Saros 121

Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 121

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 121

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every lunar eclipse belonging to Saros 121 . 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 121
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
1-35 1047-Oct-0619:05:25 1312 48 -11778 Nb t- -1.5574 0.0466-1.0450 67.2 - -
2-34 1065-Oct-1702:42:46 1227 46 -11555 N t- -1.5293 0.0992-0.9944 97.5 - -
3-33 1083-Oct-2810:27:29 1146 43 -11332 N t- -1.5064 0.1420-0.9530116.2 - -
4-32 1101-Nov-0718:20:49 1070 41 -11109 N t- -1.4897 0.1731-0.9228127.8 - -
5-31 1119-Nov-1902:18:51 998 39 -10886 N t- -1.4761 0.1980-0.8982136.2 - -
6-30 1137-Nov-2910:23:13 930 37 -10663 N t- -1.4670 0.2146-0.8811141.3 - -
7-29 1155-Dec-1018:29:41 867 35 -10440 N t- -1.4588 0.2290-0.8655145.5 - -
8-28 1173-Dec-2102:37:46 807 33 -10217 N t- -1.4511 0.2421-0.8504149.1 - -
9-27 1192-Jan-0110:45:04 751 32 -9994 N t- -1.4421 0.2572-0.8326153.1 - -
10-26 1210-Jan-1118:50:54 699 30 -9771 N t- -1.4311 0.2758-0.8105157.8 - -
11-25 1228-Jan-2302:52:13 650 28 -9548 N h- -1.4158 0.3017-0.7805164.2 - -
12-24 1246-Feb-0210:48:34 604 26 -9325 N h- -1.3957 0.3361-0.7412172.2 - -
13-23 1264-Feb-1318:38:51 562 25 -9102 N h- -1.3700 0.3806-0.6915181.8 - -
14-22 1282-Feb-2402:22:58 522 23 -8879 N h- -1.3384 0.4357-0.6307192.8 - -
15-21 1300-Mar-0609:58:03 485 22 -8656 N h- -1.2988 0.5054-0.5550205.5 - -
16-20 1318-Mar-1717:26:55 450 20 -8433 N h- -1.2534 0.5856-0.4687218.6 - -
17-19 1336-Mar-2800:47:24 417 20 -8210 N h- -1.2003 0.6799-0.3682232.3 - -
18-18 1354-Apr-0808:02:40 387 20 -7987 N h- -1.1419 0.7840-0.2580245.8 - -
19-17 1372-Apr-1815:09:50 358 20 -7764 N h- -1.0758 0.9022-0.1338259.4 - -
20-16 1390-Apr-2922:13:48 331 20 -7541 Nx h- -1.0060 1.0274-0.0029271.9 - -
21-15 1408-May-1005:12:15 305 20 -7318 P h- -0.9308 1.1627 0.1377283.8 86.0 -
22-14 1426-May-2112:09:01 281 20 -7095 P h- -0.8529 1.3032 0.2832294.4120.4 -
23-13 1444-May-3119:03:16 258 20 -6872 P h- -0.7716 1.4501 0.4346304.0145.4 -
24-12 1462-Jun-1201:58:53 236 20 -6649 P h- -0.6902 1.5973 0.5859312.1164.3 -
25-11 1480-Jun-2208:55:25 216 20 -6426 P h- -0.6086 1.7454 0.7374319.0179.1 -
26-10 1498-Jul-0315:54:46 197 20 -6203 P a- -0.5280 1.8917 0.8867324.5190.8 -
27 -9 1516-Jul-1322:58:22 179 20 -5980 T a- -0.4501 2.0334 1.0308328.8199.7 27.3
28 -8 1534-Jul-2506:07:00 162 20 -5757 T a- -0.3755 2.1694 1.1687332.0206.5 61.1
29 -7 1552-Aug-0413:22:36 147 20 -5534 T a- -0.3055 2.2970 1.2977334.2211.3 77.5
30 -6 1570-Aug-1520:44:32 134 20 -5311 T- p- -0.2401 2.4165 1.4182335.5214.6 87.6
31 -5 1588-Sep-0504:15:58 124 20 -5088 T- p- -0.1819 2.5231 1.5254336.1216.6 93.8
32 -4 1606-Sep-1611:55:20 111 19 -4865 T- p- -0.1296 2.6188 1.6215336.1217.7 97.5
