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 144 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 1749 Jul 29. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3011 Sep 04. The total duration of Saros series 144 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1749 Jul 29 16:31:02 TD
Last Eclipse = 3011 Sep 04 16:45:53 TD
Duration of Saros 144 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 144 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 144 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 30 | 42.3% |
| Partial | P | 21 | 29.6% |
| Total | T | 20 | 28.2% |
The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 144 occur in the order of 22N 9P 20T 12P 8N which corresponds to:
22 Penumbral
9 Partial
20 Total
12 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 144 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2416 Sep 07 Duration = 01h44m53s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2651 Jan 28 Duration = 00h20m11s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2669 Feb 08 Duration = 03h30m02s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2146 Mar 28 Duration = 00h48m35s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2885 Jun 18 Duration = 04h46m38s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3011 Sep 04 Duration = 00h45m32s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 144 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2669 Feb 08 Magnitude = 0.9951
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2146 Mar 28 Magnitude = 0.0448
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 144 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 -37 1749 Jul 29 16:31:02 13 -3098 Nb a- 1.5083 0.0642 -0.8842 67.7 - -
02 -36 1767 Aug 10 00:02:55 16 -2875 N a- 1.4447 0.1826 -0.7690 113.2 - -
03 -35 1785 Aug 20 07:38:39 17 -2652 N a- 1.3843 0.2953 -0.6598 142.9 - -
04 -34 1803 Sep 01 15:19:10 12 -2429 N a- 1.3282 0.4003 -0.5589 165.1 - -
05 -33 1821 Sep 11 23:04:56 11 -2206 N a- 1.2766 0.4971 -0.4666 182.9 - -
06 -32 1839 Sep 23 06:57:39 5 -1983 N a- 1.2311 0.5830 -0.3855 197.0 - -
07 -31 1857 Oct 03 14:56:57 7 -1760 N a- 1.1914 0.6585 -0.3150 208.4 - -
08 -30 1875 Oct 14 23:02:55 -4 -1537 N a- 1.1577 0.7228 -0.2558 217.7 - -
09 -29 1893 Oct 25 07:16:16 -6 -1314 N a- 1.1305 0.7753 -0.2084 225.0 - -
10 -28 1911 Nov 06 15:36:45 13 -1091 N a- 1.1100 0.8154 -0.1733 230.6 - -
11 -27 1929 Nov 17 00:03:13 24 -868 N a- 1.0947 0.8460 -0.1474 235.0 - -
12 -26 1947 Nov 28 08:34:29 28 -645 N a- 1.0838 0.8683 -0.1297 238.3 - -
13 -25 1965 Dec 08 17:10:32 36 -422 N a- 1.0774 0.8820 -0.1201 240.7 - -
14 -24 1983 Dec 20 01:49:57 54 -199 N a- 1.0746 0.8890 -0.1167 242.3 - -
15 -23 2001 Dec 30 10:30:22 64 24 N a- 1.0731 0.8933 -0.1155 243.5 - -
16 -22 2020 Jan 10 19:11:11 72 247 N a- 1.0726 0.8956 -0.1160 244.6 - -
17 -21 2038 Jan 21 03:49:52 83 470 N a- 1.0710 0.8996 -0.1140 245.8 - -
18 -20 2056 Feb 01 12:26:06 105 693 N a- 1.0682 0.9056 -0.1096 247.2 - -
19 -19 2074 Feb 11 20:55:58 144 916 N a- 1.0611 0.9191 -0.0972 249.5 - -
20 -18 2092 Feb 23 05:20:59 184 1139 N a- 1.0509 0.9383 -0.0789 252.4 - -
21 -17 2110 Mar 06 13:37:20 227 1362 N a- 1.0345 0.9686 -0.0491 256.4 - -
22 -16 2128 Mar 16 21:46:08 271 1585 Nx a- 1.0128 1.0086 -0.0093 261.3 - -
23 -15 2146 Mar 28 05:44:28 318 1808 P a- 0.9832 1.0629 0.0448 267.6 48.6 -
24 -14 2164 Apr 07 13:34:34 359 2031 P h- 0.9479 1.1278 0.1095 274.6 75.5 -
25 -13 2182 Apr 18 21:14:14 399 2254 P h- 0.9049 1.2068 0.1883 282.5 98.3 -
26 -12 2200 Apr 30 04:44:34 442 2477 P t- 0.8550 1.2987 0.2797 291.1 118.6 -
27 -11 2218 May 11 12:05:34 487 2700 P t- 0.7980 1.4036 0.3839 300.0 137.2 -
