EclipseWise - Six Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses

Introduction

The Six Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses is organized into a series of sixty 100-year web pages, each one covering a century of lunar eclipses. The table below is an index of links to each of the 100-year catalogs. It also contains some statistics on the number of penumbral, partial, and total eclipses each century.

For an explanation of how eclipses are classified, see Lunar Eclipse Basics. The frequency of each eclipse type, the extremes in eclipse magnitude and duration, and other data for the entire six-millennium period are presented in the Eclipse Statistics tables following the Index to the Catalog of Lunar Eclipses.

Six Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses: -2999 to +3000 (3000 BCE to 3000 CE)

The table below summarizes the statistical distribution of lunar eclipse types over this six millennium period. Each line in the table corresponds to one century and gives the breakdown of each eclipse type (penumbral, partial, and total). The date intervals themselves are each a link to a catalog listing complete details for every lunar eclipse in the selected century. The data in these 100 year eclipse tables include the date and time of greatest eclipse[4], ΔT, lunar libration number, Saros series, the eclipse type, quincena solar eclipse parameter, gamma, eclipse magnitudes, eclipse phase durations, and local circumstances. For a detailed key and additional information about the catalogs, see: Key to Catalog of Lunar Eclipses.

Six Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses
Century Interval	Number of Eclipses	Number of Penumbral Eclipses^a	Number of Partial Eclipses	Number of Total Eclipses^b	Number of Tetrads
-2999 to -2900	249	89 [88, 1]	99	61 [11, 50]	0
-2899 to -2800	231	84 [75, 9]	69	78 [45, 33]	6
-2799 to -2700	224	82 [71, 11]	58	84 [63, 21]	5
-2699 to -2600	229	73 [70, 3]	77	79 [45, 34]	7
-2599 to -2500	240	84 [83, 1]	94	62 [14, 48]	0
-2499 to -2400	256	99 [99, 0]	97	60 [13, 47]	0
-2399 to -2300	251	91 [90, 1]	100	60 [ 9, 51]	0
-2299 to -2200	240	87 [85, 2]	81	72 [29, 43]	4
-2199 to -2100	227	82 [80, 2]	62	83 [55, 28]	9
-2099 to -2000	230	77 [74, 3]	68	85 [53, 32]	5
-1999 to -1900	242	88 [84, 4]	92	62 [13, 49]	1
-1899 to -1800	255	98 [97, 1]	97	60 [11, 49]	0
-1799 to -1700	254	94 [94, 0]	99	61 [12, 49]	0
-1699 to -1600	244	90 [87, 3]	87	67 [21, 46]	3
-1599 to -1500	226	85 [81, 4]	54	87 [62, 25]	8
-1499 to -1400	228	86 [78, 8]	60	82 [55, 27]	6
-1399 to -1300	239	83 [80, 3]	90	66 [23, 43]	2
-1299 to -1200	251	92 [91, 1]	99	60 [ 9, 51]	0
-1199 to -1100	252	96 [95, 1]	95	61 [13, 48]	0
-1099 to -1000	240	88 [81, 7]	86	66 [18, 48]	4
-0999 to -0900	228	80 [72, 8]	61	87 [59, 28]	7
-0899 to -0800	225	79 [76, 3]	62	84 [57, 27]	7
-0799 to -0700	239	87 [85, 2]	88	64 [21, 43]	1
-0699 to -0600	253	91 [91, 0]	102	60 [10, 50]	0
-0599 to -0500	255	95 [95, 0]	100	60 [11, 49]	0
-0499 to -0400	242	88 [86, 2]	90	64 [19, 45]	1
-0399 to -0300	229	80 [79, 1]	61	88 [54, 34]	7
-0299 to -0200	228	79 [76, 3]	64	85 [55, 30]	6
-0199 to -0100	240	85 [84, 1]	86	69 [21, 48]	3
-0099 to 0000	253	94 [93, 1]	98	61 [11, 50]	0
0001 to 0100	252	94 [93, 1]	101	57 [ 7, 50]	0
0101 to 0200	239	84 [82, 2]	88	67 [23, 44]	3
0201 to 0300	228	83 [75, 8]	63	82 [53, 29]	6
0301 to 0400	227	76 [72, 4]	69	82 [58, 24]	4
0401 to 0500	244	83 [82, 1]	95	66 [18, 48]	3
0501 to 0600	254	97 [96, 1]	95	62 [12, 50]	0
0601 to 0700	255	97 [94, 3]	100	58 [10, 48]	0
0701 to 0800	240	84 [82, 2]	88	68 [23, 45]	3
0801 to 0900	228	79 [74, 5]	60	89 [65, 24]	8
0901 to 1000	230	82 [79, 3]	70	78 [45, 33]	7
1001 to 1100	246	87 [84, 3]	97	62 [14, 48]	0
1101 to 1200	259	98 [98, 0]	102	59 [10, 49]	0
1201 to 1300	251	95 [94, 1]	96	60 [12, 48]	0
1301 to 1400	231	81 [73, 8]	73	77 [41, 36]	6
1401 to 1500	228	80 [77, 3]	65	83 [60, 23]	4
1501 to 1600	233	82 [79, 3]	74	77 [39, 38]	6
1601 to 1700	249	91 [88, 3]	97	61 [11, 50]	0
1701 to 1800	256	98 [98, 0]	98	60 [13, 47]	0
1801 to 1900	249	90 [88, 2]	97	62 [11, 51]	0
1901 to 2000	229	83 [74, 9]	65	81 [48, 33]	5
2001 to 2100	228	86 [81, 5]	57	85 [61, 24]	8
2101 to 2200	238	81 [77, 4]	88	69 [24, 45]	4
2201 to 2300	252	94 [93, 1]	97	61 [11, 50]	0
2301 to 2400	253	95 [95, 0]	98	60 [12, 48]	0
2401 to 2500	237	83 [77, 6]	85	69 [23, 46]	4
2501 to 2600	227	82 [77, 5]	58	87 [64, 23]	8
2601 to 2700	230	81 [80, 1]	70	79 [44, 35]	8
2701 to 2800	241	86 [83, 3]	91	64 [16, 48]	0
2801 to 2900	259	100 [99, 1]	102	57 [ 9, 48]	0
2901 to 3000	249	89 [89, 0]	97	63 [13, 50]	1