33 -3 1624-Sep-2619:44:23 87 16 -4642 T- pp -0.0846 2.7014 1.7042335.7218.1 99.5
34 -2 1642-Oct-0803:42:19 59 14 -4419 T- pp -0.0462 2.7718 1.7746335.1218.0100.3
35 -1 1660-Oct-1811:50:07 34 11 -4196 T- pp -0.0151 2.8288 1.8315334.3217.5100.5
36 0 1678-Oct-2920:06:20 15 8 -3973 T+ pp 0.0093 2.8395 1.8422333.3216.9100.2
37 1 1696-Nov-0904:30:20 8 5 -3750 T+ pp 0.0281 2.8050 1.8078332.4216.3 99.8
38 2 1714-Nov-2113:01:43 9 4 -3527 T+ pp 0.0414 2.7803 1.7836331.5215.7 99.4
39 3 1732-Dec-0121:39:42 11 4 -3304 T+ pp 0.0502 2.7638 1.7678330.5215.1 99.0
40 4 1750-Dec-1306:21:46 13 3 -3081 T+ pp 0.0561 2.7524 1.7576329.6214.6 98.7
Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 121
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 5 1768-Dec-2315:07:13 16 2 -2858 T+ pp 0.0597 2.7449 1.7518328.7214.1 98.4
42 6 1787-Jan-0323:53:37 16 2 -2635 T+ pp 0.0632 2.7375 1.7465327.8213.7 98.2
43 7 1805-Jan-1508:40:57 12 1 -2412 T+ pp 0.0663 2.7305 1.7420326.8213.3 98.1
44 8 1823-Jan-2617:24:53 11 1 -2189 T+ pp 0.0729 2.7169 1.7315325.8212.9 97.8
45 9 1841-Feb-0602:07:13 5 1 -1966 T+ pp 0.0812 2.6999 1.7178324.8212.5 97.5
46 10 1859-Feb-1710:43:28 7 0 -1743 T+ pp 0.0950 2.6727 1.6944323.7211.9 96.9
47 11 1877-Feb-2719:15:37 -4 0 -1520 T+ -p 0.1125 2.6386 1.6644322.6211.4 96.2
48 12 1895-Mar-1103:39:10 -6 0 -1297 T+ -p 0.1376 2.5904 1.6204321.3210.5 94.8
49 13 1913-Mar-2211:57:49 15 0 -1074 T+ -p 0.1671 2.5340 1.5683319.8209.4 92.8
50 14 1931-Apr-0220:07:55 24 0 -851 T+ -p 0.2043 2.4637 1.5021318.0207.9 89.6
51 15 1949-Apr-1304:11:25 29 0 -628 T+ -p 0.2474 2.3825 1.4251315.9205.7 84.9
52 16 1967-Apr-2412:07:04 38 0 -405 T -p 0.2972 2.2892 1.3356313.4202.8 77.9
53 17 1985-May-0419:57:19 55 0 -182 T -p 0.3520 2.1870 1.2369310.3199.0 67.7
54 18 2003-May-1603:41:13 64 0 41 T -a 0.4123 2.0747 1.1276306.6193.9 51.4
55 19 2021-May-2611:19:53 70 0 264 T -a 0.4774 1.9540 1.0095302.1187.4 14.5
56 20 2039-Jun-0618:54:25 79 5 487 P -a 0.5460 1.8272 0.8846296.8179.3 -
57 21 2057-Jun-1702:26:20 90 12 710 P -a 0.6168 1.6967 0.7555290.7169.3 -
58 22 2075-Jun-2809:55:36 104 22 933 P -a 0.6897 1.5624 0.6220283.5157.0 -
59 23 2093-Jul-0817:24:18 120 33 1156 P -a 0.7632 1.4275 0.4872275.4141.9 -
60 24 2111-Jul-2100:53:17 139 46 1379 P -a 0.8362 1.2938 0.3530266.4123.2 -
61 25 2129-Jul-3108:24:30 161 60 1602 P -a 0.9070 1.1644 0.2224256.6 99.7 -
62 26 2147-Aug-1115:57:02 185 76 1825 P -a 0.9765 1.0378 0.0941245.9 66.0 -
63 27 2165-Aug-2123:34:20 212 93 2048 N -a 1.0418 0.9193-0.0268234.6 - -
64 28 2183-Sep-0207:15:21 241 111 2271 N -a 1.1037 0.8072-0.1418222.7 - -
65 29 2201-Sep-1315:03:16 273 130 2494 N -a 1.1598 0.7059-0.2464210.8 - -
66 30 2219-Sep-2422:55:51 308 150 2717 N -a 1.2117 0.6126-0.3435198.6 - -
67 31 2237-Oct-0506:57:01 345 171 2940 N -a 1.2564 0.5325-0.4275187.0 - -
68 32 2255-Oct-1615:04:23 384 194 3163 N -a 1.2959 0.4621-0.5021175.8 - -
