Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 125

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 125 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 1163 Jul 17. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2443 Sep 09. The total duration of Saros series 125 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  1163 Jul 17   11:51:17 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  2443 Sep 09   19:02:39 TD

                      Duration of Saros 125  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 125 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 125
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PenumbralN 24 33.3%
PartialP 22 30.6%
TotalT 26 36.1%

The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 125 occur in the order of 17N 13P 26T 9P 7N which corresponds to:

                                    17  Penumbral
                                    13  Partial
                                    26  Total
                                     9  Partial
                                     7  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 125 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    1812 Aug 22      Duration = 01h40m23s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2155 Mar 19      Duration = 00h35m29s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2173 Mar 29      Duration = 03h19m51s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1470 Jan 17      Duration = 00h11m52s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2335 Jul 07      Duration = 04h23m50s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2443 Sep 09      Duration = 00h51m40s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 125 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2173 Mar 29      Magnitude = 0.9839
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    1470 Jan 17      Magnitude = 0.0030

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 125 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 125

                          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   1163 Jul 17  11:51:17    843 -10346   Nb  a-  -1.5011  0.0863 -0.8798   80.1    -      -  
 02  -35   1181 Jul 27  19:19:16    785 -10123   N   a-  -1.4322  0.2124 -0.7529  123.8    -      -  
 03  -34   1199 Aug 08  02:52:18    730  -9900   N   a-  -1.3665  0.3327 -0.6322  152.8    -      -  
 04  -33   1217 Aug 18  10:33:44    679  -9677   N   a-  -1.3072  0.4417 -0.5234  173.9    -      -  
 05  -32   1235 Aug 29  18:21:53    632  -9454   N   a-  -1.2528  0.5419 -0.4237  190.3    -      -  
 06  -31   1253 Sep 09  02:19:22    587  -9231   N   a-  -1.2055  0.6290 -0.3374  202.9    -      -  
 07  -30   1271 Sep 20  10:24:01    546  -9008   N   a-  -1.1637  0.7062 -0.2613  213.0    -      -  
 08  -29   1289 Sep 30  18:38:31    507  -8785   N   a-  -1.1299  0.7689 -0.1998  220.5    -      -  
 09  -28   1307 Oct 12  03:00:20    471  -8562   N   a-  -1.1017  0.8211 -0.1488  226.4    -      -  
 10  -27   1325 Oct 22  11:30:16    437  -8339   N   a-  -1.0801  0.8613 -0.1097  230.6    -      -  

 11  -26   1343 Nov 02  20:06:56    405  -8116   N   a-  -1.0639  0.8917 -0.0804  233.7    -      -  
 12  -25   1361 Nov 13  04:49:55    375  -7893   N   a-  -1.0525  0.9129 -0.0598  235.7    -      -  
 13  -24   1379 Nov 24  13:37:20    347  -7670   N   a-  -1.0449  0.9270 -0.0461  236.9    -      -  
 14  -23   1397 Dec 04  22:27:28    321  -7447   N   a-  -1.0394  0.9371 -0.0359  237.8    -      -  
 15  -22   1415 Dec 16  07:19:54    296  -7224   N   a-  -1.0357  0.9437 -0.0290  238.2    -      -  
 16  -21   1433 Dec 26  16:12:40    272  -7001   N   a-  -1.0319  0.9502 -0.0215  238.7    -      -  
 17  -20   1452 Jan 07  01:03:46    249  -6778   N   a-  -1.0269  0.9588 -0.0117  239.4    -      -  
 18  -19   1470 Jan 17  09:51:49    228  -6555   P   a-  -1.0194  0.9718  0.0030  240.5   11.9    -  
 19  -18   1488 Jan 28  18:35:29    208  -6332   P   a-  -1.0083  0.9911  0.0243  242.2   33.8    -  
 20  -17   1506 Feb 08  03:14:07    189  -6109   P   a-  -0.9931  1.0177  0.0532  244.6   49.8    -  

 21  -16   1524 Feb 19  11:45:16    172  -5886   P   a-  -0.9719  1.0554  0.0933  248.0   65.6    -  
 22  -15   1542 Mar 01  20:10:00    156  -5663   P   a-  -0.9455  1.1026  0.1430  252.1   80.7    -  
 23  -14   1560 Mar 12  04:26:27    142  -5440   P   a-  -0.9127  1.1617  0.2045  257.1   95.8    -  
 24  -13   1578 Mar 23  12:35:23    130  -5217   P   a-  -0.8738  1.2318  0.2770  262.7  110.4    -  
 25  -12   1596 Apr 12  20:35:30    120  -4994   P   a-  -0.8278  1.3151  0.3623  268.9  124.8    -  
 26  -11   1614 Apr 24  04:28:48    102  -4771   P   a-  -0.7766  1.4083  0.4573  275.4  138.3    -  
 27  -10   1632 May 04  12:15:05     76  -4548   P   a-  -0.7196  1.5122  0.5625  282.1  151.1    -  
 28  -09   1650 May 15  19:54:19     48  -4325   P   a-  -0.6570  1.6265  0.6778  288.8  163.1    -  
 29  -08   1668 May 26  03:28:47     25  -4102   P   a-  -0.5909  1.7477  0.7993  295.2  173.8    -  
 30  -07   1686 Jun 06  10:58:28     10  -3879   P   a-  -0.5211  1.8759  0.9273  301.3  183.4    -  