28 -10 2236 May 21 19:18:51 534 2923 P t- 0.7352 1.5194 0.4987 309.1 154.2 -
29 -09 2254 Jun 02 02:24:40 583 3146 P t- 0.6670 1.6452 0.6231 317.9 169.5 -
30 -08 2272 Jun 12 09:23:36 634 3369 P t- 0.5938 1.7804 0.7565 326.5 183.3 -
31 -07 2290 Jun 23 16:17:39 687 3592 P t- 0.5172 1.9221 0.8959 334.4 195.3 -
32 -06 2308 Jul 04 23:07:47 742 3815 T t- 0.4377 2.0694 1.0404 341.6 205.5 31.9
33 -05 2326 Jul 16 05:54:47 799 4038 T p- 0.3565 2.2200 1.1878 347.8 214.0 65.9
34 -04 2344 Jul 26 12:40:59 859 4261 T pp 0.2752 2.3711 1.3351 353.2 220.7 83.8
35 -03 2362 Aug 06 19:27:11 920 4484 T+ pp 0.1948 2.5207 1.4807 357.5 225.7 94.9
36 -02 2380 Aug 17 02:16:10 983 4707 T+ pp 0.1172 2.6655 1.6209 360.8 229.1 101.5
37 -01 2398 Aug 28 09:06:27 1049 4930 T+ pp 0.0414 2.8069 1.7575 363.3 230.9 104.6
38 00 2416 Sep 07 16:02:33 1117 5153 T- pp -0.0288 2.8326 1.7780 364.9 231.5 104.9
39 01 2434 Sep 18 23:02:35 1186 5376 T- pp -0.0951 2.7137 1.6538 365.8 230.9 102.8
40 02 2452 Sep 29 06:10:28 1258 5599 T- pp -0.1542 2.6079 1.5426 366.2 229.6 98.7
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 2470 Oct 10 13:23:39 1332 5822 T- pp -0.2084 2.5113 1.4405 366.2 227.5 93.0
42 04 2488 Oct 20 20:46:19 1408 6045 T- -p -0.2544 2.4297 1.3535 365.9 225.2 86.4
43 05 2506 Nov 02 04:15:24 1486 6268 T -p -0.2945 2.3586 1.2773 365.6 222.8 78.8
44 06 2524 Nov 12 11:52:58 1566 6491 T -p -0.3270 2.3013 1.2152 365.2 220.4 71.0
45 07 2542 Nov 23 19:37:00 1648 6714 T -t -0.3540 2.2542 1.1635 364.9 218.3 63.1
46 08 2560 Dec 04 03:28:39 1732 6937 T -t -0.3739 2.2195 1.1250 364.8 216.6 55.9
47 09 2578 Dec 15 11:24:39 1818 7160 T -t -0.3903 2.1911 1.0933 364.7 215.1 48.8
48 10 2596 Dec 25 19:24:44 1907 7383 T -t -0.4030 2.1691 1.0688 364.6 213.9 42.3
49 11 2615 Jan 07 03:27:06 1997 7606 T -t -0.4133 2.1512 1.0490 364.6 213.0 36.0
50 12 2633 Jan 17 11:31:11 2089 7829 T -t -0.4215 2.1367 1.0334 364.5 212.2 29.9
51 13 2651 Jan 28 19:32:59 2184 8052 T -t -0.4314 2.1186 1.0151 364.1 211.2 20.2
52 14 2669 Feb 08 03:33:04 2281 8275 P -t -0.4424 2.0982 0.9951 363.5 210.0 -
53 15 2687 Feb 19 11:28:02 2379 8498 P -t -0.4574 2.0701 0.9682 362.5 208.3 -
54 16 2705 Mar 02 19:18:45 2480 8721 P -t -0.4756 2.0358 0.9357 361.1 206.2 -
55 17 2723 Mar 14 03:00:48 2583 8944 P -t -0.5004 1.9890 0.8913 358.9 202.9 -
56 18 2741 Mar 24 10:36:55 2688 9167 P -t -0.5301 1.9330 0.8383 356.2 198.7 -
57 19 2759 Apr 04 18:03:23 2795 9390 P -t -0.5676 1.8626 0.7710 352.5 192.9 -
58 20 2777 Apr 15 01:22:23 2904 9613 P -t -0.6112 1.7808 0.6927 347.8 185.3 -
59 21 2795 Apr 26 08:31:28 3015 9836 P -t -0.6630 1.6840 0.5996 341.7 175.0 -
60 22 2813 May 06 15:33:47 3128 10059 P -t -0.7203 1.5769 0.4963 334.4 161.9 -
61 23 2831 May 17 22:27:44 3243 10282 P -t -0.7844 1.4574 0.3804 325.5 144.2 -
62 24 2849 May 28 05:14:53 3361 10505 P -t -0.8542 1.3276 0.2543 314.7 120.0 -
63 25 2867 Jun 08 11:56:08 3480 10728 P -t -0.9288 1.1890 0.1189 301.8 83.6 -
64 26 2885 Jun 18 18:33:10 3601 10951 Nx -t -1.0070 1.0439 -0.0230 286.6 - -
65 27 2903 Jul 01 01:07:21 3725 11174 N -t -1.0874 0.8950 -0.1692 269.0 - -
66 28 2921 Jul 11 07:38:47 3851 11397 N -t -1.1700 0.7422 -0.3194 248.2 - -
67 29 2939 Jul 22 14:10:52 3978 11620 N -t -1.2522 0.5904 -0.4692 224.2 - -
68 30 2957 Aug 01 20:43:50 4108 11843 N -t -1.3338 0.4397 -0.6182 195.8 - -
69 31 2975 Aug 13 03:19:41 4240 12066 N -t -1.4131 0.2936 -0.7631 161.8 - -
70 32 2993 Aug 23 09:59:37 4374 12289 N -t -1.4893 0.1534 -0.9024 118.1 - -
71 33 3011 Sep 04 16:45:53 4510 12512 Ne -t -1.5605 0.0224 -1.0328 45.5 - -
[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)"
