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 23 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 -2145 May 07. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0865 Jun 15. The total duration of Saros series 23 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2145 May 07 23:07:09 TD
Last Eclipse = -0865 Jun 15 07:36:22 TD
Duration of Saros 23 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 23 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 23 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 13 | 18.1% |
| Annular | A | 14 | 19.4% |
| Total | T | 42 | 58.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.2% |
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 23 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 23 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 59 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 58 | 98.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.7% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 23: 6P 14A 3H 42T 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 23 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -1442 Jul 03 Duration = 07m05s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0991 Mar 31 Duration = 01m34s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -2019 Jul 21 Duration = 01m20s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1803 Nov 29 Duration = 00m13s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1748 Jan 01 Duration = 01m12s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1785 Dec 10 Duration = 00m12s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0973 Apr 11 Magnitude = 0.9324
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0865 Jun 15 Magnitude = 0.0606
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 23 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 023 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 -35 -2145 May 07 23:07:09 48490 -51263 Pb 1.4861 0.1208 61.0N 75.8W 0 68
02 -34 -2127 May 18 05:40:35 48050 -51040 P 1.3995 0.2724 61.4N 175.1E 0 59
03 -33 -2109 May 29 12:16:30 47611 -50817 P 1.3134 0.4241 62.0N 65.3E 0 50
04 -32 -2091 Jun 08 18:56:30 47175 -50594 P 1.2291 0.5733 62.7N 45.7W 0 41
05 -31 -2073 Jun 20 01:42:48 46741 -50371 P 1.1486 0.7164 63.5N 158.5W 0 32
06 -30 -2055 Jun 30 08:36:18 46309 -50148 P 1.0728 0.8514 64.4N 86.6E 0 23
07 -29 -2037 Jul 11 15:38:52 45878 -49925 A+ 1.0028 0.9762 65.4N 30.8W 0 13 - -
08 -28 -2019 Jul 21 22:49:39 45450 -49702 A 0.9385 0.9781 86.0N 137.7W 20 15 232 01m20s
09 -27 -2001 Aug 02 06:11:20 45024 -49479 A 0.8821 0.9805 83.8N 57.0W 28 209 149 01m16s
10 -26 -1983 Aug 12 13:43:07 44600 -49256 A 0.8332 0.9820 75.4N 174.1W 33 209 116 01m15s
