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 137 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 1564 Dec 17. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2953 Apr 20. The total duration of Saros series 137 is 1388.32 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1564 Dec 17 21:16:37 TD
Last Eclipse = 2953 Apr 20 11:12:26 TD
Duration of Saros 137 = 1388.32 Years
Saros 137 is composed of 78 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 137 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 78 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 35 | 44.9% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 19.2% |
| Total | T | 28 | 35.9% |
The 78 lunar eclipses in Saros 137 occur in the order of 15N 8P 28T 7P 20N which corresponds to:
15 Penumbral
8 Partial
28 Total
7 Partial
20 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 137 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2340 Apr 13 Duration = 01h39m53s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2466 Jun 28 Duration = 00h32m12s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2484 Jul 09 Duration = 03h07m37s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1835 Jun 10 Duration = 00h56m51s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2610 Sep 25 Duration = 04h20m11s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 1564 Dec 17 Duration = 00h23m00s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 137 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1961 Aug 26 Magnitude = 0.9863
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 1835 Jun 10 Magnitude = 0.0681
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 137 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 -43 1564 Dec 17 21:16:37 139 -5381 N a- -1.5587 0.0066 -1.0109 23.0 - -
02 -42 1583 Jan 08 05:55:04 127 -5158 N a- -1.5513 0.0186 -0.9958 38.4 - -
03 -41 1601 Jan 18 14:32:25 117 -4935 N a- -1.5425 0.0329 -0.9777 50.9 - -
04 -40 1619 Jan 29 23:07:09 95 -4712 N a- -1.5311 0.0518 -0.9547 63.5 - -
05 -39 1637 Feb 09 07:38:45 68 -4489 N a- -1.5164 0.0763 -0.9256 76.7 - -
06 -38 1655 Feb 20 16:03:56 42 -4266 N a- -1.4962 0.1109 -0.8860 91.8 - -
07 -37 1673 Mar 03 00:24:02 20 -4043 N a- -1.4715 0.1536 -0.8381 107.2 - -
08 -36 1691 Mar 14 08:36:44 9 -3820 N a- -1.4403 0.2083 -0.7780 123.8 - -
09 -35 1709 Mar 25 16:43:34 9 -3597 N a- -1.4038 0.2725 -0.7084 140.3 - -
10 -34 1727 Apr 06 00:41:54 10 -3374 N a- -1.3596 0.3508 -0.6247 157.4 - -
11 -33 1745 Apr 16 08:34:55 12 -3151 N a- -1.3106 0.4382 -0.5321 173.9 - -
12 -32 1763 Apr 27 16:20:38 15 -2928 N a- -1.2552 0.5374 -0.4281 190.1 - -
