Saros 61

Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 61

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 61

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every lunar eclipse belonging to Saros 61 . 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 61
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
1-43 -0780-Dec-1309:08:19 21478 538 -34373 Nb a- -1.5532 0.0001-0.9838 3.3 - -
2-42 -0762-Dec-2417:54:20 21180 531 -34150 N a- -1.5471 0.0097-0.9712 26.7 - -
3-41 -0743-Jan-0402:36:35 20885 524 -33927 N a- -1.5380 0.0247-0.9528 42.5 - -
4-40 -0725-Jan-1511:12:56 20592 517 -33704 N a- -1.5240 0.0485-0.9252 59.3 - -
5-39 -0707-Jan-2519:43:31 20301 511 -33481 N a- -1.5052 0.0810-0.8887 76.3 - -
6-38 -0689-Feb-0604:07:10 20012 504 -33258 N a- -1.4805 0.1241-0.8415 93.8 - -
7-37 -0671-Feb-1612:22:36 19725 496 -33035 N a- -1.4491 0.1796-0.7818112.1 - -
8-36 -0653-Feb-2720:30:47 19440 489 -32812 N a- -1.4116 0.2464-0.7110130.3 - -
9-35 -0635-Mar-1004:31:03 19157 482 -32589 N a- -1.3677 0.3251-0.6285148.3 - -
10-34 -0617-Mar-2112:23:54 18876 475 -32366 N a- -1.3177 0.4150-0.5350165.9 - -
11-33 -0599-Mar-3120:09:28 18598 468 -32143 N a- -1.2615 0.5165-0.4304183.0 - -
12-32 -0581-Apr-1203:49:02 18321 461 -31920 N a- -1.2005 0.6272-0.3171199.3 - -
13-31 -0563-Apr-2211:23:44 18047 454 -31697 N a- -1.1353 0.7457-0.1965214.6 - -
14-30 -0545-May-0318:53:08 17774 447 -31474 N a- -1.0657 0.8727-0.0680229.1 - -
15-29 -0527-May-1402:20:24 17504 441 -31251 P a- -0.9944 1.0032 0.0632242.2 54.3 -
16-28 -0509-May-2509:45:08 17235 434 -31028 P a- -0.9211 1.1375 0.1977254.2 94.3 -
17-27 -0491-Jun-0417:10:28 16940 427 -30805 P a- -0.8482 1.2716 0.3312265.0119.8 -
18-26 -0473-Jun-1600:34:42 16625 420 -30582 P a- -0.7744 1.4075 0.4659274.7139.4 -
19-25 -0455-Jun-2608:02:32 16319 414 -30359 P a- -0.7039 1.5380 0.5944283.0154.5 -
20-24 -0437-Jul-0715:32:07 16021 407 -30136 P a- -0.6350 1.6656 0.7195290.4166.7 -
21-23 -0419-Jul-1723:06:56 15732 401 -29913 P a- -0.5709 1.7848 0.8356296.7176.4 -
22-22 -0401-Jul-2906:45:41 15450 394 -29690 P a- -0.5102 1.8980 0.9451302.1184.3 -
23-21 -0383-Aug-0814:32:07 15175 388 -29467 T a- -0.4564 1.9988 1.0419306.6190.4 30.4
24-20 -0365-Aug-1922:24:32 14906 382 -29244 T p- -0.4081 2.0896 1.1282310.4195.2 51.8
25-19 -0347-Aug-3006:24:21 14644 375 -29021 T p- -0.3666 2.1682 1.2022313.7198.9 63.6
26-18 -0329-Sep-1014:31:23 14388 369 -28798 T p- -0.3316 2.2349 1.2639316.4201.7 71.2
27-17 -0311-Sep-2022:46:26 14138 363 -28575 T p- -0.3038 2.2883 1.3125318.7203.8 76.3
28-16 -0293-Oct-0207:08:19 13893 357 -28352 T p- -0.2823 2.3302 1.3496320.6205.4 79.7
29-15 -0275-Oct-1215:36:51 13654 351 -28129 T- p- -0.2669 2.3609 1.3756322.3206.6 81.9
30-14 -0257-Oct-2400:11:06 13419 345 -27906 T- p- -0.2568 2.3815 1.3918323.8207.4 83.2
31-13 -0239-Nov-0308:50:41 13189 339 -27683 T- p- -0.2516 2.3932 1.3995325.1208.1 83.9
32-12 -0221-Nov-1417:32:46 12964 333 -27460 T- p- -0.2489 2.3998 1.4027326.3208.6 84.2
33-11 -0203-Nov-2502:17:47 12744 327 -27237 T- p- -0.2491 2.4010 1.4009327.4208.9 84.2
34-10 -0185-Dec-0611:02:08 12528 321 -27014 T- p- -0.2490 2.4025 1.3998328.4209.4 84.3
35 -9 -0167-Dec-1619:46:01 12316 316 -26791 T- p- -0.2492 2.4030 1.3984329.5209.8 84.4
36 -8 -0149-Dec-2804:25:01 12107 310 -26568 T- p- -0.2458 2.4101 1.4040330.6210.5 85.0
37 -7 -0130-Jan-0713:01:00 11903 304 -26345 T- p- -0.2404 2.4205 1.4133331.8211.3 85.9
