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 5 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -2720 Apr 04. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -1422 May 24. The total duration of Saros series 5 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2720 Apr 04 23:46:28 TD
Last Eclipse = -1422 May 24 15:11:38 TD
Duration of Saros 5 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 5 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 5 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.2% |
| Annular | A | 11 | 15.1% |
| Total | T | 44 | 60.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.5% |
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 5 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 5 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 59 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 59 | 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 5: 7P 44T 4H 11A 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 5 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -2017 Jun 01 Duration = 06m40s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -2594 Jun 20 Duration = 00m52s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1548 Mar 09 Duration = 01m08s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1729 Nov 22 Duration = 00m12s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1801 Oct 09 Duration = 00m58s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1747 Nov 10 Duration = 00m00s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -2612 Jun 08 Magnitude = 0.9070
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -2720 Apr 04 Magnitude = 0.0183
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 5 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 005 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 -2720 Apr 04 23:46:28 63586 -58376 Pb 1.5364 0.0183 60.5N 6.6E 0 97
02 -35 -2702 Apr 16 06:41:48 63082 -58153 P 1.4572 0.1600 60.5N 108.1W 0 88
03 -34 -2684 Apr 26 13:35:05 62579 -57930 P 1.3750 0.3089 60.6N 137.8E 0 80
04 -33 -2666 May 07 20:29:56 62079 -57707 P 1.2926 0.4595 60.8N 23.2E 0 71
05 -32 -2648 May 18 03:25:58 61581 -57484 P 1.2100 0.6115 61.2N 91.7W 0 62
06 -31 -2630 May 29 10:26:50 61085 -57261 P 1.1296 0.7603 61.7N 152.0E 0 54
07 -30 -2612 Jun 08 17:30:49 60590 -57038 P 1.0507 0.9070 62.4N 34.8E 0 45
08 -29 -2594 Jun 20 00:42:44 60098 -56815 T 0.9769 1.0164 71.5N 63.3W 12 55 281 00m52s
09 -28 -2576 Jun 30 08:00:57 59608 -56592 T 0.9076 1.0212 79.0N 135.4W 24 94 175 01m13s
10 -27 -2558 Jul 11 15:27:53 59120 -56369 T 0.8446 1.0240 79.6N 155.3E 32 139 154 01m28s
11 -26 -2540 Jul 21 23:03:07 58634 -56146 T 0.7875 1.0256 75.9N 68.7E 38 170 142 01m38s
