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 91 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 0179 Jun 07. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 1459 Jul 15. The total duration of Saros series 91 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0179 Jun 07 04:36:23 TD
Last Eclipse = 1459 Jul 15 16:42:43 TD
Duration of Saros 91 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 91 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 91 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 14 | 19.4% |
| Partial | P | 43 | 59.7% |
| Total | T | 15 | 20.8% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 91 occur in the order of 7N 22P 15T 21P 7N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
22 Partial
15 Total
21 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 91 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0810 Jun 20 Duration = 01h39m23s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0954 Sep 15 Duration = 00h32m08s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0972 Sep 25 Duration = 03h07m18s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1333 Apr 30 Duration = 00h41m25s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1351 May 11 Duration = 04h12m14s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1459 Jul 15 Duration = 00h43m35s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 91 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0972 Sep 25 Magnitude = 0.9807
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1333 Apr 30 Magnitude = 0.0322
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 91 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 -35 0179 Jun 07 04:36:23 8796 -22518 N h- -1.4922 0.1221 -0.8822 99.7 - -
02 -34 0197 Jun 17 11:34:20 8625 -22295 N a- -1.4105 0.2703 -0.7308 145.8 - -
03 -33 0215 Jun 28 18:35:59 8454 -22072 N a- -1.3306 0.4156 -0.5829 177.6 - -
04 -32 0233 Jul 09 01:43:24 8283 -21849 N a- -1.2544 0.5544 -0.4420 201.6 - -
05 -31 0251 Jul 20 08:55:40 8111 -21626 N a- -1.1810 0.6883 -0.3065 220.8 - -
06 -30 0269 Jul 30 16:16:33 7938 -21403 N a- -1.1137 0.8113 -0.1825 235.9 - -
07 -29 0287 Aug 10 23:44:14 7765 -21180 N a- -1.0511 0.9258 -0.0673 248.2 - -
08 -28 0305 Aug 21 07:22:06 7591 -20957 P a- -0.9958 1.0270 0.0342 257.8 41.8 -
09 -27 0323 Sep 01 15:07:36 7416 -20734 P a- -0.9461 1.1182 0.1255 265.5 78.8 -
10 -26 0341 Sep 11 23:04:32 7241 -20511 P a- -0.9051 1.1935 0.2007 271.3 98.3 -
11 -25 0359 Sep 23 07:09:36 7064 -20288 P a- -0.8701 1.2579 0.2649 275.7 111.5 -
12 -24 0377 Oct 03 15:24:57 6887 -20065 P a- -0.8428 1.3080 0.3148 278.8 120.4 -
13 -23 0395 Oct 14 23:48:01 6710 -19842 P a- -0.8213 1.3475 0.3542 281.0 126.6 -
14 -22 0413 Oct 25 08:19:57 6531 -19619 P a- -0.8063 1.3749 0.3819 282.2 130.6 -
15 -21 0431 Nov 05 16:57:27 6353 -19396 P a- -0.7958 1.3940 0.4014 282.8 133.2 -
16 -20 0449 Nov 16 01:40:11 6175 -19173 P a- -0.7890 1.4060 0.4144 283.0 134.8 -
17 -19 0467 Nov 27 10:26:19 5997 -18950 P a- -0.7846 1.4134 0.4230 282.8 135.7 -
18 -18 0485 Dec 07 19:15:13 5820 -18727 P a- -0.7819 1.4174 0.4289 282.4 136.3 -
19 -17 0503 Dec 19 04:03:22 5644 -18504 P a- -0.7784 1.4227 0.4364 282.0 137.0 -
20 -16 0521 Dec 29 12:50:36 5466 -18281 P a- -0.7739 1.4296 0.4460 281.8 138.1 -
21 -15 0540 Jan 09 21:34:15 5291 -18058 P a- -0.7661 1.4423 0.4620 281.9 140.0 -
22 -14 0558 Jan 20 06:14:47 5116 -17835 P a- -0.7554 1.4601 0.4833 282.4 142.5 -
23 -13 0576 Jan 31 14:48:13 4943 -17612 P a- -0.7385 1.4893 0.5163 283.5 146.3 -
24 -12 0594 Feb 10 23:16:48 4771 -17389 P a- -0.7172 1.5263 0.5573 285.1 150.9 -
25 -11 0612 Feb 22 07:37:09 4601 -17166 P a- -0.6888 1.5763 0.6115 287.3 156.5 -
26 -10 0630 Mar 04 15:51:20 4432 -16943 P a- -0.6551 1.6361 0.6754 290.0 162.7 -
