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 174 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 2635 Dec 16. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 4042 Apr 18. The total duration of Saros series 174 is 1406.35 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2635 Dec 16 02:16:39 TD
Last Eclipse = 4042 Apr 18 19:30:29 TD
Duration of Saros 174 = 1406.35 Years
Saros 174 is composed of 79 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 174 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 79 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 37 | 46.8% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 19.0% |
| Total | T | 27 | 34.2% |
The 79 lunar eclipses in Saros 174 occur in the order of 18N 8P 27T 7P 19N which corresponds to:
18 Penumbral
8 Partial
27 Total
7 Partial
19 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 174 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3465 May 03 Duration = 01h41m42s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: 3104 Sep 26 Duration = 00h41m14s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3591 Jul 19 Duration = 03h18m08s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2960 Jun 30 Duration = 01h03m22s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 3717 Oct 03 Duration = 04h32m42s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2635 Dec 16 Duration = 00h28m04s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 174 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3086 Sep 15 Magnitude = 0.9739
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: 3699 Sep 22 Magnitude = 0.0765
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 174 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 -46 2635 Dec 16 02:16:39 2105 7865 N a- 1.5481 0.0105 -0.9760 28.1 - -
02 -45 2653 Dec 26 11:00:19 2199 8088 N a- 1.5371 0.0304 -0.9555 47.5 - -
03 -44 2672 Jan 06 19:46:59 2296 8311 N a- 1.5285 0.0455 -0.9392 57.9 - -
04 -43 2690 Jan 17 04:35:17 2395 8534 N a- 1.5212 0.0581 -0.9249 65.3 - -
05 -42 2708 Jan 29 13:24:03 2496 8757 N a- 1.5145 0.0694 -0.9117 71.1 - -
06 -41 2726 Feb 08 22:10:40 2600 8980 N a- 1.5059 0.0840 -0.8946 78.0 - -
07 -40 2744 Feb 20 06:54:26 2705 9203 N a- 1.4949 0.1027 -0.8731 85.9 - -
08 -39 2762 Mar 02 15:33:55 2812 9426 N a- 1.4806 0.1274 -0.8452 95.2 - -
09 -38 2780 Mar 13 00:09:05 2922 9649 N a- 1.4629 0.1581 -0.8111 105.6 - -
10 -37 2798 Mar 24 08:36:37 3033 9872 N a- 1.4388 0.2004 -0.7651 118.3 - -
11 -36 2816 Apr 03 16:58:39 3146 10095 N a- 1.4103 0.2509 -0.7111 131.5 - -
12 -35 2834 Apr 15 01:12:29 3262 10318 N a- 1.3749 0.3141 -0.6442 146.0 - -
13 -34 2852 Apr 25 09:20:36 3380 10541 N a- 1.3349 0.3856 -0.5692 160.5 - -