11 -25 -1965 Aug 23 21:25:13 44178 -49033 A 0.7919 0.9831 67.9N 67.2E 37 209 98 01m14s
12 -24 -1947 Sep 03 05:17:59 43757 -48810 A 0.7585 0.9839 61.0N 54.3W 40 209 88 01m15s
13 -23 -1929 Sep 14 13:20:52 43339 -48587 A 0.7326 0.9846 54.7N 178.6W 43 208 80 01m14s
14 -22 -1911 Sep 24 21:33:45 42923 -48364 A 0.7144 0.9854 48.8N 54.4E 44 207 73 01m14s
15 -21 -1893 Oct 06 05:53:28 42509 -48141 A 0.7011 0.9865 43.4N 74.4W 45 205 67 01m11s
16 -20 -1875 Oct 16 14:21:40 42097 -47918 A 0.6941 0.9877 38.6N 154.6E 46 203 60 01m07s
17 -19 -1857 Oct 27 22:54:36 41686 -47695 A 0.6901 0.9895 34.3N 22.4E 46 201 51 00m59s
18 -18 -1839 Nov 07 07:32:22 41278 -47472 A 0.6895 0.9917 30.5N 111.0W 46 197 40 00m48s
19 -17 -1821 Nov 18 16:10:47 40872 -47249 A 0.6886 0.9945 27.2N 115.4E 46 194 26 00m33s
20 -16 -1803 Nov 29 00:51:05 40468 -47026 A 0.6885 0.9979 24.4N 18.7W 46 190 10 00m13s
21 -15 -1785 Dec 10 09:29:08 40066 -46803 H 0.6857 1.0019 22.0N 152.2W 47 185 9 00m12s
22 -14 -1767 Dec 20 18:04:43 39666 -46580 H 0.6801 1.0065 20.0N 75.0E 47 181 31 00m41s
23 -13 -1748 Jan 01 02:35:12 39268 -46357 H 0.6695 1.0117 18.2N 56.5W 48 176 54 01m12s
24 -12 -1730 Jan 11 11:00:39 38871 -46134 T 0.6541 1.0173 16.8N 173.5E 49 172 78 01m46s
25 -11 -1712 Jan 22 19:18:39 38477 -45911 T 0.6319 1.0233 15.7N 45.7E 51 167 102 02m19s
26 -10 -1694 Feb 02 03:29:44 38085 -45688 T 0.6032 1.0296 14.8N 80.2W 53 163 125 02m51s
27 -09 -1676 Feb 13 11:32:52 37695 -45465 T 0.5673 1.0361 14.3N 156.4E 55 159 146 03m21s
28 -08 -1658 Feb 23 19:29:26 37307 -45242 T 0.5250 1.0425 14.1N 34.9E 58 156 165 03m48s
29 -07 -1640 Mar 06 03:16:50 36921 -45019 T 0.4746 1.0488 14.2N 83.8W 62 153 182 04m13s
30 -06 -1622 Mar 17 10:58:47 36537 -44796 T 0.4190 1.0548 14.7N 159.2E 65 151 197 04m35s
31 -05 -1604 Mar 27 18:33:35 36155 -44573 T 0.3569 1.0603 15.3N 44.3E 69 150 211 04m56s
32 -04 -1586 Apr 08 02:05:05 35775 -44350 T 0.2911 1.0653 16.0N 69.4W 73 149 222 05m16s
33 -03 -1568 Apr 18 09:30:17 35397 -44127 T 0.2195 1.0696 16.6N 178.7E 77 150 232 05m35s
34 -02 -1550 Apr 29 16:54:59 35021 -43904 T 0.1468 1.0731 17.0N 67.2E 81 152 240 05m54s
35 -01 -1532 May 10 00:16:30 34647 -43681 T 0.0711 1.0758 17.0N 43.4W 86 154 246 06m12s
36 00 -1514 May 21 07:39:13 34275 -43458 T -0.0042 1.0776 16.5N 154.2W 90 321 251 06m29s
37 01 -1496 May 31 15:00:53 33905 -43235 Tm -0.0807 1.0785 15.2N 95.1E 85 340 254 06m44s
38 02 -1478 Jun 11 22:26:44 33537 -43012 T -0.1541 1.0785 13.2N 16.9W 81 345 257 06m57s
39 03 -1460 Jun 22 05:54:44 33171 -42789 T -0.2256 1.0776 10.4N 129.9W 77 349 257 07m04s
40 04 -1442 Jul 03 13:27:32 32807 -42566 T -0.2933 1.0760 6.9N 115.5E 73 353 257 07m05s
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 05 -1424 Jul 13 21:05:32 32445 -42343 T -0.3564 1.0736 2.8N 1.0W 69 358 256 06m58s
