The periodicity and recurrence of solar 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. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.
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 central eclipses of Saros 18 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 18 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1442 Jan 07 | 09m20s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1731 Jul 18 | 00m32s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1875 Apr 23 | 02m42s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -2019 Jan 26 | 00m58s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1785 Jun 16 | 01m23s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1749 Jul 08 | 00m09s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2037 Jan 16 | - | 0.97228 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2416 Jun 02 | - | 0.01911 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 18. A description or explanation of each parameter listed in the catalog can be found in Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.
Several fields in the catalog link to web pages or files containing additional information for each eclipse (for the years -1999 through +3000). The following gives a brief explanation of each link.
For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Animation of Saros 18.
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat Long Alt Width Dur.
s ° ° ° km
----- -38 -2416 Jun 02 04:02:44 57141 -54614 Pb -1.5177 0.0191 69.1S 25.9E 0
----- -37 -2398 Jun 13 11:29:09 56656 -54391 P -1.4480 0.1547 68.3S 99.6W 0
----- -36 -2380 Jun 23 19:00:19 56172 -54168 P -1.3820 0.2833 67.3S 134.1E 0
----- -35 -2362 Jul 05 02:37:04 55691 -53945 P -1.3201 0.4035 66.3S 7.0E 0
----- -34 -2344 Jul 15 10:20:50 55211 -53722 P -1.2639 0.5124 65.3S 121.4W 0
----- -33 -2326 Jul 26 18:10:54 54734 -53499 P -1.2127 0.6108 64.3S 109.1E 0
----- -32 -2308 Aug 06 02:09:47 54258 -53276 P -1.1687 0.6949 63.4S 22.4W 0
----- -31 -2290 Aug 17 10:16:30 53785 -53053 P -1.1311 0.7661 62.6S 155.4W 0
----- -30 -2272 Aug 27 18:31:43 53314 -52830 P -1.1009 0.8229 61.9S 69.6E 0
----- -29 -2254 Sep 08 02:54:28 52845 -52607 P -1.0770 0.8670 61.3S 67.0W 0
----- -28 -2236 Sep 18 11:25:10 52378 -52384 P -1.0600 0.8979 60.9S 154.6E 0
----- -27 -2218 Sep 29 20:02:40 51913 -52161 P -1.0489 0.9175 60.6S 14.5E 0
----- -26 -2200 Oct 10 04:44:55 51450 -51938 P -1.0421 0.9290 60.5S 126.6W 0
----- -25 -2182 Oct 21 13:32:34 50989 -51715 P -1.0401 0.9316 60.6S 90.9E 0
----- -24 -2164 Oct 31 22:22:48 50531 -51492 P -1.0411 0.9287 60.8S 52.3W 0
----- -23 -2146 Nov 12 07:15:01 50074 -51269 P -1.0438 0.9229 61.3S 163.9E 0
----- -22 -2128 Nov 22 16:05:25 49619 -51046 P -1.0457 0.9189 61.8S 20.5E 0
----- -21 -2110 Dec 04 00:55:08 49167 -50823 P -1.0474 0.9153 62.5S 122.9W 0
----- -20 -2092 Dec 14 09:40:26 48716 -50600 P -1.0462 0.9174 63.4S 94.5E 0
----- -19 -2074 Dec 25 18:20:52 48268 -50377 P -1.0416 0.9260 64.3S 47.2W 0
----- -18 -2055 Jan 05 02:54:03 47822 -50154 P -1.0318 0.9442 65.3S 172.6E 0
----- -17 -2037 Jan 16 11:20:20 47377 -49931 P -1.0168 0.9723 66.4S 33.8E 0
----- -16 -2019 Jan 26 19:37:20 46935 -49708 Ts -0.9950 1.0195 71.1S 104.8W 4 - 00m58s
----- -15 -2001 Feb 07 03:45:17 46495 -49485 T -0.9665 1.0234 80.7S 91.6E 14 327 01m15s
00038 -14 -1983 Feb 17 11:43:36 46057 -49262 T -0.9309 1.0259 79.1S 89.1W 21 246 01m30s
00081 -13 -1965 Feb 28 19:33:01 45621 -49039 T -0.8890 1.0279 71.9S 125.0E 27 208 01m44s
00124 -12 -1947 Mar 11 03:11:51 45187 -48816 T -0.8390 1.0294 63.3S 4.3W 33 183 01m59s
00167 -11 -1929 Mar 22 10:43:01 44756 -48593 T -0.7834 1.0303 54.5S 127.0W 38 164 02m13s
00210 -10 -1911 Apr 01 18:05:15 44326 -48370 T -0.7212 1.0307 45.5S 114.4E 44 149 02m26s
00254 -09 -1893 Apr 13 01:21:49 43898 -48147 T -0.6552 1.0302 36.7S 1.7W 49 134 02m36s
00299 -08 -1875 Apr 23 08:29:55 43473 -47924 T -0.5830 1.0291 27.8S 115.1W 54 120 02m42s
00346 -07 -1857 May 04 15:35:26 43049 -47701 T -0.5094 1.0272 19.3S 132.9E 59 107 02m41s
00392 -06 -1839 May 14 22:35:50 42628 -47478 T -0.4321 1.0246 11.0S 22.7E 64 92 02m34s
00438 -05 -1821 May 26 05:35:56 42208 -47255 T -0.3555 1.0212 3.3S 86.7W 69 77 02m18s
00484 -04 -1803 Jun 05 12:33:29 41791 -47032 T -0.2775 1.0171 4.0N 165.2E 74 61 01m54s
00531 -03 -1785 Jun 16 19:34:08 41376 -46809 H -0.2030 1.0124 10.4N 57.1E 78 44 01m23s
00576 -02 -1767 Jun 27 02:35:28 40963 -46586 Hm -0.1298 1.0070 16.0N 50.3W 83 25 00m47s
00621 -01 -1749 Jul 08 09:40:54 40552 -46363 H -0.0609 1.0013 20.5N 158.0W 87 5 00m09s
00666 00 -1731 Jul 18 16:50:06 40143 -46140 A 0.0039 0.9951 23.9N 94.2E 90 17 00m32s
00713 01 -1713 Jul 30 00:06:08 39736 -45917 A 0.0620 0.9888 26.0N 14.9W 86 40 01m11s
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat Long Alt Width Dur.
