Lunar month circular, the speed of Earth's progression around the Sun varies during the year. Thus, the angular rate is faster nearer periapsis and slower near apoapsis. The same is so for the Moon's orbit around the Earth. Because of these variations in angular rate, the actual time between lunations may vary from about 29.18 to about 29.93 days. The long-term average duration is days (29 d 12 h 44 min 2.8016 s). The synodic month is used to calculate eclipse cycles. It is customary to specify positions of celestial bodies with respect to the vernal equinox. Because of Earth's precession of
Lunar Saros 126 Greatest Eclipse of the Lunar Saros 126: 1859 Aug 13, lasting 106 minutes. Last Central Lunar Eclipse: 1931 Sep 26 Last Total Lunar Eclipse: 2003 Nov 09 Last Partial Lunar Eclipse: 2346 Jun 05 Last Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: 2472 Aug 19 1901-2100 1913 Sep 15 1931 Sep 26 1949 Oct 07 1967 Oct 18 1985 Oct 28 2003 Nov 09 2021 Nov 19 2039 Nov 30 2057 Dec 11 2075 Dec 22 2094 Jan 01 Lunar Saros 126 Saros cycle series 126 for lunar eclipses occurs at the moon's ascending node, 18 years 11 and 1/3 days. It contains 70