^{a. The first value is the total number of penumbral eclipses,
while the values in the square brackets are the number of non-total and total penumbral eclipses.
↵}

^{b. The first value is the total number of total eclipses,
while the values in the square brackets are the number of non-central and central total eclipses.
↵}

Statistics for Lunar Eclipses: -2999 to 3000 (3000 BCE to 3000 CE)

During the six Millennium period -2999 to 3000 (3000 BCE to 3000 CE[1]), Earth will experience 14442 lunar eclipses. The following table shows the number of eclipses of each type over this period.

Lunar Eclipses: -2999 to 3000
Eclipse Type	Symbol	Number	Percent
All Eclipses	-	14442	100.0%
Penumbral	N	5227	36.2%
Partial	P	5012	34.7%
Total	T	4203	29.1%

Total eclipses can be further classified as either central or non-central:

Central - Some portion of the Moon passes directly through the center of Earth’s umbral shadow.
These are the deepest and longest type of lunar eclipse.
Non-Central - The Moon passes completely within Earth’s umbral shadow but misses the center of the umbra.

The statistical distribution of these classes during 6000 years appears in the following table.

Total Eclipses
Classification	Number	Percent
All	4203	100.0%
Central	2461	58.6%
Non-Central	1742	41.4%

There are two to five lunar eclipses in every calendar year. Statistics for the number of eclipses each year during the century are listed below.

Number of Eclipses Per Year
Number of Eclipses Per Year	Number of Years
2	4249
3	1099
4	613
5	39

The lunar eclipses with the longest and shortest durations, and with the largest and smallest magnitudes appear in the following two tables.

Extreme Durations of Lunar Eclipses
Extrema Type	Date	Duration
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse	0318 May 31	01h46m36s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse	0767 Apr 19	00h01m38s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse	2669 Feb 08	03h30m03s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse	1553 Jul 25	00h02m15s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse	1322 Nov 24	04h56m34s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse	0059 Apr 16	00h02m37s

Extreme Magnitudes of Lunar Eclipses
Extrema Type	Date	Umbral Magnitude	Penumbral Magnitude
Largest Total Lunar Eclipse	-2713 May 03	1.88719	-
Smallest Total Lunar Eclipse	0767 Apr 19	1.00010	-
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse	-1972 Jun 27	0.99996	-
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse	1553 Jul 25	0.00010	-
Largest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse	-2917 Oct 03	-	1.09884
Smallest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse	0059 Apr 16	-	0.00008

When four consecutive lunar eclipses are all total eclipses, the series is known as a tetrad. The following two tables list the tetrads and eclipses occurring during the 20th and 21st centuries, respectively.

Table of Lunar Eclipse Tetrad Series 1901 to 2000
Series Number	First Eclipse	Second Eclipse	Third Eclipse	Fourth Eclipse
1	1909 Jun 04	1909 Nov 27	1910 May 24	1910 Nov 17
2	1927 Jun 15	1927 Dec 08	1928 Jun 03	1928 Nov 27
3	1949 Apr 13	1949 Oct 07	1950 Apr 02	1950 Sep 26
4	1967 Apr 24	1967 Oct 18	1968 Apr 13	1968 Oct 06
5	1985 May 04	1985 Oct 28	1986 Apr 24	1986 Oct 17

Table of Lunar Eclipse Tetrad Series 2001 to 2100
Series Number	First Eclipse	Second Eclipse	Third Eclipse	Fourth Eclipse
1	2003 May 16	2003 Nov 09	2004 May 04	2004 Oct 28
2	2014 Apr 15	2014 Oct 08	2015 Apr 04	2015 Sep 28
3	2032 Apr 25	2032 Oct 18	2033 Apr 14	2033 Oct 08
4	2043 Mar 25	2043 Sep 19	2044 Mar 13	2044 Sep 07
5	2050 May 06	2050 Oct 30	2051 Apr 26	2051 Oct 19
6	2061 Apr 04	2061 Sep 29	2062 Mar 25	2062 Sep 18
7	2072 Mar 04	2072 Aug 28	2073 Feb 22	2073 Aug 17
8	2090 Mar 15	2090 Sep 08	2091 Mar 05	2091 Aug 29

Two catalogs list all the tetrads and eclipse occurring between -2999 and +3000 (3000 BCE and 3000 CE):

The years containing five lunar eclipses are as follows:

-2968, -2903, -2447, -2382, -2317, -2252, -1926, -1796, -1731, -1275, -1210, -1145, -1080, -1033, -624, -559, -512, -447, -103, 74, 204, 475, 595, 660, 725, 790, 1181, 1246, 1311, 1676, 1694, 1749, 1879, 2132, 2262, 2400, 2653, 2783, 2968.

The Number of Years with two lunar eclipses in the same month: 69

Footnotes

[1] The terms BCE and CE are abbreviations for "Before Common Era" and "Common Era," respectively. They are the secular equivalents to the BC and AD dating conventions. (See: Year Dating Conventions)

[2] Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the center of the Moon passes closest to the axis of Earth's shadows.

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)

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:

pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
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.