12 -25 -2522 Aug 02 06:48:25 58149 -55923 T 0.7380 1.0266 70.7N 35.8W 42 185 135 01m47s
13 -24 -2504 Aug 12 14:43:22 57667 -55700 T 0.6961 1.0270 64.9N 149.9W 46 194 128 01m53s
14 -23 -2486 Aug 23 22:47:11 57187 -55477 T 0.6610 1.0272 59.1N 90.2E 48 198 123 01m58s
15 -22 -2468 Sep 03 07:01:16 56709 -55254 T 0.6341 1.0271 53.3N 34.1W 50 201 119 02m02s
16 -21 -2450 Sep 14 15:23:58 56233 -55031 T 0.6139 1.0270 47.7N 161.7W 52 203 116 02m06s
17 -20 -2432 Sep 24 23:55:26 55758 -54808 T 0.6005 1.0270 42.3N 67.8E 53 203 114 02m10s
18 -19 -2414 Oct 06 08:32:55 55286 -54585 T 0.5918 1.0273 37.2N 64.7W 53 203 114 02m15s
19 -18 -2396 Oct 16 17:17:12 54816 -54362 T 0.5883 1.0278 32.5N 160.9E 54 202 116 02m22s
20 -17 -2378 Oct 28 02:04:56 54348 -54139 T 0.5873 1.0287 28.2N 25.5E 54 200 119 02m31s
21 -16 -2360 Nov 07 10:55:34 53882 -53916 T 0.5883 1.0302 24.3N 110.8W 54 197 125 02m44s
22 -15 -2342 Nov 18 19:46:38 53418 -53693 T 0.5892 1.0321 20.8N 112.7E 54 194 133 02m59s
23 -14 -2324 Nov 29 04:37:34 52955 -53470 T 0.5894 1.0346 17.8N 23.7W 54 191 144 03m16s
24 -13 -2306 Dec 10 13:24:51 52495 -53247 T 0.5865 1.0376 15.1N 159.2W 54 187 156 03m37s
25 -12 -2288 Dec 20 22:08:25 52037 -53024 T 0.5802 1.0410 12.9N 66.3E 54 182 169 03m59s
26 -11 -2269 Jan 01 06:46:00 51581 -52801 T 0.5687 1.0449 11.0N 66.6W 55 178 182 04m21s
27 -10 -2251 Jan 11 15:18:09 51127 -52578 T 0.5522 1.0491 9.4N 162.0E 56 173 195 04m43s
28 -09 -2233 Jan 22 23:40:58 50675 -52355 T 0.5278 1.0536 8.2N 33.2E 58 169 208 05m03s
29 -08 -2215 Feb 02 07:57:16 50225 -52132 T 0.4978 1.0581 7.3N 93.7W 60 165 219 05m20s
30 -07 -2197 Feb 13 16:04:00 49777 -51909 T 0.4597 1.0625 6.8N 142.1E 63 161 229 05m34s
31 -06 -2179 Feb 24 00:04:31 49330 -51686 T 0.4161 1.0668 6.7N 19.7E 65 157 238 05m46s
32 -05 -2161 Mar 07 07:54:50 48886 -51463 T 0.3640 1.0707 6.8N 99.8W 69 154 245 05m55s
33 -04 -2143 Mar 17 15:40:07 48444 -51240 T 0.3072 1.0741 7.3N 142.3E 72 152 251 06m03s
34 -03 -2125 Mar 28 23:17:08 48004 -51017 T 0.2436 1.0769 7.9N 26.6E 76 151 256 06m10s
35 -02 -2107 Apr 08 06:50:25 47566 -50794 T 0.1766 1.0790 8.7N 87.9W 80 150 259 06m17s
36 -01 -2089 Apr 19 14:17:26 47130 -50571 T 0.1042 1.0803 9.3N 159.4E 84 151 260 06m23s
37 00 -2071 Apr 29 21:43:15 46696 -50348 Tm 0.0309 1.0807 9.7N 47.2E 88 153 260 06m30s
38 01 -2053 May 11 05:05:51 46264 -50125 T -0.0450 1.0802 9.7N 64.2W 87 333 259 06m35s
39 02 -2035 May 21 12:28:11 45834 -49902 T -0.1211 1.0788 9.2N 175.6W 83 336 256 06m39s
40 03 -2017 Jun 01 19:50:19 45406 -49679 T -0.1968 1.0764 8.0N 72.9E 79 340 252 06m40s
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 -1999 Jun 12 03:14:51 44980 -49456 T -0.2701 1.0733 6.0N 39.4W 74 344 247 06m37s
42 05 -1981 Jun 23 10:42:06 44556 -49233 T -0.3407 1.0693 3.3N 152.8W 70 348 240 06m28s