42 06 -1406 Jul 25 04:50:26 32085 -42120 T -0.4136 1.0707 1.8S 119.8W 66 2 252 06m42s
43 07 -1388 Aug 04 12:42:32 31727 -41897 T -0.4648 1.0672 6.8S 119.1E 62 6 247 06m19s
44 08 -1370 Aug 15 20:41:22 31371 -41674 T -0.5101 1.0633 12.1S 4.1W 59 10 241 05m51s
45 09 -1352 Aug 26 04:48:59 31017 -41451 T -0.5478 1.0592 17.5S 129.8W 57 13 232 05m20s
46 10 -1334 Sep 06 13:04:19 30665 -41228 T -0.5790 1.0551 22.9S 102.4E 54 16 222 04m48s
47 11 -1316 Sep 16 21:27:43 30315 -41005 T -0.6034 1.0510 28.3S 27.4W 53 19 211 04m18s
48 12 -1298 Sep 28 05:58:24 29967 -40782 T -0.6217 1.0471 33.7S 158.9W 51 22 199 03m50s
49 13 -1280 Oct 08 14:36:40 29621 -40559 T -0.6338 1.0435 38.9S 68.1E 50 23 187 03m26s
50 14 -1262 Oct 19 23:20:22 29277 -40336 T -0.6412 1.0404 43.8S 65.6W 50 24 175 03m05s
51 15 -1244 Oct 30 08:08:04 28935 -40113 T -0.6452 1.0377 48.6S 160.5E 50 24 165 02m48s
52 16 -1226 Nov 10 16:59:00 28595 -39890 T -0.6465 1.0355 53.1S 27.1E 49 22 156 02m34s
53 17 -1208 Nov 21 01:51:47 28257 -39667 T -0.6463 1.0337 57.1S 105.1W 49 19 149 02m24s
54 18 -1190 Dec 02 10:43:27 27921 -39444 T -0.6469 1.0326 60.6S 124.9E 49 13 145 02m17s
55 19 -1172 Dec 12 19:33:06 27587 -39221 T -0.6490 1.0317 63.2S 2.4W 49 5 142 02m12s
56 20 -1154 Dec 24 04:18:39 27256 -38998 T -0.6543 1.0314 64.7S 126.9W 49 355 141 02m09s
57 21 -1135 Jan 03 12:59:50 26926 -38775 T -0.6630 1.0314 64.9S 110.6E 48 344 142 02m08s
58 22 -1117 Jan 14 21:32:42 26598 -38552 T -0.6783 1.0316 64.1S 10.3W 47 334 145 02m08s
59 23 -1099 Jan 25 05:59:25 26272 -38329 T -0.6985 1.0318 62.4S 131.0W 45 325 150 02m08s
60 24 -1081 Feb 05 14:16:06 25948 -38106 T -0.7266 1.0320 60.4S 109.5E 43 318 157 02m08s
61 25 -1063 Feb 15 22:25:15 25626 -37883 T -0.7605 1.0320 58.2S 9.4W 40 313 165 02m07s
62 26 -1045 Feb 27 06:23:22 25306 -37660 T -0.8033 1.0315 56.4S 126.1W 36 309 177 02m05s
63 27 -1027 Mar 09 14:14:08 24988 -37437 T -0.8517 1.0305 55.3S 119.0E 31 306 194 02m00s
64 28 -1009 Mar 20 21:54:33 24673 -37214 T -0.9081 1.0286 55.6S 8.2E 24 301 228 01m52s
65 29 -0991 Mar 31 05:27:07 24359 -36991 T -0.9705 1.0250 58.0S 94.5W 13 293 357 01m34s
66 30 -0973 Apr 11 12:51:12 24047 -36768 P -1.0390 0.9324 60.7S 170.2E 0 279
67 31 -0955 Apr 21 20:09:28 23737 -36545 P -1.1115 0.7966 60.9S 50.6E 0 288
68 32 -0937 May 03 03:21:34 23429 -36322 P -1.1882 0.6532 61.3S 67.6W 0 296
69 33 -0919 May 13 10:28:46 23124 -36099 P -1.2677 0.5051 61.8S 175.4E 0 305
70 34 -0901 May 24 17:32:58 22820 -35876 P -1.3484 0.3556 62.5S 58.9E 0 314
71 35 -0883 Jun 04 00:35:08 22518 -35653 P -1.4293 0.2069 63.3S 57.2W 0 323
72 36 -0865 Jun 15 07:36:22 22218 -35430 Pe -1.5097 0.0606 64.1S 173.4W 0 332
[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)"
