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 70 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 -0519 Jun 13. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0761 Jul 21. The total duration of Saros series 70 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0519 Jun 13 16:58:32 TD
Last Eclipse = 0761 Jul 21 22:40:15 TD
Duration of Saros 70 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 70 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 70 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 16 | 22.2% |
| Partial | P | 31 | 43.1% |
| Total | T | 25 | 34.7% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 70 occur in the order of 9N 21P 25T 10P 7N which corresponds to:
9 Penumbral
21 Partial
25 Total
10 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 70 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0148 Jul 19 Duration = 01h40m20s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0455 Jan 19 Duration = 00h16m57s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0473 Jan 30 Duration = 03h18m39s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0357 Sep 19 Duration = 00h45m07s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0653 May 18 Duration = 04h36m06s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0519 Jun 13 Duration = 01h18m59s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 70 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0473 Jan 30 Magnitude = 0.9787
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0357 Sep 19 Magnitude = 0.0428
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 70 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 -0519 Jun 13 16:58:32 17401 -31151 Nb a- 1.5034 0.0832 -0.8849 79.0 - -
02 -35 -0501 Jun 25 00:14:49 17133 -30928 N a- 1.4275 0.2215 -0.7448 126.9 - -
03 -34 -0483 Jul 05 07:36:37 16815 -30705 N a- 1.3554 0.3532 -0.6118 157.8 - -
04 -33 -0465 Jul 16 15:03:17 16504 -30482 N a- 1.2863 0.4798 -0.4847 181.2 - -
05 -32 -0447 Jul 26 22:38:05 16201 -30259 N a- 1.2229 0.5959 -0.3684 199.2 - -
06 -31 -0429 Aug 07 06:20:12 15907 -30036 N a- 1.1647 0.7031 -0.2616 213.6 - -
07 -30 -0411 Aug 17 14:10:30 15621 -29813 N a- 1.1125 0.7991 -0.1663 225.0 - -
08 -29 -0393 Aug 28 22:09:41 15342 -29590 N a- 1.0672 0.8828 -0.0836 234.1 - -
09 -28 -0375 Sep 08 06:17:37 15069 -29367 N a- 1.0288 0.9538 -0.0138 241.1 - -
10 -27 -0357 Sep 19 14:34:53 14803 -29144 P a- 0.9976 1.0118 0.0428 246.4 45.1 -
11 -26 -0339 Sep 29 22:59:07 14544 -28921 P a- 0.9719 1.0596 0.0893 250.6 64.7 -
12 -25 -0321 Oct 11 07:32:24 14290 -28698 P a- 0.9535 1.0940 0.1225 253.4 75.3 -
13 -24 -0303 Oct 21 16:11:33 14042 -28475 P a- 0.9399 1.1193 0.1469 255.3 82.1 -
14 -23 -0285 Nov 02 00:57:20 13800 -28252 P a- 0.9318 1.1347 0.1616 256.4 85.8 -
15 -22 -0267 Nov 12 09:46:16 13562 -28029 P a- 0.9263 1.1448 0.1714 257.0 88.2 -
16 -21 -0249 Nov 23 18:39:02 13330 -27806 P a- 0.9238 1.1493 0.1761 257.2 89.2 -
17 -20 -0231 Dec 04 03:32:05 13102 -27583 P a- 0.9217 1.1529 0.1802 257.3 90.2 -
18 -19 -0213 Dec 15 12:25:04 12879 -27360 P a- 0.9196 1.1562 0.1846 257.4 91.2 -
19 -18 -0195 Dec 25 21:15:34 12660 -27137 P a- 0.9156 1.1628 0.1926 257.8 93.0 -
20 -17 -0176 Jan 06 06:03:22 12445 -26914 P a- 0.9098 1.1727 0.2043 258.4 95.6 -
21 -16 -0158 Jan 16 14:45:01 12235 -26691 P a- 0.8988 1.1916 0.2254 259.8 100.1 -
22 -15 -0140 Jan 27 23:21:10 12028 -26468 P a- 0.8834 1.2189 0.2549 261.9 106.0 -
23 -14 -0122 Feb 07 07:49:32 11825 -26245 P a- 0.8619 1.2569 0.2955 264.7 113.5 -
24 -13 -0104 Feb 18 16:11:42 11625 -26022 P a- 0.8356 1.3039 0.3450 268.1 121.9 -
25 -12 -0086 Mar 01 00:23:32 11429 -25799 P a- 0.8011 1.3660 0.4096 272.5 131.6 -
26 -11 -0068 Mar 11 08:29:01 11236 -25576 P a- 0.7615 1.4375 0.4833 277.2 141.5 -
27 -10 -0050 Mar 22 16:24:44 11046 -25353 P a- 0.7140 1.5237 0.5715 282.6 151.9 -
