Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series

Saros Series 173

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 173 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 2787 Apr 24. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 4067 Jun 11. The total duration of Saros series 173 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  2787 Apr 24   13:54:20 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  4067 Jun 11   01:40:30 TD

                      Duration of Saros 173  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 173 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 173
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PenumbralN 29 40.3%
PartialP 16 22.2%
TotalT 27 37.5%

The 72 lunar eclipses in Saros 173 occur in the order of 8N 7P 27T 9P 21N which corresponds to:

                                     8  Penumbral
                                     7  Partial
                                    27  Total
                                     9  Partial
                                    21  Penumbral

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 173 are as follows.

            Longest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    3400 May 01      Duration = 01h39m39s
           Shortest  Total  Lunar Eclipse:    3057 Oct 04      Duration = 00h29m33s

            Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    3039 Sep 24      Duration = 03h14m16s
           Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    3688 Oct 22      Duration = 00h53m51s

          Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    2913 Jul 09      Duration = 04h27m21s
         Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse:    4067 Jun 11      Duration = 00h22m48s

The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 173 are:

            Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    3544 Jul 28      Magnitude = 0.9944
           Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse:    3688 Oct 22      Magnitude = 0.0622

Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 173 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 173

                          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  -34   2787 Apr 24  13:54:20   2965   9737   N   t-  -1.5381  0.0689 -0.9971   79.8    -      -  
 02  -33   2805 May 04  21:08:11   3078   9960   N   t-  -1.4821  0.1689 -0.8915  123.4    -      -  
 03  -32   2823 May 16  04:14:42   3192  10183   N   t-  -1.4192  0.2815 -0.7734  157.0    -      -  
 04  -31   2841 May 26  11:15:35   3308  10406   N   t-  -1.3507  0.4045 -0.6451  185.4    -      -  
 05  -30   2859 Jun 06  18:11:15   3427  10629   N   t-  -1.2771  0.5370 -0.5075  210.1    -      -  
 06  -29   2877 Jun 17  01:03:49   3547  10852   N   t-  -1.1999  0.6762 -0.3635  231.7    -      -  
 07  -28   2895 Jun 28  07:53:55   3670  11075   N   t-  -1.1194  0.8218 -0.2135  250.7    -      -  
 08  -27   2913 Jul 09  14:42:35   3795  11298   N   t-  -1.0366  0.9716 -0.0597  267.4    -      -  
 09  -26   2931 Jul 20  21:32:13   3921  11521   P   t-  -0.9536  1.1222  0.0944  281.6   72.0    -  
 10  -25   2949 Jul 31  04:23:42   4050  11744   P   t-  -0.8712  1.2719  0.2471  293.7  113.7    -  

 11  -24   2967 Aug 11  11:18:05   4181  11967   P   h-  -0.7900  1.4195  0.3973  304.0  140.5    -  
 12  -23   2985 Aug 21  18:16:56   4314  12190   P   h-  -0.7114  1.5628  0.5427  312.4  160.0    -  
 13  -22   3003 Sep 03  01:21:39   4449  12413   P   h-  -0.6364  1.6995  0.6811  319.2  174.7    -  
 14  -21   3021 Sep 13  08:33:59   4586  12636   P   a-  -0.5669  1.8263  0.8092  324.5  185.8    -  
 15  -20   3039 Sep 24  15:52:39   4726  12859   P   a-  -0.5016  1.9457  0.9295  328.6  194.3    -  
 16  -19   3057 Oct 04  23:21:22   4867  13082   T   a-  -0.4437  2.0517  1.0360  331.5  200.5   29.5
 17  -18   3075 Oct 16  06:58:07   5010  13305   T   a-  -0.3914  2.1474  1.1322  333.6  205.1   54.8
 18  -17   3093 Oct 26  14:45:49   5156  13528   T   a-  -0.3473  2.2283  1.2133  334.9  208.3   67.5
 19  -16   3111 Nov 07  22:41:00   5303  13751   T   p-  -0.3086  2.2992  1.2844  335.7  210.6   75.9
 20  -15   3129 Nov 18  06:46:58   5453  13974   T   p-  -0.2780  2.3552  1.3407  335.9  212.0   81.1

