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 21 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 -2275 May 05. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0995 Jun 11. The total duration of Saros series 21 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2275 May 05 01:34:14 TD
Last Eclipse = -0995 Jun 11 14:37:30 TD
Duration of Saros 21 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 21 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 21 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 28 | 38.9% |
| Total | T | 26 | 36.1% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.6% |
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 21 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 21 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 56 | 96.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.7% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.7% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 21: 8P 26T 4H 28A 6P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 21 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 21 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1320 Nov 29 | 07m23s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1590 Jun 20 | 00m02s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -2095 Aug 21 | 02m35s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1897 Dec 19 | 01m35s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1662 May 08 | 01m28s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1608 Jun 09 | 00m29s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2149 Jul 20 | - | 0.92122 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2275 May 05 | - | 0.01302 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 21. 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 21.
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 -2275 May 05 01:34:14 53401 -52871 Pb 1.5208 0.0130 61.0N 89.5W 0
----- -37 -2257 May 16 08:55:50 52931 -52648 P 1.4466 0.1572 61.4N 149.2E 0
----- -36 -2239 May 26 16:19:31 52464 -52425 P 1.3737 0.2989 61.9N 27.3E 0
----- -35 -2221 Jun 06 23:44:21 51998 -52202 P 1.3019 0.4386 62.6N 95.0W 0
----- -34 -2203 Jun 17 07:12:30 51535 -51979 P 1.2329 0.5728 63.3N 141.6E 0
----- -33 -2185 Jun 28 14:44:51 51074 -51756 P 1.1672 0.6998 64.2N 17.0E 0
----- -32 -2167 Jul 08 22:22:54 50615 -51533 P 1.1066 0.8165 65.1N 109.4W 0
----- -31 -2149 Jul 20 06:07:45 50158 -51310 P 1.0516 0.9212 66.1N 122.1E 0
----- -30 -2131 Jul 30 13:58:49 49703 -51087 T+ 1.0021 1.0147 67.2N 8.3W 0
----- -29 -2113 Aug 10 21:58:24 49250 -50864 T 0.9600 1.0493 82.0N 174.0W 16 610 02m32s
----- -28 -2095 Aug 21 06:05:21 48799 -50641 T 0.9244 1.0469 79.8N 0.1E 22 417 02m35s
----- -27 -2077 Sep 01 14:21:06 48350 -50418 T 0.8962 1.0437 73.6N 146.4W 26 332 02m34s
----- -26 -2059 Sep 11 22:43:46 47904 -50195 T 0.8743 1.0401 67.3N 77.0E 29 278 02m29s
----- -25 -2041 Sep 23 07:15:00 47459 -49972 T 0.8597 1.0363 61.7N 58.2W 30 239 02m23s
----- -24 -2023 Oct 03 15:51:58 47017 -49749 T 0.8505 1.0326 56.6N 166.3E 31 209 02m15s
----- -23 -2005 Oct 15 00:34:43 46576 -49526 T 0.8465 1.0292 52.2N 30.0E 32 185 02m07s
00030 -22 -1987 Oct 25 09:21:08 46138 -49303 T 0.8460 1.0260 48.3N 107.1W 32 165 01m58s
00073 -21 -1969 Nov 05 18:10:59 45701 -49080 T 0.8487 1.0233 45.1N 115.1E 32 149 01m51s
00116 -20 -1951 Nov 16 03:00:41 45267 -48857 T 0.8520 1.0211 42.4N 22.8W 31 137 01m44s
00159 -19 -1933 Nov 27 11:49:40 44835 -48634 T 0.8553 1.0194 40.1N 160.5W 31 128 01m39s
00203 -18 -1915 Dec 07 20:35:33 44405 -48411 T 0.8567 1.0182 38.2N 62.4E 31 121 01m36s
00247 -17 -1897 Dec 19 05:18:24 43977 -48188 T 0.8559 1.0176 36.5N 73.9W 31 117 01m35s
00292 -16 -1879 Dec 29 13:53:36 43551 -47965 T 0.8495 1.0175 34.7N 151.7E 32 114 01m36s
00338 -15 -1860 Jan 09 22:23:09 43127 -47742 T 0.8391 1.0178 33.0N 19.0E 33 112 01m39s
00384 -14 -1842 Jan 20 06:43:06 42705 -47519 T 0.8212 1.0185 31.3N 110.9W 35 110 01m43s
00430 -13 -1824 Jan 31 14:55:54 42285 -47296 T 0.7981 1.0194 29.8N 121.5E 37 109 01m47s
