Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 138

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 138 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 1521 Oct 15. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2982 Mar 30. The total duration of Saros series 138 is 1460.44 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  1521 Oct 15   23:41:27 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  2982 Mar 30   17:33:19 TD

                      Duration of Saros 138  =  1460.44 Years

Saros 138 is composed of 82 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 138
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 82100.0%
PenumbralN 43 52.4%
PartialP 13 15.9%
TotalT 26 31.7%

The 82 lunar eclipses in Saros 138 occur in the order of 22N 7P 26T 6P 21N which corresponds to:

                                    22  Penumbral
                                     7  Partial
                                    26  Total
                                     6  Partial
                                    21  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 138 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2369 Mar 24      Duration = 01h45m24s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2495 Jun 08      Duration = 00h12m52s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2513 Jun 19      Duration = 03h20m03s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2603 Aug 13      Duration = 01h06m33s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2621 Aug 24      Duration = 04h41m08s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2982 Mar 30      Duration = 00h37m34s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 138 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2026 Aug 28      Magnitude = 0.9299
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2603 Aug 13      Magnitude = 0.0746

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 138 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 138

                          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  -47   1521 Oct 15  23:41:27    174  -5915   N   a-   1.5291  0.0386 -0.9345   53.1    -      -  
 02  -46   1539 Oct 27  08:11:00    158  -5692   N   a-   1.5126  0.0709 -0.9063   71.9    -      -  
 03  -45   1557 Nov 06  16:45:01    144  -5469   N   a-   1.5003  0.0955 -0.8857   83.5    -      -  
 04  -44   1575 Nov 18  01:25:13    131  -5246   N   a-   1.4936  0.1097 -0.8751   89.6    -      -  
 05  -43   1593 Dec 08  10:08:29    121  -5023   N   a-   1.4899  0.1180 -0.8701   93.1    -      -  
 06  -42   1611 Dec 19  18:54:22    105  -4800   N   a-   1.4891  0.1208 -0.8700   94.4    -      -  
 07  -41   1629 Dec 30  03:40:31     79  -4577   N   a-   1.4892  0.1219 -0.8713   95.0    -      -  
 08  -40   1648 Jan 10  12:26:15     52  -4354   N   a-   1.4897  0.1219 -0.8730   95.3    -      -  
 09  -39   1666 Jan 20  21:09:12     28  -4131   N   a-   1.4886  0.1246 -0.8717   96.6    -      -  
 10  -38   1684 Feb 01  05:47:50     12  -3908   N   a-   1.4849  0.1319 -0.8653   99.6    -      -  

 11  -37   1702 Feb 12  14:21:25      8  -3685   N   a-   1.4778  0.1451 -0.8527  104.6    -      -  
 12  -36   1720 Feb 23  22:48:32     10  -3462   N   a-   1.4666  0.1659 -0.8322  111.9    -      -  
 13  -35   1738 Mar 06  07:07:15     11  -3239   N   a-   1.4492  0.1978 -0.8003  122.2    -      -  
 14  -34   1756 Mar 16  15:17:47     14  -3016   N   a-   1.4259  0.2406 -0.7575  134.6    -      -  
 15  -33   1774 Mar 27  23:19:02     16  -2793   N   a-   1.3960  0.2955 -0.7026  148.9    -      -  
 16  -32   1792 Apr 07  07:12:01     16  -2570   N   a-   1.3602  0.3611 -0.6370  164.1    -      -  
 17  -31   1810 Apr 19  14:54:06     12  -2347   N   a-   1.3165  0.4414 -0.5570  180.6    -      -  
 18  -30   1828 Apr 29  22:28:38      8  -2124   N   h-   1.2674  0.5318 -0.4671  197.2    -      -  
 19  -29   1846 May 11  05:53:43      6  -1901   N   h-   1.2111  0.6355 -0.3643  214.2    -      -  
 20  -28   1864 May 21  13:12:02      6  -1678   N   h-   1.1502  0.7480 -0.2531  230.6    -      -  