13 -31 1781 May 08 00:01:08 17 -2705 N a- -1.1949 0.6457 -0.3152 205.6 - -
14 -30 1799 May 19 07:36:00 14 -2482 N a- -1.1294 0.7639 -0.1930 220.3 - -
15 -29 1817 May 30 15:07:30 12 -2259 N a- -1.0607 0.8880 -0.0652 233.9 - -
16 -28 1835 Jun 10 22:35:53 6 -2036 P a- -0.9888 1.0184 0.0681 246.4 56.8 -
17 -27 1853 Jun 21 06:01:48 7 -1813 P a- -0.9146 1.1535 0.2056 257.8 96.7 -
18 -26 1871 Jul 02 13:27:48 -1 -1590 P a- -0.8401 1.2893 0.3432 267.9 122.4 -
19 -25 1889 Jul 12 20:53:52 -6 -1367 P a- -0.7654 1.4257 0.4807 276.8 141.7 -
20 -24 1907 Jul 25 04:22:27 7 -1144 P a- -0.6924 1.5595 0.6149 284.5 156.8 -
21 -23 1925 Aug 04 11:52:57 24 -921 P a- -0.6208 1.6909 0.7463 291.2 168.9 -
22 -22 1943 Aug 15 19:28:46 26 -698 P a- -0.5533 1.8152 0.8697 296.7 178.4 -
23 -21 1961 Aug 26 03:08:51 34 -475 P a- -0.4894 1.9330 0.9863 301.4 186.0 -
24 -20 1979 Sep 06 10:55:02 50 -252 T a- -0.4305 2.0421 1.0936 305.1 191.9 44.4
25 -19 1997 Sep 16 18:47:42 63 -29 T p- -0.3768 2.1417 1.1909 308.2 196.4 61.5
26 -18 2015 Sep 28 02:48:17 69 194 T p- -0.3296 2.2296 1.2764 310.7 199.9 71.9
27 -17 2033 Oct 08 10:56:23 80 417 T p- -0.2889 2.3057 1.3497 312.6 202.4 78.8
28 -16 2051 Oct 19 19:11:50 97 640 T- p- -0.2542 2.3708 1.4118 314.2 204.3 83.6
29 -15 2069 Oct 30 03:35:06 134 863 T- p- -0.2263 2.4235 1.4616 315.4 205.6 86.8
30 -14 2087 Nov 10 12:05:33 174 1086 T- p- -0.2043 2.4654 1.5006 316.4 206.6 88.9
31 -13 2105 Nov 21 20:42:00 216 1309 T- p- -0.1874 2.4976 1.5301 317.3 207.3 90.4
32 -12 2123 Dec 03 05:24:09 261 1532 T- p- -0.1755 2.5208 1.5507 318.0 207.7 91.4
33 -11 2141 Dec 13 14:10:16 307 1755 T- p- -0.1671 2.5374 1.5652 318.7 208.1 92.0
34 -10 2159 Dec 24 23:00:09 349 1978 T- p- -0.1619 2.5478 1.5737 319.2 208.4 92.4
35 -09 2178 Jan 04 07:50:14 390 2201 T- p- -0.1570 2.5574 1.5820 319.8 208.8 92.8
36 -08 2196 Jan 15 16:41:55 432 2424 T- p- -0.1537 2.5641 1.5877 320.3 209.1 93.1
37 -07 2214 Jan 27 01:30:46 476 2647 T- p- -0.1480 2.5748 1.5979 320.9 209.5 93.6
38 -06 2232 Feb 07 10:17:44 522 2870 T- p- -0.1410 2.5876 1.6106 321.5 210.0 94.1
39 -05 2250 Feb 17 18:58:32 571 3093 T- p- -0.1291 2.6094 1.6326 322.2 210.7 95.0
40 -04 2268 Feb 29 03:35:27 621 3316 T- p- -0.1142 2.6365 1.6602 322.9 211.4 96.0
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 -03 2286 Mar 11 12:04:37 674 3539 T- pp -0.0929 2.6753 1.6996 323.7 212.3 97.2
42 -02 2304 Mar 22 20:26:42 729 3762 T- pp -0.0661 2.7240 1.7491 324.6 213.1 98.4
43 -01 2322 Apr 03 04:39:45 785 3985 T- pp -0.0323 2.7857 1.8116 325.4 213.9 99.4
44 00 2340 Apr 13 12:45:17 844 4208 T+ pp 0.0074 2.8310 1.8576 326.1 214.5 99.9
