Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 88

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 88 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 0038 Jul 05. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 1318 Aug 12. The total duration of Saros series 88 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  0038 Jul 05   07:09:37 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  1318 Aug 12   19:37:60 TD

                      Duration of Saros  88  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 88 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 88
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PenumbralN 19 26.4%
PartialP 27 37.5%
TotalT 26 36.1%

The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 88 occur in the order of 12N 18P 26T 9P 7N which corresponds to:

                                    12  Penumbral
                                    18  Partial
                                    26  Total
                                     9  Partial
                                     7  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 88 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    0687 Jul 30      Duration = 01h39m16s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    1030 Feb 20      Duration = 00h33m45s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1048 Mar 03      Duration = 03h12m35s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    0254 Nov 12      Duration = 00h17m59s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    1210 Jun 09      Duration = 04h16m32s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    0038 Jul 05      Duration = 01h28m24s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 88 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    0561 May 15      Magnitude = 0.9967
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    0254 Nov 12      Magnitude = 0.0064

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 88 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 88

                          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   0038 Jul 05  07:09:37  10150 -24261   Nb  h-   1.5077  0.0952 -0.9125   88.4    -      -  
 02  -35   0056 Jul 15  14:15:13   9973 -24038   N   a-   1.4325  0.2324 -0.7736  135.9    -      -  
 03  -34   0074 Jul 26  21:28:30   9798 -23815   N   a-   1.3622  0.3608 -0.6439  166.7    -      -  
 04  -33   0092 Aug 06  04:50:08   9624 -23592   N   a-   1.2972  0.4797 -0.5242  189.4    -      -  
 05  -32   0110 Aug 17  12:21:04   9450 -23369   N   a-   1.2387  0.5866 -0.4167  206.6    -      -  
 06  -31   0128 Aug 27  20:01:05   9278 -23146   N   a-   1.1866  0.6821 -0.3210  219.9    -      -  
 07  -30   0146 Sep 08  03:51:17   9107 -22923   N   a-   1.1418  0.7644 -0.2386  230.2    -      -  
 08  -29   0164 Sep 18  11:51:25   8935 -22700   N   a-   1.1041  0.8336 -0.1695  237.9    -      -  
 09  -28   0182 Sep 29  20:00:09   8764 -22477   N   a-   1.0728  0.8909 -0.1121  243.8    -      -  
 10  -27   0200 Oct 10  04:18:39   8594 -22254   N   a-   1.0489  0.9348 -0.0681  247.9    -      -  

 11  -26   0218 Oct 21  12:44:34   8422 -22031   N   a-   1.0308  0.9678 -0.0347  250.6    -      -  
 12  -25   0236 Oct 31  21:18:31   8251 -21808   N   a-   1.0185  0.9900 -0.0118  252.2    -      -  
 13  -24   0254 Nov 12  05:56:12   8079 -21585   P   a-   1.0088  1.0072  0.0064  253.2   18.0    -  
 14  -23   0272 Nov 22  14:39:36   7906 -21362   P   a-   1.0035  1.0162  0.0170  253.3   29.1    -  
 15  -22   0290 Dec 03  23:24:25   7733 -21139   P   a-   0.9992  1.0230  0.0259  253.3   35.8    -  
 16  -21   0308 Dec 14  08:10:56   7559 -20916   P   a-   0.9957  1.0281  0.0335  253.1   40.5    -  
 17  -20   0326 Dec 25  16:55:15   7384 -20693   P   a-   0.9904  1.0365  0.0449  253.1   46.7    -  
 18  -19   0345 Jan 05  01:38:25   7209 -20470   P   a-   0.9835  1.0473  0.0592  253.4   53.5    -  
 19  -18   0363 Jan 16  10:17:04   7032 -20247   P   a-   0.9727  1.0651  0.0809  254.3   62.2    -  
 20  -17   0381 Jan 26  18:50:52   6855 -20024   P   a-   0.9577  1.0905  0.1106  255.9   72.3    -  

