Six Millennium Catalog of Phases of the Moon
Moon Phases from -1999 to +4000 (2000 BCE to 4000 CE)
Fred Espenak
The two tables below contain links to a series of pages giving the phases of the Moon for the 6,000-year period -1999 to +4000 (2000 BCE to 4000 CE). Each page covers a century and lists the date and time (Universal Time) of the Moon's phases during that 100-year period. This data is provided primarily to assist in historical research projects. For the year 2000, the length of the mean synodic month (New Moon to New Moon) is 29.530588 days (=29d12h44m03s). However, the length of any one synodic month can vary from 29.26 to 29.80 days due to the perturbing effects of the Sun's gravity on the Moon's eccentric orbit. For example, see Length of the Synodic Month: 2001 to 2100.
Each 100-year table of lunar phases also indicates when an eclipse of the Sun or Moon takes place. An eclipse of the Sun can occur only at New Moon, while an eclipse of the Moon can occur only at Full Moon.
Historians should note that the astronomical dating system used in these tables includes the year "0" while the traditional BCE - CE dating convention does not. Thus, the year "0" here corresponds to "1 BCE", the year "-100" is "101 BCE", and so on. The old style Julian calendar is used for dates prior to 1582, while the modern Gregorian calendar is used after that date. For more information, see calendar dates.
| Moon Phases Before Common Era (BCE) | |||||
| Links to Century Tables |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1999 - -1900 | -1899 - -1800 | -1799 - -1700 | -1699 - -1600 | -1599 - -1500 | |
| -1499 - -1400 | -1399 - -1300 | -1299 - -1200 | -1199 - -1100 | -1099 - -1000 | |
| -0999 - -0900 | -0899 - -0800 | -0799 - -0700 | -0699 - -0600 | -0599 - -0500 | |
| -0499 - -0400 | -0399 - -0300 | -0299 - -0200 | -0199 - -0100 | -0099 - 0000 | |
Acknowledgement
All calculations presented here are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. The computer software for predicting the phases of the Moon and eclipses is written in THINK Pascal and run on a PowerMac G4. It is based on procedures described in Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus (Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, 1998).
Permission is granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by a link to this page and the credit line:
"Moon Phases Table courtesy of Fred Espenak, www.Astropixels.com"
Various phases of the Moon during the synodic month.
Additional Links About the Moon
Links to tables of dates for lunar perigees, apogees, super moons, lunar nodes and standstills, and length of the synodic month throughout the 21st Century.
- Perigee and Apogee: 2001 to 2100
- Full Moon at Perigee (Super Moon): 2001 to 2100
- Ascending and Descending Node: 2001 to 2100
- Monthly Lunar Standstills: 2001 to 2100
- Greatest Annual Lunar Standstills: 2001 to 2100
- Length of Synodic Month: 2001 to 2100
- Moon in 2015
The following links offer several galleries of Moon photographs.