Introduction

During the 6000-year period from -2999 to +3000, there are 14442 lunar eclipses that can be classified as follows:

A tetrad is a sequence of four consecutive total lunar eclipses, each separated by six synodic months. Over the six-millennia interval above, 16.8% (708) of all total eclipses belong to one of the 177 tetrads occurring during this period.

The mechanism causing tetrads involves the eccentricity of Earth's orbit in conjunction with the timing of eclipse seasons (Meeus, 2004). During the present millennium, the first eclipse of every tetrad occurs sometime from February to July. In later millennia, the first eclipse date gradually falls later in the year because of precession.

Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli first pointed out that the frequency of tetrads is variable over time. He noticed that tetrads were relatively plentiful during one 300-year interval, while none occurred during the next 300 years. For example, there are no tetrads from 1582 to 1908, but 17 tetrads occur during the following 2 and 1/2 centuries from 1909 to 2156. The ~565-year period of the tetrad "seasons" is tied to the slowly decreasing eccentricity of Earth's orbit. Consequently, the tetrad period is gradually decreasing (Meeus, 2004). In the distant future when Earth's eccentricity is 0, tetrads will no longer be possible.

The umbral magnitudes of the total eclipses making up a tetrad are all relatively small. For the 300-year period 1901 to 2200, the largest umbral magnitude of a tetrad eclipse is 1.4251 on 1949 Apr 13. For comparison, some other total eclipses during this period are much deeper. Two examples are the total eclipses of 2000 Jul 16 and 2029 Jun 26 with umbral magnitudes of 1.7684 and 1.8436, respectively.

Table of Lunar Eclipse Tetrad Series

Information about the 91 tetrads occurring during the 3000-year period 0000 to 3000 (1 CE to 3000 CE) are presented below in two formats. The first is a table listing the tetrads in order along with the dates of each eclipse in the tetrad (Table of Lunar Eclipse Tetrad Series: 0000 to 3000 (1 CE to 3000 CE)).

The second is a catalog giving concise details for every eclipse in the 91 tetrads (Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Tetrads: 0001 to 3000 (1 CE to 3000 CE)) For eclipses between the years 0001 to 3000, the eclipse date links to a page with a map and complete details about the eclipse.

A similar table and catalog list eclipses in the 86 tetrads occurring during the 3000-year period including the present era: Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Tetrads: -3000 to 0000 (3000 BCE to 0 CE)

Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Tetrad Series: 0000 to 3000 (1 CE to 3000 CE)

The Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Tetrads appearing below lists the details of each eclipse of the 91 tetrads occurring during the 3000-year period 0000 to 3000 (1 CE to 3000 CE). A description of each parameter in the catalog can be found in Key to Catalog of Lunar Eclipses. Each eclipse date links to a page with a map and complete details about the eclipse.

A similar catalog lists eclipses in the 86 tetrads occurring during the 3000-year period including the present era: Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Tetrads: -2999 to 0000 (3000 BCE to 1 BCE).

Links to Additional Lunar Eclipse Information

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

• Lunar Eclipses - primary page for lunar eclipse predictions
• Lunar Eclipse Links - detailed directory of links

• Six Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses - covers the years -2999 to +3000 (3000 BCE to 3000 CE)

• Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Tetrads: -2999 to 0000 (3000 BCE to 1 BCE)
• Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Tetrads: 0001 to 3000 (1 CE to 3000 CE)

• Saros Catalog of Lunar Eclipses - covers Saros series -29 through 190
• Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer - calculate all lunar eclipses visible from a city

• Thousand Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1501 to 2500 - link to the publication

• MrEclipse.com - eclipse resources and tips on photography
• Lunar Eclipses for Beginners - a primer on lunar eclipse basics
• How to Photograph a Lunar Eclipse - instructions for imaging an eclipse of the Moon
• MrEclipse Photo Index - an index of lunar eclipse photographs

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 book 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.