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 99 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 0555 Mar 24. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 1835 May 12. The total duration of Saros series 99 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0555 Mar 24 03:43:32 TD
Last Eclipse = 1835 May 12 15:28:42 TD
Duration of Saros 99 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 99 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 99 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 31 | 43.1% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.8% |
| Total | T | 26 | 36.1% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 99 occur in the order of 8N 7P 26T 8P 23N which corresponds to:
8 Penumbral
7 Partial
26 Total
8 Partial
23 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 99 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1150 Mar 15 Duration = 01h43m45s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1276 May 29 Duration = 00h31m25s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0807 Aug 21 Duration = 03h27m14s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1420 Aug 23 Duration = 00h45m19s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0681 Jun 07 Duration = 04h44m11s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1835 May 12 Duration = 00h58m47s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 99 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0807 Aug 21 Magnitude = 0.9535
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1420 Aug 23 Magnitude = 0.0404
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 99 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 -33 0555 Mar 24 03:43:32 5144 -17870 Nb t- -1.5487 0.0532 -1.0202 71.0 - -
02 -32 0573 Apr 03 10:40:47 4970 -17647 N t- -1.4914 0.1577 -0.9143 121.3 - -
03 -31 0591 Apr 14 17:27:28 4798 -17424 N t- -1.4258 0.2773 -0.7934 159.3 - -
04 -30 0609 Apr 25 00:08:34 4627 -17201 N t- -1.3555 0.4058 -0.6637 190.7 - -
05 -29 0627 May 06 06:40:15 4458 -16978 N t- -1.2776 0.5484 -0.5204 218.9 - -
06 -28 0645 May 16 13:09:28 4290 -16755 N t- -1.1974 0.6953 -0.3730 243.2 - -
07 -27 0663 May 27 19:32:50 4124 -16532 N t- -1.1126 0.8508 -0.2174 265.1 - -
08 -26 0681 Jun 07 01:55:18 3960 -16309 Nx t- -1.0266 1.0086 -0.0597 284.2 - -
09 -25 0699 Jun 18 08:15:36 3798 -16086 P t- -0.9385 1.1707 0.1016 301.1 77.8 -
10 -24 0717 Jun 28 14:38:36 3637 -15863 P t- -0.8523 1.3293 0.2593 315.4 121.5 -
11 -23 0735 Jul 09 21:03:32 3480 -15640 P t- -0.7675 1.4856 0.4143 327.7 150.0 -
12 -22 0753 Jul 20 03:32:38 3325 -15417 P t- -0.6857 1.6365 0.5635 337.9 170.8 -
13 -21 0771 Jul 31 10:07:28 3172 -15194 P t- -0.6085 1.7792 0.7043 346.3 186.4 -
14 -20 0789 Aug 10 16:49:37 3023 -14971 P t- -0.5370 1.9114 0.8344 353.0 198.3 -
15 -19 0807 Aug 21 23:39:45 2877 -14748 P t- -0.4715 2.0328 0.9535 358.2 207.2 -
16 -18 0825 Sep 01 06:38:15 2734 -14525 T t- -0.4126 2.1421 1.0605 362.3 213.9 40.0
17 -17 0843 Sep 12 13:47:07 2595 -14302 T t- -0.3617 2.2366 1.1527 365.2 218.8 61.5
18 -16 0861 Sep 22 21:05:29 2460 -14079 T t- -0.3183 2.3173 1.2312 367.3 222.2 73.5
19 -15 0879 Oct 04 04:33:34 2328 -13856 T p- -0.2823 2.3843 1.2963 368.8 224.6 81.1
20 -14 0897 Oct 14 12:11:10 2201 -13633 T- p- -0.2536 2.4378 1.3482 369.6 226.1 86.1
21 -13 0915 Oct 25 19:58:25 2078 -13410 T- p- -0.2320 2.4781 1.3874 370.0 227.0 89.2
22 -12 0933 Nov 05 03:53:12 1959 -13187 T- p- -0.2162 2.5072 1.4160 369.9 227.5 91.2
23 -11 0951 Nov 16 11:53:47 1845 -12964 T- p- -0.2046 2.5286 1.4374 369.7 227.7 92.6
24 -10 0969 Nov 26 19:59:45 1735 -12741 T- p- -0.1968 2.5426 1.4521 369.1 227.7 93.4
25 -09 0987 Dec 08 04:09:24 1630 -12518 T- p- -0.1911 2.5523 1.4632 368.4 227.6 93.9