28 -09 -0032 Apr 02 00:14:45 10858 -25130 P a- 0.6622 1.6180 0.6674 288.1 161.9 -
29 -08 -0014 Apr 13 07:55:02 10673 -24907 P a- 0.6026 1.7268 0.7773 293.9 171.8 -
30 -07 0004 Apr 23 15:31:17 10491 -24684 P a- 0.5399 1.8414 0.8926 299.4 180.8 -
31 -06 0022 May 04 23:00:32 10310 -24461 T a- 0.4715 1.9669 1.0181 304.8 189.1 20.1
32 -05 0040 May 15 06:26:43 10132 -24238 T a- 0.4009 2.0967 1.1473 309.7 196.3 55.3
33 -04 0058 May 26 13:48:35 9955 -24015 T p- 0.3270 2.2331 1.2824 314.2 202.5 73.4
34 -03 0076 Jun 05 21:10:05 9780 -23792 T+ p- 0.2531 2.3696 1.4171 317.9 207.4 85.2
35 -02 0094 Jun 17 04:30:25 9606 -23569 T+ pp 0.1786 2.5077 1.5526 321.1 211.1 93.2
36 -01 0112 Jun 27 11:51:18 9433 -23346 T+ pp 0.1050 2.6443 1.6860 323.6 213.7 98.0
37 00 0130 Jul 08 19:14:06 9260 -23123 T+ pp 0.0334 2.7775 1.8154 325.4 215.1 100.3
38 01 0148 Jul 19 02:40:16 9089 -22900 T- pp -0.0349 2.7769 1.8105 326.6 215.5 100.3
39 02 0166 Jul 30 10:10:38 8918 -22677 T- pp -0.0989 2.6619 1.6906 327.4 215.0 98.4
40 03 0184 Aug 09 17:45:41 8747 -22454 T- -p -0.1584 2.5555 1.5789 327.8 213.8 94.9
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 0202 Aug 21 01:27:30 8576 -22231 T- -p -0.2115 2.4608 1.4786 327.9 212.1 90.0
42 05 0220 Aug 31 09:15:47 8405 -22008 T- -p -0.2587 2.3773 1.3892 327.8 210.1 84.2
43 06 0238 Sep 11 17:10:37 8233 -21785 T -p -0.2995 2.3054 1.3113 327.8 208.0 77.5
44 07 0256 Sep 22 01:12:44 8061 -21562 T -p -0.3336 2.2458 1.2458 327.8 206.0 70.6
45 08 0274 Oct 03 09:22:12 7889 -21339 T -a -0.3606 2.1993 1.1933 328.0 204.2 63.8
46 09 0292 Oct 13 17:38:27 7715 -21116 T -a -0.3816 2.1636 1.1520 328.4 202.8 57.5
47 10 0310 Oct 25 01:59:52 7541 -20893 T -a -0.3976 2.1369 1.1199 329.0 201.7 51.7
48 11 0328 Nov 04 10:26:55 7366 -20670 T -a -0.4083 2.1198 1.0979 329.9 201.1 47.1
49 12 0346 Nov 15 18:58:00 7190 -20447 T -a -0.4148 2.1101 1.0838 330.9 200.9 43.8
50 13 0364 Nov 26 03:31:03 7014 -20224 T -a -0.4192 2.1041 1.0739 332.0 200.9 41.4
51 14 0382 Dec 07 12:04:55 6836 -20001 T -a -0.4221 2.1003 1.0668 333.2 201.0 39.5
52 15 0400 Dec 17 20:37:21 6658 -19778 T -a -0.4257 2.0951 1.0590 334.2 201.2 37.3
53 16 0418 Dec 29 05:07:46 6480 -19555 T -a -0.4302 2.0879 1.0497 335.1 201.2 34.5
54 17 0437 Jan 08 13:32:12 6302 -19332 T -a -0.4386 2.0731 1.0334 335.7 200.8 28.5
55 18 0455 Jan 19 21:51:55 6123 -19109 T -a -0.4502 2.0524 1.0116 336.1 200.1 16.9
56 19 0473 Jan 30 06:02:55 5946 -18886 P -a -0.4680 2.0201 0.9787 336.0 198.7 -
57 20 0491 Feb 10 14:06:05 5769 -18663 P -a -0.4915 1.9771 0.9355 335.3 196.4 -
58 21 0509 Feb 20 21:58:17 5593 -18440 P -a -0.5232 1.9190 0.8772 333.9 192.8 -
59 22 0527 Mar 04 05:41:46 5416 -18217 P -h -0.5610 1.8496 0.8079 331.8 187.8 -
60 23 0545 Mar 14 13:14:23 5241 -17994 P -h -0.6067 1.7657 0.7240 328.7 181.0 -
61 24 0563 Mar 25 20:36:29 5067 -17771 P -t -0.6602 1.6676 0.6260 324.3 171.6 -
62 25 0581 Apr 05 03:48:48 4894 -17548 P -t -0.7208 1.5565 0.5147 318.6 158.9 -
63 26 0599 Apr 16 10:52:10 4722 -17325 P -t -0.7879 1.4335 0.3913 311.1 141.6 -
64 27 0617 Apr 26 17:47:20 4552 -17102 P -t -0.8606 1.3004 0.2574 301.8 117.6 -
65 28 0635 May 08 00:34:27 4383 -16879 P -t -0.9389 1.1574 0.1133 290.2 79.9 -
66 29 0653 May 18 07:16:09 4216 -16656 Nx -t -1.0205 1.0084 -0.0371 276.1 - -
67 30 0671 May 29 13:53:18 4051 -16433 N -t -1.1050 0.8544 -0.1931 259.1 - -
68 31 0689 Jun 08 20:26:39 3888 -16210 N -t -1.1912 0.6972 -0.3526 238.5 - -
69 32 0707 Jun 20 02:58:47 3726 -15987 N -t -1.2775 0.5405 -0.5122 213.9 - -
70 33 0725 Jun 30 09:30:44 3567 -15764 N -t -1.3626 0.3858 -0.6700 183.9 - -
71 34 0743 Jul 11 16:04:57 3411 -15541 N -t -1.4449 0.2366 -0.8229 146.4 - -
72 35 0761 Jul 21 22:40:15 3257 -15318 Ne -t -1.5252 0.0914 -0.9721 92.4 - -
[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)"
