Saros 21

Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 21

Fred Espenak

Introduction

A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through Earth's shadow. At least two lunar eclipses and as many as five occur every year.

The periodicity and recurrence of lunar 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 with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and the same time of year due to a harmonic in three cycles of the Moon's orbit. Thus, the Saros is useful for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 to 15 centuries and contains about 70 to 80 eclipses. Every saros series begins with a number of penumbral lunar eclipses. The series will then produce several dozen partial eclipses, followed by several dozen total eclipses. The later portion of the series produces another set of partial eclipses before ending with a final group of penumbral eclipses.

Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 21

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every lunar eclipse belonging to Saros 21 . The date and time of each eclipse is given for the instant of Greatest Eclipse. For eclipses between the years -1999 to 3000, the calendar date links to a web page containing additional details along with a diagram of the eclipse geometry and a map showing the geographic region of eclipse visibility for that eclipse. A description of each parameter in the catalog table can be found in Key to Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses.

Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 21
Seq Num Rel Num Calendar Date TD of Greatest Eclipse ΔT

s
ΔT Sigma
s
Luna Num Ecl Type QSE Gamma Pen Mag Um Mag Pen Dur
m
Par Dur
m
Tot Dur
m
1-38 -1955-Feb-2203:18:37 45336 3544 -48916 Nb a- -1.5329 0.0425-0.9519 57.7 - -
2-37 -1937-Mar-0510:55:27 44904 3471 -48693 N a- -1.4794 0.1376-0.8505102.6 - -
3-36 -1919-Mar-1518:27:32 44474 3398 -48470 N a- -1.4211 0.2414-0.7407134.0 - -
4-35 -1901-Mar-2701:53:03 44045 3326 -48247 N a- -1.3565 0.3573-0.6193160.6 - -
5-34 -1883-Apr-0609:13:54 43619 3254 -48024 N a- -1.2870 0.4821-0.4894183.6 - -
6-33 -1865-Apr-1716:31:19 43195 3183 -47801 N a- -1.2140 0.6138-0.3532203.8 - -
7-32 -1847-Apr-2723:46:48 42774 3113 -47578 N a- -1.1385 0.7503-0.2127221.4 - -
8-31 -1829-May-0907:01:11 42354 3044 -47355 N a- -1.0611 0.8907-0.0690236.9 - -
9-30 -1811-May-1914:15:28 41936 2975 -47132 P a- -0.9826 1.0333 0.0763250.6 60.6 -
10-29 -1793-May-3021:32:11 41520 2907 -46909 P a- -0.9053 1.1742 0.2191262.2100.5 -
11-28 -1775-Jun-1004:52:00 41106 2839 -46686 P a- -0.8300 1.3118 0.3580272.2125.7 -
12-27 -1757-Jun-2112:15:36 40695 2773 -46463 P a- -0.7573 1.4449 0.4917280.6144.0 -
13-26 -1739-Jul-0119:44:57 40285 2707 -46240 P a- -0.6886 1.5708 0.6177287.6158.0 -
14-25 -1721-Jul-1303:20:53 39878 2641 -46017 P a- -0.6251 1.6877 0.7340293.3168.7 -
15-24 -1703-Jul-2311:04:17 39472 2577 -45794 P a- -0.5675 1.7938 0.8391298.0176.9 -
16-23 -1685-Aug-0318:54:28 39069 2513 -45571 P a- -0.5154 1.8902 0.9341301.7183.3 -
17-22 -1667-Aug-1402:53:50 38668 2450 -45348 T a- -0.4709 1.9728 1.0148304.6188.0 18.1
18-21 -1649-Aug-2511:01:21 38269 2387 -45125 T a- -0.4331 2.0430 1.0831306.8191.6 42.0
19-20 -1631-Sep-0419:17:51 37871 2326 -44902 T p- -0.4027 2.0999 1.1378308.5194.1 53.1
20-19 -1613-Sep-1603:42:08 37476 2264 -44679 T p- -0.3788 2.1449 1.1806309.7195.9 59.9
21-18 -1595-Sep-2612:14:56 37083 2204 -44456 T p- -0.3619 2.1768 1.2106310.6197.1 64.0
22-17 -1577-Oct-0720:54:36 36692 2144 -44233 T p- -0.3508 2.1982 1.2300311.2197.8 66.4
23-16 -1559-Oct-1805:39:32 36304 2086 -44010 T p- -0.3440 2.2114 1.2417311.6198.2 67.8
24-15 -1541-Oct-2914:29:50 35917 2027 -43787 T p- -0.3417 2.2164 1.2454311.7198.3 68.2
25-14 -1523-Nov-0823:22:49 35532 1970 -43564 T p- -0.3412 2.2176 1.2458311.8198.3 68.2
26-13 -1505-Nov-2008:17:48 35150 1913 -43341 T p- -0.3428 2.2150 1.2428311.9198.2 67.9
27-12 -1487-Nov-3017:11:08 34769 1857 -43118 T p- -0.3428 2.2148 1.2428311.9198.3 67.9
28-11 -1469-Dec-1202:03:49 34390 1802 -42895 T p- -0.3425 2.2151 1.2436312.0198.4 68.0
29-10 -1451-Dec-2210:52:09 34014 1747 -42672 T p- -0.3384 2.2223 1.2517312.3198.9 69.0
30 -9 -1432-Jan-0219:35:39 33640 1693 -42449 T p- -0.3306 2.2359 1.2666312.8199.6 70.8
31 -8 -1414-Jan-1304:11:48 33267 1640 -42226 T p- -0.3168 2.2605 1.2927313.6200.8 73.6
32 -7 -1396-Jan-2412:41:20 32897 1587 -42003 T p- -0.2978 2.2945 1.3284314.6202.3 77.1
33 -6 -1378-Feb-0321:02:12 32529 1535 -41780 T- p- -0.2718 2.3413 1.3770315.8204.2 81.3
34 -5 -1360-Feb-1505:14:22 32163 1484 -41557 T- p- -0.2387 2.4011 1.4384317.2206.3 85.8
35 -4 -1342-Feb-2513:17:38 31799 1434 -41334 T- p- -0.1985 2.4741 1.5129318.8208.5 90.4
36 -3 -1324-Mar-0721:12:31 31437 1385 -41111 T- p- -0.1517 2.5594 1.5995320.4210.6 94.4
37 -2 -1306-Mar-1904:58:20 31077 1336 -40888 T- pp -0.0977 2.6580 1.6991321.8212.5 97.7
38 -1 -1288-Mar-2912:36:49 30719 1288 -40665 T- pp -0.0377 2.7678 1.8093323.0213.8 99.7
39 0 -1270-Apr-0920:07:59 30364 1240 -40442 T+ pp 0.0278 2.7862 1.8276323.8214.3100.1
40 1 -1252-Apr-2003:34:14 30010 1194 -40219 T+ pp 0.0971 2.6592 1.6999324.0213.9 98.4
Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 21
Seq Num Rel Num Calendar Date TD of Greatest Eclipse ΔT

