Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 170

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 170 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 2664 Jun 01. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 3926 Jul 09. The total duration of Saros series 170 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  2664 Jun 01   00:26:03 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  3926 Jul 09   04:29:17 TD

                      Duration of Saros 170  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 170 is composed of 71 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 170
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PenumbralN 17 23.9%
PartialP 30 42.3%
TotalT 24 33.8%

The 71 lunar eclipses in Saros 170 occur in the order of 7N 11P 24T 19P 10N which corresponds to:

                                     7  Penumbral
                                    11  Partial
                                    24  Total
                                    19  Partial
                                    10  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 170 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    3295 Jun 19      Duration = 01h39m54s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    2988 Dec 14      Duration = 00h11m36s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2970 Dec 04      Duration = 03h15m01s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    3746 Mar 20      Duration = 00h11m35s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2772 Aug 05      Duration = 04h21m39s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2664 Jun 01      Duration = 00h51m27s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 170 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    2970 Dec 04      Magnitude = 0.9756
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    3746 Mar 20      Magnitude = 0.0028

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 170 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 170

                          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   2664 Jun 01  00:26:03   2255   8217   Nb  t-   1.5565  0.0287 -1.0247   51.5    -      -  
 02  -34   2682 Jun 12  07:13:50   2353   8440   N   t-   1.4794  0.1679 -0.8809  122.4    -      -  
 03  -33   2700 Jun 23  13:59:43   2454   8663   N   t-   1.3996  0.3122 -0.7324  164.2    -      -  
 04  -32   2718 Jul 04  20:42:24   2556   8886   N   t-   1.3161  0.4636 -0.5772  196.5    -      -  
 05  -31   2736 Jul 15  03:26:59   2660   9109   N   t-   1.2326  0.6151 -0.4222  222.2    -      -  
 06  -30   2754 Jul 26  10:12:00   2767   9332   N   t-   1.1479  0.7689 -0.2655  243.8    -      -  
 07  -29   2772 Aug 05  17:00:33   2875   9555   N   t-   1.0649  0.9201 -0.1118  261.6    -      -  
 08  -28   2790 Aug 16  23:52:50   2986   9778   P   t-   0.9836  1.0681  0.0383  276.5   46.3    -  
 09  -27   2808 Aug 27  06:51:56   3098  10001   P   t-   0.9066  1.2086  0.1804  288.7   98.1    -  
 10  -26   2826 Sep 07  13:57:35   3213  10224   P   h-   0.8337  1.3417  0.3147  298.6  126.6    -  

 11  -25   2844 Sep 17  21:10:30   3330  10447   P   h-   0.7655  1.4664  0.4403  306.7  146.5    -  
 12  -24   2862 Sep 29  04:32:10   3449  10670   P   a-   0.7036  1.5797  0.5542  313.0  160.9    -  
 13  -23   2880 Oct 09  12:03:07   3570  10893   P   a-   0.6484  1.6809  0.6557  317.8  171.6    -  
 14  -22   2898 Oct 20  19:43:17   3693  11116   P   a-   0.5999  1.7697  0.7448  321.5  179.7    -  
 15  -21   2916 Nov 01  03:32:55   3818  11339   P   a-   0.5585  1.8456  0.8208  324.1  185.6    -  
 16  -20   2934 Nov 12  11:32:00   3945  11562   P   a-   0.5241  1.9087  0.8842  325.9  189.9    -  
 17  -19   2952 Nov 22  19:40:25   4074  11785   P   a-   0.4967  1.9587  0.9345  327.0  192.9    -  
 18  -18   2970 Dec 04  03:55:41   4205  12008   P   a-   0.4745  1.9991  0.9756  327.5  195.0    -  
 19  -17   2988 Dec 14  12:19:11   4339  12231   T   a-   0.4584  2.0282  1.0056  327.6  196.3   11.6
 20  -16   3006 Dec 26  20:47:49   4474  12454   T   a-   0.4463  2.0497  1.0285  327.3  197.2   26.0

 21  -15   3025 Jan 06  05:22:02   4612  12677   T   a-   0.4379  2.0642  1.0447  326.7  197.6   32.3
 22  -14   3043 Jan 17  13:57:30   4751  12900   T   a-   0.4301  2.0774  1.0603  326.1  197.9   37.2
 23  -13   3061 Jan 27  22:36:14   4893  13123   T   a-   0.4244  2.0865  1.0722  325.3  198.1   40.5
 24  -12   3079 Feb 08  07:13:53   5037  13346   T   a-   0.4175  2.0974  1.0865  324.5  198.4   44.0
 25  -11   3097 Feb 18  15:50:31   5183  13569   T   a-   0.4089  2.1112  1.1042  323.8  198.9   48.0
 26  -10   3115 Mar 03  00:22:50   5330  13792   T   a-   0.3963  2.1321  1.1293  323.2  199.7   52.9
 27  -09   3133 Mar 13  08:52:01   5480  14015   T   a-   0.3804  2.1589  1.1608  322.8  200.8   58.3
 28  -08   3151 Mar 24  17:15:04   5632  14238   T   p-   0.3591  2.1955  1.2023  322.6  202.2   64.4
 29  -07   3169 Apr 04  01:32:12   5787  14461   T   p-   0.3324  2.2420  1.2540  322.6  204.0   70.9
 30  -06   3187 Apr 15  09:42:20   5943  14684   T   p-   0.2993  2.3001  1.3173  322.8  206.0   77.4

