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 128 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 1304 Jun 18. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2566 Aug 02. The total duration of Saros series 128 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1304 Jun 18 09:25:47 TD
Last Eclipse = 2566 Aug 02 09:35:06 TD
Duration of Saros 128 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 128 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 128 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 14 | 19.7% |
| Partial | P | 42 | 59.2% |
| Total | T | 15 | 21.1% |
The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 128 occur in the order of 7N 23P 15T 19P 7N which corresponds to:
7 Penumbral
23 Partial
15 Total
19 Partial
7 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 128 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 1953 Jul 26 Duration = 01h40m43s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2097 Oct 21 Duration = 00h15m13s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2115 Nov 02 Duration = 03h11m56s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1430 Sep 02 Duration = 00h06m15s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2458 May 28 Duration = 04h35m11s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1304 Jun 18 Duration = 01h28m31s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 128 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1827 May 11 Magnitude = 0.9801
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1430 Sep 02 Magnitude = 0.0008
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 128 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 1304 Jun 18 09:25:47 477 -8603 Nb a- 1.4896 0.1061 -0.8572 88.5 - -
02 -35 1322 Jun 29 16:45:29 443 -8380 N a- 1.4140 0.2438 -0.7173 132.1 - -
03 -34 1340 Jul 10 00:06:41 411 -8157 N a- 1.3388 0.3810 -0.5785 162.6 - -
04 -33 1358 Jul 21 07:33:39 381 -7934 N a- 1.2675 0.5113 -0.4473 185.5 - -
05 -32 1376 Jul 31 15:04:49 352 -7711 N a- 1.1989 0.6370 -0.3213 204.0 - -
06 -31 1394 Aug 11 22:42:10 325 -7488 N a- 1.1347 0.7549 -0.2035 219.0 - -
07 -30 1412 Aug 22 06:26:36 300 -7265 N a- 1.0758 0.8633 -0.0957 231.2 - -
08 -29 1430 Sep 02 14:18:56 276 -7042 P a- 1.0229 0.9608 0.0008 241.1 6.3 -
09 -28 1448 Sep 12 22:19:32 253 -6819 P a- 0.9764 1.0468 0.0854 249.0 63.3 -
10 -27 1466 Sep 24 06:28:03 232 -6596 P a- 0.9362 1.1213 0.1585 255.4 85.3 -
11 -26 1484 Oct 04 14:45:35 212 -6373 P a- 0.9031 1.1830 0.2185 260.3 99.2 -
12 -25 1502 Oct 15 23:10:40 193 -6150 P a- 0.8759 1.2336 0.2675 264.1 108.8 -
13 -24 1520 Oct 26 07:43:02 175 -5927 P a- 0.8549 1.2729 0.3053 266.9 115.5 -
14 -23 1538 Nov 06 16:22:02 159 -5704 P a- 0.8392 1.3024 0.3334 268.9 120.1 -
15 -22 1556 Nov 17 01:06:54 145 -5481 P a- 0.8286 1.3224 0.3523 270.2 123.0 -
16 -21 1574 Nov 28 09:55:43 132 -5258 P a- 0.8213 1.3363 0.3655 271.1 125.0 -
17 -20 1592 Dec 18 18:46:58 122 -5035 P a- 0.8160 1.3460 0.3749 271.7 126.4 -
18 -19 1610 Dec 30 03:39:54 106 -4812 P a- 0.8124 1.3526 0.3817 272.1 127.3 -
19 -18 1629 Jan 09 12:32:47 81 -4589 P a- 0.8092 1.3582 0.3877 272.4 128.2 -
20 -17 1647 Jan 20 21:23:09 53 -4366 P a- 0.8039 1.3674 0.3979 273.0 129.7 -
21 -16 1665 Jan 31 06:10:20 29 -4143 P a- 0.7963 1.3807 0.4124 273.9 131.8 -
22 -15 1683 Feb 11 14:52:35 12 -3920 P a- 0.7848 1.4011 0.4345 275.2 134.9 -
23 -14 1701 Feb 22 23:29:56 8 -3697 P a- 0.7695 1.4283 0.4634 277.0 138.8 -
24 -13 1719 Mar 06 07:59:13 10 -3474 P a- 0.7478 1.4671 0.5043 279.5 143.9 -
25 -12 1737 Mar 16 16:22:12 11 -3251 P a- 0.7211 1.5151 0.5542 282.5 149.9 -
26 -11 1755 Mar 28 00:36:25 14 -3028 P a- 0.6871 1.5764 0.6176 286.2 156.8 -