 21  -27   1882 Jun 01  20:21:58     -5  -1455   N   t-   1.0832  0.8717 -0.1311  246.8    -      -  
 22  -26   1900 Jun 13  03:27:37     -2  -1232   Nx  t-   1.0134  1.0010 -0.0040  261.9    -      -  
 23  -25   1918 Jun 24  10:28:03     20  -1009   P   t-   0.9397  1.1376  0.1297  276.3   82.4    -  
 24  -24   1936 Jul 04  17:25:23     24   -786   P   t-   0.8642  1.2778  0.2668  289.5  116.3    -  
 25  -23   1954 Jul 16  00:20:51     31   -563   P   t-   0.7876  1.4202  0.4054  301.6  140.9    -  
 26  -22   1972 Jul 26  07:16:22     43   -340   P   t-   0.7116  1.5618  0.5427  312.4  160.1    -  
 27  -21   1990 Aug 06  14:13:16     57   -117   P   t-   0.6374  1.7005  0.6766  322.0  175.5    -  
 28  -20   2008 Aug 16  21:11:12     66    106   P   t-   0.5646  1.8366  0.8076  330.5  188.1    -  
 29  -19   2026 Aug 28  04:14:04     75    329   P   t-   0.4964  1.9645  0.9299  337.8  198.1    -  
 30  -18   2044 Sep 07  11:20:44     88    552   T   t-   0.4318  2.0860  1.0456  344.0  206.2   33.9

 31  -17   2062 Sep 18  18:34:02    119    775   T   p-   0.3735  2.1959  1.1496  349.3  212.4   59.5
 32  -16   2080 Sep 29  01:52:42    158    998   T   p-   0.3203  2.2967  1.2443  353.7  217.4   73.8
 33  -15   2098 Oct 10  09:19:58    200   1221   T   pp   0.2749  2.3831  1.3246  357.4  221.0   82.7
 34  -14   2116 Oct 21  16:53:39    243   1444   T+  pp   0.2353  2.4586  1.3943  360.5  223.8   88.8
 35  -13   2134 Nov 02  00:34:20    288   1667   T+  pp   0.2022  2.5222  1.4521  363.1  225.9   93.0
 36  -12   2152 Nov 12  08:21:47    334   1890   T+  pp   0.1753  2.5743  1.4989  365.4  227.5   95.8
 37  -11   2170 Nov 23  16:16:21    373   2113   T+  pp   0.1554  2.6134  1.5331  367.2  228.6   97.7
 38  -10   2188 Dec 04  00:15:39    415   2336   T+  pp   0.1394  2.6448  1.5602  368.8  229.5   98.9
 39  -09   2206 Dec 16  08:19:07    458   2559   T+  pp   0.1275  2.6685  1.5802  370.2  230.3   99.8
 40  -08   2224 Dec 26  16:25:17    504   2782   T+  pp   0.1183  2.6868  1.5956  371.5  230.9  100.5


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 138

                          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   2243 Jan 07  00:33:44    552   3005   T+  pp   0.1116  2.7004  1.6069  372.5  231.4  101.0
 42  -06   2261 Jan 17  08:40:06    601   3228   T+  pp   0.1036  2.7157  1.6208  373.4  231.9  101.5
 43  -05   2279 Jan 28  16:45:42    653   3451   T+  pp   0.0954  2.7312  1.6355  374.2  232.5  102.1
 44  -04   2297 Feb 08  00:46:04    707   3674   T+  pp   0.0832  2.7535  1.6578  374.9  233.1  102.8
 45  -03   2315 Feb 20  08:42:48    763   3897   T+  pp   0.0684  2.7804  1.6853  375.4  233.6  103.6
 46  -02   2333 Mar 02  16:30:27    821   4120   T+  pp   0.0466  2.8198  1.7259  375.9  234.3  104.5
 47  -01   2351 Mar 14  00:12:41    881   4343   T+  pp   0.0207  2.8665  1.7744  376.3  234.8  105.1
 48   00   2369 Mar 24  07:44:15    943   4566   T-  pp  -0.0135  2.8786  1.7885  376.4  235.1  105.4
 49   01   2387 Apr 04  15:07:51   1007   4789   T-  pp  -0.0541  2.8029  1.7153  376.2  235.0  104.9
 50   02   2405 Apr 14  22:20:34   1074   5012   T-  pp  -0.1033  2.7113  1.6262  375.5  234.3  103.0