 21  -14   3147 Nov 29  15:00:07   5604  14197   T-  p-  -0.2526  2.4016  1.3874  335.8  212.9   84.8
 22  -13   3165 Dec 09  23:21:45   5758  14420   T-  p-  -0.2335  2.4364  1.4228  335.4  213.3   87.1
 23  -12   3183 Dec 21  07:49:15   5914  14643   T-  p-  -0.2186  2.4632  1.4505  334.9  213.5   88.7
 24  -11   3201 Dec 31  16:23:14   6072  14866   T-  p-  -0.2083  2.4814  1.4701  334.2  213.4   89.7
 25  -10   3220 Jan 12  01:00:30   6232  15089   T-  p-  -0.2005  2.4950  1.4854  333.3  213.3   90.4
 26  -09   3238 Jan 22  09:40:19   6394  15312   T-  p-  -0.1940  2.5057  1.4984  332.4  213.1   90.9
 27  -08   3256 Feb 02  18:20:53   6558  15535   T-  p-  -0.1876  2.5160  1.5114  331.5  212.9   91.5
 28  -07   3274 Feb 13  03:01:37   6724  15758   T-  p-  -0.1806  2.5273  1.5259  330.5  212.8   92.1
 29  -06   3292 Feb 24  11:39:09   6892  15981   T-  p-  -0.1705  2.5440  1.5463  329.6  212.8   92.9
 30  -05   3310 Mar 07  20:13:54   7062  16204   T-  p-  -0.1576  2.5656  1.5720  328.7  212.8   93.9

 31  -04   3328 Mar 18  04:43:27   7235  16427   T-  p-  -0.1397  2.5962  1.6070  327.9  213.1   95.2
 32  -03   3346 Mar 29  13:08:49   7409  16650   T-  p-  -0.1177  2.6341  1.6496  327.1  213.3   96.5
 33  -02   3364 Apr 08  21:26:05   7586  16873   T-  p-  -0.0884  2.6854  1.7058  326.4  213.6   97.9
 34  -01   3382 Apr 20  05:38:24   7764  17096   T-  pp  -0.0545  2.7452  1.7705  325.5  213.9   99.0
 35   00   3400 May 01  13:42:40   7945  17319   T-  pp  -0.0135  2.8181  1.8481  324.6  213.9   99.6
 36   01   3418 May 12  21:41:20   8128  17542   T+  pp   0.0327  2.7804  1.8151  323.5  213.5   99.5
 37   02   3436 May 23  05:32:10   8312  17765   T+  pp   0.0860  2.6804  1.7195  322.0  212.6   98.1
 38   03   3454 Jun 03  13:18:34   8499  17988   T+  pp   0.1433  2.5732  1.6164  320.2  211.0   95.2
 39   04   3472 Jun 13  20:59:08   8688  18211   T+  -p   0.2057  2.4568  1.5036  317.9  208.6   90.1
 40   05   3490 Jun 25  04:35:13   8879  18434   T+  -p   0.2723  2.3330  1.3831  314.9  205.0   82.2


