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 104 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 0483 Aug 04. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 1763 Sep 22. The total duration of Saros series 104 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0483 Aug 04 10:31:02 TD
Last Eclipse = 1763 Sep 22 05:02:59 TD
Duration of Saros 104 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 104 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 104 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 30 | 41.7% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 22.2% |
| Total | T | 26 | 36.1% |
The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 104 occur in the order of 22N 9P 26T 7P 8N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
9 Partial
26 Total
7 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 104 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1168 Sep 19 Duration = 01h42m34s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1042 Jul 05 Duration = 00h48m32s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1511 Apr 13 Duration = 03h27m30s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0880 Mar 30 Duration = 00h20m21s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1637 Jul 07 Duration = 04h43m55s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 0483 Aug 04 Duration = 01h21m17s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 104 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1511 Apr 13 Magnitude = 0.9828
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 0880 Mar 30 Magnitude = 0.0084
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 104 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 -38 0483 Aug 04 10:31:02 5843 -18756 N a- 1.4920 0.0940 -0.8541 81.3 - -
02 -37 0501 Aug 14 18:18:54 5667 -18533 N a- 1.4366 0.1966 -0.7533 116.4 - -
03 -36 0519 Aug 26 02:14:07 5489 -18310 N a- 1.3870 0.2888 -0.6634 139.9 - -
04 -35 0537 Sep 05 10:16:09 5314 -18087 N a- 1.3429 0.3710 -0.5836 157.4 - -
05 -34 0555 Sep 16 18:26:52 5139 -17864 N a- 1.3058 0.4403 -0.5171 170.4 - -
06 -33 0573 Sep 27 02:44:59 4966 -17641 N a- 1.2751 0.4981 -0.4621 180.3 - -
07 -32 0591 Oct 08 11:11:50 4794 -17418 N a- 1.2514 0.5431 -0.4200 187.6 - -
08 -31 0609 Oct 18 19:44:15 4623 -17195 N a- 1.2323 0.5795 -0.3863 193.2 - -
09 -30 0627 Oct 30 04:24:39 4454 -16972 N a- 1.2200 0.6034 -0.3649 196.9 - -
10 -29 0645 Nov 09 13:09:24 4286 -16749 N a- 1.2114 0.6203 -0.3503 199.5 - -
11 -28 0663 Nov 20 21:59:12 4120 -16526 N a- 1.2073 0.6287 -0.3437 200.9 - -
12 -27 0681 Dec 01 06:50:31 3956 -16303 N a- 1.2047 0.6342 -0.3397 201.9 - -
13 -26 0699 Dec 12 15:43:47 3793 -16080 N a- 1.2041 0.6358 -0.3391 202.3 - -
14 -25 0717 Dec 23 00:35:34 3633 -15857 N a- 1.2028 0.6385 -0.3370 202.9 - -
15 -24 0736 Jan 03 09:25:09 3476 -15634 N a- 1.2004 0.6431 -0.3326 203.8 - -
16 -23 0754 Jan 13 18:10:39 3321 -15411 N a- 1.1951 0.6526 -0.3229 205.4 - -
17 -22 0772 Jan 25 02:51:28 3168 -15188 N a- 1.1870 0.6673 -0.3076 207.6 - -
18 -21 0790 Feb 04 11:24:47 3019 -14965 N a- 1.1732 0.6922 -0.2819 211.3 - -
19 -20 0808 Feb 15 19:51:09 2873 -14742 N a- 1.1543 0.7264 -0.2468 216.0 - -
20 -19 0826 Feb 26 04:08:47 2730 -14519 N a- 1.1290 0.7722 -0.1999 222.1 - -
21 -18 0844 Mar 08 12:19:11 2591 -14296 N a- 1.0985 0.8278 -0.1435 229.0 - -
22 -17 0862 Mar 19 20:18:53 2456 -14073 N a- 1.0598 0.8983 -0.0721 237.4 - -
23 -16 0880 Mar 30 04:11:45 2325 -13850 P a- 1.0161 0.9784 0.0084 246.2 20.4 -
24 -15 0898 Apr 10 11:55:02 2198 -13627 P a- 0.9647 1.0725 0.1027 255.8 70.4 -
25 -14 0916 Apr 20 19:32:10 2075 -13404 P a- 0.9090 1.1749 0.2049 265.4 98.2 -
26 -13 0934 May 02 03:00:10 1956 -13181 P a- 0.8463 1.2903 0.3196 275.4 121.0 -
