Each lunar eclipse has two diagrams associated with it along with data pertinent to the eclipse. The top figure shows the path of the Moon through Earth's penumbral and umbral shadows. Above this figure are listed the instant of conjunction in right ascension of the Moon with Earth's shadow axis and the instant of greatest eclipse, expressed as both Universal Time and Julian Date. The penumbral and umbral magnitudes are defined as the fraction of the Moon's diameter immersed in the two shadows at greatest eclipse. The radii of the penumbral and umbral shadows 'P. Radius' and 'U. Radius' are also listed. 'Gamma' is the minimum distance in Earth radii of the Moon's center from Earth's shadow axis at greatest eclipse, while 'Axis' is the same parameter expressed in degrees. The Saros series of the eclipse is listed, followed by a pair of numbers. The first number identifies the sequence position of the eclipse in the Saros, while the second is the total number of eclipses in the series.
In the upper left and right corners are the geocentric coordinates of the Sun and the Moon, respectively, at the instant of greatest eclipse. They are:
R.A. - Right Ascension Dec. - Declination S.D. - Apparent Semi-Diameter H.P. - Horizontal Parallax
P1 - Instant of first exterior tangency of Moon with Penumbra. (Penumbral Eclipse Begins) U1 - Instant of first exterior tangency of Moon with Umbra. (Partial Umbral Eclipse Begins) U2 - Instant of first interior tangency of Moon with Umbra. (Total Umbral Eclipse Begins) U3 - Instant of last interior tangency of Moon with Umbra. (Total Umbral Eclipse Ends) U4 - Instant of last exterior tangency of Moon with Umbra (Partial Umbral Eclipse Ends) P4 - Instant of last exterior tangency of Moon with Penumbra. (Penumbral Eclipse Ends)
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 largest uncertainty in the position of eclipse paths 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 delta-T. The value for delta-T was determined as follows:
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 Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986 - 2035.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC"