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 85 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 -0103 Aug 02. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 1249 Oct 23. The total duration of Saros series 85 is 1352.26 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0103 Aug 02 10:16:17 TD
Last Eclipse = 1249 Oct 23 06:21:04 TD
Duration of Saros 85 = 1352.26 Years
Saros 85 is composed of 76 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 85 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 76 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 33 | 43.4% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 19.7% |
| Total | T | 28 | 36.8% |
The 76 lunar eclipses in Saros 85 occur in the order of 22N 8P 28T 7P 11N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
8 Partial
28 Total
7 Partial
11 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 85 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0564 Sep 06 Duration = 01h38m53s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0925 Apr 11 Duration = 00h41m32s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0943 Apr 23 Duration = 03h11m31s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0294 Mar 28 Duration = 01h07m40s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1069 Jul 07 Duration = 04h18m06s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1249 Oct 23 Duration = 00h28m28s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 85 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0420 Jun 12 Magnitude = 0.9892
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0294 Mar 28 Magnitude = 0.0972
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 85 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 -37 -0103 Aug 02 10:16:17 11609 -26004 Nb a- -1.5379 0.0436 -0.9714 60.3 - -
02 -36 -0085 Aug 13 17:40:08 11413 -25781 N a- -1.4777 0.1538 -0.8607 111.7 - -
03 -35 -0067 Aug 24 01:12:34 11220 -25558 N a- -1.4235 0.2531 -0.7611 141.5 - -
04 -34 -0049 Sep 04 08:56:23 11030 -25335 N a- -1.3774 0.3375 -0.6765 161.6 - -
05 -33 -0031 Sep 14 16:49:26 10843 -25112 N a- -1.3382 0.4094 -0.6045 176.2 - -
06 -32 -0013 Sep 26 00:52:16 10658 -24889 N a- -1.3061 0.4683 -0.5455 186.8 - -
07 -31 0005 Oct 06 09:04:02 10476 -24666 N a- -1.2805 0.5151 -0.4985 194.5 - -
08 -30 0023 Oct 17 17:25:13 10296 -24443 N a- -1.2617 0.5494 -0.4636 199.6 - -
09 -29 0041 Oct 28 01:53:07 10117 -24220 N a- -1.2479 0.5743 -0.4380 202.9 - -
10 -28 0059 Nov 08 10:27:17 9941 -23997 N a- -1.2384 0.5911 -0.4200 204.9 - -
11 -27 0077 Nov 18 19:05:53 9766 -23774 N a- -1.2320 0.6020 -0.4073 205.9 - -
