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 18 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 -2416 Jun 02. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1118 Jul 21. The total duration of Saros series 18 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2416 Jun 02 04:02:44 TD
Last Eclipse = -1118 Jul 21 00:22:48 TD
Duration of Saros 18 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 18 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 18 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 39.7% |
| Annular | A | 28 | 38.4% |
| Total | T | 13 | 17.8% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.1% |
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 18 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 18 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 97.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 18: 22P 13T 3H 28A 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 18 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -1875 Apr 23 Duration = 02m42s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -2019 Jan 26 Duration = 00m58s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1442 Jan 07 Duration = 09m20s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1731 Jul 18 Duration = 00m32s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1785 Jun 16 Duration = 01m23s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1749 Jul 08 Duration = 00m09s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -2037 Jan 16 Magnitude = 0.9723
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -2416 Jun 02 Magnitude = 0.0191
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 18 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 018 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 -38 -2416 Jun 02 04:02:44 55347 -54614 Pb -1.5177 0.0191 69.1S 18.4E 0 330
02 -37 -2398 Jun 13 11:29:09 54877 -54391 P -1.4480 0.1547 68.3S 107.1W 0 342
03 -36 -2380 Jun 23 19:00:19 54409 -54168 P -1.3820 0.2833 67.3S 126.8E 0 353
04 -35 -2362 Jul 05 02:37:04 53942 -53945 P -1.3201 0.4035 66.3S 0.3W 0 3
05 -34 -2344 Jul 15 10:20:50 53478 -53722 P -1.2639 0.5124 65.3S 128.6W 0 14
06 -33 -2326 Jul 26 18:10:54 53015 -53499 P -1.2127 0.6108 64.3S 101.9E 0 24
07 -32 -2308 Aug 06 02:09:47 52555 -53276 P -1.1687 0.6949 63.4S 29.5W 0 33
08 -31 -2290 Aug 17 10:16:30 52097 -53053 P -1.1311 0.7661 62.6S 162.5W 0 43
09 -30 -2272 Aug 27 18:31:43 51640 -52830 P -1.1009 0.8229 61.9S 62.6E 0 52
10 -29 -2254 Sep 08 02:54:28 51186 -52607 P -1.0770 0.8670 61.3S 73.9W 0 62
11 -28 -2236 Sep 18 11:25:10 50733 -52384 P -1.0600 0.8979 60.9S 147.7E 0 71
12 -27 -2218 Sep 29 20:02:40 50283 -52161 P -1.0489 0.9175 60.6S 7.7E 0 80
13 -26 -2200 Oct 10 04:44:55 49835 -51938 P -1.0421 0.9290 60.5S 133.4W 0 89
14 -25 -2182 Oct 21 13:32:34 49388 -51715 P -1.0401 0.9316 60.6S 84.2E 0 98
15 -24 -2164 Oct 31 22:22:48 48944 -51492 P -1.0411 0.9287 60.8S 58.9W 0 108
16 -23 -2146 Nov 12 07:15:01 48502 -51269 P -1.0438 0.9229 61.3S 157.4E 0 117
17 -22 -2128 Nov 22 16:05:25 48061 -51046 P -1.0457 0.9189 61.8S 14.0E 0 127
18 -21 -2110 Dec 04 00:55:08 47623 -50823 P -1.0474 0.9153 62.5S 129.4W 0 136
19 -20 -2092 Dec 14 09:40:26 47187 -50600 P -1.0462 0.9174 63.4S 88.1E 0 146
20 -19 -2074 Dec 25 18:20:52 46752 -50377 P -1.0416 0.9260 64.3S 53.5W 0 156
21 -18 -2055 Jan 05 02:54:03 46320 -50154 P -1.0318 0.9442 65.3S 166.4E 0 166
22 -17 -2037 Jan 16 11:20:20 45890 -49931 P -1.0168 0.9723 66.4S 27.5E 0 177
23 -16 -2019 Jan 26 19:37:20 45462 -49708 Ts -0.9950 1.0195 71.1S 111.0W 4 189 - 00m58s
24 -15 -2001 Feb 07 03:45:17 45035 -49485 T -0.9665 1.0234 80.7S 85.5E 14 228 327 01m15s
25 -14 -1983 Feb 17 11:43:36 44611 -49262 T -0.9309 1.0259 79.1S 95.1W 21 286 246 01m30s
26 -13 -1965 Feb 28 19:33:01 44189 -49039 T -0.8890 1.0279 71.9S 119.0E 27 312 208 01m44s
27 -12 -1947 Mar 11 03:11:51 43769 -48816 T -0.8390 1.0294 63.3S 10.2W 33 323 183 01m59s
28 -11 -1929 Mar 22 10:43:01 43350 -48593 T -0.7834 1.0303 54.5S 132.9W 38 329 164 02m13s