 31  -05   3205 Apr 25  17:46:21   6101  14907   T+  p-   0.2604  2.3688  1.3912  323.0  208.0   83.6
 32  -04   3223 May 07  01:42:32   6261  15130   T+  p-   0.2146  2.4503  1.4778  323.3  210.0   89.3
 33  -03   3241 May 17  09:32:45   6424  15353   T+  p-   0.1632  2.5422  1.5745  323.4  211.8   94.0
 34  -02   3259 May 28  17:16:41   6588  15576   T+  p-   0.1060  2.6448  1.6817  323.3  213.0   97.5
 35  -01   3277 Jun 08  00:56:30   6755  15799   T+  pp   0.0447  2.7551  1.7962  322.9  213.7   99.6
 36   00   3295 Jun 19  08:30:20   6923  16022   T-  pp  -0.0221  2.7947  1.8395  322.0  213.5   99.9
 37   01   3313 Jun 30  16:02:34   7094  16245   T-  pp  -0.0910  2.6668  1.7148  320.6  212.5   98.2
 38   02   3331 Jul 11  23:31:14   7267  16468   T-  -p  -0.1635  2.5324  1.5829  318.6  210.3   94.0
 39   03   3349 Jul 22  07:00:15   7441  16691   T-  -p  -0.2360  2.3983  1.4509  316.0  207.1   87.0
 40   04   3367 Aug 02  14:27:18   7618  16914   T   -p  -0.3107  2.2607  1.3146  312.6  202.6   76.3


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 170

                          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   3385 Aug 12  21:57:43   7797  17137   T   -p  -0.3830  2.1277  1.1824  308.7  197.0   60.6
 42   06   3403 Aug 25  05:29:08   7978  17360   T   -a  -0.4549  1.9957  1.0505  304.2  190.1   33.1
 43   07   3421 Sep 04  13:04:44   8161  17583   P   -a  -0.5234  1.8701  0.9246  299.2  182.3    -  
 44   08   3439 Sep 15  20:44:03   8347  17806   P   -a  -0.5889  1.7504  0.8038  293.8  173.4    -  
 45   09   3457 Sep 26  04:29:39   8534  18029   P   -a  -0.6492  1.6405  0.6925  288.3  163.8    -  
 46   10   3475 Oct 07  12:20:53   8723  18252   P   -a  -0.7049  1.5392  0.5893  282.8  153.5    -  
 47   11   3493 Oct 17  20:18:09   8914  18475   P   -a  -0.7558  1.4470  0.4948  277.3  142.7    -  
 48   12   3511 Oct 30  04:23:06   9108  18698   P   -a  -0.8002  1.3668  0.4121  272.2  131.8    -  
 49   13   3529 Nov 09  12:35:08   9303  18921   P   -a  -0.8386  1.2976  0.3402  267.5  121.0    -  
 50   14   3547 Nov 20  20:54:54   9501  19144   P   -a  -0.8708  1.2400  0.2797  263.4  110.7    -  

 51   15   3565 Dec 01  05:21:01   9701  19367   P   -a  -0.8978  1.1919  0.2289  259.8  100.9    -  
 52   16   3583 Dec 12  13:54:47   9903  19590   P   -a  -0.9186  1.1550  0.1893  257.1   92.3    -  
 53   17   3601 Dec 22  22:33:38  10106  19813   P   -a  -0.9353  1.1257  0.1575  254.9   84.6    -  
 54   18   3620 Jan 03  07:17:32  10312  20036   P   -a  -0.9478  1.1039  0.1334  253.3   78.2    -  
 55   19   3638 Jan 13  16:04:46  10520  20259   P   -a  -0.9577  1.0867  0.1144  252.1   72.6    -  
 56   20   3656 Jan 25  00:55:01  10730  20482   P   -a  -0.9649  1.0742  0.1003  251.3   68.2    -  
 57   21   3674 Feb 04  09:45:16  10942  20705   P   -a  -0.9722  1.0613  0.0864  250.4   63.5    -  
 58   22   3692 Feb 15  18:35:04  11157  20928   P   -a  -0.9799  1.0476  0.0720  249.5   58.1    -  
 59   23   3710 Feb 27  03:22:16  11373  21151   P   -a  -0.9894  1.0302  0.0544  248.2   50.7    -  
 60   24   3728 Mar 09  12:06:48  11591  21374   P   -a  -1.0009  1.0092  0.0334  246.5   39.9    -  

 61   25   3746 Mar 20  20:44:44  11811  21597   P   -a  -1.0177  0.9782  0.0028  243.9   11.6    -  
 62   26   3764 Mar 31  05:17:46  12034  21820   N   -a  -1.0382  0.9402 -0.0346  240.4    -      -  
 63   27   3782 Apr 11  13:42:37  12259  22043   N   -a  -1.0653  0.8901 -0.0840  235.5    -      -  
 64   28   3800 Apr 22  22:01:33  12485  22266   N   -a  -1.0969  0.8318 -0.1415  229.5    -      -  
 65   29   3818 May 04  06:10:14  12714  22489   N   -a  -1.1365  0.7588 -0.2138  221.2    -      -  
 66   30   3836 May 14  14:12:48  12945  22712   N   -a  -1.1808  0.6772 -0.2949  211.2    -      -  
 67   31   3854 May 25  22:05:36  13177  22935   N   -a  -1.2330  0.5812 -0.3905  198.0    -      -  
 68   32   3872 Jun 05  05:52:16  13412  23158   N   -a  -1.2896  0.4773 -0.4943  181.7    -      -  
 69   33   3890 Jun 16  13:29:54  13649  23381   N   -a  -1.3531  0.3610 -0.6110  160.2    -      -  
 70   34   3908 Jun 27  21:02:59  13888  23604   N   -a  -1.4197  0.2392 -0.7336  132.2    -      -  

 71   35   3926 Jul 09  04:29:17  14130  23827   N   -a  -1.4912  0.1086 -0.8655   90.4    -      -  


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