s ° ° ° km
00757 02 -1695 Aug 09 07:28:10 39331 -45694 A 0.1143 0.9822 26.8N 125.3W 83 63 01m50s
00801 03 -1677 Aug 20 14:57:08 38928 -45471 A 0.1598 0.9757 26.3N 122.6E 81 88 02m28s
00842 04 -1659 Aug 30 22:33:53 38527 -45248 A 0.1980 0.9694 24.8N 8.1E 78 112 03m06s
00883 05 -1641 Sep 11 06:18:17 38129 -45025 A 0.2290 0.9633 22.4N 108.8W 77 136 03m43s
00924 06 -1623 Sep 21 14:09:41 37732 -44802 A 0.2531 0.9575 19.3N 132.1E 75 159 04m20s
00965 07 -1605 Oct 02 22:07:42 37338 -44579 A 0.2711 0.9523 15.7N 10.9E 74 180 04m58s
01007 08 -1587 Oct 13 06:11:49 36945 -44356 A 0.2834 0.9476 11.9N 112.2W 73 200 05m35s
01048 09 -1569 Oct 24 14:20:38 36555 -44133 A 0.2910 0.9435 8.0N 123.3E 73 217 06m13s
01089 10 -1551 Nov 03 22:31:46 36167 -43910 A 0.2961 0.9401 4.3N 1.8W 73 231 06m50s
01129 11 -1533 Nov 15 06:45:08 35780 -43687 A 0.2987 0.9374 0.9N 127.4W 73 243 07m26s
01168 12 -1515 Nov 25 14:58:10 35396 -43464 A 0.3005 0.9353 2.0S 107.3E 73 251 08m00s
01208 13 -1497 Dec 06 23:08:53 35014 -43241 A 0.3041 0.9340 4.1S 17.3W 72 258 08m30s
01248 14 -1479 Dec 17 07:14:46 34634 -43018 A 0.3109 0.9332 5.2S 140.5W 72 262 08m55s
01288 15 -1461 Dec 28 15:15:29 34256 -42795 A 0.3213 0.9331 5.2S 97.6E 71 263 09m12s
01329 16 -1442 Jan 07 23:08:57 33880 -42572 A 0.3369 0.9334 4.1S 22.6W 70 264 09m20s
01370 17 -1424 Jan 19 06:52:57 33507 -42349 A 0.3595 0.9342 1.8S 140.6W 69 263 09m17s
01412 18 -1406 Jan 29 14:27:44 33135 -42126 A 0.3890 0.9352 1.8N 103.3E 67 262 09m06s
01453 19 -1388 Feb 09 21:51:55 32765 -41903 A 0.4267 0.9365 6.5N 10.7W 65 261 08m44s
01495 20 -1370 Feb 20 05:06:20 32398 -41680 A 0.4717 0.9378 12.2N 122.9W 62 261 08m17s
01537 21 -1352 Mar 02 12:09:04 32032 -41457 A 0.5256 0.9391 19.1N 127.3E 58 264 07m44s
01579 22 -1334 Mar 13 19:03:14 31669 -41234 A 0.5859 0.9402 26.7N 18.9E 54 271 07m09s
01622 23 -1316 Mar 24 01:47:24 31307 -41011 A 0.6539 0.9410 35.3N 87.9W 49 285 06m32s
01666 24 -1298 Apr 04 08:23:37 30948 -40788 A 0.7279 0.9415 44.7N 166.1E 43 312 05m56s
01710 25 -1280 Apr 14 14:52:43 30591 -40565 A 0.8073 0.9413 55.1N 59.4E 36 365 05m22s
01754 26 -1262 Apr 25 21:16:42 30236 -40342 A 0.8905 0.9403 66.4N 53.0W 27 487 04m49s
01800 27 -1244 May 06 03:36:52 29883 -40119 A 0.9763 0.9374 75.7N 156.2E 12 1145 04m16s
01845 28 -1226 May 17 09:53:35 29532 -39896 P 1.0644 0.8521 69.9N 10.4E 0
01890 29 -1208 May 27 16:10:37 29183 -39673 P 1.1519 0.7025 69.0N 97.5W 0
01935 30 -1190 Jun 07 22:28:14 28836 -39450 P 1.2388 0.5539 68.1N 155.0E 0
01980 31 -1172 Jun 18 04:49:01 28491 -39227 P 1.3224 0.4108 67.1N 47.3E 0
02027 32 -1154 Jun 29 11:13:28 28149 -39004 P 1.4029 0.2735 66.0N 60.8W 0
02073 33 -1136 Jul 09 17:44:45 27808 -38781 P 1.4776 0.1463 65.1N 170.2W 0
02118 34 -1118 Jul 21 00:22:48 27469 -38558 Pe 1.5469 0.0288 64.1N 79.0E 0
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.
[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 Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is nearly equal 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 information presented on this web page is based on data published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. The individual global maps appearing in links (both GIF an animation) were extracted from full page plates appearing in Five Millennium Canon by Dan McGlaun. The Besselian elements were provided by Jean Meeus. Fred Espenak assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all eclipse calculations.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)"