 31  -06   1704 Jun 17  18:25:46      9  -3656   T   a-  -0.4494  2.0078  1.0583  306.8  191.7   35.7
 32  -05   1722 Jun 29  01:49:16     10  -3433   T   p-  -0.3750  2.1452  1.1942  311.8  198.8   62.7
 33  -04   1740 Jul 09  09:13:16     12  -3210   T   p-  -0.3014  2.2813  1.3281  316.1  204.5   78.0
 34  -03   1758 Jul 20  16:36:44     14  -2987   T-  p-  -0.2279  2.4175  1.4615  319.7  208.9   88.3
 35  -02   1776 Jul 31  00:02:02     17  -2764   T-  pp  -0.1566  2.5500  1.5907  322.7  212.2   94.9
 36  -01   1794 Aug 11  07:29:21     15  -2541   T-  pp  -0.0874  2.6790  1.7157  324.9  214.3   98.8
 37   00   1812 Aug 22  15:01:22     12  -2318   T-  pp  -0.0228  2.7998  1.8320  326.7  215.4  100.4
 38   01   1830 Sep 02  22:37:55      7  -2095   T+  pp   0.0371  2.7760  1.8034  327.9  215.7  100.2
 39   02   1848 Sep 13  06:19:25      7  -1872   T+  pp   0.0922  2.6776  1.6997  328.8  215.4   98.6
 40   03   1866 Sep 24  14:07:14      4  -1649   T+  -p   0.1412  2.5904  1.6071  329.4  214.6   96.0


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 125

                          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   1884 Oct 04  22:01:55     -6  -1426   T+  -p   0.1839  2.5151  1.5260  329.9  213.5   92.6
 42   05   1902 Oct 17  06:03:26      1  -1203   T+  -p   0.2201  2.4514  1.4566  330.4  212.3   88.8
 43   06   1920 Oct 27  14:11:38     22   -980   T+  -p   0.2502  2.3992  1.3987  330.9  211.1   85.0
 44   07   1938 Nov 07  22:26:42     24   -757   T   -p   0.2738  2.3585  1.3525  331.5  210.2   81.4
 45   08   1956 Nov 18  06:48:16     32   -534   T   -p   0.2917  2.3285  1.3172  332.2  209.5   78.4
 46   09   1974 Nov 29  15:14:07     45   -311   T   -p   0.3054  2.3057  1.2896  333.1  208.9   75.7
 47   10   1992 Dec 09  23:45:05     59    -88   T   -p   0.3144  2.2915  1.2709  334.1  208.7   73.9
 48   11   2010 Dec 21  08:18:04     67    135   T   -p   0.3214  2.2807  1.2561  335.1  208.7   72.3
 49   12   2028 Dec 31  16:53:15     77    358   T   -p   0.3258  2.2742  1.2463  336.2  208.8   71.3
 50   13   2047 Jan 12  01:26:14     90    581   T   -p   0.3317  2.2649  1.2341  337.2  208.9   70.0

 51   14   2065 Jan 22  09:58:58    124    804   T   -p   0.3371  2.2561  1.2231  338.2  209.0   68.8
 52   15   2083 Feb 02  18:26:46    164   1027   T   -p   0.3463  2.2400  1.2052  338.9  208.8   66.5
 53   16   2101 Feb 14  02:50:00    205   1250   T   -a   0.3584  2.2184  1.1825  339.4  208.4   63.4
 54   17   2119 Feb 25  11:05:13    249   1473   T   -a   0.3765  2.1857  1.1490  339.5  207.4   58.1
 55   18   2137 Mar 07  19:13:43    294   1696   T   -a   0.3992  2.1441  1.1069  339.3  205.8   50.0
 56   19   2155 Mar 19  03:12:45    339   1919   T   -a   0.4293  2.0892  1.0517  338.5  203.4   35.5
 57   20   2173 Mar 29  11:02:23    379   2142   P   -a   0.4662  2.0215  0.9839  337.1  199.9    -  
 58   21   2191 Apr 09  18:42:01    420   2365   P   -a   0.5107  1.9399  0.9022  334.9  194.9    -  
 59   22   2209 Apr 21  02:12:20    464   2588   P   -h   0.5617  1.8464  0.8086  331.7  188.1    -  
 60   23   2227 May 02  09:32:27    510   2811   P   -t   0.6204  1.7388  0.7008  327.3  179.0    -  

 61   24   2245 May 12  16:43:42    558   3034   P   -t   0.6856  1.6194  0.5809  321.6  166.7    -  
 62   25   2263 May 23  23:46:25    608   3257   P   -t   0.7568  1.4891  0.4499  314.2  150.2    -  
 63   26   2281 Jun 03  06:42:43    660   3480   P   -t   0.8322  1.3513  0.3110  305.1  127.9    -  
 64   27   2299 Jun 14  13:31:01    714   3703   P   -t   0.9131  1.2036  0.1618  293.7   94.6    -  
 65   28   2317 Jun 25  20:15:57    770   3926   P   -t   0.9955  1.0533  0.0097  280.2   23.7    -  
 66   29   2335 Jul 07  02:55:54    829   4149   N   -t   1.0806  0.8983 -0.1476  263.8    -      -  
 67   30   2353 Jul 17  09:35:20    889   4372   N   -t   1.1652  0.7444 -0.3043  244.7    -      -  
 68   31   2371 Jul 28  16:11:29    951   4595   N   -t   1.2511  0.5884 -0.4635  221.7    -      -  
 69   32   2389 Aug 07  22:50:34   1016   4818   N   -t   1.3334  0.4392 -0.6162  194.9    -      -  
 70   33   2407 Aug 19  05:30:19   1082   5041   N   -t   1.4137  0.2939 -0.7656  162.1    -      -  

 71   34   2425 Aug 29  12:14:31   1151   5264   N   -t   1.4893  0.1572 -0.9064  120.4    -      -  
 72   35   2443 Sep 09  19:02:39   1222   5487   Ne  -t   1.5609  0.0281 -1.0399   51.7    -      -  


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)"


Return to: Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Return to: Five Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses

2009 Sep 29