Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 72

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 72 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 -0389 Jun 17. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0891 Jul 25. The total duration of Saros series 72 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse = -0389 Jun 17   03:09:25 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  0891 Jul 25   02:50:16 TD

                      Duration of Saros  72  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 72 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 72
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PenumbralN 16 22.2%
PartialP 42 58.3%
TotalT 14 19.4%

The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 72 occur in the order of 8N 20P 14T 22P 8N which corresponds to:

                                     8  Penumbral
                                    20  Partial
                                    14  Total
                                    22  Partial
                                     8  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 72 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    0224 Jun 18      Duration = 01h41m50s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    0350 Sep 02      Duration = 00h30m55s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    0098 Apr 04      Duration = 03h14m22s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0245 Sep 11      Duration = 00h57m12s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:   -0263 Aug 31      Duration = 04h46m57s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    0891 Jul 25      Duration = 00h31m39s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 72 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    0368 Sep 13      Magnitude = 0.9733
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:   -0245 Sep 11      Magnitude = 0.0555

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 72 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 72

                          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  -0389 Jun 17  03:09:25  15284 -29543   N   t-   1.4986  0.1426 -0.9259  116.1    -      -  
 02  -33  -0371 Jun 27  09:32:39  15013 -29320   N   t-   1.4147  0.2969 -0.7721  165.1    -      -  
 03  -32  -0353 Jul 08  15:59:40  14748 -29097   N   t-   1.3329  0.4475 -0.6224  199.8    -      -  
 04  -31  -0335 Jul 18  22:34:06  14490 -28874   N   t-   1.2560  0.5891 -0.4819  226.0    -      -  
 05  -30  -0317 Jul 30  05:15:36  14238 -28651   N   t-   1.1839  0.7220 -0.3503  246.8    -      -  
 06  -29  -0299 Aug 09  12:05:24  13991 -28428   N   t-   1.1175  0.8446 -0.2293  263.4    -      -  
 07  -28  -0281 Aug 20  19:04:22  13749 -28205   N   t-   1.0578  0.9551 -0.1205  276.6    -      -  
 08  -27  -0263 Aug 31  02:13:47  13513 -27982   Nx  t-   1.0057  1.0515 -0.0258  286.9    -      -  
 09  -26  -0245 Sep 11  09:33:24  13281 -27759   P   t-   0.9610  1.1343  0.0555  295.0   57.2    -  
 10  -25  -0227 Sep 21  17:03:05  13055 -27536   P   t-   0.9238  1.2033  0.1232  301.1   84.3    -  

 11  -24  -0209 Oct 03  00:42:59  12832 -27313   P   t-   0.8938  1.2588  0.1776  305.6  100.2    -  
 12  -23  -0191 Oct 13  08:32:42  12614 -27090   P   t-   0.8711  1.3008  0.2190  308.6  110.4    -  
 13  -22  -0173 Oct 24  16:29:53  12401 -26867   P   t-   0.8538  1.3325  0.2506  310.6  117.3    -  
 14  -21  -0155 Nov 04  00:34:55  12191 -26644   P   h-   0.8422  1.3537  0.2722  311.6  121.5    -  
 15  -20  -0137 Nov 15  08:44:45  11985 -26421   P   h-   0.8339  1.3684  0.2881  311.9  124.4    -  
 16  -19  -0119 Nov 25  16:59:21  11783 -26198   P   h-   0.8286  1.3772  0.2987  311.7  126.2    -  
 17  -18  -0101 Dec 07  01:14:01  11584 -25975   P   h-   0.8226  1.3867  0.3109  311.4  128.2    -  
 18  -17  -0083 Dec 17  09:30:45  11388 -25752   P   a-   0.8178  1.3940  0.3215  310.9  129.8    -  
 19  -16  -0065 Dec 28  17:44:40  11196 -25529   P   a-   0.8105  1.4053  0.3368  310.7  132.3    -  
 20  -15  -0046 Jan 08  01:56:02  11006 -25306   P   a-   0.8001  1.4220  0.3583  310.7  135.6    -  