27 -12 0952 May 12 10:23:59 1842 -12958 P a- 0.7807 1.4113 0.4394 284.9 139.8 -
28 -11 0970 May 23 17:41:28 1733 -12735 P a- 0.7102 1.5416 0.5678 294.2 156.2 -
29 -10 0988 Jun 03 00:55:42 1627 -12512 P a- 0.6377 1.6757 0.6996 302.9 170.3 -
30 -09 1006 Jun 14 08:06:25 1527 -12289 P a- 0.5629 1.8145 0.8354 310.9 182.4 -
31 -08 1024 Jun 24 15:16:44 1431 -12066 P a- 0.4885 1.9528 0.9702 318.1 192.6 -
32 -07 1042 Jul 05 22:26:38 1340 -11843 T a- 0.4145 2.0908 1.1039 324.4 201.0 48.5
33 -06 1060 Jul 16 05:37:00 1253 -11620 T p- 0.3417 2.2267 1.2352 330.0 207.8 70.2
34 -05 1078 Jul 27 12:50:23 1171 -11397 T+ p- 0.2721 2.3570 1.3602 334.7 213.2 83.3
35 -04 1096 Aug 06 20:07:07 1094 -11174 T+ pp 0.2060 2.4812 1.4788 338.6 217.2 91.9
36 -03 1114 Aug 18 03:29:04 1020 -10951 T+ pp 0.1451 2.5959 1.5875 341.9 220.1 97.3
37 -02 1132 Aug 28 10:55:54 951 -10728 T+ pp 0.0890 2.7019 1.6873 344.6 222.1 100.6
38 -01 1150 Sep 08 18:30:27 887 -10505 T+ pp 0.0401 2.7950 1.7740 346.9 223.3 102.1
39 00 1168 Sep 19 02:11:28 826 -10282 T- pp -0.0028 2.8668 1.8393 348.8 224.0 102.6
40 01 1186 Sep 30 09:59:19 769 -10059 T- pp -0.0392 2.8031 1.7692 350.5 224.4 102.2
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 02 1204 Oct 10 17:54:16 715 -9836 T- pp -0.0691 2.7514 1.7113 352.0 224.5 101.4
42 03 1222 Oct 22 01:56:29 665 -9613 T- pp -0.0919 2.7126 1.6665 353.4 224.6 100.5
43 04 1240 Nov 01 10:04:27 619 -9390 T- pp -0.1096 2.6829 1.6314 354.8 224.7 99.6
44 05 1258 Nov 12 18:16:59 575 -9167 T- -p -0.1227 2.6615 1.6049 356.2 224.8 98.9
45 06 1276 Nov 23 02:33:30 535 -8944 T- -p -0.1316 2.6473 1.5863 357.5 225.0 98.3
46 07 1294 Dec 04 10:52:56 497 -8721 T- -p -0.1372 2.6389 1.5741 358.8 225.3 98.0
47 08 1312 Dec 14 19:11:58 461 -8498 T- -p -0.1424 2.6309 1.5630 360.0 225.7 97.7
48 09 1330 Dec 26 03:30:41 428 -8275 T- -p -0.1471 2.6236 1.5532 361.1 226.0 97.5
49 10 1349 Jan 05 11:45:40 397 -8052 T- -p -0.1541 2.6116 1.5395 362.1 226.3 97.1
50 11 1367 Jan 16 19:57:34 367 -7829 T- -p -0.1629 2.5959 1.5227 362.9 226.5 96.5
51 12 1385 Jan 27 04:01:25 339 -7606 T- -p -0.1775 2.5694 1.4957 363.5 226.5 95.3
52 13 1403 Feb 07 12:00:03 313 -7383 T- -p -0.1958 2.5359 1.4622 363.8 226.2 93.6
53 14 1421 Feb 17 19:48:27 289 -7160 T- -p -0.2216 2.4882 1.4150 363.8 225.4 90.6
54 15 1439 Mar 01 03:28:54 265 -6937 T- -p -0.2536 2.4292 1.3568 363.4 224.1 86.2
55 16 1457 Mar 11 10:57:52 243 -6714 T -p -0.2944 2.3538 1.2823 362.4 221.9 79.1
56 17 1475 Mar 22 18:18:39 222 -6491 T -t -0.3413 2.2673 1.1969 360.8 218.7 68.2
57 18 1493 Apr 02 01:28:34 203 -6268 T -t -0.3964 2.1656 1.0963 358.3 214.0 49.5
58 19 1511 Apr 13 08:29:06 184 -6045 P -t -0.4585 2.0510 0.9828 354.7 207.5 -
59 20 1529 Apr 23 15:20:28 167 -5822 P -t -0.5277 1.9238 0.8563 349.9 198.6 -
60 21 1547 May 04 22:04:32 152 -5599 P -t -0.6022 1.7866 0.7198 343.7 186.8 -
61 22 1565 May 15 04:41:16 138 -5376 P -t -0.6820 1.6400 0.5736 335.7 171.1 -
62 23 1583 Jun 05 11:12:22 127 -5153 P -t -0.7655 1.4867 0.4203 325.9 150.3 -
63 24 1601 Jun 15 17:39:34 117 -4930 P -t -0.8517 1.3287 0.2621 314.1 121.7 -
64 25 1619 Jun 27 00:04:48 95 -4707 P -t -0.9389 1.1690 0.1017 300.2 77.7 -
65 26 1637 Jul 07 06:28:09 68 -4484 Nx -t -1.0270 1.0079 -0.0604 283.9 - -
66 27 1655 Jul 18 12:53:09 41 -4261 N -t -1.1131 0.8506 -0.2192 265.4 - -
67 28 1673 Jul 28 19:20:13 20 -4038 N -t -1.1971 0.6975 -0.3740 244.2 - -
68 29 1691 Aug 09 01:52:19 9 -3815 N -t -1.2766 0.5526 -0.5210 220.6 - -
69 30 1709 Aug 20 08:27:54 9 -3592 N -t -1.3529 0.4137 -0.6622 193.5 - -
70 31 1727 Aug 31 15:12:00 10 -3369 N -t -1.4223 0.2878 -0.7907 163.4 - -
71 32 1745 Sep 10 22:02:28 12 -3146 N -t -1.4863 0.1716 -0.9095 127.5 - -
72 33 1763 Sep 22 05:02:59 15 -2923 N -t -1.5421 0.0706 -1.0131 82.5 - -
[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)"