12 -26 0095 Nov 30 03:48:43 9592 -23551 N a- -1.2282 0.6079 -0.3992 206.2 - -
13 -25 0113 Dec 10 12:31:29 9419 -23328 N a- -1.2238 0.6146 -0.3898 206.5 - -
14 -24 0131 Dec 21 21:14:54 9247 -23105 N a- -1.2194 0.6210 -0.3801 206.8 - -
15 -23 0150 Jan 01 05:55:06 9075 -22882 N a- -1.2118 0.6331 -0.3643 207.8 - -
16 -22 0168 Jan 12 14:33:16 8904 -22659 N a- -1.2022 0.6486 -0.3446 209.4 - -
17 -21 0186 Jan 22 23:04:27 8733 -22436 N a- -1.1863 0.6754 -0.3132 212.4 - -
18 -20 0204 Feb 03 07:31:42 8562 -22213 N a- -1.1668 0.7087 -0.2750 216.1 - -
19 -19 0222 Feb 13 15:50:36 8391 -21990 N a- -1.1400 0.7553 -0.2234 221.3 - -
20 -18 0240 Feb 25 00:03:13 8219 -21767 N a- -1.1079 0.8117 -0.1618 227.4 - -
21 -17 0258 Mar 07 08:06:48 8047 -21544 N a- -1.0679 0.8826 -0.0860 234.7 - -
22 -16 0276 Mar 17 16:04:41 7875 -21321 N a- -1.0228 0.9629 -0.0008 242.3 - -
23 -15 0294 Mar 28 23:54:39 7701 -21098 P a- -0.9706 1.0563 0.0972 250.6 67.7 -
24 -14 0312 Apr 08 07:38:25 7527 -20875 P a- -0.9128 1.1602 0.2054 258.9 96.7 -
25 -13 0330 Apr 19 15:16:16 7352 -20652 P a- -0.8498 1.2739 0.3228 267.2 119.1 -
26 -12 0348 Apr 29 22:50:04 7176 -20429 P a- -0.7830 1.3948 0.4470 275.2 137.4 -
27 -11 0366 May 11 06:19:37 6999 -20206 P a- -0.7122 1.5234 0.5783 282.7 153.0 -
28 -10 0384 May 21 13:46:34 6822 -19983 P a- -0.6387 1.6573 0.7142 289.5 166.2 -
29 -09 0402 Jun 01 21:12:31 6644 -19760 P a- -0.5640 1.7936 0.8519 295.6 177.2 -
30 -08 0420 Jun 12 04:38:37 6466 -19537 P a- -0.4894 1.9302 0.9892 300.9 186.3 -
31 -07 0438 Jun 23 12:05:03 6287 -19314 T a- -0.4149 2.0668 1.1259 305.5 193.7 51.1
32 -06 0456 Jul 03 19:34:25 6109 -19091 T p- -0.3426 2.1997 1.2582 309.1 199.5 70.1
33 -05 0474 Jul 15 03:06:47 5932 -18868 T p- -0.2731 2.3280 1.3853 312.1 203.9 82.0
34 -04 0492 Jul 25 10:44:18 5755 -18645 T- p- -0.2078 2.4487 1.5041 314.4 207.0 89.6
35 -03 0510 Aug 05 18:25:38 5578 -18422 T- p- -0.1460 2.5633 1.6163 316.1 209.2 94.5
36 -02 0528 Aug 16 02:14:41 5402 -18199 T- pp -0.0909 2.6657 1.7160 317.3 210.5 97.3
37 -01 0546 Aug 27 10:09:38 5226 -17976 T- pp -0.0411 2.7588 1.8059 318.2 211.1 98.6
38 00 0564 Sep 06 18:12:55 5053 -17753 T+ pp 0.0017 2.8328 1.8764 318.8 211.3 98.9
39 01 0582 Sep 18 02:23:05 4880 -17530 T+ pp 0.0385 2.7671 1.8070 319.2 211.2 98.5
40 02 0600 Sep 28 10:42:03 4708 -17307 T+ -p 0.0679 2.7152 1.7514 319.6 210.9 97.7
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 03 0618 Oct 09 19:07:54 4538 -17084 T+ -p 0.0911 2.6744 1.7068 320.1 210.6 96.8
42 04 0636 Oct 20 03:40:23 4370 -16861 T+ -p 0.1088 2.6438 1.6727 320.5 210.4 96.0
43 05 0654 Oct 31 12:19:22 4203 -16638 T+ -p 0.1208 2.6234 1.6489 321.0 210.2 95.3