00475 -12 -1806 Feb 10 22:57:03 41868 -47073 T 0.7659 1.0204 28.3N 2.6W 40 106 01m51s
00522 -11 -1788 Feb 22 06:50:44 41452 -46850 T 0.7280 1.0213 27.2N 124.2W 43 104 01m55s
00567 -10 -1770 Mar 04 14:33:02 41039 -46627 T 0.6815 1.0220 26.4N 117.6E 47 100 01m57s
00612 -09 -1752 Mar 14 22:07:20 40627 -46404 T 0.6290 1.0224 26.0N 2.0E 51 96 01m57s
00657 -08 -1734 Mar 26 05:31:07 40218 -46181 T 0.5685 1.0223 25.9N 110.3W 55 91 01m56s
00704 -07 -1716 Apr 05 12:48:28 39810 -45958 T 0.5035 1.0218 26.2N 139.4E 60 85 01m52s
00749 -06 -1698 Apr 16 19:57:41 39405 -45735 T 0.4325 1.0206 26.5N 31.6E 64 77 01m47s
00793 -05 -1680 Apr 27 03:00:58 39002 -45512 T 0.3575 1.0188 26.7N 74.2W 69 68 01m39s
00835 -04 -1662 May 08 09:59:19 38601 -45289 H3 0.2795 1.0162 26.7N 178.6W 74 58 01m28s
00876 -03 -1644 May 18 16:54:40 38202 -45066 H 0.2002 1.0131 26.3N 78.1E 78 46 01m13s
00917 -02 -1626 May 29 23:48:06 37805 -44843 Hm 0.1201 1.0092 25.2N 24.8W 83 32 00m54s
00958 -01 -1608 Jun 09 06:40:23 37410 -44620 H 0.0401 1.0048 23.4N 127.6W 88 16 00m29s
00999 00 -1590 Jun 20 13:34:12 37017 -44397 A -0.0376 0.9997 20.8N 128.9E 88 1 00m02s
01040 01 -1572 Jun 30 20:30:31 36626 -44174 A -0.1120 0.9941 17.5N 24.3E 84 21 00m40s
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
01081 02 -1554 Jul 12 03:30:02 36238 -43951 A -0.1826 0.9882 13.4N 81.7W 80 42 01m24s
01121 03 -1536 Jul 22 10:35:03 35851 -43728 A -0.2477 0.9820 8.8N 170.2E 76 66 02m13s
01161 04 -1518 Aug 02 17:46:16 35467 -43505 A -0.3067 0.9756 3.7N 60.0E 72 92 03m03s
01201 05 -1500 Aug 13 01:05:13 35084 -43282 A -0.3582 0.9692 1.6S 52.6W 69 119 03m52s
01241 06 -1482 Aug 24 08:30:20 34704 -43059 A -0.4036 0.9628 7.3S 167.1W 66 147 04m37s
01281 07 -1464 Sep 03 16:04:01 34326 -42836 A -0.4408 0.9566 12.9S 76.0E 64 175 05m17s
01322 08 -1446 Sep 14 23:45:00 33949 -42613 A -0.4711 0.9508 18.5S 42.9W 62 203 05m50s
01363 09 -1428 Sep 25 07:33:38 33575 -42390 A -0.4941 0.9454 24.1S 163.5W 60 230 06m17s
01404 10 -1410 Oct 06 15:28:22 33203 -42167 A -0.5113 0.9405 29.5S 74.5E 59 255 06m39s
01445 11 -1392 Oct 16 23:29:12 32833 -41944 A -0.5228 0.9363 34.7S 48.4W 58 276 06m55s
01486 12 -1374 Oct 28 07:34:31 32465 -41721 A -0.5297 0.9326 39.7S 171.8W 58 295 07m08s
01528 13 -1356 Nov 07 15:41:51 32099 -41498 A -0.5343 0.9298 44.3S 65.2E 57 311 07m16s
01570 14 -1338 Nov 18 23:51:03 31736 -41275 A -0.5367 0.9275 48.5S 57.1W 57 323 07m22s
01613 15 -1320 Nov 29 07:59:09 31374 -41052 A -0.5398 0.9260 52.2S 177.8W 57 331 07m23s
01657 16 -1302 Dec 10 16:05:12 31014 -40829 A -0.5439 0.9251 55.1S 63.5E 57 337 07m21s
01701 17 -1284 Dec 21 00:05:44 30656 -40606 A -0.5523 0.9249 57.1S 52.5W 56 340 07m16s
01746 18 -1265 Jan 01 08:01:37 30301 -40383 A -0.5640 0.9252 58.2S 166.4W 55 342 07m07s
01792 19 -1247 Jan 11 15:49:47 29948 -40160 A -0.5821 0.9260 58.2S 81.9E 54 343 06m56s
01837 20 -1229 Jan 22 23:29:05 29596 -39937 A -0.6069 0.9271 57.5S 27.9W 52 344 06m42s
01882 21 -1211 Feb 02 06:58:40 29247 -39714 A -0.6394 0.9285 56.2S 136.0W 50 347 06m28s
01927 22 -1193 Feb 13 14:18:41 28900 -39491 A -0.6793 0.9300 54.7S 117.5E 47 354 06m14s
01972 23 -1175 Feb 23 21:28:39 28555 -39268 A -0.7271 0.9315 53.3S 13.0E 43 367 06m01s
02019 24 -1157 Mar 07 04:27:59 28211 -39045 A -0.7833 0.9328 52.4S 88.9W 38 395 05m49s
02065 25 -1139 Mar 17 11:18:25 27870 -38822 A -0.8464 0.9338 52.5S 171.8E 32 452 05m38s
02110 26 -1121 Mar 28 17:59:56 27532 -38599 A -0.9160 0.9340 54.2S 77.1E 23 599 05m27s
02155 27 -1103 Apr 08 00:33:22 27195 -38376 As -0.9919 0.9319 59.5S 0.9W 6 - 05m07s
02198 28 -1085 Apr 19 07:00:27 26860 -38153 P -1.0725 0.8380 60.7S 95.9W 0
02241 29 -1067 Apr 29 13:22:50 26527 -37930 P -1.1563 0.6953 61.1S 158.4E 0
02284 30 -1049 May 10 19:42:41 26197 -37707 P -1.2419 0.5490 61.6S 53.1E 0
02327 31 -1031 May 21 01:59:28 25868 -37484 P -1.3295 0.3988 62.2S 51.5W 0
02370 32 -1013 Jun 01 08:18:06 25541 -37261 P -1.4151 0.2520 62.9S 156.7W 0
02412 33 -0995 Jun 11 14:37:30 25217 -37038 Pe -1.4996 0.1068 63.8S 97.6E 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)"