s
ΔT Sigma
s
Luna Num Ecl Type QSE Gamma Pen Mag Um Mag Pen Dur
m
Par Dur
m
Tot Dur
m
41 2 -1234-May-0110:53:37 29659 1148 -39996 T+ -p 0.1716 2.5232 1.5628323.6212.4 94.0
42 3 -1216-May-1118:11:04 29309 1103 -39773 T+ -p 0.2469 2.3859 1.4235322.5209.5 86.3
43 4 -1198-May-2301:24:16 28962 1058 -39550 T -a 0.3249 2.2441 1.2791320.6205.2 74.0
44 5 -1180-Jun-0208:37:48 28616 1015 -39327 T -a 0.4021 2.1041 1.1359317.9199.5 54.2
45 6 -1162-Jun-1315:49:00 28273 972 -39104 P -a 0.4802 1.9627 0.9907314.3191.9 -
46 7 -1144-Jun-2323:03:46 27932 930 -38881 P -a 0.5544 1.8288 0.8523310.1183.0 -
47 8 -1126-Jul-0506:19:27 27593 888 -38658 P -a 0.6266 1.6989 0.7175305.2172.3 -
48 9 -1108-Jul-1513:40:01 27255 848 -38435 P -a 0.6936 1.5786 0.5918299.9160.2 -
49 10 -1090-Jul-2621:04:22 26920 808 -38212 P -a 0.7566 1.4661 0.4733294.3146.4 -
50 11 -1072-Aug-0604:36:02 26587 769 -37989 P -a 0.8125 1.3667 0.3677288.9131.5 -
51 12 -1054-Aug-1712:13:19 26257 731 -37766 P -a 0.8626 1.2779 0.2725283.5115.2 -
52 13 -1036-Aug-2719:57:47 25928 693 -37543 P -a 0.9059 1.2019 0.1899278.6 97.6 -
53 14 -1018-Sep-0803:49:33 25601 656 -37320 P -a 0.9421 1.1387 0.1202274.4 78.6 -
54 15 -1000-Sep-1811:49:21 25276 622 -37097 P -a 0.9710 1.0889 0.0639271.1 58.0 -
55 16 -0982-Sep-2919:55:48 24954 615 -36874 P -a 0.9937 1.0504 0.0193268.6 32.2 -
56 17 -0964-Oct-1004:08:50 24633 608 -36651 Nx -a 1.0103 1.0229-0.0140267.0 - -
57 18 -0946-Oct-2112:27:17 24315 601 -36428 Nx -a 1.0216 1.0048-0.0374266.3 - -
58 19 -0928-Oct-3120:50:03 23998 594 -36205 N -a 1.0287 0.9941-0.0529266.2 - -
59 20 -0910-Nov-1205:14:26 23684 587 -35982 N -a 1.0337 0.9871-0.0640266.6 - -
60 21 -0892-Nov-2213:40:40 23372 581 -35759 N -a 1.0366 0.9834-0.0711267.2 - -
61 22 -0874-Dec-0322:05:23 23062 574 -35536 N -a 1.0401 0.9784-0.0789267.6 - -
62 23 -0856-Dec-1406:27:48 22754 567 -35313 N -a 1.0447 0.9711-0.0883267.7 - -
63 24 -0838-Dec-2514:44:30 22448 560 -35090 N -a 1.0531 0.9564-0.1045266.9 - -
64 25 -0819-Jan-0422:56:10 22144 553 -34867 N -h 1.0649 0.9351-0.1266265.3 - -
65 26 -0801-Jan-1606:59:44 21842 546 -34644 N -h 1.0828 0.9025-0.1596262.3 - -
66 27 -0783-Jan-2614:54:18 21542 539 -34421 N -h 1.1072 0.8578-0.2042257.6 - -
67 28 -0765-Feb-0622:38:54 21244 533 -34198 N -t 1.1387 0.7997-0.2620250.8 - -
68 29 -0747-Feb-1706:13:30 20949 526 -33975 N -t 1.1777 0.7279-0.3332241.7 - -
69 30 -0729-Feb-2813:37:55 20655 519 -33752 N -t 1.2241 0.6425-0.4180229.5 - -
70 31 -0711-Mar-1020:50:54 20363 512 -33529 N -t 1.2789 0.5416-0.5182213.3 - -
71 32 -0693-Mar-2203:54:23 20074 505 -33306 N -t 1.3404 0.4284-0.6309192.2 - -
72 33 -0675-Apr-0110:47:43 19787 498 -33083 N -t 1.4089 0.3026-0.7563163.8 - -
73 34 -0657-Apr-1217:32:50 19501 491 -32860 N -t 1.4829 0.1668-0.8920123.4 - -
74 35 -0639-Apr-2300:09:47 19218 484 -32637 Ne -t 1.5624 0.0210-1.0379 44.5 - -

