Saros 55

Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 55

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 55

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every lunar eclipse belonging to Saros 55 . 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 55
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
1-37 -0935-Apr-2503:11:53 24130 597 -36298 Nb a- -1.5055 0.0680-0.8772 69.5 - -
2-36 -0917-May-0610:38:38 23815 590 -36075 N a- -1.4347 0.1968-0.7462116.6 - -
3-35 -0899-May-1618:03:04 23502 583 -35852 N a- -1.3618 0.3297-0.6117148.9 - -
4-34 -0881-May-2801:27:08 23191 577 -35629 N a- -1.2882 0.4643-0.4762174.3 - -
5-33 -0863-Jun-0708:50:50 22882 570 -35406 N a- -1.2142 0.6001-0.3402195.4 - -
6-32 -0845-Jun-1816:17:27 22575 563 -35183 N a- -1.1423 0.7322-0.2086212.9 - -
7-31 -0827-Jun-2823:46:41 22270 556 -34960 N a- -1.0728 0.8603-0.0816227.8 - -
8-30 -0809-Jul-1007:20:03 21967 549 -34737 P a- -1.0067 0.9824 0.0388240.4 42.7 -
9-29 -0791-Jul-2014:58:40 21667 542 -34514 P a- -0.9449 1.0970 0.1510251.0 82.9 -
10-28 -0773-Jul-3122:44:03 21368 536 -34291 P a- -0.8889 1.2012 0.2525259.9105.7 -
11-27 -0755-Aug-1106:36:09 21072 529 -34068 P a- -0.8387 1.2950 0.3430267.3121.7 -
12-26 -0737-Aug-2214:35:14 20777 522 -33845 P a- -0.7944 1.3780 0.4224273.5133.5 -
13-25 -0719-Sep-0122:42:39 20485 515 -33622 P a- -0.7574 1.4477 0.4884278.5142.2 -
14-24 -0701-Sep-1306:58:02 20194 508 -33399 P a- -0.7272 1.5051 0.5418282.6148.7 -
15-23 -0683-Sep-2315:21:02 19906 501 -33176 P a- -0.7036 1.5504 0.5832285.8153.4 -
16-22 -0665-Oct-0423:51:26 19620 494 -32953 P a- -0.6865 1.5838 0.6128288.3156.6 -
17-21 -0647-Oct-1508:28:24 19336 487 -32730 P a- -0.6751 1.6065 0.6319290.1158.8 -
18-20 -0629-Oct-2617:11:10 19054 479 -32507 P a- -0.6690 1.6194 0.6415291.5159.9 -
19-19 -0611-Nov-0601:56:53 18774 472 -32284 P a- -0.6657 1.6268 0.6460292.5160.6 -
20-18 -0593-Nov-1710:46:34 18496 465 -32061 P a- -0.6662 1.6272 0.6440293.2160.6 -
21-17 -0575-Nov-2719:36:25 18220 459 -31838 P a- -0.6670 1.6268 0.6415293.8160.6 -
22-16 -0557-Dec-0904:26:30 17946 452 -31615 P a- -0.6687 1.6244 0.6376294.3160.5 -
23-15 -0539-Dec-1913:12:41 17675 445 -31392 P a- -0.6676 1.6270 0.6392295.1161.0 -
24-14 -0521-Dec-3021:56:30 17405 438 -31169 P a- -0.6651 1.6317 0.6433296.0161.8 -
25-13 -0502-Jan-1006:33:57 17137 431 -30946 P a- -0.6576 1.6457 0.6570297.5163.5 -
26-12 -0484-Jan-2115:05:09 16823 425 -30723 P a- -0.6456 1.6676 0.6791299.3166.0 -
27-11 -0466-Jan-3123:27:40 16511 418 -30500 P a- -0.6269 1.7018 0.7135301.9169.6 -
28-10 -0448-Feb-1207:42:30 16208 411 -30277 P a- -0.6024 1.7466 0.7586304.9174.0 -
29 -9 -0430-Feb-2215:47:43 15914 405 -30054 P a- -0.5705 1.8049 0.8173308.4179.3 -
30 -8 -0412-Mar-0423:43:34 15627 398 -29831 P a- -0.5314 1.8765 0.8892312.5185.3 -
31 -7 -0394-Mar-1607:29:46 15348 392 -29608 P a- -0.4849 1.9618 0.9745316.9191.6 -
32 -6 -0376-Mar-2615:07:17 15075 386 -29385 T p- -0.4321 2.0589 1.0713321.4197.9 40.3
33 -5 -0358-Apr-0622:35:13 14809 379 -29162 T p- -0.3720 2.1695 1.1812326.0204.1 62.3
34 -4 -0340-Apr-1705:55:58 14549 373 -28939 T p- -0.3066 2.2900 1.3006330.3209.8 77.3
35 -3 -0322-Apr-2813:09:00 14295 367 -28716 T- pp -0.2359 2.4205 1.4296334.4214.7 88.4
36 -2 -0304-May-0820:17:29 14047 361 -28493 T- pp -0.1621 2.5570 1.5639337.8218.6 96.2
37 -1 -0286-May-2003:19:07 13804 355 -28270 T- pp -0.0838 2.7021 1.7063340.6221.4101.1
38 0 -0268-May-3010:19:17 13567 349 -28047 T- pp -0.0053 2.8477 1.8487342.7222.9102.9
39 1 -0250-Jun-1017:15:45 13334 343 -27824 T+ pp 0.0751 2.7217 1.7187343.9222.9101.8
40 2 -0232-Jun-2100:13:15 13106 337 -27601 T+ pp 0.1539 2.5793 1.5720344.3221.6 97.5
Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 55
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 3 -0214-Jul-0207:09:35 12883 331 -27378 T+ -p 0.2325 2.4376 1.4254343.9218.8 89.5
42 4 -0196-Jul-1214:10:12 12664 325 -27155 T -a 0.3065 2.3045 1.2869342.8214.8 77.6
43 5 -0178-Jul-2321:13:10 12449 319 -26932 T -a 0.3773 2.1775 1.1541341.0209.6 59.6
