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 13 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 -2543 Sep 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -1028 Mar 19. The total duration of Saros series 13 is 1514.53 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2543 Sep 23 03:30:50 TD
Last Eclipse = -1028 Mar 19 22:16:58 TD
Duration of Saros 13 = 1514.53 Years
Saros 13 is composed of 85 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 13 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 85 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 44 | 51.8% |
| Annular | A | 30 | 35.3% |
| Total | T | 8 | 9.4% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 3.5% |
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 13 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 13 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 40 | 97.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 85 eclipses in Saros 13: 20P 30A 3H 8T 24P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 13 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -1515 May 31 Duration = 02m35s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -1587 Apr 18 Duration = 01m29s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1912 Oct 05 Duration = 07m55s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1659 Mar 06 Duration = 00m34s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1605 Apr 08 Duration = 01m02s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1641 Mar 17 Duration = 00m01s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -2200 Apr 16 Magnitude = 0.9267
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1028 Mar 19 Magnitude = 0.0054
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 13 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 013 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 -41 -2543 Sep 23 03:30:50 58710 -56181 Pb 1.5545 0.0121 71.0N 127.9E 0 297
02 -40 -2525 Oct 04 11:34:26 58225 -55958 P 1.5490 0.0238 71.4N 9.0W 0 283
03 -39 -2507 Oct 14 19:41:58 57743 -55735 P 1.5474 0.0286 71.5N 147.0W 0 268
04 -38 -2489 Oct 26 03:53:13 57262 -55512 P 1.5494 0.0270 71.3N 74.1E 0 254
05 -37 -2471 Nov 05 12:05:37 56784 -55289 P 1.5526 0.0230 70.9N 64.9W 0 240
06 -36 -2453 Nov 16 20:17:56 56307 -55066 P 1.5566 0.0174 70.3N 156.6E 0 226
07 -35 -2435 Nov 27 04:26:44 55833 -54843 P 1.5581 0.0155 69.5N 19.6E 0 213
08 -34 -2417 Dec 08 12:32:28 55360 -54620 P 1.5578 0.0165 68.5N 116.0W 0 201
09 -33 -2399 Dec 18 20:32:07 54890 -54397 P 1.5527 0.0250 67.5N 110.6E 0 189
10 -32 -2381 Dec 30 04:24:07 54421 -54174 P 1.5421 0.0428 66.4N 20.3W 0 178
11 -31 -2362 Jan 09 12:07:11 53955 -53951 P 1.5245 0.0720 65.4N 148.5W 0 167
12 -30 -2344 Jan 20 19:41:00 53490 -53728 P 1.4998 0.1131 64.4N 86.1E 0 157
13 -29 -2326 Jan 31 03:04:47 53028 -53505 P 1.4673 0.1675 63.5N 36.5W 0 147
14 -28 -2308 Feb 11 10:17:31 52567 -53282 P 1.4259 0.2369 62.6N 156.0W 0 138
15 -27 -2290 Feb 21 17:20:16 52109 -53059 P 1.3766 0.3201 61.9N 87.2E 0 129