14 -33 2870 May 06 17:19:39 3499 10764 N a- 1.2875 0.4710 -0.4806 175.7 - -
15 -32 2888 May 17 01:13:49 3621 10987 N a- 1.2361 0.5640 -0.3847 190.3 - -
16 -31 2906 May 29 09:00:23 3745 11210 N a- 1.1780 0.6692 -0.2770 205.0 - -
17 -30 2924 Jun 08 16:42:16 3871 11433 N a- 1.1163 0.7815 -0.1626 218.9 - -
18 -29 2942 Jun 20 00:18:29 3999 11656 N a- 1.0497 0.9029 -0.0397 232.3 - -
19 -28 2960 Jun 30 07:52:16 4129 11879 P a- 0.9811 1.0283 0.0866 244.6 63.4 -
20 -27 2978 Jul 11 15:23:03 4261 12102 P a- 0.9099 1.1587 0.2173 256.0 98.6 -
21 -26 2996 Jul 21 22:52:28 4396 12325 P a- 0.8376 1.2915 0.3499 266.4 122.8 -
22 -25 3014 Aug 03 06:21:54 4532 12548 P a- 0.7653 1.4248 0.4822 275.8 141.5 -
23 -24 3032 Aug 13 13:52:30 4670 12771 P a- 0.6938 1.5567 0.6125 284.1 156.4 -
24 -23 3050 Aug 24 21:25:09 4811 12994 P a- 0.6243 1.6853 0.7390 291.4 168.4 -
25 -22 3068 Sep 04 05:00:45 4953 13217 P a- 0.5574 1.8095 0.8604 297.7 178.2 -
26 -21 3086 Sep 15 12:41:15 5098 13440 P a- 0.4946 1.9263 0.9739 303.1 186.1 -
27 -20 3104 Sep 26 20:26:57 5245 13663 T a- 0.4364 2.0351 1.0790 307.7 192.4 41.2
28 -19 3122 Oct 08 04:17:59 5393 13886 T p- 0.3829 2.1351 1.1751 311.6 197.4 59.6
29 -18 3140 Oct 18 12:16:10 5544 14109 T p- 0.3358 2.2238 1.2594 314.9 201.2 70.7
30 -17 3158 Oct 29 20:20:53 5697 14332 T p- 0.2949 2.3012 1.3323 317.6 204.2 78.1
31 -16 3176 Nov 09 04:33:10 5852 14555 T+ p- 0.2604 2.3668 1.3933 319.9 206.4 83.1
32 -15 3194 Nov 20 12:50:36 6009 14778 T+ p- 0.2306 2.4237 1.4456 322.0 208.2 86.8
33 -14 3212 Nov 30 21:15:57 6168 15001 T+ p- 0.2082 2.4672 1.4846 323.7 209.5 89.2
34 -13 3230 Dec 12 05:46:07 6329 15224 T+ p- 0.1903 2.5021 1.5152 325.3 210.5 90.9
35 -12 3248 Dec 22 14:22:04 6493 15447 T+ p- 0.1778 2.5271 1.5362 326.7 211.4 92.0
36 -11 3267 Jan 02 23:00:47 6658 15670 T+ p- 0.1681 2.5467 1.5522 328.0 212.1 92.9
37 -10 3285 Jan 13 07:43:11 6825 15893 T+ p- 0.1619 2.5596 1.5620 329.2 212.6 93.4
38 -09 3303 Jan 25 16:25:48 6995 16116 T+ p- 0.1564 2.5711 1.5708 330.3 213.2 93.9
39 -08 3321 Feb 05 01:08:10 7166 16339 T+ p- 0.1514 2.5814 1.5789 331.4 213.9 94.4
40 -07 3339 Feb 16 09:48:24 7340 16562 T+ p- 0.1450 2.5939 1.5898 332.6 214.5 95.0
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 3357 Feb 26 18:25:36 7516 16785 T+ pp 0.1368 2.6097 1.6042 333.7 215.3 95.8
42 -05 3375 Mar 10 02:57:11 7693 17008 T+ pp 0.1243 2.6330 1.6267 334.9 216.2 96.8
43 -04 3393 Mar 20 11:22:40 7873 17231 T+ pp 0.1073 2.6647 1.6577 336.2 217.2 97.9
44 -03 3411 Apr 01 19:40:38 8055 17454 T+ pp 0.0847 2.7062 1.6989 337.5 218.2 99.2
45 -02 3429 Apr 12 03:51:13 8239 17677 T+ pp 0.0567 2.7577 1.7502 338.7 219.3 100.4
46 -01 3447 Apr 23 11:51:33 8425 17900 T+ pp 0.0209 2.8235 1.8158 340.0 220.3 101.4