44 6 -0160-Aug-0304:21:35 12239 313 -26709 T -a 0.4425 2.0608 1.0314338.8203.5 28.0
45 7 -0142-Aug-1411:35:14 12032 308 -26486 P -a 0.5026 1.9538 0.9180336.3196.6 -
46 8 -0124-Aug-2418:56:25 11829 302 -26263 P -a 0.5555 1.8600 0.8178333.8189.4 -
47 9 -0106-Sep-0502:24:26 11629 297 -26040 P -h 0.6016 1.7787 0.7299331.4182.2 -
48 10 -0088-Sep-1509:59:21 11433 291 -25817 P -h 0.6411 1.7095 0.6543329.2175.2 -
49 11 -0070-Sep-2617:42:18 11239 286 -25594 P -h 0.6729 1.6542 0.5928327.5168.9 -
50 12 -0052-Oct-0701:32:19 11049 280 -25371 P -h 0.6983 1.6107 0.5435326.2163.5 -
51 13 -0034-Oct-1809:29:05 10862 275 -25148 P -h 0.7173 1.5786 0.5060325.5159.1 -
52 14 -0016-Oct-2817:31:00 10677 269 -24925 P -h 0.7313 1.5553 0.4779325.2155.7 -
53 15 0002-Nov-0901:37:55 10494 264 -24702 P -h 0.7405 1.5405 0.4589325.3153.3 -
54 16 0020-Nov-1909:47:16 10314 259 -24479 P -h 0.7471 1.5302 0.4451325.6151.7 -
55 17 0038-Nov-3017:57:42 10135 254 -24256 P -h 0.7522 1.5221 0.4343326.0150.4 -
56 18 0056-Dec-1102:07:50 9959 249 -24033 P -t 0.7572 1.5140 0.4242326.3149.2 -
57 19 0074-Dec-2210:16:02 9783 244 -23810 P -t 0.7634 1.5031 0.4121326.2147.6 -
58 20 0093-Jan-0118:19:38 9610 239 -23587 P -t 0.7729 1.4860 0.3946325.6145.1 -
59 21 0111-Jan-1302:17:38 9437 234 -23364 P -t 0.7865 1.4610 0.3697324.4141.2 -
60 22 0129-Jan-2310:08:36 9265 229 -23141 P -t 0.8053 1.4259 0.3355322.2135.4 -
61 23 0147-Feb-0317:52:00 9093 224 -22918 P -t 0.8302 1.3795 0.2905318.9127.1 -
62 24 0165-Feb-1401:24:44 8922 219 -22695 P -t 0.8632 1.3182 0.2310314.2114.5 -
63 25 0183-Feb-2508:48:48 8751 214 -22472 P -t 0.9026 1.2448 0.1596308.1 96.3 -
64 26 0201-Mar-0716:01:49 8581 210 -22249 P -t 0.9504 1.1559 0.0730299.9 66.0 -
65 27 0219-Mar-1823:06:35 8410 205 -22026 Nx -t 1.0045 1.0555-0.0251289.8 - -
66 28 0237-Mar-2905:59:39 8238 200 -21803 N -t 1.0675 0.9388-0.1394276.7 - -
67 29 0255-Apr-0912:45:51 8067 196 -21580 N -t 1.1354 0.8130-0.2630260.8 - -
68 30 0273-Apr-1919:22:39 7894 191 -21357 N -t 1.2100 0.6751-0.3989241.0 - -
69 31 0291-May-0101:54:09 7721 187 -21134 N -t 1.2884 0.5303-0.5418216.5 - -
70 32 0309-May-1108:19:14 7547 183 -20911 N -t 1.3714 0.3773-0.6933185.2 - -
71 33 0327-May-2214:42:10 7373 178 -20688 N -t 1.4554 0.2227-0.8467144.3 - -
72 34 0345-Jun-0121:02:53 7197 174 -20465 Ne -t 1.5406 0.0659-1.0027 79.6 - -

Statistics for Lunar Eclipses of Saros 55

Lunar eclipses of Saros 55 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 -0935 Apr 25. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 0345 Jun 01. The total duration of Saros series 55 is 1280.14 years.

Summary of Saros 55
First Eclipse -0935 Apr 25
Last Eclipse 0345 Jun 01
Series Duration 1280.14 Years
No. of Eclipses 72
Sequence 7N 24P 13T 20P 8N

Saros 55 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 55
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PenumbralN 15 20.8%
PartialP 44 61.1%
TotalT 13 18.1%

The 72 lunar eclipses of Saros 55 occur in the order of 7N 24P 13T 20P 8N which corresponds to the following.

Sequence Order of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 55
Eclipse Type Symbol Number
Penumbral N 7
Partial P 24
Total T 13
Partial P 20
Penumbral N 8

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 55 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 55
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse -0268 May 3001h42m56s -
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse -0160 Aug 0300h28m02s -
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0142 Aug 1403h16m35s -
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0809 Jul 1000h42m42s -
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 0219 Mar 1804h49m47s -
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse -0935 Apr 2501h09m28s -
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0394 Mar 16 - 0.97447
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0809 Jul 10 - 0.03883

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.