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 156 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series will begin with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2060 Nov 08. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3503 Apr 05. The total duration of Saros series 156 is 1442.41 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2060 Nov 08 04:04:15 TD
Last Eclipse = 3503 Apr 05 00:38:36 TD
Duration of Saros 156 = 1442.41 Years
Saros 156 is composed of 81 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 156 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 81 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 40 | 49.4% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 17.3% |
| Total | T | 27 | 33.3% |
The 81 lunar eclipses in Saros 156 occur in the order of 20N 8P 27T 6P 20N which corresponds to:
20 Penumbral
8 Partial
27 Total
6 Partial
20 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 156 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2926 Apr 19 Duration = 01h44m13s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2565 Sep 11 Duration = 00h04m38s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3052 Jul 04 Duration = 03h23m20s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2421 Jun 16 Duration = 00h07m19s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3160 Sep 08 Duration = 04h49m35s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3503 Apr 05 Duration = 00h33m48s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 156 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3052 Jul 04 Magnitude = 0.9264
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2421 Jun 16 Magnitude = 0.0011
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 156 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 -48 2060 Nov 08 04:04:15 115 752 N a- 1.5332 0.0266 -0.9375 43.6 - -
02 -47 2078 Nov 19 12:40:04 154 975 N a- 1.5147 0.0615 -0.9047 66.0 - -
03 -46 2096 Nov 29 21:22:22 195 1198 N a- 1.5017 0.0862 -0.8816 78.1 - -
04 -45 2114 Dec 12 06:09:26 238 1421 N a- 1.4932 0.1026 -0.8666 85.0 - -
05 -44 2132 Dec 22 14:59:51 283 1644 N a- 1.4873 0.1138 -0.8564 89.5 - -
06 -43 2151 Jan 02 23:51:26 330 1867 N a- 1.4828 0.1225 -0.8484 92.8 - -
07 -42 2169 Jan 13 08:43:52 369 2090 N a- 1.4794 0.1288 -0.8423 95.1 - -
08 -41 2187 Jan 24 17:35:19 410 2313 N a- 1.4758 0.1353 -0.8356 97.5 - -
09 -40 2205 Feb 05 02:23:28 454 2536 N a- 1.4699 0.1458 -0.8245 101.2 - -
10 -39 2223 Feb 16 11:07:58 499 2759 N a- 1.4616 0.1605 -0.8088 106.1 - -
11 -38 2241 Feb 26 19:46:41 547 2982 N a- 1.4489 0.1833 -0.7848 113.2 - -
12 -37 2259 Mar 10 04:19:51 596 3205 N a- 1.4323 0.2131 -0.7537 121.8 - -
13 -36 2277 Mar 20 12:44:38 648 3428 N a- 1.4094 0.2543 -0.7109 132.7 - -