27 -09 0648 Mar 14 23:56:21 4264 -16720 P a- -0.6132 1.7109 0.7541 293.2 169.5 -
28 -08 0666 Mar 26 07:55:36 4098 -16497 P a- -0.5664 1.7949 0.8419 296.6 176.4 -
29 -07 0684 Apr 05 15:47:00 3934 -16274 P a- -0.5127 1.8918 0.9422 300.2 183.3 -
30 -06 0702 Apr 16 23:32:06 3772 -16051 T a- -0.4535 1.9989 1.0523 303.7 189.8 33.6
31 -05 0720 Apr 27 07:11:17 3613 -15828 T a- -0.3893 2.1155 1.1714 307.1 195.7 58.7
32 -04 0738 May 08 14:46:04 3455 -15605 T p- -0.3214 2.2390 1.2969 310.1 200.9 74.2
33 -03 0756 May 18 22:17:22 3301 -15382 T- p- -0.2504 2.3687 1.4279 312.7 205.2 85.1
34 -02 0774 May 30 05:44:59 3149 -15159 T- p- -0.1764 2.5041 1.5640 314.8 208.4 92.6
35 -01 0792 Jun 09 13:12:03 3000 -14936 T- pp -0.1020 2.6406 1.7005 316.3 210.6 97.3
36 00 0810 Jun 20 20:38:25 2854 -14713 T- pp -0.0274 2.7779 1.8371 317.1 211.6 99.4
37 01 0828 Jul 01 04:05:59 2712 -14490 T+ pp 0.0461 2.7441 1.8020 317.3 211.6 99.1
38 02 0846 Jul 12 11:35:24 2574 -14267 T+ -p 0.1179 2.6133 1.6693 317.0 210.5 96.5
39 03 0864 Jul 22 19:08:57 2439 -14044 T+ -p 0.1860 2.4897 1.5431 316.1 208.5 91.8
40 04 0882 Aug 03 02:47:08 2308 -13821 T+ -p 0.2497 2.3744 1.4247 314.9 205.7 85.0
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 05 0900 Aug 13 10:30:10 2182 -13598 T -p 0.3091 2.2671 1.3139 313.3 202.4 76.1
42 06 0918 Aug 24 18:19:51 2059 -13375 T -p 0.3626 2.1710 1.2138 311.7 198.7 65.0
43 07 0936 Sep 04 02:16:16 1941 -13152 T -a 0.4102 2.0859 1.1243 310.0 194.8 51.0
44 08 0954 Sep 15 10:20:13 1828 -12929 T -a 0.4511 2.0131 1.0471 308.4 190.9 32.1
45 09 0972 Sep 25 18:30:55 1719 -12706 P -a 0.4860 1.9515 0.9807 307.1 187.3 -
46 10 0990 Oct 07 02:49:28 1614 -12483 P -a 0.5138 1.9028 0.9274 306.1 184.2 -
47 11 1008 Oct 17 11:14:53 1514 -12260 P -a 0.5357 1.8649 0.8849 305.5 181.5 -
48 12 1026 Oct 28 19:46:13 1419 -12037 P -a 0.5522 1.8367 0.8524 305.2 179.5 -
49 13 1044 Nov 08 04:23:18 1328 -11814 P -a 0.5636 1.8178 0.8295 305.3 178.1 -
50 14 1062 Nov 19 13:04:07 1242 -11591 P -a 0.5717 1.8048 0.8129 305.6 177.2 -
51 15 1080 Nov 29 21:48:25 1161 -11368 P -a 0.5763 1.7981 0.8029 306.2 176.7 -
52 16 1098 Dec 11 06:32:29 1084 -11145 P -a 0.5808 1.7911 0.7932 306.8 176.3 -
53 17 1116 Dec 21 15:17:52 1011 -10922 P -a 0.5839 1.7867 0.7865 307.5 176.2 -
54 18 1135 Jan 02 00:00:14 943 -10699 P -a 0.5894 1.7774 0.7755 308.0 175.7 -
55 19 1153 Jan 12 08:39:57 878 -10476 P -a 0.5965 1.7649 0.7619 308.3 175.0 -
56 20 1171 Jan 23 17:13:11 818 -10253 P -a 0.6086 1.7431 0.7392 308.1 173.5 -
57 21 1189 Feb 03 01:41:20 761 -10030 P -a 0.6245 1.7142 0.7098 307.5 171.3 -
58 22 1207 Feb 14 10:01:10 709 -9807 P -a 0.6469 1.6732 0.6685 306.3 167.9 -
59 23 1225 Feb 24 18:12:46 659 -9584 P -a 0.6756 1.6207 0.6159 304.3 163.0 -
60 24 1243 Mar 08 02:14:43 613 -9361 P -a 0.7116 1.5546 0.5498 301.3 156.1 -
61 25 1261 Mar 18 10:07:56 570 -9138 P -a 0.7540 1.4769 0.4720 297.3 146.9 -
62 26 1279 Mar 29 17:50:49 530 -8915 P -a 0.8041 1.3850 0.3799 292.0 134.1 -
63 27 1297 Apr 09 01:24:32 492 -8692 P -a 0.8611 1.2807 0.2751 285.1 116.2 -
64 28 1315 Apr 20 08:49:00 457 -8469 P -a 0.9245 1.1647 0.1583 276.4 90.0 -
65 29 1333 Apr 30 16:06:09 424 -8246 P -a 0.9930 1.0397 0.0322 265.7 41.4 -
66 30 1351 May 11 23:14:20 393 -8023 N -h 1.0676 0.9036 -0.1054 252.2 - -
67 31 1369 May 22 06:17:43 363 -7800 N -h 1.1448 0.7628 -0.2483 236.0 - -
68 32 1387 Jun 02 13:14:54 336 -7577 N -h 1.2257 0.6157 -0.3979 216.1 - -
69 33 1405 Jun 12 20:10:11 310 -7354 N -h 1.3072 0.4678 -0.5489 191.8 - -
70 34 1423 Jun 24 03:00:25 286 -7131 N -h 1.3912 0.3153 -0.7050 160.4 - -
71 35 1441 Jul 04 09:52:12 262 -6908 N -t 1.4727 0.1679 -0.8565 119.2 - -
72 36 1459 Jul 15 16:42:43 240 -6685 Ne -t 1.5537 0.0217 -1.0073 43.6 - -
[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)"
