Lunar eclipses during transits
One hundred millennium catalog
50 000 BC - 50 000 AD
After completing the Solar eclipses during transit catalog it wasn't much of a surprise I searched for simultaneous occurrences of lunar eclipses and planetary transits, though those are less spectacular events unless one is standing on the surface of the Moon. Last simultaneous event was on 10 October 1421 BC, but then transit of Mercury coincided with penumbral lunar eclipse, which was practically undetectable to the naked eye. Next simultaneous event will take place on 13/14 November 2236 during a transit of Mercury and could be observed by future colonists. Due to atmospherical refraction during each phase of lunar eclipses for some locations near day and night terminator here on Earth both Moon and Sun are above local geometrical horizon (selenehelion), thus while planetary transit is taking place in one direction of the sky a lunar eclipse is observable in nearly opposite direction.
Eclipses of the Moon can only occur near the Full Moon phase. It is then possible the Moon to pass through Earth's penumbral and/or umbral shadows thereby producing an eclipse. There are three basic types of lunar eclipses:
- Penumbral - The Moon passes through Earth's penumbral shadow.
- Partial - A portion of the Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow.
- Total - The entire Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow.
The transit or passage of a planet across the disk of the Sun may be thought of as a special kind of eclipse. As seen from Earth, only transits of the inner planets Mercury and Venus are possible. Planetary transits are far more rare than eclipses of the Sun by the Moon. On the average, there are 13 transits of Mercury each century. In comparison, transits of Venus usually occur in pairs with eight years separating the two events. However, more than a century elapses between each transit pair.
Lunar eclipses during transit: 50000 BC to 50000 AD
During the 100 000 years interval a total of 240 334 lunar eclipses or very close misses, 16 496 transits of Mercury or very close misses and 1 268 transits of Venus or very close misses were found. On 48 occasions a lunar eclipse occurs within 8 hours of transit of either Mercury or Venus, in 28 of them simultaneousity occurs. The following table shows the number of eclipses, depending on the transiting planet.
| Transiting body | Eclipses |
|---|---|
| Mercury | 22 |
| Venus | 6 |
Distribution of eclipses by their type is as follows:
| Eclipse type | Number |
|---|---|
| Partial | 15 |
| Total | 7 |
| Penumbral | 6 |
The table below systematizes data for all lunar eclipses occurring during a transit over the one hundred millennia timespan. It contains times of greatest eclipse (transit) in artificially extended Julian and Gregorian calendars. Please note: both calendar systems were not intended to be used over such wide timespan, thus those dates are just a rough approximation and should not be taken literally. Next the Julian Day count of events is given. Lunar eclipse type is given last. T = total; P = partial, N = penumbral. In brackets maximum phase of eclipse during simultaneousity is shown. Events in italics are not certainly simultaneous due to uncertainty in lunar tidal acceleration.
| Catalog Number | Calendar Date and Time | JD | Transiting Body | Eclipse Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | BC 47245 Oct 09 03:39 | -15534531.85 | Venus | T [T] |
| BC 47245 Oct 09 06:55 | -15534531.71 | Moon | ||
| 02 | BC 46963 Feb 16 22:28 | -15431766.06 | Mercury | T [N] |
| BC 46963 Feb 16 18:22 | -15431766.23 | Moon | ||
| 03 | BC 46917 Feb 18 04:09 | -15414963.83 | Mercury | N [N] |
| BC 46917 Feb 18 04:10 | -15414963.83 | Moon | ||
| 04 | BC 45819 Feb 25 01:32 | -15013911.94 | Mercury | T [N] |
| BC 45819 Feb 24 19:39 | -15013912.18 | Moon | ||
| 05 | BC 45112 Sep 01 06:09 | -14755491.74 | Mercury | P [P] |
| BC 45112 Sep 01 08:49 | -14755491.63 | Moon | ||
| 06 | BC 41690 Mar 25 06:19 | -13505766.74 | Mercury | P [N] |