29 -10 -1911 Apr 01 18:05:15 42934 -48370 T -0.7212 1.0307 45.5S 108.6E 44 334 149 02m26s
30 -09 -1893 Apr 13 01:21:49 42520 -48147 T -0.6552 1.0302 36.7S 7.5W 49 337 134 02m36s
31 -08 -1875 Apr 23 08:29:55 42108 -47924 T -0.5830 1.0291 27.8S 120.8W 54 340 120 02m42s
32 -07 -1857 May 04 15:35:26 41697 -47701 T -0.5094 1.0272 19.3S 127.3E 59 343 107 02m41s
33 -06 -1839 May 14 22:35:50 41289 -47478 T -0.4321 1.0246 11.0S 17.1E 64 346 92 02m34s
34 -05 -1821 May 26 05:35:56 40883 -47255 T -0.3555 1.0212 3.3S 92.2W 69 349 77 02m18s
35 -04 -1803 Jun 05 12:33:29 40479 -47032 T -0.2775 1.0171 4.0N 159.7E 74 353 61 01m54s
36 -03 -1785 Jun 16 19:34:08 40077 -46809 H -0.2030 1.0124 10.4N 51.7E 78 356 44 01m23s
37 -02 -1767 Jun 27 02:35:28 39676 -46586 Hm -0.1298 1.0070 16.0N 55.7W 83 0 25 00m47s
38 -01 -1749 Jul 08 09:40:54 39278 -46363 H -0.0609 1.0013 20.5N 163.3W 87 5 5 00m09s
39 00 -1731 Jul 18 16:50:06 38882 -46140 A 0.0039 0.9951 23.9N 88.9E 90 186 17 00m32s
40 01 -1713 Jul 30 00:06:08 38488 -45917 A 0.0620 0.9888 26.0N 20.1W 86 194 40 01m11s
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 02 -1695 Aug 09 07:28:10 38096 -45694 A 0.1143 0.9822 26.8N 130.4W 83 199 63 01m50s
42 03 -1677 Aug 20 14:57:08 37706 -45471 A 0.1598 0.9757 26.3N 117.4E 81 203 88 02m28s
43 04 -1659 Aug 30 22:33:53 37318 -45248 A 0.1980 0.9694 24.8N 3.0E 78 206 112 03m06s
44 05 -1641 Sep 11 06:18:17 36931 -45025 A 0.2290 0.9633 22.4N 113.8W 77 209 136 03m43s
45 06 -1623 Sep 21 14:09:41 36547 -44802 A 0.2531 0.9575 19.3N 127.2E 75 210 159 04m20s
46 07 -1605 Oct 02 22:07:42 36165 -44579 A 0.2711 0.9523 15.7N 6.0E 74 211 180 04m58s
47 08 -1587 Oct 13 06:11:49 35785 -44356 A 0.2834 0.9476 11.9N 117.1W 73 210 200 05m35s
48 09 -1569 Oct 24 14:20:38 35407 -44133 A 0.2910 0.9435 8.0N 118.5E 73 209 217 06m13s
49 10 -1551 Nov 03 22:31:46 35031 -43910 A 0.2961 0.9401 4.3N 6.5W 73 206 231 06m50s
50 11 -1533 Nov 15 06:45:08 34657 -43687 A 0.2987 0.9374 0.9N 132.1W 73 204 243 07m26s
51 12 -1515 Nov 25 14:58:10 34285 -43464 A 0.3005 0.9353 2.0S 102.6E 73 200 251 08m00s
52 13 -1497 Dec 06 23:08:53 33915 -43241 A 0.3041 0.9340 4.1S 21.9W 72 196 258 08m30s
53 14 -1479 Dec 17 07:14:46 33546 -43018 A 0.3109 0.9332 5.2S 145.1W 72 192 262 08m55s
54 15 -1461 Dec 28 15:15:29 33180 -42795 A 0.3213 0.9331 5.2S 93.1E 71 188 263 09m12s
55 16 -1442 Jan 07 23:08:57 32816 -42572 A 0.3369 0.9334 4.1S 27.0W 70 183 264 09m20s
56 17 -1424 Jan 19 06:52:57 32454 -42349 A 0.3595 0.9342 1.8S 145.0W 69 179 263 09m17s
57 18 -1406 Jan 29 14:27:44 32094 -42126 A 0.3890 0.9352 1.8N 98.9E 67 175 262 09m06s
58 19 -1388 Feb 09 21:51:55 31736 -41903 A 0.4267 0.9365 6.5N 15.0W 65 171 261 08m44s
59 20 -1370 Feb 20 05:06:20 31380 -41680 A 0.4717 0.9378 12.2N 127.1W 62 167 261 08m17s
60 21 -1352 Mar 02 12:09:04 31026 -41457 A 0.5256 0.9391 19.1N 123.1E 58 164 264 07m44s
61 22 -1334 Mar 13 19:03:14 30674 -41234 A 0.5859 0.9402 26.7N 14.7E 54 161 271 07m09s
62 23 -1316 Mar 24 01:47:24 30324 -41011 A 0.6539 0.9410 35.3N 92.0W 49 158 285 06m32s
63 24 -1298 Apr 04 08:23:37 29976 -40788 A 0.7279 0.9415 44.7N 162.0E 43 154 312 05m56s
64 25 -1280 Apr 14 14:52:43 29630 -40565 A 0.8073 0.9413 55.1N 55.4E 36 148 365 05m22s
65 26 -1262 Apr 25 21:16:42 29286 -40342 A 0.8905 0.9403 66.4N 56.9W 27 136 487 04m49s
66 27 -1244 May 06 03:36:52 28944 -40119 A 0.9763 0.9374 75.7N 152.3E 12 84 1145 04m16s
67 28 -1226 May 17 09:53:35 28604 -39896 P 1.0644 0.8521 69.9N 6.5E 0 36
68 29 -1208 May 27 16:10:37 28266 -39673 P 1.1519 0.7025 69.0N 101.3W 0 24
69 30 -1190 Jun 07 22:28:14 27930 -39450 P 1.2388 0.5539 68.1N 151.3E 0 13
70 31 -1172 Jun 18 04:49:01 27596 -39227 P 1.3224 0.4108 67.1N 43.6E 0 3
71 32 -1154 Jun 29 11:13:28 27264 -39004 P 1.4029 0.2735 66.0N 64.5W 0 352
72 33 -1136 Jul 09 17:44:45 26935 -38781 P 1.4776 0.1463 65.1N 173.9W 0 343
73 34 -1118 Jul 21 00:22:48 26607 -38558 Pe 1.5469 0.0288 64.1N 75.4E 0 333
[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)"
