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Key to Catalog of Lunar Eclipses
Fred Espenak
Catalogs of lunar eclipse circumstances include the following data. The
date and Universal Time <../SEhelp/TimeZone.html>[1 <#1>] of the instant
of greatest eclipse[2 <#2>] are found in the first two columns. The
eclipse type is given (T=Total, P=Partial, or N=Penumbral) along with
the Saros series. Gamma is the distance of the Moon's center from the
shadow axis of Earth at greatest eclipse (in Earth radii). The penumbral
and umbral magnitudes of the eclipse are defined as the fractions of the
Moon's diameter obscured by each shadow at greatest eclipse. The
semi-durations of the partial and total phases of the eclipse are given
to the nearest minute. Finally, the Greenwich Sidereal Time at 00:00
U.T., along with the Moon's Geocentric Right Ascension and Declination
at greatest eclipse complete each record. A more detailed key <#key> is
listed below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1 <#1a>] For most practical purposes, Universal Time (UT) is equivalent
to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
[2 <#2a>] Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the Moon
passes closest to the axis of Earth's shadows. This marks the instant
when the Moon is deepest in Earth's shadow(s).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Key to Catalog of Lunar Eclipses
Column Heading Definition/Description
1 Date Calendar Date (Gregorian) at instant of
Greatest Eclipse.
(Julian calendar is used before 1582 Oct 15).
2 Greatest Universal Time (UT) of Greatest Eclipse, which is
Eclipse defined as the instant when Moon passes closest
to the axis of Earth's shadows.
3 Type Type of lunar eclipse where:
N = Penumbral Eclipse.
P = Partial (Umbral) Eclipse.
T = Total (Umbral) Eclipse.
(Tc = central total eclipse)
If the Type ends with:
"m" = Middle eclipse of Saros series.
"+" = Central eclipse (Moon north of axis).
"-" = Central eclipse (Moon south of axis).
"b" = Saros series begins (first eclipse in series).
"e" = Saros series ends (last eclipse in series).
4 Saros Saros series of eclipse.
(Each eclipse in a Saros is separated by an interval
of 18 years 11.3 days.)
5 Gamma Distance of the Moon from the axis of Earth's
shadow cone (units of equatorial radii) at the
instant of greatest eclipse.
6 Pen. Penumbral eclipse magnitude is the fraction of
Mag. the Moon's diameter obscured by the penumbra.
7 Umb. Umbral eclipse magnitude is the fraction of
Mag. the Moon's diameter obscured by the umbra.
8 S.D. Semi-duration of partial (umbral) eclipse (minutes).
Par
9 S.D. Semi-duration of total (umbral) eclipse (minutes).
Tot
10 GST0 Greenwich Sidereal Time at 00:00 U.T..
11 Moon Geocentric Right Ascension of the Moon
RA at greatest eclipse (hours).
12 Moon Geocentric Declination of the Moon
Dec at greatest eclipse (degrees).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calendar Dates
The Julian calendar is used for all dates up to 1582 Oct 04. After that
date, the Gregorian calendar is used. Due to the Gregorian Calendar
reform, the day after 1582 Oct 04 (Julian calendar) is 1582 Oct 15
(Gregorian calendar). Note that Great Britian did not adopt the
Gregorian calendar until 1752. For more information, see Calendars
<../SEhelp/calendars.html>.
The Julian calendar does not include the year 0, so the year 1 BCE is
followed by the year 1 CE. This is awkward for arithmetic calculations.
In this catalog, dates are counted using the astronomical numbering
system which recognizes the year 0. Historians should note the numerical
difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus,
the year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and year -100 corresponds to 101 BCE,
etc.. (See: Year Dating Conventions <../SEhelp/dates.html>)
There is some historical uncertainty as to which years from 43 BCE to 8
CE were counted as leap years. For the purposes of this catalog, we will
assume that /all/ Julian years divisible by 4 will be counted as leap
years.
Lunar Eclipse Predictions
Eclipse predictions presented here are based on j=2 ephemerides for the
Sun (Newcomb, 1895) and Moon (Brown, 1919, and Eckert, Jones and Clark,
1954). A revised value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot
= -26 arc-sec/cy*cy, as deduced by Morrison and Ward (1975) from 250
years of Mercury transit observations. The diameter of the umbral shadow
was enlarged by 2% to compensate for Earth's atmosphere and the effects
of oblateness have been included.
The largest uncertainty in the time of eclipse predictions in the
distant past or future is caused by fluctuations in Earth's rotation
<../SEhelp/rotation.html> due primarily to tidal friction of the Moon.
The resultant drift in apparent clock time is expressed as /delta-T
<../SEhelp/deltaT.html>/. The value for /delta-T/ was determined as follows:
1. pre-1600: delta T was calculated from empirical fits to historical
records <../SEhelp/deltaT2.html> derived by Stephenson (1997)
2. 1600-present: delta T was obtained from published observations
3. future: delta-T was extrapolated from current values and a model
of tidal effects
Reproduction of Eclipse Data
All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full
responsibility for their accuracy. Some of the information presented in
these tables is based on data originally published in /Fifty Year Canon
of Lunar Eclipses: 1986 - 2035 <../SEpubs/RP1216.html>/.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by
an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC"
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