38 -6 -0112-Jan-1821:29:36 11702 299 -26122 T- p- -0.2291 2.4415 1.4336333.2212.5 87.5
39 -5 -0094-Jan-2905:51:16 11504 293 -25899 T- p- -0.2130 2.4712 1.4631334.7213.9 89.6
40 -4 -0076-Feb-0914:03:14 11310 288 -25676 T- pp -0.1895 2.5144 1.5061336.4215.6 92.3
Catalog of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 61
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 -0058-Feb-1922:06:48 11119 282 -25453 T- pp -0.1599 2.5688 1.5605338.1217.4 95.2
42 -2 -0040-Mar-0206:00:18 10930 277 -25230 T- pp -0.1224 2.6376 1.6291340.0219.2 98.1
43 -1 -0022-Mar-1313:43:25 10745 271 -25007 T- pp -0.0773 2.7204 1.7119341.7220.9100.6
44 0 -0004-Mar-2321:16:54 10561 266 -24784 T- pp -0.0249 2.8167 1.8078343.3222.2102.2
45 1 0014-Apr-0404:41:09 10380 261 -24561 T+ pp 0.0340 2.8005 1.7909344.5222.9102.4
46 2 0032-Apr-1411:56:22 10201 256 -24338 T+ pp 0.0996 2.6806 1.6700345.2222.7100.6
47 3 0050-Apr-2519:03:30 10023 251 -24115 T+ -p 0.1711 2.5501 1.5381345.2221.3 96.0
48 4 0068-May-0602:03:54 9848 245 -23892 T+ -p 0.2472 2.4115 1.3975344.3218.4 87.6
49 5 0086-May-1708:59:15 9673 240 -23669 T -h 0.3264 2.2673 1.2510342.4213.8 73.7
50 6 0104-May-2715:49:11 9500 235 -23446 T -h 0.4091 2.1170 1.0978339.4207.1 48.5
51 7 0122-Jun-0722:37:15 9328 231 -23223 P -t 0.4922 1.9663 0.9437335.3198.3 -
52 8 0140-Jun-1805:23:24 9156 226 -23000 P -t 0.5755 1.8154 0.7888330.0187.0 -
53 9 0158-Jun-2912:10:44 8985 221 -22777 P -t 0.6570 1.6681 0.6371323.7172.9 -
54 10 0176-Jul-0918:57:41 8814 216 -22554 P -t 0.7375 1.5229 0.4870316.1155.3 -
55 11 0194-Jul-2101:49:10 8643 211 -22331 P -t 0.8130 1.3869 0.3459307.8134.2 -
56 12 0212-Jul-3108:43:39 8473 207 -22108 P -t 0.8847 1.2583 0.2116298.8107.4 -
57 13 0230-Aug-1115:44:13 8302 202 -21885 P -t 0.9503 1.1408 0.0884289.4 70.8 -
58 14 0248-Aug-2122:50:12 8130 198 -21662 Nx -t 1.0104 1.0336-0.0248279.8 - -
59 15 0266-Sep-0206:04:34 7958 193 -21439 N -t 1.0627 0.9405-0.1238270.6 - -
60 16 0284-Sep-1213:26:29 7785 189 -21216 N -t 1.1079 0.8607-0.2096262.0 - -
61 17 0302-Sep-2320:55:18 7611 184 -20993 N -t 1.1466 0.7925-0.2834254.1 - -
62 18 0320-Oct-0404:32:43 7437 180 -20770 N -t 1.1776 0.7384-0.3430247.4 - -
63 19 0338-Oct-1512:17:15 7262 176 -20547 N -t 1.2023 0.6954-0.3909241.9 - -
64 20 0356-Oct-2520:09:12 7086 171 -20324 N -t 1.2205 0.6644-0.4264237.9 - -
65 21 0374-Nov-0604:05:22 6909 167 -20101 N -t 1.2348 0.6400-0.4546234.6 - -
66 22 0392-Nov-1612:07:20 6731 163 -19878 N -t 1.2440 0.6247-0.4730232.6 - -
67 23 0410-Nov-2720:11:05 6553 159 -19655 N -t 1.2516 0.6120-0.4880231.0 - -
68 24 0428-Dec-0804:16:16 6375 155 -19432 N -t 1.2575 0.6019-0.4996229.7 - -
69 25 0446-Dec-1912:19:47 6197 151 -19209 N -t 1.2645 0.5894-0.5128227.9 - -
70 26 0464-Dec-2920:21:34 6019 147 -18986 N -t 1.2725 0.5746-0.5275225.5 - -
71 27 0483-Jan-1004:17:57 5842 143 -18763 N -t 1.2845 0.5522-0.5491221.7 - -
72 28 0501-Jan-2012:08:41 5666 139 -18540 N -t 1.3008 0.5217-0.5781216.2 - -
73 29 0519-Jan-3119:51:53 5489 135 -18317 N -t 1.3227 0.4803-0.6174208.2 - -
74 30 0537-Feb-1103:27:42 5313 132 -18094 N -t 1.3504 0.4282-0.6668197.5 - -
75 31 0555-Feb-2210:52:48 5139 128 -17871 N -t 1.3862 0.3610-0.7310182.4 - -
76 32 0573-Mar-0418:10:01 4966 124 -17648 N -t 1.4278 0.2829-0.8058162.5 - -
77 33 0591-Mar-1601:16:41 4794 121 -17425 N -t 1.4776 0.1898-0.8954134.1 - -
78 34 0609-Mar-2608:16:34 4623 117 -17202 Ne -t 1.5327 0.0870-0.9947 91.5 - -

