The periodicity and recurrence of solar (and lunar) eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share a very similar geometry. The two eclipses occur at the same node[1] with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. Thus, the Saros is useful for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 to 13 centuries and contains 70 or more eclipses. Every saros series begins with a number of partial eclipses near one of Earth's polar regions. The series will then produce several dozen central[2] eclipses before ending with a group of partial eclipses near the opposite pole.
Solar eclipses of Saros 2 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -2861 May 04. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1563 Jun 21. The total duration of Saros series 2 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2861 May 04 02:33:20 TD
Last Eclipse = -1563 Jun 21 17:57:26 TD
Duration of Saros 2 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 2 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 2 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.5% |
| Annular | A | 3 | 4.1% |
| Total | T | 43 | 58.9% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 12 | 16.4% |
Umbral eclipses (annular, total and hybrid) can be further classified as either: 1) Central (two limits), 2) Central (one limit) or 3) Non-Central (one limit). The statistical distribution of these classes in Saros series 2 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 2 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 2: 8P 43T 12H 3A 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 2 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -2230 May 17 Duration = 07m21s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -2717 Jul 29 Duration = 00m40s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1689 Apr 07 Duration = 00m30s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1725 Mar 17 Duration = 00m01s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1942 Nov 07 Duration = 01m17s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1743 Mar 05 Duration = 00m09s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -2735 Jul 18 Magnitude = 0.9626
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -2861 May 04 Magnitude = 0.0202
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 2 are presented in the following catalog. The sequence number in the first column links to a global map showing regions of eclipse visibility. A detailed key and additional information about the catalog can be found at: Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.
For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Saros 002 Animation.
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
01 -36 -2861 May 04 02:33:20 67597 -60119 Pb -1.5347 0.0202 71.2S 131.0E 0 293
02 -35 -2843 May 14 09:23:21 67077 -59896 P -1.4519 0.1692 70.7S 12.8E 0 305
03 -34 -2825 May 25 16:16:46 66559 -59673 P -1.3704 0.3170 70.0S 105.7W 0 318
04 -33 -2807 Jun 04 23:14:03 66043 -59450 P -1.2908 0.4623 69.2S 135.3E 0 330
05 -32 -2789 Jun 16 06:18:03 65529 -59227 P -1.2152 0.6008 68.3S 15.2E 0 341
06 -31 -2771 Jun 26 13:29:09 65017 -59004 P -1.1440 0.7316 67.3S 106.1W 0 353
07 -30 -2753 Jul 07 20:47:56 64507 -58781 P -1.0780 0.8531 66.3S 131.2E 0 3
08 -29 -2735 Jul 18 04:15:55 63999 -58558 P -1.0185 0.9626 65.3S 6.6E 0 13
09 -28 -2717 Jul 29 11:53:59 63493 -58335 T -0.9665 1.0080 50.8S 111.1W 14 16 111 00m40s
10 -27 -2699 Aug 08 19:42:20 62989 -58112 T -0.9219 1.0103 43.1S 127.7E 22 20 92 00m53s
11 -26 -2681 Aug 20 03:39:47 62487 -57889 T -0.8840 1.0116 39.0S 4.1E 28 24 84 01m00s
12 -25 -2663 Aug 30 11:47:56 61987 -57666 T -0.8540 1.0123 37.2S 122.2W 31 28 80 01m03s
13 -24 -2645 Sep 10 20:05:24 61490 -57443 T -0.8310 1.0128 37.1S 109.1E 34 32 78 01m04s
14 -23 -2627 Sep 21 04:31:40 60994 -57220 T -0.8145 1.0134 38.3S 21.9W 35 36 77 01m04s