14 -35 2295 Mar 31 21:02:51 701 3651 N a- 1.3816 0.3044 -0.6593 144.6 - -
15 -34 2313 Apr 12 05:12:28 757 3874 N a- 1.3473 0.3667 -0.5956 158.0 - -
16 -33 2331 Apr 23 13:14:05 815 4097 N a- 1.3070 0.4401 -0.5211 172.1 - -
17 -32 2349 May 03 21:07:25 875 4320 N a- 1.2602 0.5254 -0.4348 186.8 - -
18 -31 2367 May 15 04:53:36 937 4543 N a- 1.2082 0.6207 -0.3390 201.5 - -
19 -30 2385 May 25 12:32:57 1001 4766 N a- 1.1510 0.7256 -0.2340 216.1 - -
20 -29 2403 Jun 05 20:05:08 1067 4989 N a- 1.0884 0.8406 -0.1195 230.4 - -
21 -28 2421 Jun 16 03:32:46 1135 5212 P a- 1.0225 0.9621 0.0011 244.0 7.3 -
22 -27 2439 Jun 27 10:55:58 1205 5435 P a- 0.9531 1.0901 0.1276 256.9 78.1 -
23 -26 2457 Jul 07 18:16:32 1277 5658 P a- 0.8822 1.2213 0.2567 268.8 109.1 -
24 -25 2475 Jul 19 01:34:32 1352 5881 P a- 0.8096 1.3559 0.3885 279.9 132.0 -
25 -24 2493 Jul 29 08:53:05 1428 6104 P a- 0.7379 1.4891 0.5184 289.8 150.0 -
26 -23 2511 Aug 10 16:12:02 1507 6327 P a- 0.6669 1.6215 0.6468 298.8 164.6 -
27 -22 2529 Aug 20 23:32:24 1587 6550 P a- 0.5976 1.7509 0.7718 306.8 176.6 -
28 -21 2547 Sep 01 06:56:14 1670 6773 P a- 0.5317 1.8743 0.8902 313.7 186.4 -
29 -20 2565 Sep 11 14:24:12 1755 6996 T a- 0.4700 1.9902 1.0009 319.7 194.2 4.6
30 -19 2583 Sep 22 21:58:06 1841 7219 T p- 0.4136 2.0965 1.1015 324.9 200.5 47.9
31 -18 2601 Oct 04 05:36:14 1930 7442 T p- 0.3614 2.1952 1.1943 329.5 205.6 64.4
32 -17 2619 Oct 15 13:22:29 2021 7665 T p- 0.3168 2.2802 1.2731 333.3 209.5 74.5
33 -16 2637 Oct 25 21:14:11 2114 7888 T p- 0.2774 2.3556 1.3424 336.6 212.6 81.5
34 -15 2655 Nov 06 05:13:36 2209 8111 T+ p- 0.2453 2.4175 1.3983 339.4 214.9 86.2
35 -14 2673 Nov 16 13:18:11 2306 8334 T+ p- 0.2182 2.4702 1.4452 342.0 216.8 89.6
36 -13 2691 Nov 27 21:30:20 2406 8557 T+ pp 0.1981 2.5099 1.4793 344.2 218.2 91.8
37 -12 2709 Dec 09 05:46:36 2507 8780 T+ pp 0.1821 2.5418 1.5060 346.2 219.3 93.4
38 -11 2727 Dec 20 14:07:35 2610 9003 T+ pp 0.1710 2.5647 1.5242 348.0 220.3 94.5
39 -10 2745 Dec 30 22:31:19 2716 9226 T+ pp 0.1627 2.5820 1.5372 349.6 221.1 95.3
40 -09 2764 Jan 11 06:57:46 2823 9449 T+ pp 0.1577 2.5929 1.5446 351.1 221.8 95.8
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 -08 2782 Jan 21 15:23:04 2933 9672 T+ pp 0.1521 2.6047 1.5534 352.6 222.5 96.4
42 -07 2800 Feb 01 23:47:11 3045 9895 T+ pp 0.1461 2.6169 1.5632 353.9 223.2 97.0
43 -06 2818 Feb 12 08:07:36 3158 10118 T+ pp 0.1380 2.6328 1.5773 355.3 224.1 97.8
44 -05 2836 Feb 23 16:24:26 3274 10341 T+ pp 0.1276 2.6525 1.5958 356.6 225.0 98.7
45 -04 2854 Mar 06 00:33:07 3392 10564 T+ pp 0.1111 2.6830 1.6256 358.0 226.0 100.0
46 -03 2872 Mar 16 08:35:55 3512 10787 T+ pp 0.0905 2.7211 1.6633 359.3 227.1 101.3
47 -02 2890 Mar 27 16:28:28 3634 11010 T+ pp 0.0619 2.7734 1.7157 360.6 228.2 102.7