 21  -16   0399 Feb 07  03:18:16   6677 -19801   P   a-   0.9372  1.1259  0.1504  258.3   83.7    -  
 22  -15   0417 Feb 17  11:39:28   6499 -19578   P   a-   0.9112  1.1712  0.2003  261.4   95.8    -  
 23  -14   0435 Feb 28  19:52:28   6320 -19355   P   a-   0.8783  1.2293  0.2630  265.3  108.6    -  
 24  -13   0453 Mar 11  03:58:27   6142 -19132   P   a-   0.8392  1.2988  0.3371  269.9  121.5    -  
 25  -12   0471 Mar 22  11:56:40   5964 -18909   P   a-   0.7934  1.3805  0.4231  275.0  134.2    -  
 26  -11   0489 Apr 01  19:48:58   5787 -18686   P   a-   0.7426  1.4719  0.5185  280.3  146.3    -  
 27  -10   0507 Apr 13  03:32:37   5611 -18463   P   a-   0.6842  1.5772  0.6275  285.9  158.0    -  
 28  -09   0525 Apr 23  11:12:15   5434 -18240   P   a-   0.6221  1.6895  0.7429  291.3  168.6    -  
 29  -08   0543 May 04  18:45:44   5259 -18017   P   a-   0.5545  1.8123  0.8682  296.6  178.3    -  
 30  -07   0561 May 15  02:17:07   5084 -17794   P   a-   0.4850  1.9387  0.9967  301.3  186.7    -  

 31  -06   0579 May 26  09:43:51   4911 -17571   T   a-   0.4114  2.0731  1.1325  305.6  194.0   52.3
 32  -05   0597 Jun 05  17:11:22   4740 -17348   T   p-   0.3381  2.2072  1.2673  309.2  199.8   71.2
 33  -04   0615 Jun 17  00:37:32   4570 -17125   T+  p-   0.2633  2.3446  1.4046  312.2  204.5   83.5
 34  -03   0633 Jun 27  08:05:29   4401 -16902   T+  p-   0.1899  2.4795  1.5390  314.5  207.9   91.5
 35  -02   0651 Jul 08  15:34:40   4234 -16679   T+  pp   0.1175  2.6130  1.6712  316.2  210.2   96.4
 36  -01   0669 Jul 18  23:08:32   4068 -16456   T+  pp   0.0490  2.7396  1.7959  317.2  211.3   98.9
 37   00   0687 Jul 30  06:46:23   3904 -16233   T-  pp  -0.0161  2.8012  1.8550  317.8  211.6   99.3
 38   01   0705 Aug 09  14:29:23   3743 -16010   T-  pp  -0.0769  2.6912  1.7421  317.9  211.0   98.0
 39   02   0723 Aug 20  22:18:59   3583 -15787   T-  -p  -0.1319  2.5920  1.6394  317.7  209.9   95.4
 40   03   0741 Aug 31  06:15:24   3427 -15564   T-  -p  -0.1810  2.5039  1.5475  317.3  208.5   91.8


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 88

                          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   0759 Sep 11  14:19:21   3272 -15341   T-  -p  -0.2234  2.4281  1.4677  316.9  206.8   87.6
 42   05   0777 Sep 21  22:29:48   3121 -15118   T-  -p  -0.2601  2.3629  1.3983  316.5  205.0   83.0
 43   06   0795 Oct 03  06:48:40   2973 -14895   T   -p  -0.2895  2.3110  1.3421  316.2  203.5   78.5
 44   07   0813 Oct 13  15:14:00   2828 -14672   T   -p  -0.3133  2.2694  1.2965  316.0  202.1   74.3
 45   08   0831 Oct 24  23:46:04   2686 -14449   T   -p  -0.3310  2.2389  1.2620  316.1  201.0   70.7
 46   09   0849 Nov 04  08:23:41   2549 -14226   T   -p  -0.3439  2.2172  1.2366  316.4  200.3   67.8
 47   10   0867 Nov 15  17:06:44   2415 -14003   T   -p  -0.3516  2.2047  1.2206  316.9  199.9   65.9
 48   11   0885 Nov 26  01:52:31   2285 -13780   T   -p  -0.3571  2.1962  1.2092  317.5  199.7   64.5
 49   12   0903 Dec 07  10:40:03   2159 -13557   T   -p  -0.3608  2.1906  1.2011  318.2  199.7   63.5
 50   13   0921 Dec 17  19:27:42   2037 -13334   T   -p  -0.3639  2.1859  1.1944  318.9  199.8   62.7