16 -26 -2272 Mar 04 00:12:52 51652 -52836 P 1.3192 0.4173 61.3N 26.8W 0 119
17 -25 -2254 Mar 15 06:55:35 51198 -52613 P 1.2539 0.5284 60.9N 138.2W 0 111
18 -24 -2236 Mar 25 13:30:00 50746 -52390 P 1.1816 0.6518 60.6N 112.5E 0 102
19 -23 -2218 Apr 05 19:57:20 50295 -52167 P 1.1035 0.7853 60.4N 5.1E 0 93
20 -22 -2200 Apr 16 02:19:38 49847 -51944 P 1.0210 0.9267 60.4N 101.0W 0 85
21 -21 -2182 Apr 27 08:36:06 49400 -51721 A 0.9335 0.9399 59.1N 164.2W 21 113 614 04m36s
22 -20 -2164 May 07 14:51:50 48956 -51498 A 0.8451 0.9429 57.2N 114.2E 32 124 387 04m37s
23 -19 -2146 May 18 21:05:28 48514 -51275 A 0.7548 0.9449 55.8N 28.9E 41 133 305 04m39s
24 -18 -2128 May 29 03:21:43 48073 -51052 A 0.6659 0.9461 54.6N 58.6W 48 142 264 04m45s
25 -17 -2110 Jun 09 09:38:36 47635 -50829 A 0.5770 0.9467 52.9N 147.0W 55 150 239 04m55s
26 -16 -2092 Jun 19 16:02:27 47198 -50606 A 0.4932 0.9466 50.6N 121.9E 60 158 225 05m11s
27 -15 -2074 Jun 30 22:30:51 46764 -50383 A 0.4128 0.9462 47.6N 28.6E 65 166 218 05m31s
28 -14 -2056 Jul 11 05:07:40 46332 -50160 A 0.3389 0.9454 43.8N 68.0W 70 173 214 05m54s
29 -13 -2038 Jul 22 11:52:20 45901 -49937 A 0.2708 0.9442 39.4N 167.9W 74 179 214 06m20s
30 -12 -2020 Aug 01 18:48:10 45473 -49714 A 0.2113 0.9429 34.6N 88.4E 78 184 216 06m45s
31 -11 -2002 Aug 13 01:53:21 45047 -49491 A 0.1591 0.9415 29.4N 18.7W 81 188 219 07m08s
32 -10 -1984 Aug 23 09:09:06 44622 -49268 A 0.1151 0.9402 24.0N 129.1W 83 191 223 07m27s
33 -09 -1966 Sep 03 16:35:18 44200 -49045 A 0.0794 0.9390 18.5N 117.3E 85 194 227 07m41s
34 -08 -1948 Sep 14 00:12:27 43780 -48822 A 0.0521 0.9380 13.1N 0.6E 87 196 231 07m50s
35 -07 -1930 Sep 25 07:58:25 43362 -48599 A 0.0317 0.9374 7.7N 118.4W 88 197 233 07m55s
36 -06 -1912 Oct 05 15:53:35 42945 -48376 A 0.0182 0.9371 2.4N 120.2E 89 198 234 07m55s
37 -05 -1894 Oct 16 23:55:45 42531 -48153 A 0.0099 0.9375 2.5S 2.8W 89 198 232 07m51s
38 -04 -1876 Oct 27 08:04:34 42119 -47930 A 0.0064 0.9384 7.2S 127.3W 90 199 229 07m43s
39 -03 -1858 Nov 07 16:16:01 41708 -47707 A 0.0044 0.9400 11.5S 107.8E 90 201 222 07m30s
40 -02 -1840 Nov 18 00:31:24 41300 -47484 A 0.0048 0.9422 15.3S 17.8W 90 199 214 07m13s
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 -01 -1822 Nov 29 08:46:06 40894 -47261 A 0.0036 0.9451 18.6S 142.8W 90 201 202 06m49s
42 00 -1804 Dec 09 17:00:35 40490 -47038 A 0.0015 0.9487 21.3S 92.7E 90 349 188 06m18s
43 01 -1786 Dec 21 01:10:23 40087 -46815 Am -0.0054 0.9529 23.5S 30.4W 90 1 172 05m41s
44 02 -1768 Dec 31 09:17:22 39687 -46592 A -0.0155 0.9578 24.9S 152.5W 89 357 154 04m59s
45 03 -1749 Jan 11 17:17:46 39289 -46369 A -0.0323 0.9631 25.7S 87.3E 88 352 133 04m13s
46 04 -1731 Jan 22 01:11:38 38893 -46146 A -0.0552 0.9690 25.9S 31.2W 87 347 112 03m25s
47 05 -1713 Feb 02 08:57:33 38499 -45923 A -0.0858 0.9750 25.6S 147.8W 85 342 90 02m39s
48 06 -1695 Feb 12 16:36:30 38106 -45700 A -0.1229 0.9814 24.9S 97.4E 83 338 67 01m54s
49 07 -1677 Feb 24 00:07:48 37716 -45477 A -0.1674 0.9877 23.8S 15.6W 80 334 44 01m12s
