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 163 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 2371 Aug 27. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 3615 Sep 20. The total duration of Saros series 163 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2371 Aug 27 05:10:45 TD
Last Eclipse = 3615 Sep 20 17:12:23 TD
Duration of Saros 163 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 163 is composed of 70 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 163 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 29 | 41.4% |
| Partial | P | 28 | 40.0% |
| Total | T | 13 | 18.6% |
The 70 lunar eclipses in Saros 163 occur in the order of 21N 8P 13T 20P 8N which corresponds to:
21 Penumbral
8 Partial
13 Total
20 Partial
8 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 163 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 2966 Aug 22 Duration = 01h45m57s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3110 Nov 18 Duration = 00h31m15s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2876 Jun 27 Duration = 03h28m33s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3471 Jun 25 Duration = 00h53m44s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2732 Apr 02 Duration = 04h53m12s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3615 Sep 20 Duration = 01h07m12s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 163 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3128 Nov 29 Magnitude = 0.9896
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3471 Jun 25 Magnitude = 0.0558
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 163 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 -33 2371 Aug 27 05:10:45 952 4596 Nb t- -1.5155 0.0931 -0.9387 89.7 - -
02 -32 2389 Sep 06 12:15:03 1016 4819 N t- -1.4545 0.2079 -0.8294 133.3 - -
03 -31 2407 Sep 17 19:23:23 1083 5042 N t- -1.3973 0.3159 -0.7273 163.4 - -
04 -30 2425 Sep 28 02:37:33 1151 5265 N t- -1.3452 0.4143 -0.6347 186.2 - -
05 -29 2443 Oct 09 09:58:19 1222 5488 N t- -1.2987 0.5027 -0.5525 204.3 - -
06 -28 2461 Oct 19 17:26:44 1295 5711 N t- -1.2586 0.5792 -0.4818 218.6 - -
07 -27 2479 Oct 31 01:02:53 1370 5934 N t- -1.2253 0.6433 -0.4235 229.8 - -
08 -26 2497 Nov 10 08:44:48 1447 6157 N t- -1.1969 0.6981 -0.3742 239.0 - -
09 -25 2515 Nov 22 16:34:46 1526 6380 N t- -1.1754 0.7402 -0.3374 246.0 - -
10 -24 2533 Dec 03 00:30:10 1607 6603 N t- -1.1584 0.7739 -0.3083 251.5 - -
11 -23 2551 Dec 14 08:31:21 1690 6826 N t- -1.1463 0.7981 -0.2882 255.6 - -
12 -22 2569 Dec 24 16:35:18 1775 7049 N t- -1.1366 0.8176 -0.2721 258.9 - -
13 -21 2588 Jan 05 00:42:53 1862 7272 N t- -1.1301 0.8309 -0.2615 261.2 - -
14 -20 2606 Jan 16 08:50:19 1952 7495 N t- -1.1237 0.8436 -0.2508 263.5 - -
15 -19 2624 Jan 27 16:56:50 2043 7718 N t- -1.1169 0.8567 -0.2389 265.7 - -
16 -18 2642 Feb 07 01:00:14 2137 7941 N t- -1.1078 0.8738 -0.2223 268.2 - -
17 -17 2660 Feb 18 09:00:08 2232 8164 N t- -1.0960 0.8952 -0.2007 271.3 - -
18 -16 2678 Feb 28 16:52:54 2330 8387 N t- -1.0788 0.9264 -0.1687 275.4 - -
19 -15 2696 Mar 11 00:39:17 2430 8610 N t- -1.0567 0.9663 -0.1274 280.3 - -
20 -14 2714 Mar 23 08:17:02 2531 8833 Nx t- -1.0277 1.0184 -0.0734 286.3 - -
21 -13 2732 Apr 02 15:47:26 2635 9056 Nx t- -0.9928 1.0814 -0.0082 293.2 - -
22 -12 2750 Apr 13 23:06:26 2741 9279 P t- -0.9488 1.1608 0.0737 301.2 66.4 -
23 -11 2768 Apr 24 06:18:26 2849 9502 P t- -0.8992 1.2506 0.1661 309.6 98.5 -
24 -10 2786 May 05 13:19:52 2959 9725 P t- -0.8411 1.3559 0.2741 318.5 124.6 -
25 -09 2804 May 15 20:15:12 3071 9948 P t- -0.7776 1.4710 0.3919 327.3 146.4 -