 51   03   2423 Apr 26  05:25:45   1142   5235   T-  pp  -0.1585  2.6086  1.5262  374.3  232.8   99.1
 52   04   2441 May 06  12:21:25   1212   5458   T-  pp  -0.2213  2.4921  1.4123  372.3  230.0   92.2
 53   05   2459 May 17  19:09:13   1285   5681   T   pt  -0.2904  2.3641  1.2869  369.4  225.7   80.8
 54   06   2477 May 28  01:49:59   1359   5904   T   -t  -0.3652  2.2255  1.1507  365.3  219.6   61.5
 55   07   2495 Jun 08  08:25:20   1436   6127   T   -t  -0.4447  2.0787  1.0060  360.0  211.2   12.9
 56   08   2513 Jun 19  14:55:56   1515   6350   P   -t  -0.5279  1.9251  0.8543  353.2  200.0    -  
 57   09   2531 Jun 30  21:23:33   1596   6573   P   -t  -0.6134  1.7673  0.6981  344.9  185.7    -  
 58   10   2549 Jul 11  03:50:12   1678   6796   P   -t  -0.7000  1.6079  0.5398  335.1  167.5    -  
 59   11   2567 Jul 22  10:17:26   1763   7019   P   -t  -0.7862  1.4493  0.3821  323.8  144.4    -  
 60   12   2585 Aug 01  16:45:35   1850   7242   P   -t  -0.8717  1.2920  0.2253  310.8  113.3    -  

 61   13   2603 Aug 13  23:17:51   1940   7465   P   -t  -0.9539  1.1412  0.0746  296.6   66.6    -  
 62   14   2621 Aug 24  05:54:22   2031   7688   N   -t  -1.0327  0.9968 -0.0701  281.1    -      -  
 63   15   2639 Sep 04  12:37:54   2124   7911   N   -t  -1.1060  0.8625 -0.2049  264.8    -      -  
 64   16   2657 Sep 14  19:26:58   2219   8134   N   -t  -1.1750  0.7364 -0.3318  247.4    -      -  
 65   17   2675 Sep 26  02:25:48   2317   8357   N   -t  -1.2363  0.6242 -0.4449  229.9    -      -  
 66   18   2693 Oct 06  09:32:29   2416   8580   N   -t  -1.2917  0.5232 -0.5469  212.2    -      -  
 67   19   2711 Oct 18  16:49:35   2518   8803   N   -t  -1.3388  0.4372 -0.6339  195.2    -      -  
 68   20   2729 Oct 29  00:15:40   2621   9026   N   -t  -1.3791  0.3637 -0.7084  178.9    -      -  
 69   21   2747 Nov 09  07:52:28   2727   9249   N   -t  -1.4115  0.3048 -0.7681  164.4    -      -  
 70   22   2765 Nov 19  15:38:17   2835   9472   N   -t  -1.4371  0.2580 -0.8155  151.5    -      -  

 71   23   2783 Nov 30  23:32:00   2944   9695   N   -t  -1.4570  0.2215 -0.8521  140.6    -      -  
 72   24   2801 Dec 11  07:34:19   3056   9918   N   -t  -1.4707  0.1962 -0.8771  132.3    -      -  
 73   25   2819 Dec 22  15:42:44   3170  10141   N   -t  -1.4797  0.1794 -0.8931  126.3    -      -  
 74   26   2838 Jan 01  23:56:51   3286  10364   N   -t  -1.4851  0.1687 -0.9024  122.3    -      -  
 75   27   2856 Jan 13  08:12:54   3404  10587   N   -t  -1.4895  0.1596 -0.9093  118.7    -      -  
 76   28   2874 Jan 23  16:32:19   3524  10810   N   -t  -1.4918  0.1541 -0.9122  116.3    -      -  
 77   29   2892 Feb 04  00:50:55   3647  11033   N   -t  -1.4950  0.1464 -0.9164  113.1    -      -  
 78   30   2910 Feb 15  09:08:12   3771  11256   N   -t  -1.4998  0.1355 -0.9233  108.5    -      -  
 79   31   2928 Feb 26  17:21:42   3897  11479   N   -t  -1.5081  0.1181 -0.9361  101.0    -      -  
 80   32   2946 Mar 09  01:31:32   4026  11702   N   -t  -1.5198  0.0938 -0.9552   89.9    -      -  


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 138

                          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

 81   33   2964 Mar 19  09:35:34   4156  11925   N   -t  -1.5366  0.0602 -0.9832   71.9    -      -  
 82   34   2982 Mar 30  17:33:19   4289  12148   Ne  -t  -1.5589  0.0164 -1.0211   37.6    -      -  


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)"


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2009 Sep 29