69 33 2273-Oct-2623:19:48 427 217 3386 N -a 1.3289 0.4037-0.5647165.6 - -
70 34 2291-Nov-0707:41:43 471 241 3609 N -a 1.3565 0.3553-0.6174156.5 - -
71 35 2309-Nov-1816:10:55 519 266 3832 N -a 1.3783 0.3174-0.6594148.8 - -
72 36 2327-Nov-3000:45:49 569 292 4055 N -a 1.3950 0.2886-0.6920142.6 - -
73 37 2345-Dec-1009:24:57 621 319 4278 N -a 1.4085 0.2658-0.7185137.5 - -
74 38 2363-Dec-2118:08:30 676 347 4501 N -a 1.4180 0.2498-0.7377133.8 - -
75 39 2382-Jan-0102:54:07 734 376 4724 N -a 1.4263 0.2361-0.7541130.6 - -
76 40 2400-Jan-1211:40:47 794 405 4947 N -a 1.4331 0.2247-0.7678127.9 - -
77 41 2418-Jan-2220:25:47 857 436 5170 N -a 1.4411 0.2109-0.7834124.4 - -
78 42 2436-Feb-0305:08:59 922 467 5393 N -a 1.4503 0.1947-0.8009120.0 - -
79 43 2454-Feb-1313:48:11 990 499 5616 N -a 1.4626 0.1727-0.8240113.5 - -
80 44 2472-Feb-2422:21:42 1061 532 5839 N -a 1.4791 0.1427-0.8546103.7 - -
Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 121
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
81 45 2490-Mar-0706:48:58 1134 566 6062 N -a 1.5005 0.1037-0.8939 88.9 - -
82 46 2508-Mar-1815:08:40 1210 601 6285 Ne -a 1.5273 0.0545-0.9431 65.0 - -

Statistics for Lunar Eclipses of Saros 121

Lunar eclipses of Saros 121 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 1047 Oct 06. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2508 Mar 18. The total duration of Saros series 121 is 1460.44 years.

Summary of Saros 121
First Eclipse 1047 Oct 06
Last Eclipse 2508 Mar 18
Series Duration 1460.44 Years
No. of Eclipses 82
Sequence 20N 6P 29T 7P 20N

Saros 121 is composed of 82 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 121
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 82100.0%
PenumbralN 40 48.8%
PartialP 13 15.9%
TotalT 29 35.4%

The 82 lunar eclipses of Saros 121 occur in the order of 20N 6P 29T 7P 20N which corresponds to the following.

Sequence Order of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 121
Eclipse Type Symbol Number
Penumbral N 20
Partial P 6
Total T 29
Partial P 7
Penumbral N 20

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 121 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 121
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse 1660 Oct 1801h40m29s -
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse 2021 May 2600h14m31s -
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse 1498 Jul 0303h10m48s -
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse 2147 Aug 1101h06m02s -
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 1390 Apr 2904h31m56s -
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 2508 Mar 1801h04m58s -
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse 1498 Jul 03 - 0.88666
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse 2147 Aug 11 - 0.09406

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.