45 01 2358 Apr 24 20:41:46 905 4431 T+ pp 0.0542 2.7449 1.7720 326.7 214.8 99.5
46 02 2376 May 05 04:29:55 968 4654 T+ -p 0.1074 2.6471 1.6744 326.9 214.4 97.8
47 03 2394 May 16 12:10:00 1033 4877 T+ -p 0.1667 2.5384 1.5656 326.6 213.3 94.3
48 04 2412 May 26 19:43:25 1100 5100 T+ -p 0.2306 2.4214 1.4479 325.8 211.1 88.2
49 05 2430 Jun 07 03:09:30 1169 5323 T -p 0.3000 2.2946 1.3201 324.3 207.7 78.4
50 06 2448 Jun 17 10:30:31 1241 5546 T -a 0.3730 2.1615 1.1854 322.0 202.8 62.6
51 07 2466 Jun 28 17:46:38 1314 5769 T -a 0.4490 2.0231 1.0448 318.7 196.2 32.2
52 08 2484 Jul 09 01:00:42 1389 5992 P -a 0.5260 1.8831 0.9021 314.5 187.6 -
53 09 2502 Jul 21 08:11:07 1467 6215 P -a 0.6051 1.7398 0.7554 309.2 176.6 -
54 10 2520 Jul 31 15:22:37 1546 6438 P -a 0.6822 1.6002 0.6120 303.0 163.3 -
55 11 2538 Aug 11 22:33:32 1628 6661 P -a 0.7588 1.4620 0.4693 295.7 146.7 -
56 12 2556 Aug 22 05:48:05 1712 6884 P -a 0.8315 1.3309 0.3334 287.8 126.6 -
57 13 2574 Sep 02 13:03:42 1798 7107 P -a 0.9023 1.2037 0.2008 278.9 100.5 -
58 14 2592 Sep 12 20:25:19 1885 7330 P -a 0.9671 1.0876 0.0791 269.7 64.3 -
59 15 2610 Sep 25 03:50:47 1975 7553 N -a 1.0277 0.9796 -0.0350 260.2 - -
60 16 2628 Oct 05 11:22:30 2067 7776 N -a 1.0821 0.8828 -0.1379 250.7 - -
61 17 2646 Oct 16 19:00:12 2161 7999 N -a 1.1308 0.7967 -0.2304 241.4 - -
62 18 2664 Oct 27 02:45:20 2257 8222 N -a 1.1726 0.7231 -0.3102 232.7 - -
63 19 2682 Nov 07 10:37:27 2356 8445 N -a 1.2077 0.6619 -0.3776 225.0 - -
64 20 2700 Nov 18 18:35:06 2456 8668 N -a 1.2375 0.6101 -0.4352 218.0 - -
65 21 2718 Nov 30 02:39:40 2558 8891 N -a 1.2608 0.5701 -0.4808 212.5 - -
66 22 2736 Dec 10 10:49:08 2663 9114 N -a 1.2799 0.5376 -0.5183 207.8 - -
67 23 2754 Dec 21 19:03:15 2769 9337 N -a 1.2944 0.5134 -0.5472 204.3 - -
68 24 2773 Jan 01 03:19:29 2878 9560 N -a 1.3067 0.4928 -0.5717 201.3 - -
69 25 2791 Jan 12 11:38:09 2988 9783 N -a 1.3165 0.4765 -0.5914 198.9 - -
70 26 2809 Jan 22 19:56:13 3101 10006 N -h 1.3263 0.4598 -0.6107 196.3 - -
71 27 2827 Feb 03 04:12:29 3216 10229 N -h 1.3371 0.4410 -0.6314 193.2 - -
72 28 2845 Feb 13 12:25:13 3333 10452 N -h 1.3502 0.4177 -0.6561 188.9 - -
73 29 2863 Feb 24 20:33:14 3451 10675 N -h 1.3665 0.3882 -0.6864 183.1 - -
74 30 2881 Mar 07 04:34:07 3572 10898 N -t 1.3878 0.3491 -0.7256 174.7 - -
75 31 2899 Mar 18 12:27:24 3695 11121 N -t 1.4146 0.2998 -0.7748 163.0 - -
76 32 2917 Mar 29 20:11:52 3821 11344 N -t 1.4477 0.2389 -0.8350 146.6 - -
77 33 2935 Apr 10 03:47:50 3948 11567 N -t 1.4869 0.1665 -0.9066 123.4 - -
78 34 2953 Apr 20 11:12:26 4077 11790 N -t 1.5341 0.0792 -0.9928 86.0 - -
[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)"
