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 79 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 -0132 Feb 27. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 1166 Apr 17. The total duration of Saros series 79 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0132 Feb 27 16:56:58 TD
Last Eclipse = 1166 Apr 17 07:53:54 TD
Duration of Saros 79 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 79 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 79 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 29 | 39.7% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 21.9% |
| Total | T | 28 | 38.4% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 79 occur in the order of 9N 8P 28T 8P 20N which corresponds to:
9 Penumbral
8 Partial
28 Total
8 Partial
20 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 79 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0553 Apr 14 Duration = 01h40m25s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0661 Jun 18 Duration = 00h25m29s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0679 Jun 29 Duration = 03h06m41s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0805 Sep 12 Duration = 00h55m34s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0823 Sep 24 Duration = 04h26m04s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -0132 Feb 27 Duration = 01h01m03s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 79 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0156 Aug 18 Magnitude = 0.9876
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0805 Sep 12 Magnitude = 0.0580
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 79 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 -38 -0132 Feb 27 16:56:58 11936 -26368 N a- -1.5274 0.0488 -0.9383 61.0 - -
02 -37 -0114 Mar 10 00:51:25 11735 -26145 N a- -1.4834 0.1265 -0.8547 97.3 - -
03 -36 -0096 Mar 20 08:38:39 11537 -25922 N a- -1.4328 0.2165 -0.7591 125.7 - -
04 -35 -0078 Mar 31 16:18:47 11342 -25699 N a- -1.3758 0.3184 -0.6518 150.5 - -
05 -34 -0060 Apr 10 23:53:20 11150 -25476 N a- -1.3136 0.4301 -0.5353 172.4 - -
06 -33 -0042 Apr 22 07:23:08 10961 -25253 N a- -1.2470 0.5500 -0.4108 192.1 - -
07 -32 -0024 May 02 14:48:42 10775 -25030 N a- -1.1763 0.6778 -0.2791 209.9 - -
08 -31 -0006 May 13 22:11:34 10591 -24807 N a- -1.1026 0.8114 -0.1422 225.9 - -
09 -30 0012 May 24 05:33:04 10410 -24584 N a- -1.0272 0.9484 -0.0025 240.1 - -
10 -29 0030 Jun 04 12:55:00 10230 -24361 P a- -0.9517 1.0859 0.1371 252.5 79.9 -
11 -28 0048 Jun 14 20:16:49 10052 -24138 P a- -0.8754 1.2251 0.2777 263.6 111.3 -
12 -27 0066 Jun 26 03:41:56 9876 -23915 P a- -0.8015 1.3604 0.4137 273.0 133.0 -
13 -26 0084 Jul 06 11:09:43 9701 -23692 P a- -0.7294 1.4926 0.5459 281.1 149.5 -
14 -25 0102 Jul 17 18:43:31 9528 -23469 P a- -0.6619 1.6167 0.6695 287.8 162.1 -
15 -24 0120 Jul 28 02:21:13 9355 -23246 P a- -0.5974 1.7356 0.7874 293.6 172.2 -
16 -23 0138 Aug 08 10:07:24 9184 -23023 P a- -0.5400 1.8418 0.8920 298.2 179.9 -
17 -22 0156 Aug 18 17:59:30 9012 -22800 P a- -0.4873 1.9394 0.9876 301.9 186.0 -
18 -21 0174 Aug 30 02:00:28 8841 -22577 T a- -0.4421 2.0236 1.0695 304.9 190.5 38.5
19 -20 0192 Sep 09 10:08:08 8670 -22354 T p- -0.4024 2.0978 1.1410 307.4 194.0 53.6
20 -19 0210 Sep 20 18:25:10 8499 -22131 T p- -0.3705 2.1576 1.1982 309.2 196.5 62.4
21 -18 0228 Oct 01 02:49:12 8328 -21908 T p- -0.3448 2.2062 1.2439 310.7 198.4 68.1
22 -17 0246 Oct 12 11:20:31 8156 -21685 T p- -0.3253 2.2434 1.2785 311.9 199.7 71.9
23 -16 0264 Oct 22 19:58:27 7984 -21462 T p- -0.3114 2.2702 1.3027 312.8 200.6 74.3
24 -15 0282 Nov 03 04:42:37 7811 -21239 T p- -0.3025 2.2875 1.3179 313.5 201.2 75.8
25 -14 0300 Nov 13 13:30:59 7637 -21016 T p- -0.2975 2.2978 1.3262 314.0 201.5 76.5
26 -13 0318 Nov 24 22:22:06 7463 -20793 T p- -0.2947 2.3036 1.3305 314.5 201.8 76.9