27 -10 1773 Apr 07 08:43:30 16 -2805 P a- 0.6476 1.6479 0.6909 290.2 164.1 -
28 -09 1791 Apr 18 16:41:28 16 -2582 P a- 0.6008 1.7331 0.7776 294.7 171.8 -
29 -08 1809 Apr 30 00:33:02 12 -2359 P a- 0.5490 1.8275 0.8733 299.3 179.4 -
30 -07 1827 May 11 08:16:57 9 -2136 P a- 0.4910 1.9336 0.9801 304.0 186.8 -
31 -06 1845 May 21 15:54:30 6 -1913 T a- 0.4281 2.0488 1.0957 308.6 193.7 45.3
32 -05 1863 Jun 01 23:26:14 7 -1690 T p- 0.3605 2.1729 1.2195 312.9 199.9 66.1
33 -04 1881 Jun 12 06:53:44 -5 -1467 T p- 0.2898 2.3031 1.3488 316.8 205.2 79.9
34 -03 1899 Jun 23 14:17:53 -3 -1244 T+ p- 0.2169 2.4376 1.4820 320.1 209.5 89.5
35 -02 1917 Jul 04 21:39:04 20 -1021 T+ pp 0.1419 2.5762 1.6185 322.9 212.8 96.0
36 -01 1935 Jul 16 05:00:05 24 -798 T+ pp 0.0672 2.7146 1.7542 325.0 214.8 99.6
37 00 1953 Jul 26 12:21:10 30 -575 T- pp -0.0071 2.8265 1.8628 326.5 215.7 100.7
38 01 1971 Aug 06 19:43:52 42 -352 T- pp -0.0794 2.6958 1.7283 327.3 215.5 99.4
39 02 1989 Aug 17 03:09:07 57 -129 T- -p -0.1490 2.5703 1.5984 327.5 214.3 95.8
40 03 2007 Aug 28 10:38:27 66 94 T- -p -0.2145 2.4526 1.4758 327.3 212.2 90.0
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 04 2025 Sep 07 18:12:58 75 317 T -p -0.2752 2.3440 1.3619 326.7 209.4 82.1
42 05 2043 Sep 19 01:51:50 88 540 T -a -0.3316 2.2433 1.2556 325.8 206.0 71.7
43 06 2061 Sep 29 09:38:13 117 763 T -a -0.3810 2.1556 1.1621 324.8 202.4 59.0
44 07 2079 Oct 10 17:30:30 156 986 T -a -0.4246 2.0786 1.0791 323.8 198.7 42.4
45 08 2097 Oct 21 01:30:55 197 1209 T -a -0.4608 2.0152 1.0097 323.1 195.2 15.2
46 09 2115 Nov 02 09:36:34 241 1432 P -a -0.4919 1.9611 0.9498 322.4 191.9 -
47 10 2133 Nov 12 17:50:08 286 1655 P -a -0.5157 1.9203 0.9033 322.2 189.3 -
48 11 2151 Nov 24 02:08:13 332 1878 P -a -0.5350 1.8875 0.8651 322.2 187.0 -
49 12 2169 Dec 04 10:31:58 371 2101 P -a -0.5488 1.8648 0.8375 322.5 185.3 -
50 13 2187 Dec 15 18:58:37 413 2324 P -a -0.5595 1.8473 0.8156 323.0 184.1 -
51 14 2205 Dec 27 03:28:47 456 2547 P -a -0.5665 1.8365 0.8008 323.8 183.4 -
52 15 2224 Jan 07 11:58:46 501 2770 P -a -0.5731 1.8260 0.7870 324.5 182.7 -
53 16 2242 Jan 17 20:28:26 549 2993 P -a -0.5794 1.8159 0.7742 325.2 182.2 -
54 17 2260 Jan 29 04:55:22 599 3216 P -a -0.5871 1.8028 0.7589 325.7 181.3 -
55 18 2278 Feb 08 13:19:10 650 3439 P -a -0.5965 1.7864 0.7409 326.0 180.2 -
56 19 2296 Feb 19 21:35:59 704 3662 P -a -0.6112 1.7600 0.7135 325.6 178.2 -
57 20 2314 Mar 03 05:46:48 760 3885 P -a -0.6301 1.7256 0.6784 324.8 175.3 -
58 21 2332 Mar 13 13:48:34 818 4108 P -a -0.6557 1.6788 0.6313 323.2 170.9 -
59 22 2350 Mar 24 21:42:58 878 4331 P -h -0.6865 1.6222 0.5747 320.9 165.1 -
60 23 2368 Apr 04 05:25:31 940 4554 P -h -0.7261 1.5496 0.5021 317.3 156.6 -
61 24 2386 Apr 15 12:59:59 1004 4777 P -h -0.7715 1.4663 0.4189 312.6 145.3 -
62 25 2404 Apr 25 20:22:55 1070 5000 P -t -0.8255 1.3670 0.3197 306.1 129.2 -
63 26 2422 May 07 03:37:48 1138 5223 P -t -0.8852 1.2576 0.2103 298.1 106.8 -
64 27 2440 May 17 10:41:49 1209 5446 P -t -0.9527 1.1339 0.0862 287.8 69.8 -
65 28 2458 May 28 17:39:26 1281 5669 Nx -t -1.0244 1.0025 -0.0456 275.2 - -
66 29 2476 Jun 08 00:28:51 1355 5892 N -t -1.1019 0.8607 -0.1884 259.5 - -
67 30 2494 Jun 19 07:12:41 1432 6115 N -t -1.1829 0.7127 -0.3375 240.4 - -
68 31 2512 Jun 30 13:51:10 1511 6338 N -t -1.2672 0.5588 -0.4931 216.7 - -
69 32 2530 Jul 11 20:27:10 1591 6561 N -t -1.3526 0.4032 -0.6507 187.3 - -
70 33 2548 Jul 22 03:01:34 1674 6784 N -t -1.4381 0.2475 -0.8088 149.3 - -
71 34 2566 Aug 02 09:35:06 1759 7007 Ne -t -1.5233 0.0927 -0.9665 92.9 - -
[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)"