15 -22 -2609 Oct 02 13:05:16 60500 -56997 T -0.8035 1.0140 40.6S 154.9W 36 39 79 01m05s
16 -21 -2591 Oct 12 21:45:28 60008 -56774 T -0.7973 1.0150 43.7S 70.4E 37 43 83 01m06s
17 -20 -2573 Oct 24 06:30:44 59518 -56551 T -0.7947 1.0162 47.5S 65.7W 37 46 90 01m09s
18 -19 -2555 Nov 03 15:17:58 59030 -56328 T -0.7935 1.0180 51.6S 158.0E 37 48 100 01m14s
19 -18 -2537 Nov 15 00:07:36 58544 -56105 T -0.7937 1.0202 56.1S 21.6E 37 50 112 01m21s
20 -17 -2519 Nov 25 08:55:52 58060 -55882 T -0.7929 1.0230 60.6S 113.5W 37 51 128 01m29s
21 -16 -2501 Dec 06 17:42:26 57579 -55659 T -0.7902 1.0264 65.0S 113.7E 37 49 146 01m40s
22 -15 -2483 Dec 17 02:23:43 57099 -55436 T -0.7830 1.0304 68.7S 14.4W 38 44 165 01m54s
23 -14 -2465 Dec 28 11:01:16 56621 -55213 T -0.7726 1.0348 71.6S 137.0W 39 34 185 02m10s
24 -13 -2446 Jan 07 19:31:37 56145 -54990 T -0.7562 1.0396 72.5S 106.7E 41 20 204 02m29s
25 -12 -2428 Jan 19 03:55:02 55671 -54767 T -0.7337 1.0448 71.1S 7.1W 42 4 221 02m50s
26 -11 -2410 Jan 29 12:10:05 55200 -54544 T -0.7042 1.0501 67.4S 122.7W 45 353 235 03m15s
27 -10 -2392 Feb 09 20:17:54 54730 -54321 T -0.6682 1.0555 62.0S 118.7E 48 346 247 03m43s
28 -09 -2374 Feb 20 04:17:39 54262 -54098 T -0.6254 1.0607 55.6S 1.3W 51 342 256 04m14s
29 -08 -2356 Mar 02 12:09:40 53796 -53875 T -0.5760 1.0657 48.4S 121.5W 55 340 262 04m47s
30 -07 -2338 Mar 13 19:54:57 53332 -53652 T -0.5205 1.0702 40.7S 118.6E 58 339 267 05m21s
31 -06 -2320 Mar 24 03:34:04 52871 -53429 T -0.4596 1.0741 32.7S 0.5W 62 339 270 05m53s
32 -05 -2302 Apr 04 11:07:07 52411 -53206 T -0.3933 1.0774 24.5S 118.5W 67 340 271 06m24s
33 -04 -2284 Apr 14 18:36:13 51953 -52983 T -0.3237 1.0799 16.2S 124.4E 71 341 272 06m50s
34 -03 -2266 Apr 26 02:01:36 51497 -52760 T -0.2507 1.0816 7.9S 8.3E 75 342 271 07m09s
35 -02 -2248 May 06 09:26:04 51044 -52537 T -0.1771 1.0823 0.2N 107.3W 80 344 269 07m20s
36 -01 -2230 May 17 16:47:47 50592 -52314 T -0.1011 1.0821 8.2N 138.1E 84 346 266 07m21s
37 00 -2212 May 28 00:11:44 50142 -52091 Tm -0.0272 1.0809 15.6N 23.6E 89 348 261 07m13s
38 01 -2194 Jun 08 07:35:59 49694 -51868 T 0.0465 1.0789 22.6N 90.2W 87 172 255 06m56s
39 02 -2176 Jun 18 15:04:32 49249 -51645 T 0.1161 1.0761 28.8N 155.8E 83 176 248 06m33s
40 03 -2158 Jun 29 22:35:05 48805 -51422 T 0.1837 1.0724 34.1N 42.4E 79 180 239 06m04s
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
41 04 -2140 Jul 10 06:12:47 48363 -51199 T 0.2451 1.0681 38.3N 71.7W 76 186 229 05m33s
42 05 -2122 Jul 21 13:55:13 47924 -50976 T 0.3023 1.0632 41.2N 174.0E 72 191 218 05m01s
43 06 -2104 Jul 31 21:45:23 47486 -50753 T 0.3527 1.0580 42.6N 58.2E 69 198 204 04m30s
44 07 -2086 Aug 12 05:42:06 47050 -50530 T 0.3973 1.0524 42.7N 59.2W 66 203 189 04m01s
45 08 -2068 Aug 22 13:48:09 46617 -50307 T 0.4336 1.0468 41.4N 179.5W 64 208 172 03m34s
46 09 -2050 Sep 02 22:01:13 46185 -50084 T 0.4639 1.0412 39.2N 57.6E 62 211 155 03m08s
47 10 -2032 Sep 13 06:21:44 45755 -49861 T 0.4877 1.0357 36.2N 68.2W 61 214 136 02m45s
48 11 -2014 Sep 24 14:49:17 45328 -49638 T 0.5052 1.0305 32.6N 163.4E 59 214 118 02m24s
49 12 -1996 Oct 04 23:23:37 44902 -49415 T 0.5166 1.0257 28.8N 32.5E 59 214 101 02m04s
50 13 -1978 Oct 16 08:02:30 44478 -49192 T 0.5237 1.0214 24.8N 100.0W 58 213 84 01m47s
51 14 -1960 Oct 26 16:45:10 44057 -48969 T 0.5271 1.0175 21.0N 126.3E 58 210 70 01m31s
52 15 -1942 Nov 07 01:29:55 43637 -48746 H3 0.5284 1.0143 17.4N 8.2W 58 208 57 01m17s
53 16 -1924 Nov 17 10:15:36 43219 -48523 H 0.5283 1.0116 14.2N 142.8W 58 204 47 01m06s
54 17 -1906 Nov 28 18:58:47 42804 -48300 H 0.5296 1.0095 11.6N 83.3E 58 200 38 00m56s
55 18 -1888 Dec 09 03:39:58 42390 -48077 H 0.5320 1.0079 9.8N 50.1W 58 196 32 00m48s
56 19 -1870 Dec 20 12:15:47 41979 -47854 H 0.5379 1.0066 9.0N 178.0E 57 192 27 00m42s
57 20 -1852 Dec 30 20:45:47 41569 -47631 H 0.5483 1.0059 9.2N 47.6E 57 187 24 00m38s
58 21 -1833 Jan 11 05:07:17 41161 -47408 H 0.5652 1.0052 10.7N 80.9W 56 183 22 00m34s