 51   14   0939 Dec 29  04:14:47   1920 -13111   T   -p  -0.3669  2.1811  1.1881  319.6  200.0   61.9
 52   15   0958 Jan 08  12:57:28   1807 -12888   T   -p  -0.3733  2.1700  1.1760  320.1  199.8   60.2
 53   16   0976 Jan 19  21:36:18   1699 -12665   T   -a  -0.3823  2.1539  1.1591  320.4  199.5   57.7
 54   17   0994 Jan 30  06:07:59   1595 -12442   T   -a  -0.3967  2.1275  1.1325  320.4  198.7   53.2
 55   18   1012 Feb 10  14:34:00   1496 -12219   T   -a  -0.4153  2.0935  1.0984  320.2  197.5   46.5
 56   19   1030 Feb 20  22:49:33   1402 -11996   T   -a  -0.4416  2.0450  1.0500  319.5  195.4   33.7
 57   20   1048 Mar 03  06:58:13   1312 -11773   P   -a  -0.4731  1.9873  0.9924  318.3  192.6    -  
 58   21   1066 Mar 14  14:55:47   1227 -11550   P   -a  -0.5131  1.9138  0.9190  316.4  188.4    -  
 59   22   1084 Mar 24  22:45:33   1146 -11327   P   -a  -0.5588  1.8300  0.8352  313.7  182.8    -  
 60   23   1102 Apr 05  06:24:14   1070 -11104   P   -a  -0.6129  1.7308  0.7357  310.0  175.0    -  

 61   24   1120 Apr 15  13:55:59    998 -10881   P   -a  -0.6720  1.6228  0.6270  305.2  165.0    -  
 62   25   1138 Apr 26  21:18:25    931 -10658   P   -a  -0.7379  1.5023  0.5055  299.0  151.6    -  
 63   26   1156 May 07  04:33:43    867 -10435   P   -a  -0.8089  1.3728  0.3747  291.3  133.6    -  
 64   27   1174 May 18  11:42:18    807 -10212   P   -a  -0.8845  1.2351  0.2350  281.8  108.3    -  
 65   28   1192 May 28  18:46:26    752  -9989   P   -a  -0.9629  1.0924  0.0898  270.3   68.6    -  
 66   29   1210 Jun 09  01:46:22    699  -9766   N   -h  -1.0435  0.9459 -0.0596  256.5    -      -  
 67   30   1228 Jun 19  08:43:27    650  -9543   N   -h  -1.1254  0.7974 -0.2116  240.2    -      -  
 68   31   1246 Jun 30  15:39:39    605  -9320   N   -h  -1.2069  0.6501 -0.3631  221.1    -      -  
 69   32   1264 Jul 10  22:36:10    562  -9097   N   -h  -1.2870  0.5053 -0.5124  198.6    -      -  
 70   33   1282 Jul 22  05:33:18    522  -8874   N   -h  -1.3653  0.3642 -0.6585  171.6    -      -  

 71   34   1300 Aug 01  12:33:39    485  -8651   N   -h  -1.4397  0.2303 -0.7978  138.8    -      -  
 72   35   1318 Aug 12  19:38:00    450  -8428   N   -h  -1.5096  0.1051 -0.9288   95.2    -      -  


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