Saros 123

Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 123

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 123

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every lunar eclipse belonging to Saros 123 . 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 123
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
1-36 1087-Aug-1621:27:40 1129 43 -11285 Nb a- -1.5360 0.0342-0.9548 51.8 - -
2-35 1105-Aug-2705:02:11 1054 41 -11062 N h- -1.4881 0.1251-0.8699 98.6 - -
3-34 1123-Sep-0712:43:54 983 39 -10839 N h- -1.4465 0.2045-0.7966125.7 - -
4-33 1141-Sep-1720:32:02 916 37 -10616 N h- -1.4107 0.2734-0.7340145.1 - -
5-32 1159-Sep-2904:27:03 854 35 -10393 N h- -1.3810 0.3310-0.6826159.5 - -
6-31 1177-Oct-0912:29:18 795 33 -10170 N h- -1.3578 0.3766-0.6432170.2 - -
7-30 1195-Oct-2020:38:36 740 31 -9947 N h- -1.3407 0.4110-0.6146178.0 - -
8-29 1213-Oct-3104:53:25 688 29 -9724 N h- -1.3286 0.4360-0.5952183.7 - -
9-28 1231-Nov-1113:14:01 640 28 -9501 N h- -1.3216 0.4513-0.5850187.4 - -
10-27 1249-Nov-2121:38:05 595 26 -9278 N h- -1.3181 0.4602-0.5807189.8 - -
11-26 1267-Dec-0306:05:05 553 24 -9055 N h- -1.3176 0.4631-0.5818191.1 - -
12-25 1285-Dec-1314:31:33 514 23 -8832 N h- -1.3173 0.4653-0.5830192.2 - -
13-24 1303-Dec-2422:58:30 477 21 -8609 N h- -1.3180 0.4654-0.5856192.9 - -
14-23 1322-Jan-0407:22:05 443 20 -8386 N h- -1.3165 0.4693-0.5839194.3 - -
15-22 1340-Jan-1515:41:46 411 20 -8163 N h- -1.3126 0.4771-0.5776196.4 - -
16-21 1358-Jan-2523:54:38 381 20 -7940 N t- -1.3041 0.4933-0.5625200.0 - -
17-20 1376-Feb-0608:01:16 352 20 -7717 N t- -1.2912 0.5172-0.5390204.9 - -
18-19 1394-Feb-1615:59:16 325 20 -7494 N t- -1.2718 0.5528-0.5036211.8 - -
19-18 1412-Feb-2723:47:37 300 20 -7271 N t- -1.2454 0.6012-0.4550220.4 - -
20-17 1430-Mar-1007:26:28 276 20 -7048 N t- -1.2119 0.6625-0.3934230.6 - -
21-16 1448-Mar-2014:55:07 253 20 -6825 N t- -1.1709 0.7375-0.3180242.2 - -
22-15 1466-Mar-3122:14:10 232 20 -6602 N t- -1.1226 0.8259-0.2292254.7 - -
23-14 1484-Apr-1105:22:45 212 20 -6379 N t- -1.0663 0.9292-0.1257268.0 - -
24-13 1502-Apr-2212:22:41 193 20 -6156 Nx t- -1.0034 1.0445-0.0104281.4 - -
25-12 1520-May-0219:14:14 175 20 -5933 P t- -0.9344 1.1712 0.1162294.7 81.5 -
26-11 1538-May-1401:57:58 159 20 -5710 P t- -0.8595 1.3090 0.2535307.6118.3 -
27-10 1556-May-2408:36:03 144 20 -5487 P t- -0.7803 1.4546 0.3983319.7145.4 -
28 -9 1574-Jun-0415:09:12 132 20 -5264 P t- -0.6978 1.6067 0.5492330.9167.1 -
29 -8 1592-Jun-2421:40:10 122 20 -5041 P t- -0.6136 1.7620 0.7028340.8184.6 -
30 -7 1610-Jul-0604:08:02 106 18 -4818 P t- -0.5274 1.9212 0.8600349.5199.1 -
31 -6 1628-Jul-1610:36:56 81 16 -4595 T t- -0.4425 2.0782 1.0146356.9210.5 19.9
32 -5 1646-Jul-2717:06:35 54 13 -4372 T t- -0.3586 2.2334 1.1670362.9219.4 64.2
33 -4 1664-Aug-0623:40:03 29 10 -4149 T pp -0.2780 2.3829 1.3135367.7226.1 83.5
34 -3 1682-Aug-1806:17:11 12 8 -3926 T- pp -0.2006 2.5267 1.4538371.3230.8 95.0
35 -2 1700-Aug-2913:01:24 8 5 -3703 T- pp -0.1291 2.6596 1.5833373.9233.7101.7
36 -1 1718-Sep-0919:52:28 10 4 -3480 T- pp -0.0636 2.7818 1.7016375.6235.3105.0
37 0 1736-Sep-2002:51:00 11 4 -3257 T- pp -0.0042 2.8925 1.8087376.5235.8106.0
38 1 1754-Oct-0109:58:28 13 3 -3034 T+ pp 0.0478 2.8144 1.7268376.9235.5105.2
39 2 1772-Oct-1117:14:40 16 2 -2811 T+ pp 0.0928 2.7337 1.6426377.0234.7103.3
40 3 1790-Oct-2300:40:41 16 1 -2588 T+ pp 0.1296 2.6678 1.5734376.8233.6100.9
Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 123
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 4 1808-Nov-0308:13:38 12 1 -2365 T+ pp 0.1607 2.6122 1.5148376.4232.4 98.1
42 5 1826-Nov-1415:56:14 9 1 -2142 T+ pp 0.1840 2.5707 1.4709376.0231.2 95.6
43 6 1844-Nov-2423:44:52 6 1 -1919 T+ pp 0.2026 2.5375 1.4358375.5230.2 93.3
44 7 1862-Dec-0607:40:21 7 0 -1696 T+ pp 0.2157 2.5142 1.4113375.1229.4 91.5