26 -08 2822 May 27 03:00:29 3186 10171 P t- -0.7058 1.6015 0.5249 336.1 165.9 -
27 -07 2840 Jun 06 09:42:03 3302 10394 P t- -0.6306 1.7383 0.6640 344.1 182.4 -
28 -06 2858 Jun 17 16:16:02 3420 10617 P t- -0.5494 1.8862 0.8140 351.6 196.7 -
29 -05 2876 Jun 27 22:47:35 3541 10840 P t- -0.4657 2.0389 0.9686 358.0 208.6 -
30 -04 2894 Jul 09 05:14:55 3663 11063 T t- -0.3782 2.1987 1.1298 363.3 218.2 57.4
31 -03 2912 Jul 20 11:43:06 3788 11286 T tp -0.2912 2.3578 1.2900 367.4 225.5 81.2
32 -02 2930 Jul 31 18:10:59 3915 11509 T- pp -0.2036 2.5181 1.4511 370.2 230.6 94.9
33 -01 2948 Aug 11 00:41:12 4043 11732 T- pp -0.1176 2.6757 1.6091 371.8 233.7 102.7
34 00 2966 Aug 22 07:15:12 4174 11955 T- pp -0.0345 2.8282 1.7616 372.3 234.9 105.9
35 01 2984 Sep 01 13:54:23 4307 12178 T+ pp 0.0446 2.8098 1.7430 371.7 234.5 105.6
36 02 3002 Sep 13 20:39:57 4442 12401 T+ pp 0.1191 2.6733 1.6059 370.3 232.6 102.1
37 03 3020 Sep 24 03:32:39 4579 12624 T+ pp 0.1882 2.5471 1.4789 368.1 229.6 95.9
38 04 3038 Oct 05 10:34:33 4718 12847 T+ pp 0.2502 2.4336 1.3645 365.5 225.9 87.5
39 05 3056 Oct 15 17:45:35 4859 13070 T pp 0.3053 2.3332 1.2631 362.6 221.6 77.1
40 06 3074 Oct 27 01:05:39 5002 13293 T -p 0.3535 2.2451 1.1740 359.5 217.2 64.5
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 07 3092 Nov 06 08:36:06 5148 13516 T -p 0.3940 2.1714 1.0994 356.6 212.9 49.9
42 08 3110 Nov 18 16:16:10 5295 13739 T -t 0.4274 2.1104 1.0377 353.8 208.8 31.2
43 09 3128 Nov 29 00:05:39 5445 13962 P -t 0.4535 2.0627 0.9896 351.2 205.3 -
44 10 3146 Dec 10 08:02:05 5596 14185 P -t 0.4746 2.0240 0.9509 348.9 202.3 -
45 11 3164 Dec 20 16:06:44 5750 14408 P -t 0.4896 1.9962 0.9236 346.9 199.9 -
46 12 3183 Jan 01 00:16:57 5905 14631 P -t 0.5009 1.9749 0.9032 345.1 197.9 -
47 13 3201 Jan 11 08:31:39 6063 14854 P -t 0.5091 1.9591 0.8891 343.4 196.4 -
48 14 3219 Jan 22 16:48:43 6223 15077 P -t 0.5160 1.9454 0.8776 341.8 195.1 -
49 15 3237 Feb 02 01:07:25 6385 15300 P -t 0.5221 1.9325 0.8678 340.1 193.8 -
50 16 3255 Feb 13 09:25:50 6549 15523 P -t 0.5292 1.9178 0.8566 338.2 192.5 -
51 17 3273 Feb 23 17:41:23 6715 15746 P -t 0.5393 1.8970 0.8401 336.0 190.7 -
52 18 3291 Mar 07 01:54:27 6883 15969 P -t 0.5523 1.8708 0.8186 333.4 188.5 -
53 19 3309 Mar 18 10:02:32 7053 16192 P -t 0.5700 1.8358 0.7888 330.4 185.5 -
54 20 3327 Mar 29 18:05:22 7225 16415 P -t 0.5928 1.7911 0.7497 326.7 181.6 -
55 21 3345 Apr 09 02:01:21 7400 16638 P -t 0.6219 1.7347 0.6992 322.4 176.3 -
56 22 3363 Apr 20 09:51:38 7576 16861 P -t 0.6565 1.6681 0.6388 317.3 169.8 -
57 23 3381 Apr 30 17:35:11 7754 17084 P -t 0.6974 1.5899 0.5668 311.2 161.3 -
58 24 3399 May 12 01:11:32 7935 17307 P -t 0.7450 1.4995 0.4825 304.1 150.4 -
59 25 3417 May 23 08:42:17 8118 17530 P -t 0.7976 1.3999 0.3890 295.9 136.6 -
60 26 3435 Jun 03 16:07:24 8302 17753 P -t 0.8554 1.2909 0.2857 286.4 118.5 -
61 27 3453 Jun 13 23:28:23 8489 17976 P -h 0.9174 1.1745 0.1748 275.5 93.9 -
62 28 3471 Jun 25 06:44:45 8678 18199 P -h 0.9836 1.0505 0.0558 262.9 53.7 -
63 29 3489 Jul 05 13:59:38 8869 18422 N -h 1.0516 0.9233 -0.0668 248.7 - -
64 30 3507 Jul 17 21:12:30 9062 18645 N -h 1.1215 0.7931 -0.1929 232.7 - -
65 31 3525 Jul 28 04:25:20 9257 18868 N -h 1.1920 0.6618 -0.3205 214.5 - -
66 32 3543 Aug 08 11:39:05 9454 19091 N -h 1.2623 0.5314 -0.4480 193.9 - -
67 33 3561 Aug 18 18:55:42 9653 19314 N -a 1.3307 0.4045 -0.5724 170.7 - -
68 34 3579 Aug 30 02:16:23 9854 19537 N -a 1.3963 0.2832 -0.6918 144.0 - -
69 35 3597 Sep 09 09:40:54 10058 19760 N -a 1.4594 0.1668 -0.8068 111.3 - -
70 36 3615 Sep 20 17:12:23 10263 19983 Ne -a 1.5173 0.0600 -0.9128 67.2 - -
[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)"