47 00 3465 May 03 19:44:01 8613 18123 T- pp -0.0208 2.8237 1.8159 341.0 220.9 101.7
48 01 3483 May 15 03:26:19 8804 18346 T- pp -0.0704 2.7329 1.7247 341.8 221.1 100.9
49 02 3501 May 26 11:01:15 8996 18569 T- pp -0.1252 2.6326 1.6239 342.2 220.6 98.6
50 03 3519 Jun 06 18:25:47 9190 18792 T- -p -0.1877 2.5183 1.5087 342.0 219.2 94.0
51 04 3537 Jun 17 01:44:13 9387 19015 T- -p -0.2546 2.3962 1.3854 341.2 216.5 86.2
52 05 3555 Jun 28 08:54:34 9585 19238 T -a -0.3276 2.2632 1.2508 339.4 212.3 73.2
53 06 3573 Jul 08 15:59:54 9786 19461 T -a -0.4037 2.1244 1.1100 336.7 206.3 50.9
54 07 3591 Jul 19 22:59:41 9988 19684 P -h -0.4836 1.9791 0.9621 332.8 198.1 -
55 08 3609 Jul 30 05:57:09 10193 19907 P -h -0.5646 1.8321 0.8121 327.7 187.6 -
56 09 3627 Aug 10 12:52:24 10400 20130 P -h -0.6465 1.6835 0.6600 321.4 174.0 -
57 10 3645 Aug 20 19:46:38 10608 20353 P -t -0.7283 1.5354 0.5080 313.8 157.0 -
58 11 3663 Sep 01 02:41:46 10819 20576 P -t -0.8084 1.3907 0.3589 305.1 135.4 -
59 12 3681 Sep 11 09:38:37 11032 20799 P -t -0.8861 1.2505 0.2139 295.2 107.1 -
60 13 3699 Sep 22 16:39:13 11247 21022 P -t -0.9596 1.1182 0.0765 284.4 65.5 -
61 14 3717 Oct 03 23:43:08 11465 21245 N -t -1.0294 0.9927 -0.0544 272.7 - -
62 15 3735 Oct 15 06:53:38 11684 21468 N -t -1.0930 0.8789 -0.1737 260.7 - -
63 16 3753 Oct 25 14:09:25 11905 21691 N -t -1.1513 0.7748 -0.2836 248.3 - -
64 17 3771 Nov 05 21:32:22 12128 21914 N -t -1.2027 0.6833 -0.3807 236.3 - -
65 18 3789 Nov 16 05:01:53 12354 22137 N -t -1.2481 0.6029 -0.4666 224.5 - -
66 19 3807 Nov 28 12:39:23 12581 22360 N -t -1.2858 0.5363 -0.5385 213.8 - -
67 20 3825 Dec 08 20:23:19 12811 22583 N -t -1.3181 0.4796 -0.6002 204.0 - -
68 21 3843 Dec 20 04:13:18 13043 22806 N -t -1.3449 0.4328 -0.6516 195.2 - -
69 22 3861 Dec 30 12:09:00 13276 23029 N -t -1.3663 0.3955 -0.6930 187.8 - -
70 23 3880 Jan 10 20:09:56 13512 23252 N -t -1.3828 0.3670 -0.7250 181.8 - -
71 24 3898 Jan 21 04:13:14 13750 23475 N -t -1.3971 0.3421 -0.7525 176.3 - -
72 25 3916 Feb 02 12:18:51 13990 23698 N -t -1.4090 0.3213 -0.7755 171.5 - -
73 26 3934 Feb 12 20:23:51 14232 23921 N -t -1.4211 0.2997 -0.7983 166.3 - -
74 27 3952 Feb 24 04:28:32 14476 24144 N -t -1.4330 0.2783 -0.8204 160.7 - -
75 28 3970 Mar 06 12:28:05 14722 24367 N -t -1.4483 0.2502 -0.8484 153.0 - -
76 29 3988 Mar 16 20:24:50 14970 24590 N -t -1.4654 0.2184 -0.8794 143.4 - -
77 30 4006 Mar 28 04:13:50 15220 24813 N -t -1.4882 0.1759 -0.9206 129.3 - -
78 31 4024 Apr 07 11:57:11 15473 25036 N -t -1.5150 0.1257 -0.9689 109.8 - -
79 32 4042 Apr 18 19:30:29 15727 25259 N -t -1.5495 0.0614 -1.0310 77.2 - -
[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)"