45 8 1880-Dec-1615:39:03 -5 0 -1473 T+ pp 0.2263 2.4949 1.3915374.5228.6 89.9
46 9 1898-Dec-2723:41:52 -4 0 -1250 T+ pp 0.2339 2.4809 1.3777373.9228.0 88.8
47 10 1917-Jan-0807:44:48 19 0 -1027 T+ pp 0.2415 2.4663 1.3642373.2227.4 87.6
48 11 1935-Jan-1915:47:35 24 0 -804 T+ pp 0.2498 2.4502 1.3499372.2226.7 86.3
49 12 1953-Jan-2923:47:49 30 0 -581 T+ -p 0.2606 2.4291 1.3314371.1225.8 84.5
50 13 1971-Feb-1007:45:21 41 0 -358 T -p 0.2741 2.4026 1.3082369.6224.7 82.2
51 14 1989-Feb-2015:36:18 56 0 -135 T -p 0.2935 2.3651 1.2747367.8223.1 78.5
52 15 2007-Mar-0323:21:59 65 0 88 T -p 0.3175 2.3188 1.2328365.5221.1 73.4
53 16 2025-Mar-1406:59:56 72 1 311 T -p 0.3485 2.2595 1.1784362.7218.3 65.4
54 17 2043-Mar-2514:32:04 81 6 534 T -t 0.3849 2.1900 1.1142359.4214.6 53.4
55 18 2061-Apr-0421:54:05 93 14 757 T -t 0.4300 2.1044 1.0341355.1209.7 29.9
56 19 2079-Apr-1605:10:45 107 24 980 P -t 0.4800 2.0100 0.9451350.2203.4 -
57 20 2097-Apr-2612:18:17 124 36 1203 P -t 0.5377 1.9013 0.8420344.1195.2 -
58 21 2115-May-0819:21:24 144 49 1426 P -t 0.5996 1.7849 0.7311337.0185.0 -
59 22 2133-May-1902:16:19 166 64 1649 P -t 0.6688 1.6553 0.6067328.5171.6 -
60 23 2151-May-3009:09:10 191 79 1872 P -t 0.7403 1.5216 0.4780318.7155.1 -
61 24 2169-Jun-0915:57:06 218 96 2095 P -t 0.8159 1.3806 0.3416307.3133.5 -
62 25 2187-Jun-2022:44:13 248 115 2318 P -t 0.8929 1.2372 0.2025294.5104.6 -
63 26 2205-Jul-0205:29:54 280 134 2541 P -t 0.9714 1.0912 0.0602279.8 58.0 -
64 27 2223-Jul-1312:17:52 315 155 2764 N -t 1.0486 0.9478-0.0797263.7 - -
65 28 2241-Jul-2319:08:09 353 176 2987 N -t 1.1246 0.8070-0.2177246.0 - -
66 29 2259-Aug-0402:01:59 393 198 3210 N -t 1.1982 0.6707-0.3516226.4 - -
67 30 2277-Aug-1409:01:19 436 222 3433 N -t 1.2679 0.5419-0.4785205.3 - -
68 31 2295-Aug-2516:07:03 481 246 3656 N -t 1.3329 0.4218-0.5971182.6 - -
69 32 2313-Sep-0523:20:22 529 272 3879 N -t 1.3926 0.3118-0.7061158.0 - -
70 33 2331-Sep-1706:41:30 580 298 4102 N -t 1.4466 0.2123-0.8048131.1 - -
71 34 2349-Sep-2714:12:28 633 325 4325 N -h 1.4936 0.1259-0.8907101.4 - -
72 35 2367-Oct-0821:52:36 688 353 4548 Ne -h 1.5337 0.0521-0.9642 65.5 - -

Statistics for Lunar Eclipses of Saros 123

Lunar eclipses of Saros 123 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 1087 Aug 16. The series will end with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 2367 Oct 08. The total duration of Saros series 123 is 1280.14 years.

Summary of Saros 123
First Eclipse 1087 Aug 16
Last Eclipse 2367 Oct 08
Series Duration 1280.14 Years
No. of Eclipses 72
Sequence 24N 6P 25T 8P 9N

Saros 123 is composed of 72 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 123
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PenumbralN 33 45.8%
PartialP 14 19.4%
TotalT 25 34.7%

The 72 lunar eclipses of Saros 123 occur in the order of 24N 6P 25T 8P 9N which corresponds to the following.

Sequence Order of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 123
Eclipse Type Symbol Number
Penumbral N 24
Partial P 6
Total T 25
Partial P 8
Penumbral N 9

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 123 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 123
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse 1736 Sep 2001h45m58s -
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse 1628 Jul 1600h19m55s -
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse 2079 Apr 1603h23m25s -
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse 2205 Jul 0200h58m01s -
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 1502 Apr 2204h41m25s -
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 1087 Aug 1600h51m47s -
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse 2079 Apr 16 - 0.94515
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse 2205 Jul 02 - 0.06024

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.