59 22 -1815 Jan 21 13:21:20 40756 -47185 H 0.5875 1.0048 13.2N 152.2E 54 178 21 00m31s
60 23 -1797 Feb 01 21:25:34 40352 -46962 H 0.6170 1.0043 17.0N 27.4E 52 174 19 00m28s
61 24 -1779 Feb 12 05:19:31 39951 -46739 H 0.6544 1.0038 22.0N 95.4W 49 170 17 00m24s
62 25 -1761 Feb 23 13:03:27 39551 -46516 H 0.6992 1.0028 28.1N 143.6E 45 166 14 00m17s
63 26 -1743 Mar 05 20:37:21 39154 -46293 H 0.7516 1.0016 35.4N 24.1E 41 162 8 00m09s
64 27 -1725 Mar 17 04:02:01 38758 -46070 A 0.8105 0.9997 43.9N 94.5W 36 156 2 00m01s
65 28 -1707 Mar 27 11:16:25 38365 -45847 A 0.8766 0.9970 53.7N 146.2E 28 149 22 00m14s
66 29 -1689 Apr 07 18:23:32 37973 -45624 A 0.9476 0.9929 65.1N 19.1E 18 132 80 00m30s
67 30 -1671 Apr 18 01:22:18 37584 -45401 P 1.0243 0.9436 71.6N 148.5W 0 74
68 31 -1653 Apr 29 08:15:17 37196 -45178 P 1.1044 0.7984 71.2N 92.9E 0 61
69 32 -1635 May 09 15:02:53 36811 -44955 P 1.1875 0.6484 70.6N 23.9W 0 48
70 33 -1617 May 20 21:47:47 36427 -44732 P 1.2714 0.4977 69.8N 139.5W 0 36
71 34 -1599 May 31 04:30:55 36046 -44509 P 1.3554 0.3481 69.0N 106.0E 0 25
72 35 -1581 Jun 11 11:13:09 35666 -44286 P 1.4387 0.2008 68.0N 7.8W 0 13
73 36 -1563 Jun 21 17:57:26 35289 -44063 Pe 1.5190 0.0603 67.0N 121.6W 0 3
[1] The Moon's orbit is inclined about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. The points where the lunar orbit intersects the plane of Earth's orbit are known as the nodes. The Moon moves from south to north of Earth's orbit at the ascending node, and from north to south at the descending node.
[2]Central solar eclipses are eclipses in which the central axis of the Moon's shadow strikes the Earth's surface. All partial (penumbral) eclipses are non-central eclipses since the shadow axis misses Earth. However, umbral eclipses (total, annular and hybrid) may be either central (usually) or non-central (rarely).
[3]Hybrid eclipses are also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is both total and annular along different sections of its umbral path. For more information, see Five Millennium Catalog of Hybrid Solar Eclipses .
[4]Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to the Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is virtually identical to the instants of greatest magnitude and greatest duration. However, for annular eclipses, the instant of greatest duration may occur at either the time of greatest eclipse or near the sunrise and sunset points of the eclipse path.
The Gregorian calendar is used for all dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates. The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions ). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..
The coordinates of the Sun used in these predictions are based on the VSOP87 theory [Bretagnon and Francou, 1988]. The Moon's coordinates are based on the ELP-2000/82 theory [Chapront-Touze and Chapront, 1983]. For more information, see: Solar and Lunar Ephemerides. The revised value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot = -25.858 arc-sec/cy*cy, as deduced from the Apollo lunar laser ranging experiment (Chapront, Chapront-Touze, and Francou, 2002).
The largest uncertainty in the eclipse predictions 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 ΔT and is determined as follows:
A series of polynomial expressions have been derived to simplify the evaluation of ΔT for any time from -1999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.
Special thanks to Dan McGlaun for extracting the individual eclipse maps from the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 for use in this catalog and for preparing the Saros series animations from these maps.
The Besselian elements used in the predictions were kindly provided by Jean Meeus. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Some of the information presented on this web site is based on data originally published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)"