Catalog of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 173

                          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   06   3508 Jul 06  12:07:53   9072  18657   T   -p   0.3419  2.2040  1.2567  311.3  200.3   70.2
 42   07   3526 Jul 17  19:38:35   9267  18880   T   -a   0.4133  2.0720  1.1267  307.0  194.3   51.4
 43   08   3544 Jul 28  03:08:24   9465  19103   P   -a   0.4858  1.9383  0.9944  302.0  186.9    -  
 44   09   3562 Aug 08  10:37:34   9664  19326   P   -a   0.5588  1.8038  0.8608  296.2  177.9    -  
 45   10   3580 Aug 18  18:09:00   9865  19549   P   -a   0.6302  1.6728  0.7300  289.8  167.3    -  
 46   11   3598 Aug 30  01:42:30  10069  19772   P   -a   0.6997  1.5454  0.6021  282.8  155.0    -  
 47   12   3616 Sep 09  09:19:33  10274  19995   P   -a   0.7666  1.4232  0.4790  275.4  140.8    -  
 48   13   3634 Sep 20  17:00:27  10482  20218   P   -a   0.8303  1.3070  0.3613  267.5  124.4    -  
 49   14   3652 Oct 01  00:47:35  10691  20441   P   -a   0.8890  1.2003  0.2525  259.6  105.7    -  
 50   15   3670 Oct 12  08:40:34  10903  20664   P   -a   0.9426  1.1031  0.1530  251.7   83.4    -  

 51   16   3688 Oct 22  16:39:40  11117  20887   P   -a   0.9914  1.0151  0.0622  243.9   53.8    -  
 52   17   3706 Nov 04  00:46:12  11333  21110   N   -a   1.0339  0.9386 -0.0173  236.7    -      -  
 53   18   3724 Nov 14  09:00:08  11551  21333   N   -a   1.0706  0.8728 -0.0863  230.1    -      -  
 54   19   3742 Nov 25  17:21:07  11771  21556   N   -a   1.1013  0.8181 -0.1442  224.3    -      -  
 55   20   3760 Dec 06  01:48:17  11993  21779   N   -a   1.1270  0.7726 -0.1929  219.3    -      -  
 56   21   3778 Dec 17  10:21:57  12217  22002   N   -a   1.1474  0.7368 -0.2318  215.2    -      -  
 57   22   3796 Dec 27  19:01:16  12443  22225   N   -a   1.1633  0.7090 -0.2624  212.1    -      -  
 58   23   3815 Jan 09  03:44:10  12672  22448   N   -a   1.1763  0.6863 -0.2875  209.5    -      -  
 59   24   3833 Jan 19  12:31:12  12902  22671   N   -a   1.1861  0.6695 -0.3066  207.6    -      -  
 60   25   3851 Jan 30  21:19:23  13134  22894   N   -a   1.1951  0.6538 -0.3240  205.8    -      -  

 61   26   3869 Feb 10  06:09:02  13369  23117   N   -a   1.2028  0.6404 -0.3387  204.3    -      -  
 62   27   3887 Feb 21  14:55:49  13606  23340   N   -a   1.2130  0.6222 -0.3579  202.1    -      -  
 63   28   3905 Mar 04  23:41:52  13844  23563   N   -a   1.2236  0.6029 -0.3778  199.6    -      -  
 64   29   3923 Mar 16  08:22:42  14085  23786   N   -a   1.2388  0.5752 -0.4056  195.9    -      -  
 65   30   3941 Mar 26  16:59:12  14328  24009   N   -a   1.2571  0.5415 -0.4393  191.0    -      -  
 66   31   3959 Apr 07  01:28:01  14573  24232   N   -a   1.2814  0.4968 -0.4837  184.1    -      -  
 67   32   3977 Apr 17  09:51:01  14820  24455   N   -a   1.3102  0.4437 -0.5363  175.2    -      -  
 68   33   3995 Apr 28  18:05:22  15069  24678   N   -a   1.3457  0.3784 -0.6011  163.2    -      -  
 69   34   4013 May 09  02:11:34  15320  24901   N   -a   1.3872  0.3019 -0.6772  147.1    -      -  
 70   35   4031 May 20  10:09:05  15573  25124   N   -a   1.4353  0.2137 -0.7652  125.1    -      -  

 71   36   4049 May 30  17:59:06  15828  25347   N   -a   1.4885  0.1159 -0.8629   93.2    -      -  
 72   37   4067 Jun 11  01:40:30  16085  25570   Ne  -a   1.5481  0.0068 -0.9724   22.8    -      -  


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