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 161 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series will begin with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 2259 Sep 02. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 3557 Oct 31. The total duration of Saros series 161 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2259 Sep 02 14:47:56 TD
Last Eclipse = 3557 Oct 31 11:10:59 TD
Duration of Saros 161 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 161 is composed of 73 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 161 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 29 | 39.7% |
| Partial | P | 17 | 23.3% |
| Total | T | 27 | 37.0% |
The 73 lunar eclipses in Saros 161 occur in the order of 20N 9P 27T 8P 9N which corresponds to:
20 Penumbral
9 Partial
27 Total
8 Partial
9 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 161 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2890 Sep 19 Duration = 01h39m40s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3251 Apr 28 Duration = 00h34m06s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2764 Jul 05 Duration = 03h08m17s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2620 Apr 09 Duration = 00h26m03s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2602 Mar 29 Duration = 04h14m10s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2259 Sep 02 Duration = 00h30m13s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 161 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3269 May 08 Magnitude = 0.9694
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2620 Apr 09 Magnitude = 0.0130
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 161 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 -35 2259 Sep 02 14:47:56 597 3211 Nb t- -1.5668 0.0099 -1.0435 30.2 - -
02 -34 2277 Sep 12 21:49:40 649 3434 N t- -1.4999 0.1328 -0.9207 109.1 - -
03 -33 2295 Sep 24 05:00:02 703 3657 N t- -1.4387 0.2450 -0.8086 146.4 - -
04 -32 2313 Oct 05 12:20:12 758 3880 N t- -1.3843 0.3451 -0.7088 171.6 - -
05 -31 2331 Oct 16 19:49:56 816 4103 N t- -1.3365 0.4329 -0.6213 190.2 - -
06 -30 2349 Oct 27 03:30:27 876 4326 N h- -1.2963 0.5069 -0.5476 203.8 - -
07 -29 2367 Nov 07 11:20:25 938 4549 N h- -1.2630 0.5678 -0.4867 213.8 - -
08 -28 2385 Nov 17 19:18:57 1002 4772 N h- -1.2358 0.6177 -0.4366 221.3 - -
09 -27 2403 Nov 29 03:25:44 1068 4995 N a- -1.2145 0.6565 -0.3973 226.6 - -
10 -26 2421 Dec 09 11:40:03 1137 5218 N a- -1.1984 0.6857 -0.3671 230.3 - -
11 -25 2439 Dec 20 19:59:36 1207 5441 N a- -1.1858 0.7079 -0.3434 232.7 - -
12 -24 2457 Dec 31 04:23:20 1279 5664 N a- -1.1759 0.7250 -0.3242 234.3 - -
13 -23 2476 Jan 11 12:49:31 1354 5887 N a- -1.1672 0.7397 -0.3068 235.5 - -
14 -22 2494 Jan 21 21:17:45 1430 6110 N a- -1.1593 0.7525 -0.2908 236.4 - -
15 -21 2512 Feb 03 05:43:56 1509 6333 N a- -1.1489 0.7695 -0.2698 237.7 - -
16 -20 2530 Feb 13 14:09:12 1589 6556 N a- -1.1371 0.7891 -0.2459 239.3 - -
17 -19 2548 Feb 24 22:29:44 1672 6779 N a- -1.1206 0.8168 -0.2131 241.8 - -
18 -18 2566 Mar 07 06:46:52 1757 7002 N a- -1.1006 0.8507 -0.1738 244.9 - -
19 -17 2584 Mar 17 14:56:25 1844 7225 N a- -1.0736 0.8975 -0.1213 249.3 - -
20 -16 2602 Mar 29 23:01:38 1933 7448 N a- -1.0422 0.9520 -0.0609 254.2 - -
21 -15 2620 Apr 09 06:58:47 2024 7671 P a- -1.0036 1.0199 0.0130 260.0 26.0 -
22 -14 2638 Apr 20 14:49:41 2117 7894 P a- -0.9590 1.0986 0.0978 266.4 70.4 -
23 -13 2656 Apr 30 22:32:51 2212 8117 P a- -0.9076 1.1901 0.1952 273.3 97.8 -
24 -12 2674 May 12 06:11:01 2309 8340 P a- -0.8512 1.2906 0.3014 280.2 119.3 -
25 -11 2692 May 22 13:43:08 2408 8563 P a- -0.7889 1.4021 0.4184 287.1 137.7 -
26 -10 2710 Jun 03 21:10:23 2510 8786 P a- -0.7219 1.5225 0.5439 293.7 153.6 -
27 -09 2728 Jun 14 04:34:21 2613 9009 P a- -0.6514 1.6496 0.6755 299.8 167.2 -