27 -12 0336 Dec 05 07:14:42 7287 -20570 T p- -0.2934 2.3065 1.3324 314.8 202.0 77.2
28 -11 0354 Dec 16 16:07:47 7111 -20347 T p- -0.2924 2.3087 1.3340 315.2 202.2 77.4
29 -10 0372 Dec 27 00:58:10 6934 -20124 T p- -0.2893 2.3144 1.3396 315.7 202.6 77.9
30 -09 0391 Jan 07 09:46:04 6757 -19901 T p- -0.2842 2.3237 1.3490 316.3 203.1 78.8
31 -08 0409 Jan 17 18:28:20 6579 -19678 T p- -0.2746 2.3410 1.3669 317.0 204.0 80.4
32 -07 0427 Jan 29 03:05:30 6400 -19455 T- p- -0.2611 2.3653 1.3921 317.9 205.1 82.5
33 -06 0445 Feb 08 11:33:57 6222 -19232 T- p- -0.2406 2.4025 1.4302 319.0 206.6 85.4
34 -05 0463 Feb 19 19:55:45 6044 -19009 T- p- -0.2149 2.4490 1.4779 320.3 208.2 88.5
35 -04 0481 Mar 02 04:08:15 5866 -18786 T- p- -0.1818 2.5093 1.5392 321.7 210.0 91.9
36 -03 0499 Mar 13 12:12:02 5691 -18563 T- pp -0.1419 2.5820 1.6129 323.2 211.8 95.2
37 -02 0517 Mar 23 20:06:37 5513 -18340 T- pp -0.0949 2.6679 1.6995 324.6 213.5 98.0
38 -01 0535 Apr 04 03:53:12 5337 -18117 T- pp -0.0418 2.7651 1.7971 325.8 214.7 99.8
39 00 0553 Apr 14 11:31:59 5162 -17894 T+ pp 0.0174 2.8099 1.8418 326.7 215.4 100.4
40 01 0571 Apr 25 19:02:19 4989 -17671 T+ pp 0.0830 2.6897 1.7212 327.2 215.3 99.2
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 02 0589 May 06 02:27:11 4817 -17448 T+ -p 0.1525 2.5627 1.5932 327.1 214.2 95.6
42 03 0607 May 17 09:46:22 4646 -17225 T+ -p 0.2260 2.4287 1.4576 326.3 211.8 89.0
43 04 0625 May 27 17:01:46 4476 -17002 T -a 0.3019 2.2905 1.3173 324.7 208.0 78.3
44 05 0643 Jun 08 00:13:30 4308 -16779 T -a 0.3802 2.1483 1.1722 322.2 202.6 60.7
45 06 0661 Jun 18 07:24:37 4142 -16556 T -a 0.4580 2.0071 1.0277 318.9 195.6 25.5
46 07 0679 Jun 29 14:35:07 3977 -16333 P -a 0.5354 1.8672 0.8838 314.7 186.7 -
47 08 0697 Jul 09 21:45:56 3815 -16110 P -a 0.6114 1.7299 0.7420 309.7 175.8 -
48 09 0715 Jul 21 04:59:07 3655 -15887 P -a 0.6845 1.5984 0.6054 303.9 162.9 -
49 10 0733 Jul 31 12:15:44 3497 -15664 P -a 0.7535 1.4746 0.4761 297.7 147.9 -
50 11 0751 Aug 11 19:37:11 3341 -15441 P -a 0.8176 1.3600 0.3556 291.1 130.6 -
51 12 0769 Aug 22 03:03:05 3189 -15218 P -a 0.8767 1.2546 0.2440 284.3 110.3 -
52 13 0787 Sep 02 10:36:12 3039 -14995 P -a 0.9288 1.1623 0.1453 277.8 86.6 -
53 14 0805 Sep 12 18:15:42 2893 -14772 P -a 0.9746 1.0815 0.0580 271.6 55.6 -
54 15 0823 Sep 24 02:02:13 2749 -14549 Nx -a 1.0138 1.0128 -0.0171 266.1 - -
55 16 0841 Oct 04 09:55:45 2610 -14326 N -a 1.0463 0.9563 -0.0799 261.3 - -
56 17 0859 Oct 15 17:56:26 2474 -14103 N -a 1.0723 0.9116 -0.1307 257.4 - -
57 18 0877 Oct 26 02:03:46 2342 -13880 N -a 1.0920 0.8784 -0.1696 254.7 - -
58 19 0895 Nov 06 10:15:12 2215 -13657 N -a 1.1078 0.8521 -0.2011 252.6 - -
59 20 0913 Nov 16 18:32:25 2091 -13434 N -a 1.1181 0.8354 -0.2225 251.5 - -
60 21 0931 Nov 28 02:51:41 1972 -13211 N -a 1.1266 0.8219 -0.2400 250.7 - -
61 22 0949 Dec 08 11:13:05 1857 -12988 N -a 1.1325 0.8129 -0.2524 250.5 - -
62 23 0967 Dec 19 19:32:11 1747 -12765 N -a 1.1396 0.8011 -0.2669 249.8 - -
63 24 0985 Dec 30 03:50:38 1641 -12542 N -h 1.1466 0.7892 -0.2807 249.0 - -
64 25 1004 Jan 10 12:03:58 1540 -12319 N -h 1.1574 0.7701 -0.3012 247.1 - -
65 26 1022 Jan 20 20:12:07 1444 -12096 N -h 1.1715 0.7446 -0.3274 244.3 - -
66 27 1040 Feb 01 04:12:21 1352 -11873 N -h 1.1915 0.7080 -0.3641 239.7 - -
67 28 1058 Feb 11 12:04:59 1265 -11650 N -t 1.2167 0.6617 -0.4102 233.3 - -
68 29 1076 Feb 22 19:47:44 1182 -11427 N -t 1.2491 0.6018 -0.4695 224.3 - -
69 30 1094 Mar 05 03:20:50 1104 -11204 N -t 1.2887 0.5288 -0.5416 212.2 - -
70 31 1112 Mar 15 10:43:34 1030 -10981 N -t 1.3358 0.4419 -0.6275 195.9 - -
71 32 1130 Mar 26 17:57:04 960 -10758 N -t 1.3894 0.3430 -0.7254 174.6 - -
72 33 1148 Apr 06 00:59:23 895 -10535 N -t 1.4511 0.2293 -0.8381 144.5 - -
73 34 1166 Apr 17 07:53:54 834 -10312 Ne -t 1.5180 0.1061 -0.9604 99.5 - -
[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)"