26 -08 1005 Dec 18 12:19:45 1530 -12295 T- p- -0.1856 2.5612 1.4745 367.6 227.4 94.5
27 -07 1023 Dec 29 20:30:03 1434 -12072 T- p- -0.1793 2.5712 1.4873 366.6 227.3 95.1
28 -06 1042 Jan 09 04:38:02 1342 -11849 T- p- -0.1706 2.5853 1.5053 365.6 227.3 95.9
29 -05 1060 Jan 20 12:43:26 1256 -11626 T- pp -0.1590 2.6044 1.5287 364.5 227.3 97.0
30 -04 1078 Jan 30 20:42:20 1173 -11403 T- pp -0.1414 2.6342 1.5635 363.4 227.6 98.5
31 -03 1096 Feb 11 04:36:49 1096 -11180 T- pp -0.1193 2.6720 1.6068 362.3 227.8 100.1
32 -02 1114 Feb 21 12:23:23 1022 -10957 T- pp -0.0900 2.7228 1.6635 361.1 228.1 101.7
33 -01 1132 Mar 03 20:03:48 953 -10734 T- pp -0.0547 2.7844 1.7312 359.8 228.2 103.0
34 00 1150 Mar 15 03:35:35 888 -10511 T- pp -0.0115 2.8605 1.8136 358.2 228.1 103.8
35 01 1168 Mar 25 11:01:50 827 -10288 T+ pp 0.0372 2.8101 1.7695 356.3 227.4 103.4
36 02 1186 Apr 05 18:20:26 770 -10065 T+ pp 0.0932 2.7041 1.6699 354.0 226.1 101.6
37 03 1204 Apr 16 01:33:07 717 -9842 T+ pp 0.1551 2.5875 1.5593 351.1 223.8 97.6
38 04 1222 Apr 27 08:40:32 667 -9619 T+ pp 0.2221 2.4617 1.4394 347.5 220.4 90.8
39 05 1240 May 07 15:44:15 620 -9396 T -p 0.2929 2.3290 1.3122 343.0 215.6 80.2
40 06 1258 May 18 22:45:17 576 -9173 T -p 0.3669 2.1906 1.1788 337.8 209.4 63.4
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 07 1276 May 29 05:44:05 536 -8950 T -t 0.4435 2.0477 1.0405 331.5 201.4 31.4
42 08 1294 Jun 09 12:43:31 498 -8727 P -t 0.5205 1.9045 0.9014 324.4 191.6 -
43 09 1312 Jun 19 19:43:46 462 -8504 P -t 0.5971 1.7620 0.7624 316.4 179.9 -
44 10 1330 Jul 01 02:46:07 429 -8281 P -t 0.6729 1.6215 0.6250 307.6 166.1 -
45 11 1348 Jul 11 09:52:30 397 -8058 P -h 0.7460 1.4861 0.4919 298.1 150.0 -
46 12 1366 Jul 22 17:04:01 368 -7835 P -h 0.8156 1.3574 0.3652 288.1 131.3 -
47 13 1384 Aug 02 00:22:35 340 -7612 P -a 0.8800 1.2387 0.2478 277.9 109.7 -
48 14 1402 Aug 13 07:47:03 314 -7389 P -a 0.9402 1.1276 0.1376 267.5 82.8 -
49 15 1420 Aug 23 15:21:06 289 -7166 P -a 0.9934 1.0299 0.0404 257.5 45.3 -
50 16 1438 Sep 03 23:02:41 266 -6943 N -a 1.0411 0.9422 -0.0470 247.9 - -
51 17 1456 Sep 14 06:54:33 244 -6720 N -a 1.0812 0.8686 -0.1207 239.1 - -
52 18 1474 Sep 25 14:54:00 223 -6497 N -a 1.1158 0.8051 -0.1843 231.1 - -
53 19 1492 Oct 05 23:04:19 203 -6274 N -a 1.1424 0.7565 -0.2332 224.5 - -
54 20 1510 Oct 17 07:22:00 185 -6051 N -a 1.1637 0.7175 -0.2724 219.0 - -
55 21 1528 Oct 27 15:48:36 168 -5828 N -a 1.1786 0.6902 -0.2998 214.8 - -
56 22 1546 Nov 08 00:21:33 152 -5605 N -a 1.1891 0.6709 -0.3188 211.7 - -
57 23 1564 Nov 18 09:01:33 139 -5382 N -a 1.1947 0.6604 -0.3288 209.8 - -
58 24 1582 Dec 09 17:45:08 127 -5159 N -a 1.1977 0.6544 -0.3340 208.5 - -
59 25 1600 Dec 20 02:31:54 117 -4936 N -a 1.1989 0.6515 -0.3356 207.6 - -
60 26 1618 Dec 31 11:19:57 95 -4713 N -a 1.1997 0.6492 -0.3361 206.8 - -
61 27 1637 Jan 10 20:08:48 68 -4490 N -a 1.2007 0.6462 -0.3369 205.9 - -
62 28 1655 Jan 22 04:54:43 42 -4267 N -a 1.2045 0.6379 -0.3425 204.3 - -
63 29 1673 Feb 01 13:38:12 20 -4044 N -a 1.2108 0.6248 -0.3525 202.0 - -
64 30 1691 Feb 12 22:16:33 9 -3821 N -a 1.2219 0.6027 -0.3712 198.4 - -
65 31 1709 Feb 24 06:50:38 9 -3598 N -a 1.2369 0.5733 -0.3970 193.7 - -
66 32 1727 Mar 07 15:16:35 10 -3375 N -a 1.2592 0.5304 -0.4359 186.7 - -
67 33 1745 Mar 17 23:37:12 12 -3152 N -a 1.2862 0.4789 -0.4836 177.9 - -
68 34 1763 Mar 29 07:49:13 15 -2929 N -a 1.3206 0.4140 -0.5447 166.2 - -
69 35 1781 Apr 08 15:55:06 17 -2706 N -a 1.3602 0.3394 -0.6156 151.3 - -
70 36 1799 Apr 19 23:52:13 14 -2483 N -a 1.4072 0.2513 -0.7003 131.1 - -
71 37 1817 May 01 07:44:01 12 -2260 N -a 1.4587 0.1554 -0.7931 103.9 - -
72 38 1835 May 12 15:28:42 6 -2037 Ne -a 1.5160 0.0489 -0.8969 58.8 - -
[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)"