28 -08 2746 Jun 25 11:55:59 2719 9232 P a- -0.5784 1.7815 0.8114 305.3 178.6 -
29 -07 2764 Jul 05 19:15:49 2826 9455 P a- -0.5030 1.9180 0.9515 310.0 188.3 -
30 -06 2782 Jul 17 02:35:28 2936 9678 T a- -0.4266 2.0567 1.0932 314.0 196.2 45.2
31 -05 2800 Jul 27 09:56:36 3048 9901 T a- -0.3507 2.1949 1.2337 317.1 202.3 68.4
32 -04 2818 Aug 07 17:20:37 3161 10124 T p- -0.2767 2.3297 1.3702 319.4 206.9 82.0
33 -03 2836 Aug 18 00:46:58 3277 10347 T- p- -0.2040 2.4626 1.5043 320.9 210.1 90.7
34 -02 2854 Aug 29 08:19:05 3395 10570 T- p- -0.1357 2.5877 1.6300 321.8 212.1 96.0
35 -01 2872 Sep 08 15:55:59 3515 10793 T- pp -0.0708 2.7068 1.7491 322.0 213.0 98.8
36 00 2890 Sep 19 23:40:17 3637 11016 T- pp -0.0118 2.8153 1.8572 321.8 213.1 99.7
37 01 2908 Oct 01 07:29:50 3761 11239 T+ pp 0.0432 2.7579 1.7990 321.2 212.5 99.1
38 02 2926 Oct 12 15:28:29 3888 11462 T+ pp 0.0907 2.6714 1.7113 320.4 211.5 97.5
39 03 2944 Oct 22 23:33:47 4016 11685 T+ -p 0.1330 2.5945 1.6330 319.4 210.2 95.2
40 04 2962 Nov 03 07:47:44 4146 11908 T+ -p 0.1683 2.5305 1.5675 318.4 208.8 92.5
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 05 2980 Nov 13 16:08:41 4279 12131 T+ -p 0.1980 2.4768 1.5122 317.5 207.4 89.8
42 06 2998 Nov 25 00:38:12 4413 12354 T+ -p 0.2210 2.4354 1.4693 316.7 206.2 87.3
43 07 3016 Dec 06 09:13:42 4550 12577 T+ -p 0.2390 2.4031 1.4355 316.0 205.1 85.1
44 08 3034 Dec 17 17:54:52 4689 12800 T+ -p 0.2526 2.3787 1.4099 315.4 204.2 83.3
45 09 3052 Dec 28 02:40:57 4829 13023 T+ -p 0.2625 2.3611 1.3914 315.0 203.5 81.9
46 10 3071 Jan 08 11:30:55 4972 13246 T+ -p 0.2696 2.3482 1.3779 314.7 203.0 80.8
47 11 3089 Jan 18 20:22:28 5117 13469 T -p 0.2755 2.3375 1.3671 314.4 202.6 79.9
48 12 3107 Jan 31 05:14:19 5264 13692 T -p 0.2813 2.3267 1.3565 314.1 202.3 79.1
49 13 3125 Feb 10 14:05:13 5413 13915 T -p 0.2881 2.3139 1.3443 313.8 201.9 78.1
50 14 3143 Feb 21 22:54:07 5564 14138 T -p 0.2968 2.2974 1.3289 313.4 201.4 76.8
51 15 3161 Mar 04 07:38:02 5717 14361 T -p 0.3097 2.2731 1.3061 312.8 200.7 74.7
52 16 3179 Mar 15 16:17:30 5872 14584 T -p 0.3262 2.2419 1.2765 312.1 199.7 71.8
53 17 3197 Mar 26 00:50:09 6030 14807 T -p 0.3483 2.2005 1.2368 311.1 198.3 67.4
54 18 3215 Apr 06 09:16:35 6189 15030 T -p 0.3755 2.1497 1.1879 309.8 196.4 61.0
55 19 3233 Apr 16 17:34:20 6351 15253 T -a 0.4099 2.0856 1.1257 308.0 193.7 51.0
56 20 3251 Apr 28 01:45:29 6514 15476 T -a 0.4496 2.0118 1.0538 305.8 190.2 34.1
57 21 3269 May 08 09:48:19 6680 15699 P -a 0.4960 1.9259 0.9694 302.9 185.5 -
58 22 3287 May 19 17:43:43 6847 15922 P -a 0.5484 1.8290 0.8738 299.3 179.3 -
59 23 3305 May 31 01:31:45 7017 16145 P -a 0.6067 1.7216 0.7674 294.7 171.4 -
60 24 3323 Jun 11 09:13:51 7189 16368 P -a 0.6696 1.6060 0.6523 289.2 161.3 -
61 25 3341 Jun 21 16:50:35 7363 16591 P -a 0.7367 1.4828 0.5290 282.6 148.4 -
62 26 3359 Jul 03 00:21:44 7539 16814 P -a 0.8080 1.3522 0.3979 274.6 131.5 -
63 27 3377 Jul 13 07:50:13 7717 17037 P -a 0.8809 1.2190 0.2636 265.4 109.4 -
64 28 3395 Jul 24 15:15:26 7897 17260 P -a 0.9559 1.0823 0.1252 254.5 77.0 -
65 29 3413 Aug 04 22:39:35 8079 17483 N -a 1.0311 0.9455 -0.0140 242.1 - -
66 30 3431 Aug 16 06:02:30 8263 17706 N -a 1.1067 0.8082 -0.1542 227.8 - -
67 31 3449 Aug 26 13:27:25 8450 17929 N -a 1.1798 0.6758 -0.2901 211.8 - -
68 32 3467 Sep 06 20:53:57 8638 18152 N -a 1.2506 0.5480 -0.4219 193.8 - -
69 33 3485 Sep 17 04:23:16 8828 18375 N -a 1.3183 0.4261 -0.5483 173.5 - -
70 34 3503 Sep 29 11:57:03 9021 18598 N -a 1.3815 0.3125 -0.6668 150.8 - -
71 35 3521 Oct 09 19:35:57 9216 18821 N -a 1.4399 0.2081 -0.7765 124.7 - -
72 36 3539 Oct 21 03:20:42 9412 19044 N -a 1.4927 0.1140 -0.8762 93.5 - -
73 37 3557 Oct 31 11:10:59 9611 19267 Ne -a 1.5403 0.0295 -0.9664 48.1 - -
[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)"