 21  -14  -0028 Jan 19  10:01:13  10819 -25083   P   a-   0.7841  1.4487  0.3903  311.3  140.5    -  
 22  -13  -0010 Jan 29  18:02:01  10635 -24860   P   a-   0.7637  1.4832  0.4306  312.4  146.2    -  
 23  -12   0008 Feb 10  01:55:27  10453 -24637   P   a-   0.7366  1.5298  0.4834  314.1  153.2    -  
 24  -11   0026 Feb 20  09:41:53  10273 -24414   P   a-   0.7030  1.5882  0.5482  316.3  161.0    -  
 25  -10   0044 Mar 02  17:20:47  10094 -24191   P   a-   0.6624  1.6594  0.6260  319.0  169.4    -  
 26  -09   0062 Mar 14  00:53:05   9918 -23968   P   a-   0.6151  1.7429  0.7160  322.0  177.9    -  
 27  -08   0080 Mar 24  08:17:51   9743 -23745   P   a-   0.5607  1.8395  0.8191  325.1  186.4    -  
 28  -07   0098 Apr 04  15:36:48   9569 -23522   P   a-   0.5004  1.9469  0.9329  328.2  194.4    -  
 29  -06   0116 Apr 14  22:50:23   9396 -23299   T   a-   0.4345  2.0648  1.0567  331.0  201.6   36.9
 30  -05   0134 Apr 26  06:00:42   9224 -23076   T   a-   0.3648  2.1898  1.1873  333.3  207.7   64.1

 31  -04   0152 May 06  13:06:28   9053 -22853   T   a-   0.2901  2.3242  1.3269  335.1  212.7   80.6
 32  -03   0170 May 17  20:11:58   8882 -22630   T+  p-   0.2142  2.4613  1.4686  336.2  216.4   91.2
 33  -02   0188 May 28  03:15:54   8711 -22407   T+  pp   0.1357  2.6032  1.6145  336.6  218.8   98.0
 34  -01   0206 Jun 08  10:22:12   8540 -22184   T+  pp   0.0584  2.7432  1.7581  336.1  219.8  101.3
 35   00   0224 Jun 18  17:28:31   8369 -21961   T-  pp  -0.0198  2.8128  1.8305  334.9  219.4  101.8
 36   01   0242 Jun 30  00:40:21   8197 -21738   T-  pp  -0.0943  2.6748  1.6948  333.0  217.9   99.6
 37   02   0260 Jul 10  07:55:34   8025 -21515   T-  pp  -0.1671  2.5403  1.5621  330.4  215.2   94.9
 38   03   0278 Jul 21  15:17:39   7852 -21292   T-  -p  -0.2349  2.4154  1.4384  327.4  211.7   87.9
 39   04   0296 Jul 31  22:45:33   7679 -21069   T   -p  -0.2985  2.2983  1.3219  324.0  207.4   78.4
 40   05   0314 Aug 12  06:22:48   7504 -20846   T   -p  -0.3552  2.1942  1.2180  320.5  202.8   66.6


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 72

                          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   0332 Aug 22  14:07:55   7329 -20623   T   -p  -0.4061  2.1009  1.1246  316.9  197.9   51.8
 42   07   0350 Sep 02  22:01:41   7153 -20400   T   -a  -0.4507  2.0192  1.0425  313.4  193.0   30.9
 43   08   0368 Sep 13  06:04:43   6976 -20177   P   -a  -0.4882  1.9507  0.9733  310.2  188.4    -  
 44   09   0386 Sep 24  14:17:03   6799 -19954   P   -a  -0.5186  1.8954  0.9173  307.4  184.3    -  
 45   10   0404 Oct 04  22:38:21   6621 -19731   P   -a  -0.5422  1.8523  0.8735  305.0  180.8    -  
 46   11   0422 Oct 16  07:06:52   6443 -19508   P   -a  -0.5604  1.8191  0.8398  303.0  178.0    -  
 47   12   0440 Oct 26  15:43:29   6264 -19285   P   -a  -0.5725  1.7972  0.8174  301.4  175.9    -  
 48   13   0458 Nov 07  00:25:45   6086 -19062   P   -a  -0.5804  1.7827  0.8029  300.3  174.5    -  
 49   14   0476 Nov 17  09:12:48   5908 -18839   P   -a  -0.5846  1.7749  0.7954  299.4  173.6    -  
 50   15   0494 Nov 28  18:02:34   5732 -18616   P   -a  -0.5869  1.7704  0.7915  298.7  173.1    -  

