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 97 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 0443 Mar 31. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 1723 May 20. The total duration of Saros series 97 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0443 Mar 31 15:53:13 TD
Last Eclipse = 1723 May 20 04:51:53 TD
Duration of Saros 97 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 97 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 97 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 24 | 33.3% |
| Partial | P | 21 | 29.2% |
| Total | T | 27 | 37.5% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 97 occur in the order of 7N 9P 27T 12P 17N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
9 Partial
27 Total
12 Partial
17 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 97 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1092 Apr 24 Duration = 01h39m18s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 0731 Sep 20 Duration = 00h34m11s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0713 Sep 09 Duration = 03h09m09s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1416 Nov 05 Duration = 00h09m55s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1434 Nov 16 Duration = 04h13m22s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0443 Mar 31 Duration = 01h24m49s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 97 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0713 Sep 09 Magnitude = 0.9859
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1416 Nov 05 Magnitude = 0.0019
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 97 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 -36 0443 Mar 31 15:53:13 6240 -19255 N a- -1.5144 0.0871 -0.9287 84.8 - -
02 -35 0461 Apr 10 23:11:45 6062 -19032 N a- -1.4503 0.2016 -0.8081 127.1 - -
03 -34 0479 Apr 22 06:26:26 5885 -18809 N a- -1.3821 0.3238 -0.6800 158.5 - -
04 -33 0497 May 02 13:36:41 5709 -18586 N a- -1.3090 0.4552 -0.5432 184.8 - -
05 -32 0515 May 13 20:43:57 5531 -18363 N a- -1.2324 0.5933 -0.4001 207.2 - -
06 -31 0533 May 24 03:49:59 5355 -18140 N a- -1.1538 0.7354 -0.2537 226.5 - -
07 -30 0551 Jun 04 10:56:21 5180 -17917 N a- -1.0744 0.8790 -0.1062 242.9 - -
08 -29 0569 Jun 14 18:03:30 5007 -17694 P a- -0.9946 1.0238 0.0418 257.2 46.2 -
09 -28 0587 Jun 26 01:13:11 4834 -17471 P a- -0.9157 1.1672 0.1879 269.3 95.7 -
10 -27 0605 Jul 06 08:27:08 4663 -17248 P a- -0.8393 1.3064 0.3292 279.4 123.7 -
11 -26 0623 Jul 17 15:46:39 4494 -17025 P a- -0.7668 1.4387 0.4630 287.8 143.3 -
12 -25 0641 Jul 27 23:11:29 4326 -16802 P a- -0.6977 1.5649 0.5901 294.7 158.2 -
13 -24 0659 Aug 08 06:44:20 4159 -16579 P a- -0.6346 1.6806 0.7063 300.2 169.3 -
14 -23 0677 Aug 18 14:24:52 3994 -16356 P a- -0.5771 1.7861 0.8119 304.5 177.9 -
15 -22 0695 Aug 29 22:14:46 3832 -16133 P a- -0.5268 1.8785 0.9040 307.8 184.3 -
16 -21 0713 Sep 09 06:12:00 3671 -15910 P a- -0.4820 1.9610 0.9859 310.4 189.1 -
17 -20 0731 Sep 20 14:19:20 3513 -15687 T a- -0.4453 2.0286 1.0528 312.1 192.6 34.2
18 -19 0749 Sep 30 22:34:35 3357 -15464 T a- -0.4148 2.0851 1.1085 313.4 195.2 48.1
19 -18 0767 Oct 12 06:58:38 3204 -15241 T a- -0.3912 2.1288 1.1514 314.2 196.9 55.9
20 -17 0785 Oct 22 15:29:49 3054 -15018 T p- -0.3732 2.1621 1.1841 314.6 198.0 60.9
21 -16 0803 Nov 03 00:08:20 2907 -14795 T p- -0.3608 2.1850 1.2066 314.7 198.6 63.9
22 -15 0821 Nov 13 08:52:22 2764 -14572 T p- -0.3529 2.1995 1.2211 314.6 198.9 65.7
23 -14 0839 Nov 24 17:39:54 2624 -14349 T p- -0.3476 2.2092 1.2311 314.4 199.1 66.9
24 -13 0857 Dec 05 02:30:48 2488 -14126 T p- -0.3447 2.2140 1.2367 314.0 199.0 67.5
25 -12 0875 Dec 16 11:22:45 2356 -13903 T p- -0.3421 2.2182 1.2420 313.7 199.0 68.0
26 -11 0893 Dec 26 20:14:13 2228 -13680 T p- -0.3391 2.2230 1.2484 313.3 199.1 68.7
27 -10 0912 Jan 07 05:02:56 2104 -13457 T p- -0.3334 2.2324 1.2599 313.1 199.4 70.0
28 -09 0930 Jan 17 13:48:41 1984 -13234 T p- -0.3250 2.2465 1.2764 313.0 199.9 71.8
29 -08 0948 Jan 28 22:29:43 1869 -13011 T p- -0.3123 2.2684 1.3011 313.1 200.8 74.3
30 -07 0966 Feb 08 07:04:04 1758 -12788 T p- -0.2940 2.3006 1.3362 313.4 202.0 77.5
31 -06 0984 Feb 19 15:31:52 1652 -12565 T- p- -0.2700 2.3430 1.3817 313.9 203.4 81.3
32 -05 1002 Mar 01 23:51:54 1550 -12342 T- p- -0.2396 2.3972 1.4390 314.6 205.1 85.4
33 -04 1020 Mar 12 08:04:38 1454 -12119 T- p- -0.2030 2.4628 1.5077 315.4 206.8 89.5
34 -03 1038 Mar 23 16:08:34 1361 -11896 T- p- -0.1590 2.5422 1.5899 316.2 208.6 93.3
35 -02 1056 Apr 03 00:05:48 1273 -11673 T- p- -0.1093 2.6320 1.6822 317.0 210.0 96.5
36 -01 1074 Apr 14 07:55:33 1190 -11450 T- pp -0.0536 2.7331 1.7855 317.5 211.1 98.6
37 00 1092 Apr 24 15:38:18 1112 -11227 T+ pp 0.0080 2.8160 1.8702 317.7 211.6 99.3
38 01 1110 May 05 23:15:37 1037 -11004 T+ pp 0.0740 2.6943 1.7496 317.5 211.2 98.3
39 02 1128 May 16 06:48:04 967 -10781 T+ -p 0.1439 2.5658 1.6217 316.7 209.9 95.0
40 03 1146 May 27 14:17:43 902 -10558 T+ -p 0.2160 2.4334 1.4893 315.2 207.4 89.1
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 1164 Jun 06 21:43:27 840 -10335 T -p 0.2912 2.2957 1.3510 313.1 203.7 79.5
42 05 1182 Jun 18 05:09:25 782 -10112 T -a 0.3657 2.1596 1.2136 310.3 198.7 65.1
43 06 1200 Jun 28 12:34:22 728 -9889 T -a 0.4407 2.0230 1.0751 306.7 192.3 40.3
44 07 1218 Jul 09 20:01:09 677 -9666 P -a 0.5137 1.8903 0.9398 302.6 184.6 -
45 08 1236 Jul 20 03:28:54 630 -9443 P -a 0.5855 1.7602 0.8065 297.7 175.3 -
46 09 1254 Jul 31 11:01:35 585 -9220 P -a 0.6526 1.6390 0.6816 292.6 164.8 -
47 10 1272 Aug 10 18:37:46 544 -8997 P -a 0.7160 1.5249 0.5632 287.0 152.9 -
48 11 1290 Aug 22 02:19:31 505 -8774 P -a 0.7740 1.4207 0.4544 281.4 140.0 -
49 12 1308 Sep 01 10:07:04 469 -8551 P -a 0.8267 1.3266 0.3552 275.9 125.9 -
50 13 1326 Sep 12 18:02:10 435 -8328 P -a 0.8726 1.2451 0.2684 270.7 111.1 -
51 14 1344 Sep 23 02:03:46 404 -8105 P -a 0.9124 1.1748 0.1928 266.0 95.4 -
52 15 1362 Oct 04 10:12:08 374 -7882 P -a 0.9460 1.1158 0.1284 261.9 78.7 -
53 16 1380 Oct 14 18:27:37 346 -7659 P -a 0.9731 1.0688 0.0759 258.6 61.1 -
54 17 1398 Oct 26 02:50:02 319 -7436 P -a 0.9943 1.0325 0.0346 256.1 41.6 -
55 18 1416 Nov 05 11:17:37 294 -7213 P -a 1.0107 1.0048 0.0019 254.3 9.9 -
56 19 1434 Nov 16 19:50:42 271 -6990 N -a 1.0223 0.9858 -0.0216 253.4 - -
57 20 1452 Nov 27 04:26:52 248 -6767 N -a 1.0311 0.9717 -0.0397 252.8 - -
58 21 1470 Dec 08 13:05:59 227 -6544 N -a 1.0369 0.9627 -0.0521 252.8 - -
59 22 1488 Dec 18 21:43:56 207 -6321 N -a 1.0434 0.9523 -0.0655 252.6 - -
60 23 1506 Dec 30 06:22:25 189 -6098 N -a 1.0490 0.9433 -0.0769 252.4 - -
61 24 1525 Jan 09 14:56:50 171 -5875 N -a 1.0577 0.9283 -0.0938 251.7 - -
62 25 1543 Jan 20 23:27:44 155 -5652 N -a 1.0685 0.9092 -0.1143 250.3 - -
63 26 1561 Jan 31 07:51:02 141 -5429 N -a 1.0850 0.8795 -0.1450 247.8 - -
64 27 1579 Feb 11 16:08:35 129 -5206 N -a 1.1054 0.8424 -0.1828 244.2 - -
65 28 1597 Mar 04 00:16:53 120 -4983 N -a 1.1329 0.7921 -0.2335 238.7 - -
66 29 1615 Mar 15 08:16:13 101 -4760 N -a 1.1667 0.7300 -0.2956 231.4 - -
67 30 1633 Mar 25 16:05:28 74 -4537 N -a 1.2080 0.6543 -0.3715 221.4 - -
68 31 1651 Apr 05 23:45:28 47 -4314 N -a 1.2558 0.5668 -0.4593 208.5 - -
69 32 1669 Apr 16 07:15:32 24 -4091 N -h 1.3108 0.4660 -0.5604 191.5 - -
70 33 1687 Apr 27 14:36:00 10 -3868 N -h 1.3727 0.3527 -0.6741 169.0 - -
71 34 1705 May 08 21:47:46 9 -3645 N -h 1.4404 0.2288 -0.7989 138.1 - -
72 35 1723 May 20 04:51:53 10 -3422 Ne -t 1.5130 0.0963 -0.9326 91.0 - -
[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)"