| BC 41690 Mar 25 10:27 | -13505766.56 | Moon | ||
| 07 | BC 40592 Apr 01 04:23 | -13104714.82 | Mercury | T [N] |
| BC 40592 Apr 01 10:16 | -13104714.57 | Moon | ||
| 08 | BC 36854 Oct 28 04:40 | -11739200.81 | Mercury | P [P] |
| BC 36854 Oct 28 01:22 | -11739200.94 | Moon | ||
| 09 | BC 36788 Oct 18 03:58 | -11715103.83 | Venus | T [T] |
| BC 36788 Oct 18 07:47 | -11715103.68 | Moon | ||
| 10 | BC 36555 Apr 28 00:46 | -11630173.97 | Mercury | P [P] |
| BC 36555 Apr 28 00:46 | -11630173.97 | Moon | ||
| 11 | BC 33915 Nov 16 04:04 | -10665711.83 | Mercury | P [P] |
| BC 33915 Nov 16 03:02 | -10665711.87 | Moon | ||
| 12 | BC 27329 Jun 04 08:45 | -8260339.64 | Mercury | P [N] |
| BC 27329 Jun 04 06:25 | -8260339.73 | Moon | ||
| 13 | BC 25456 Apr 25 13:15 | -7576266.45 | Venus | P [N] |
| BC 25456 Apr 25 08:55 | -7576266.63 | Moon | ||
| 14 | BC 21990 Jul 08 02:26 | -6310236.90 | Mercury | N [N] |
| BC 21990 Jul 08 01:39 | -6310236.93 | Moon | ||
| 15 | BC 21247 Jul 12 06:25 | -6038851.73 | Mercury | T [T] |
| BC 21247 Jul 12 05:16 | -6038851.78 | Moon | ||
| 16 | BC 16355 Aug 09 19:24 | -4252020.19 | Mercury | P [P] |
| BC 16355 Aug 09 20:30 | -4252020.15 | Moon | ||
| 17 | BC 02371 May 19 20:03 | 855553.84 | Venus | P [N] |
| BC 02371 May 20 01:13 | 855554.05 | Moon | ||
| 18 | BC 01421 Oct 10 20:11 | 1202685.84 | Mercury | N [N] |
| BC 01421 Oct 10 21:41 | 1202685.90 | Moon | ||
| 19 | AD 02236 Nov 13 21:43 | 2538058.91 | Mercury | P [P] |
| AD 02236 Nov 14 00:24 | 2538059.02 | Moon | ||
| 20 | AD 02887 Nov 21 16:53 | 2775839.70 | Mercury | P [P] |
| AD 02887 Nov 21 20:10 | 2775839.84 | Moon | ||
| 21 | AD 03713 Jun 21 22:27 | 3077376.94 | Venus | N [N] |
| AD 03713 Jun 22 01:14 | 3077377.05 | Moon | ||
| 22 | AD 04932 Dec 17 11:49 | 3522786.49 | Mercury | N [N] |
| AD 04932 Dec 17 13:19 | 3522786.55 | Moon | ||
| 23 | AD 13288 Mar 18 19:26 | 6574479.81 | Venus | N [N] |
| AD 13288 Mar 18 17:02 | 6574479.71 | Moon | ||
| 24 | AD 38780 Jan 11 05:19 | 15885173.22 | Mercury | P [P] |
| AD 38780 Jan 11 03:47 | 15885173.16 | Moon | ||
| 25 | AD 46427 Apr 18 12:25 | 18678280.52 | Mercury | P [P] |
| AD 46427 Apr 18 08:55 | 18678280.37 | Moon | ||
| 26 | AD 46986 Apr 23 02:01 | 18882456.08 | Mercury | P [P] |
| AD 46986 Apr 22 22:35 | 18882455.94 | Moon | ||
| 27 | AD 47032 Apr 24 09:06 | 18899258.38 | Mercury | T [T] |
| AD 47032 Apr 24 11:09 | 18899258.46 | Moon | ||
| 28 | AD 49869 Nov 29 23:50 | 19935670.99 | Mercury | P [N] |
| AD 49869 Nov 30 04:50 | 19935671.20 | Moon |
About Predictions
All computations were performed with numerical integration software SOLEX and a value of 25.858"/century2 was used for lunar tidal acceleration.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data, however a link to this website will be appreciated.
Notes
For events with catalog numbers 4, 7, 13 and 28 simultaneousity is possible, but not certain.
The Gregorian calendar is used for all dates beginning 1582 Oct 15. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. Due to the Gregorian Calendar reform, the day after 1582 Oct 04 (Julian calendar) is 1582 Oct 15 (Gregorian calendar). The prefixes of 5 digit year, BC and AD, stand for "Before Christ" and "Anno Domini" (latin for "the year of our Lord") respectively.
The instant of Greatest Eclipse is defined as the moment when the distance between Moon's center of mass and the axis of Earth's umbral shadow reaches its minumum. By analogy, at the instant of Greatest Transit the angular separation between centers of Sun and transiting body reaches its minimum for an observer at Earth's Geocenter. Instants of greatest transits and eclipses are given in the uniform timescale of TT (Terrestial Time) instead of UT (Universal Time). For planets accurate within couple of minutes, for Moon accurate within a minute for +/- 10 000 years from epoch J1900, error growing quadratically with time (reaching 25 minutes at the ends of interval), due to the accumulation of uncertainty of the lunar tidal acceleration.
See also: Solar eclipses during transit.