48 -01 2908 Apr 08 00:13:40 3758 11233 T+ pp 0.0281 2.8353 1.7778 361.8 229.2 103.8
49 00 2926 Apr 19 07:46:46 3884 11456 T- pp -0.0147 2.8598 1.8026 362.7 229.9 104.2
50 01 2944 Apr 29 15:12:15 4013 11679 T- pp -0.0632 2.7707 1.7139 363.4 230.1 103.5
51 02 2962 May 10 22:26:26 4143 11902 T- pp -0.1203 2.6657 1.6092 363.5 229.5 101.1
52 03 2980 May 21 05:32:38 4275 12125 T- pp -0.1833 2.5500 1.4937 362.9 227.8 96.1
53 04 2998 Jun 01 12:29:09 4410 12348 T- -p -0.2536 2.4210 1.3646 361.5 224.6 87.2
54 05 3016 Jun 12 19:19:17 4546 12571 T -t -0.3285 2.2837 1.2271 359.1 219.8 72.6
55 06 3034 Jun 24 02:02:31 4685 12794 T -t -0.4084 2.1374 1.0801 355.5 212.8 45.4
56 07 3052 Jul 04 08:40:31 4825 13017 P -t -0.4919 1.9847 0.9264 350.5 203.3 -
57 08 3070 Jul 15 15:15:00 4968 13240 P -t -0.5778 1.8278 0.7682 344.1 190.8 -
58 09 3088 Jul 25 21:47:32 5113 13463 P -t -0.6647 1.6691 0.6078 336.1 174.7 -
59 10 3106 Aug 07 04:19:34 5260 13686 P -t -0.7513 1.5113 0.4478 326.6 154.1 -
60 11 3124 Aug 17 10:52:02 5409 13909 P -t -0.8369 1.3556 0.2896 315.6 127.1 -
61 12 3142 Aug 28 17:27:33 5560 14132 P -t -0.9194 1.2056 0.1368 303.2 89.4 -
62 13 3160 Sep 08 00:06:25 5713 14355 Nx -t -0.9986 1.0618 -0.0101 289.6 - -
63 14 3178 Sep 19 06:49:55 5868 14578 N -t -1.0735 0.9262 -0.1491 274.8 - -
64 15 3196 Sep 29 13:39:43 6025 14801 N -t -1.1426 0.8011 -0.2777 259.3 - -
65 16 3214 Oct 10 20:37:04 6185 15024 N -t -1.2049 0.6886 -0.3938 243.4 - -
66 17 3232 Oct 21 03:42:42 6346 15247 N -t -1.2604 0.5885 -0.4975 227.5 - -
67 18 3250 Nov 01 10:55:47 6510 15470 N -t -1.3095 0.5002 -0.5893 211.8 - -
68 19 3268 Nov 11 18:18:19 6675 15693 N -t -1.3508 0.4262 -0.6666 197.0 - -
69 20 3286 Nov 23 01:49:05 6843 15916 N -t -1.3851 0.3647 -0.7311 183.4 - -
70 21 3304 Dec 04 09:27:53 7012 16139 N -t -1.4129 0.3149 -0.7833 171.3 - -
71 22 3322 Dec 15 17:13:57 7184 16362 N -t -1.4349 0.2757 -0.8247 160.9 - -
72 23 3340 Dec 26 01:06:24 7358 16585 N -t -1.4519 0.2452 -0.8566 152.1 - -
73 24 3359 Jan 06 09:04:32 7534 16808 N -t -1.4644 0.2227 -0.8800 145.2 - -
74 25 3377 Jan 16 17:04:50 7712 17031 N -t -1.4750 0.2032 -0.8995 138.8 - -
75 26 3395 Jan 28 01:08:46 7892 17254 N -t -1.4830 0.1882 -0.9139 133.7 - -
76 27 3413 Feb 08 09:11:45 8074 17477 N -t -1.4915 0.1720 -0.9287 127.8 - -
77 28 3431 Feb 19 17:14:22 8258 17700 N -t -1.5006 0.1542 -0.9444 121.0 - -
78 29 3449 Mar 02 01:12:08 8445 17923 N -t -1.5136 0.1289 -0.9668 110.6 - -
79 30 3467 Mar 13 09:07:31 8633 18146 N -t -1.5285 0.0997 -0.9924 97.4 - -
80 31 3485 Mar 23 16:56:04 8823 18369 N -t -1.5487 0.0605 -1.0276 75.9 - -
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 32 3503 Apr 05 00:38:36 9016 18592 Ne -t -1.5740 0.0120 -1.0716 33.8 - -
[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)"