Statistics for Lunar Eclipses of Saros 21

Lunar eclipses of Saros 21 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 -1955 Feb 22. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -0639 Apr 23. The total duration of Saros series 21 is 1316.20 years.

Summary of Saros 21
First Eclipse -1955 Feb 22
Last Eclipse -0639 Apr 23
Series Duration 1316.20 Years
No. of Eclipses 74
Sequence 8N 8P 28T 11P 19N

Saros 21 is composed of 74 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 21
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 74100.0%
PenumbralN 27 36.5%
PartialP 19 25.7%
TotalT 28 37.8%

The 74 lunar eclipses of Saros 21 occur in the order of 8N 8P 28T 11P 19N which corresponds to the following.

Sequence Order of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 21
Eclipse Type Symbol Number
Penumbral N 8
Partial P 8
Total T 28
Partial P 11
Penumbral N 19

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 21 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 21
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse -1270 Apr 0901h40m05s -
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse -1667 Aug 1400h18m08s -
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse -1162 Jun 1303h11m56s -
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0982 Sep 2900h32m10s -
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse -0856 Dec 1404h27m41s -
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse -0639 Apr 2300h44m27s -
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse -1162 Jun 13 - 0.99070
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0982 Sep 29 - 0.01931

Links to Additional Lunar Eclipse Predictions

  • Home - home page of EclipseWise with predictions for both Solar and lunar eclipses

Eclipse Publications

by Fred Espenak

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Calendar

The Gregorian calendar (also called the Western calendar) is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582. On this website, the Gregorian calendar is used for all calendar 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..

Eclipse Predictions

The eclipse predictions presented here were generated using the JPL DE406 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates have been calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass.

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 -2999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.

Acknowledgments

Some of the content on this web site is based on the books Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Thousand Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1501 to 2500. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are NOT altered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is NOT removed or covered.