 51   16   0512 Dec 09  02:54:28   5555 -18393   P   -a  -0.5877  1.7684  0.7907  298.2  172.8    -  
 52   17   0530 Dec 20  11:45:39   5379 -18170   P   -a  -0.5893  1.7645  0.7885  297.5  172.4    -  
 53   18   0548 Dec 30  20:35:05   5204 -17947   P   -a  -0.5927  1.7573  0.7833  296.7  171.8    -  
 54   19   0567 Jan 11  05:21:17   5030 -17724   P   -a  -0.5990  1.7445  0.7730  295.6  170.9    -  
 55   20   0585 Jan 21  14:03:47   4857 -17501   P   -a  -0.6083  1.7261  0.7573  294.3  169.5    -  
 56   21   0603 Feb 01  22:39:19   4686 -17278   P   -a  -0.6239  1.6959  0.7302  292.5  167.1    -  
 57   22   0621 Feb 12  07:08:56   4516 -17055   P   -a  -0.6446  1.6564  0.6938  290.1  163.8    -  
 58   23   0639 Feb 23  15:30:42   4348 -16832   P   -a  -0.6720  1.6043  0.6449  287.0  159.1    -  
 59   24   0657 Mar 05  23:46:12   4181 -16609   P   -a  -0.7048  1.5425  0.5864  283.3  153.1    -  
 60   25   0675 Mar 17  07:51:56   4016 -16386   P   -a  -0.7459  1.4657  0.5126  278.5  144.8    -  

 61   26   0693 Mar 27  15:51:57   3853 -16163   P   -a  -0.7917  1.3801  0.4298  272.8  134.3    -  
 62   27   0711 Apr 07  23:43:02   3693 -15940   P   -a  -0.8454  1.2804  0.3325  265.7  119.9    -  
 63   28   0729 Apr 18  07:28:45   3534 -15717   P   -a  -0.9032  1.1733  0.2274  257.4  100.7    -  
 64   29   0747 Apr 29  15:06:35   3378 -15494   P   -a  -0.9676  1.0545  0.1101  247.3   71.3    -  
 65   30   0765 May 09  22:41:10   3225 -15271   N   -a  -1.0343  0.9315 -0.0120  235.7    -      -  
 66   31   0783 May 21  06:10:31   3074 -15048   N   -a  -1.1053  0.8011 -0.1422  221.7    -      -  
 67   32   0801 May 31  13:37:25   2927 -14825   N   -a  -1.1781  0.6678 -0.2758  205.4    -      -  
 68   33   0819 Jun 11  21:02:15   2783 -14602   N   -a  -1.2522  0.5323 -0.4123  186.2    -      -  
 69   34   0837 Jun 22  04:27:12   2643 -14379   N   -a  -1.3259  0.3978 -0.5484  163.3    -      -  
 70   35   0855 Jul 03  11:52:35   2506 -14156   N   -a  -1.3988  0.2653 -0.6832  135.3    -      -  

 71   36   0873 Jul 13  19:19:38   2373 -13933   N   -a  -1.4698  0.1364 -0.8151   98.4    -      -  
 72   37   0891 Jul 25  02:50:16   2245 -13710   Ne  -a  -1.5377  0.0137 -0.9413   31.6    -      -  


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