43 06 -1963 Jul 03 18:12:59 44134 -49010 T -0.4077 1.0646 0.1S 92.4E 66 352 231 06m12s
44 07 -1945 Jul 15 01:49:25 43714 -48787 T -0.4692 1.0593 4.1S 24.4W 62 356 221 05m48s
45 08 -1927 Jul 25 09:31:57 43296 -48564 T -0.5249 1.0535 8.6S 143.2W 58 1 208 05m16s
46 09 -1909 Aug 05 17:20:50 42880 -48341 T -0.5746 1.0475 13.5S 95.9E 55 5 193 04m38s
47 10 -1891 Aug 16 01:16:58 42466 -48118 T -0.6177 1.0412 18.6S 27.3W 52 9 175 03m57s
48 11 -1873 Aug 27 09:20:55 42054 -47895 T -0.6537 1.0348 23.9S 152.8W 49 13 154 03m15s
49 12 -1855 Sep 06 17:32:50 41644 -47672 T -0.6822 1.0286 29.2S 79.5E 47 17 132 02m35s
50 13 -1837 Sep 18 01:51:07 41236 -47449 T -0.7050 1.0226 34.4S 50.0W 45 20 108 01m58s
51 14 -1819 Sep 28 10:17:02 40830 -47226 T -0.7208 1.0171 39.5S 178.9E 44 23 84 01m26s
52 15 -1801 Oct 09 18:49:02 40426 -47003 H3 -0.7313 1.0119 44.5S 46.5E 43 26 60 00m58s
53 16 -1783 Oct 20 03:26:05 40024 -46780 H -0.7370 1.0075 49.4S 86.5W 42 28 38 00m35s
54 17 -1765 Oct 31 12:05:53 39625 -46557 H -0.7400 1.0034 54.1S 140.6E 42 28 18 00m16s
55 18 -1747 Nov 10 20:47:50 39227 -46334 H -0.7406 1.0001 58.7S 8.5E 42 28 1 00m00s
56 19 -1729 Nov 22 05:30:00 38831 -46111 A -0.7405 0.9973 63.0S 121.8W 42 25 14 00m12s
57 20 -1711 Dec 02 14:09:37 38437 -45888 A -0.7421 0.9951 67.0S 111.0E 42 19 26 00m21s
58 21 -1693 Dec 13 22:46:18 38045 -45665 A -0.7455 0.9933 70.3S 12.0W 41 10 36 00m28s
59 22 -1675 Dec 24 07:17:15 37655 -45442 A -0.7531 0.9920 72.6S 129.6W 41 357 43 00m34s
60 23 -1656 Jan 04 15:41:43 37267 -45219 A -0.7653 0.9909 73.4S 117.3E 40 341 50 00m37s
61 24 -1638 Jan 14 23:57:02 36881 -44996 A -0.7844 0.9901 72.8S 6.7E 38 325 56 00m41s
62 25 -1620 Jan 26 08:04:19 36497 -44773 A -0.8094 0.9893 71.1S 104.3W 36 312 64 00m43s
63 26 -1602 Feb 05 16:01:25 36116 -44550 A -0.8424 0.9884 68.8S 145.0E 32 301 76 00m47s
64 27 -1584 Feb 16 23:47:55 35736 -44327 A -0.8833 0.9871 66.6S 35.8E 28 292 97 00m51s
65 28 -1566 Feb 27 07:24:03 35358 -44104 A -0.9317 0.9851 64.7S 69.4W 21 283 145 00m57s
66 29 -1548 Mar 09 14:50:24 34982 -43881 A -0.9874 0.9813 62.9S 161.7W 8 265 462 01m08s
67 30 -1530 Mar 20 22:07:07 34608 -43658 P -1.0501 0.8949 60.6S 95.6E 0 258
68 31 -1512 Mar 31 05:13:52 34236 -43435 P -1.1200 0.7695 60.5S 21.3W 0 267
69 32 -1494 Apr 11 12:13:12 33867 -43212 P -1.1948 0.6354 60.6S 136.4W 0 276
70 33 -1476 Apr 21 19:05:07 33499 -42989 P -1.2741 0.4936 60.8S 110.4E 0 284
71 34 -1458 May 03 01:51:20 33133 -42766 P -1.3569 0.3463 61.1S 1.5W 0 293
72 35 -1440 May 13 08:32:40 32769 -42543 P -1.4422 0.1952 61.6S 112.3W 0 302
73 36 -1422 May 24 15:11:38 32407 -42320 Pe -1.5278 0.0446 62.2S 137.4E 0 311
[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)"