44 06 0672 Nov 10 21:03:25 4038 -16415 T+ -p 0.1288 2.6103 1.6328 321.6 210.2 94.8
45 07 0690 Nov 22 05:51:18 3874 -16192 T+ -p 0.1331 2.6038 1.6236 322.2 210.3 94.6
46 08 0708 Dec 02 14:40:25 3713 -15969 T+ -p 0.1362 2.5991 1.6168 322.9 210.5 94.4
47 09 0726 Dec 13 23:31:01 3554 -15746 T+ -p 0.1377 2.5973 1.6132 323.6 210.7 94.4
48 10 0744 Dec 24 08:20:06 3398 -15523 T+ -p 0.1405 2.5927 1.6074 324.2 211.0 94.3
49 11 0763 Jan 04 17:06:25 3244 -15300 T+ -p 0.1450 2.5848 1.5987 324.8 211.2 94.2
50 12 0781 Jan 15 01:47:56 3094 -15077 T+ -p 0.1533 2.5699 1.5833 325.4 211.4 93.8
51 13 0799 Jan 26 10:24:05 2946 -14854 T+ -p 0.1656 2.5475 1.5608 325.8 211.5 93.0
52 14 0817 Feb 05 18:53:17 2802 -14631 T+ -p 0.1832 2.5150 1.5285 326.1 211.3 91.8
53 15 0835 Feb 17 03:14:18 2661 -14408 T+ -p 0.2072 2.4707 1.4845 326.3 210.8 89.7
54 16 0853 Feb 27 11:26:50 2524 -14185 T+ -p 0.2379 2.4142 1.4284 326.1 209.9 86.5
55 17 0871 Mar 10 19:30:43 2390 -13962 T -p 0.2753 2.3455 1.3601 325.6 208.4 81.5
56 18 0889 Mar 21 03:24:49 2261 -13739 T -p 0.3202 2.2630 1.2778 324.7 206.1 73.9
57 19 0907 Apr 01 11:10:21 2136 -13516 T -a 0.3718 2.1684 1.1831 323.1 202.7 62.1
58 20 0925 Apr 11 18:46:56 2015 -13293 T -a 0.4300 2.0616 1.0760 320.8 197.9 41.5
59 21 0943 Apr 23 02:16:28 1899 -13070 P -a 0.4936 1.9454 0.9590 317.6 191.5 -
60 22 0961 May 03 09:36:58 1787 -12847 P -a 0.5637 1.8173 0.8297 313.3 182.8 -
61 23 0979 May 14 16:52:28 1680 -12624 P -a 0.6369 1.6838 0.6945 307.8 171.7 -
62 24 0997 May 25 00:01:22 1577 -12401 P -a 0.7145 1.5426 0.5510 301.0 157.0 -
63 25 1015 Jun 05 07:07:30 1479 -12178 P -a 0.7935 1.3991 0.4048 292.7 138.1 -
64 26 1033 Jun 15 14:08:41 1385 -11955 P -a 0.8753 1.2507 0.2530 282.7 112.1 -
65 27 1051 Jun 26 21:10:32 1296 -11732 P -a 0.9553 1.1059 0.1042 271.3 73.7 -
66 28 1069 Jul 07 04:10:43 1212 -11509 N -a 1.0352 0.9616 -0.0445 258.1 - -
67 29 1087 Jul 18 11:13:13 1132 -11286 N -a 1.1118 0.8234 -0.1877 243.4 - -
68 30 1105 Jul 28 18:17:13 1057 -11063 N -h 1.1862 0.6896 -0.3269 226.8 - -
69 31 1123 Aug 09 01:26:18 985 -10840 N -h 1.2552 0.5660 -0.4563 209.0 - -
70 32 1141 Aug 19 08:39:40 919 -10617 N -h 1.3195 0.4511 -0.5773 189.5 - -
71 33 1159 Aug 30 15:58:49 856 -10394 N -h 1.3780 0.3469 -0.6878 168.6 - -
72 34 1177 Sep 09 23:24:39 797 -10171 N -h 1.4299 0.2548 -0.7862 146.4 - -
73 35 1195 Sep 21 06:58:05 742 -9948 N -h 1.4749 0.1755 -0.8719 122.9 - -
74 36 1213 Oct 01 14:38:31 690 -9725 N -h 1.5134 0.1080 -0.9457 97.4 - -
75 37 1231 Oct 12 22:26:32 642 -9502 N -h 1.5451 0.0529 -1.0068 68.8 - -
76 38 1249 Oct 23 06:21:04 597 -9279 N -h 1.5706 0.0089 -1.0564 28.5 - -
[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)"