50 08 -1659 Mar 06 07:31:35 37328 -45254 A -0.2191 0.9941 22.6S 126.8W 77 332 21 00m34s
51 09 -1641 Mar 17 14:48:59 36942 -45031 H -0.2772 1.0002 21.5S 123.4E 74 330 1 00m01s
52 10 -1623 Mar 27 22:00:44 36558 -44808 H -0.3407 1.0060 20.5S 14.9E 70 329 22 00m33s
53 11 -1605 Apr 08 05:07:38 36175 -44585 H -0.4092 1.0114 19.9S 92.4W 66 329 43 01m02s
54 12 -1587 Apr 18 12:11:17 35795 -44362 T -0.4816 1.0163 19.9S 160.9E 61 329 63 01m29s
55 13 -1569 Apr 29 19:13:12 35417 -44139 T -0.5562 1.0205 20.7S 54.4E 56 331 83 01m52s
56 14 -1551 May 10 02:15:08 35041 -43916 T -0.6318 1.0240 22.4S 52.3W 51 333 103 02m12s
57 15 -1533 May 21 09:16:51 34667 -43693 T -0.7085 1.0266 25.3S 159.2W 45 335 125 02m27s
58 16 -1515 May 31 16:22:02 34295 -43470 T -0.7831 1.0283 29.5S 92.6E 38 338 152 02m35s
59 17 -1497 Jun 11 23:29:47 33925 -43247 T -0.8561 1.0290 35.4S 16.8W 31 342 189 02m35s
60 18 -1479 Jun 22 06:43:32 33556 -43024 T -0.9253 1.0285 43.6S 128.1W 22 345 256 02m24s
61 19 -1461 Jul 03 14:01:38 33190 -42801 Ts -0.9914 1.0252 59.2S 120.3E 6 347 - 01m52s
62 20 -1443 Jul 13 21:28:21 32826 -42578 P -1.0510 0.9110 66.2S 0.1E 0 354
63 21 -1425 Jul 25 05:02:03 32464 -42355 P -1.1054 0.8092 67.2S 125.6W 0 5
64 22 -1407 Aug 04 12:44:32 32104 -42132 P -1.1531 0.7196 68.2S 105.9E 0 16
65 23 -1389 Aug 15 20:35:54 31746 -41909 P -1.1942 0.6423 69.2S 25.3W 0 28
66 24 -1371 Aug 26 04:36:55 31390 -41686 P -1.2282 0.5786 70.0S 159.4W 0 40
67 25 -1353 Sep 06 12:47:14 31036 -41463 P -1.2549 0.5283 70.7S 63.4E 0 53
68 26 -1335 Sep 16 21:05:33 30684 -41240 P -1.2758 0.4892 71.2S 76.2W 0 66
69 27 -1317 Sep 28 05:33:18 30334 -41017 P -1.2897 0.4632 71.5S 141.4E 0 80
70 28 -1299 Oct 08 14:08:14 29986 -40794 P -1.2986 0.4466 71.6S 2.9W 0 95
71 29 -1281 Oct 19 22:50:18 29640 -40571 P -1.3024 0.4395 71.4S 149.0W 0 109
72 30 -1263 Oct 30 07:36:36 29295 -40348 P -1.3035 0.4376 70.9S 64.2E 0 123
73 31 -1245 Nov 10 16:27:38 28953 -40125 P -1.3014 0.4415 70.2S 83.3W 0 136
74 32 -1227 Nov 21 01:19:49 28613 -39902 P -1.2990 0.4460 69.4S 129.5E 0 149
75 33 -1209 Dec 02 10:12:32 28275 -39679 P -1.2967 0.4503 68.4S 17.2W 0 162
76 34 -1191 Dec 12 19:03:24 27939 -39456 P -1.2966 0.4505 67.4S 162.8W 0 173
77 35 -1173 Dec 24 03:51:48 27605 -39233 P -1.2990 0.4458 66.3S 52.8E 0 184
78 36 -1154 Jan 03 12:34:37 27273 -39010 P -1.3063 0.4320 65.3S 89.7W 0 195
79 37 -1136 Jan 14 21:12:03 26943 -38787 P -1.3183 0.4091 64.3S 129.6E 0 205
80 38 -1118 Jan 25 05:42:04 26615 -38564 P -1.3367 0.3740 63.4S 8.9W 0 215
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
81 39 -1100 Feb 05 14:05:47 26289 -38341 P -1.3608 0.3277 62.6S 145.6W 0 225
82 40 -1082 Feb 15 22:19:32 25965 -38118 P -1.3931 0.2654 62.0S 80.5E 0 234
83 41 -1064 Feb 27 06:26:48 25643 -37895 P -1.4309 0.1921 61.5S 51.6W 0 243
84 42 -1046 Mar 09 14:24:39 25324 -37672 P -1.4765 0.1036 61.1S 178.7E 0 252
85 43 -1028 Mar 19 22:16:58 25006 -37449 Pe -1.5268 0.0054 60.9S 50.5E 0 261
[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)"
