00:15 12925 -27407 N t- 1.0849 0.8958 -0.1610 262.5 - -
23 -14 -0198 Mar 09 10:22:54 12706 -27184 N t- 1.0422 0.9740 -0.0823 272.2 - -
24 -13 -0180 Mar 19 17:34:12 12490 -26961 P t- 0.9908 1.0682 0.0122 283.0 26.7 -
25 -12 -0162 Mar 31 00:36:58 12279 -26738 P t- 0.9330 1.1741 0.1185 294.1 82.0 -
26 -11 -0144 Apr 10 07:30:07 12071 -26515 P t- 0.8678 1.2936 0.2380 305.4 114.5 -
27 -10 -0126 Apr 21 14:14:55 11867 -26292 P t- 0.7965 1.4246 0.3689 316.5 140.2 -
28 -09 -0108 May 01 20:52:28 11667 -26069 P t- 0.7195 1.5661 0.5098 327.2 161.6 -
29 -08 -0090 May 13 03:24:45 11470 -25846 P t- 0.6385 1.7152 0.6580 337.1 179.6 -
30 -07 -0072 May 23 09:52:19 11276 -25623 P t- 0.5541 1.8707 0.8123 346.1 194.7 -
31 -06 -0054 Jun 03 16:17:18 11086 -25400 P t- 0.4680 2.0296 0.9694 353.9 207.1 -
32 -05 -0036 Jun 13 22:41:22 10897 -25177 T t- 0.3813 2.1897 1.1274 360.5 217.1 56.7
33 -04 -0018 Jun 25 05:06:46 10712 -24954 T pp 0.2960 2.3475 1.2826 365.8 224.6 80.2
34 -03 0000 Jul 05 11:33:06 10529 -24731 T+ pp 0.2117 2.5037 1.4360 369.9 230.1 93.9
35 -02 0018 Jul 16 18:04:17 10348 -24508 T+ pp 0.1315 2.6524 1.5814 372.7 233.6 101.7
36 -01 0036 Jul 27 00:39:47 10169 -24285 T+ pp 0.0551 2.7944 1.7200 374.6 235.4 105.5
37 00 0054 Aug 07 07:23:25 9992 -24062 T- pp -0.0147 2.8704 1.7924 375.5 235.8 106.2
38 01 0072 Aug 17 14:12:55 9817 -23839 T- pp -0.0795 2.7532 1.6715 375.7 235.1 104.4
39 02 0090 Aug 28 21:12:52 9642 -23616 T- pp -0.1360 2.6515 1.5661 375.4 233.6 100.9
40 03 0108 Sep 08 04:20:54 9469 -23393 T- pp -0.1859 2.5618 1.4727 374.7 231.5 96.0
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 04 0126 Sep 19 11:39:11 9297 -23170 T- pp -0.2273 2.4876 1.3951 373.8 229.3 90.6
42 05 0144 Sep 29 19:06:02 9125 -22947 T- pp -0.2618 2.4259 1.3301 372.8 227.1 84.9
43 06 0162 Oct 11 02:42:39 8954 -22724 T -p -0.2884 2.3785 1.2801 371.9 225.1 79.7
44 07 0180 Oct 21 10:27:05 8783 -22501 T -p -0.3088 2.3422 1.2415 371.1 223.4 75.0
45 08 0198 Nov 01 18:17:50 8612 -22278 T -p -0.3241 2.3148 1.2126 370.3 221.9 71.0
46 09 0216 Nov 12 02:14:52 8441 -22055 T -p -0.3344 2.2963 1.1932 369.6 220.9 68.1
47 10 0234 Nov 23 10:16:03 8269 -21832 T -p -0.3410 2.2844 1.1812 369.0 220.1 66.2
48 11 0252 Dec 03 18:19:33 8098 -21609 T -p -0.3462 2.2744 1.1719 368.2 219.4 64.6
49 12 0270 Dec 15 02:22:52 7925 -21386 T -p -0.3516 2.2636 1.1627 367.3 218.7 63.0
50 13 0288 Dec 25 10:25:39 7752 -21163 T -p -0.3579 2.2510 1.1524 366.2 218.0 61.1
51 14 0307 Jan 05 18:25:38 7578 -20940 T -p -0.3666 2.2335 1.1380 364.9 217.0 58.4
52 15 0325 Jan 16 02:20:38 7403 -20717 T -p -0.3796 2.2076 1.1159 363.1 215.5 53.9
53 16 0343 Jan 27 10:10:21 7227 -20494 T -p -0.3973 2.1729 1.0856 360.9 213.5 46.7
54 17 0361 Feb 06 17:53:12 7051 -20271 T -t -0.4212 2.1266 1.0442 358.1 210.8 34.0
55 18 0379 Feb 18 01:28:50 6874 -20048 P -t -0.4515 2.0683 0.9913 354.7 207.1 -
56 19 0397 Feb 28 08:56:09 6696 -19825 P -t -0.4891 1.9965 0.9251 350.6 202.1 -
57 20 0415 Mar 11 16:16:10 6518 -19602 P -t -0.5332 1.9126 0.8471 345.5 195.8 -
58 21 0433 Mar 21 23:28:42 6339 -19379 P -t -0.5839 1.8166 0.7569 339.5 187.6 -
59 22 0451 Apr 02 06:33:15 6161 -19156 P -t -0.6418 1.7075 0.6537 332.3 177.0 -
60 23 0469 Apr 12 13:32:05 5983 -18933 P -t -0.7049 1.5888 0.5406 323.8 163.5 -
61 24 0487 Apr 23 20:25:16 5806 -18710 P -t -0.7733 1.4605 0.4178 313.8 146.1 -
62 25 0505 May 04 03:15:22 5630 -18487 P -t -0.8448 1.3269 0.2892 302.5 123.6 -
63 26 0523 May 15 10:00:51 5453 -18264 P -t -0.9205 1.1856 0.1526 289.2 91.3 -
64 27 0541 May 25 16:46:38 5277 -18041 P -t -0.9967 1.0436 0.0149 274.3 28.9 -
65 28 0559 Jun 05 23:31:22 5103 -17818 N -t -1.0745 0.8988 -0.1260 257.4 - -
66 29 0577 Jun 16 06:19:01 4930 -17595 N -t -1.1505 0.7577 -0.2639 238.8 - -
67 30 0595 Jun 27 13:08:17 4758 -17372 N -t -1.2258 0.6181 -0.4007 217.8 - -
68 31 0613 Jul 07 20:04:08 4588 -17149 N -t -1.2967 0.4869 -0.5296 195.0 - -
69 32 0631 Jul 19 03:05:01 4419 -16926 N -t -1.3643 0.3619 -0.6528 169.4 - -
70 33 0649 Jul 29 10:13:10 4251 -16703 N -t -1.4270 0.2462 -0.7672 140.7 - -
71 34 0667 Aug 09 17:28:51 4086 -16480 N -t -1.4843 0.1406 -0.8718 107.0 - -
72 35 0685 Aug 20 00:54:09 3922 -16257 Ne -h -1.5348 0.0477 -0.9641 62.6 - -
[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)"