Statistics for Lunar Eclipses of Saros 61

Lunar eclipses of Saros 61 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on -0780 Dec 13. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on 0609 Mar 26. The total duration of Saros series 61 is 1388.32 years.

Summary of Saros 61
First Eclipse -0780 Dec 13
Last Eclipse 0609 Mar 26
Series Duration 1388.32 Years
No. of Eclipses 78
Sequence 14N 8P 28T 7P 21N

Saros 61 is composed of 78 lunar eclipses as follows:

Lunar Eclipses of Saros 61
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 78100.0%
PenumbralN 35 44.9%
PartialP 15 19.2%
TotalT 28 35.9%

The 78 lunar eclipses of Saros 61 occur in the order of 14N 8P 28T 7P 21N which corresponds to the following.

Sequence Order of Lunar Eclipses in Saros 61
Eclipse Type Symbol Number
Penumbral N 14
Partial P 8
Total T 28
Partial P 7
Penumbral N 21

The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 61 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Lunar Eclipses of Saros 61
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse 0014 Apr 0401h42m25s -
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse -0383 Aug 0800h30m21s -
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse 0122 Jun 0703h18m19s -
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0527 May 1400h54m18s -
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 0248 Aug 2104h39m51s -
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse -0780 Dec 1300h03m17s -
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0401 Jul 29 - 0.94514
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse -0527 May 14 - 0.06319

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.