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 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 central eclipses of Saros 23 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 23 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -2019 Jul 21 | 01m20s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1803 Nov 29 | 00m13s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1442 Jul 03 | 07m05s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -0991 Mar 31 | 01m34s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1748 Jan 01 | 01m12s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1785 Dec 10 | 00m12s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0973 Apr 11 | - | 0.93236 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0865 Jun 15 | - | 0.06060 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 23. 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 23.
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
----- -35 -2145 May 07 23:07:09 50062 -51263 Pb 1.4861 0.1208 61.0N 69.3W 0
----- -34 -2127 May 18 05:40:35 49607 -51040 P 1.3995 0.2724 61.4N 178.4W 0
----- -33 -2109 May 29 12:16:30 49155 -50817 P 1.3134 0.4241 62.0N 71.7E 0
----- -32 -2091 Jun 08 18:56:30 48704 -50594 P 1.2291 0.5733 62.7N 39.3W 0
----- -31 -2073 Jun 20 01:42:48 48256 -50371 P 1.1486 0.7164 63.5N 152.2W 0
----- -30 -2055 Jun 30 08:36:18 47810 -50148 P 1.0728 0.8514 64.4N 92.9E 0
----- -29 -2037 Jul 11 15:38:52 47366 -49925 A+ 1.0028 0.9762 65.4N 24.6W 0
----- -28 -2019 Jul 21 22:49:39 46924 -49702 A 0.9385 0.9781 86.0N 131.6W 20 232 01m20s
----- -27 -2001 Aug 02 06:11:20 46483 -49479 A 0.8821 0.9805 83.8N 50.9W 28 149 01m16s
00039 -26 -1983 Aug 12 13:43:07 46046 -49256 A 0.8332 0.9820 75.4N 168.1W 33 116 01m15s
00082 -25 -1965 Aug 23 21:25:13 45610 -49033 A 0.7919 0.9831 67.9N 73.2E 37 98 01m14s
00125 -24 -1947 Sep 03 05:17:59 45176 -48810 A 0.7585 0.9839 61.0N 48.4W 40 88 01m15s
00168 -23 -1929 Sep 14 13:20:52 44744 -48587 A 0.7326 0.9846 54.7N 172.8W 43 80 01m14s
00211 -22 -1911 Sep 24 21:33:45 44314 -48364 A 0.7144 0.9854 48.8N 60.2E 44 73 01m14s
00255 -21 -1893 Oct 06 05:53:28 43887 -48141 A 0.7011 0.9865 43.4N 68.7W 45 67 01m11s
00300 -20 -1875 Oct 16 14:21:40 43461 -47918 A 0.6941 0.9877 38.6N 160.3E 46 60 01m07s
00347 -19 -1857 Oct 27 22:54:36 43038 -47695 A 0.6901 0.9895 34.3N 28.1E 46 51 00m59s
00393 -18 -1839 Nov 07 07:32:22 42616 -47472 A 0.6895 0.9917 30.5N 105.4W 46 40 00m48s
00439 -17 -1821 Nov 18 16:10:47 42197 -47249 A 0.6886 0.9945 27.2N 120.9E 46 26 00m33s
00485 -16 -1803 Nov 29 00:51:05 41780 -47026 A 0.6885 0.9979 24.4N 13.2W 46 10 00m13s
00532 -15 -1785 Dec 10 09:29:08 41365 -46803 H 0.6857 1.0019 22.0N 146.8W 47 9 00m12s
00577 -14 -1767 Dec 20 18:04:43 40952 -46580 H 0.6801 1.0065 20.0N 80.3E 47 31 00m41s
00622 -13 -1748 Jan 01 02:35:12 40541 -46357 H 0.6695 1.0117 18.2N 51.2W 48 54 01m12s
00667 -12 -1730 Jan 11 11:00:39 40132 -46134 T 0.6541 1.0173 16.8N 178.8E 49 78 01m46s
00714 -11 -1712 Jan 22 19:18:39 39725 -45911 T 0.6319 1.0233 15.7N 50.9E 51 102 02m19s
00758 -10 -1694 Feb 02 03:29:44 39320 -45688 T 0.6032 1.0296 14.8N 75.0W 53 125 02m51s
00802 -09 -1676 Feb 13 11:32:52 38917 -45465 T 0.5673 1.0361 14.3N 161.5E 55 146 03m21s
00843 -08 -1658 Feb 23 19:29:26 38517 -45242 T 0.5250 1.0425 14.1N 40.0E 58 165 03m48s
00884 -07 -1640 Mar 06 03:16:50 38118 -45019 T 0.4746 1.0488 14.2N 78.8W 62 182 04m13s
00925 -06 -1622 Mar 17 10:58:47 37722 -44796 T 0.4190 1.0548 14.7N 164.1E 65 197 04m35s
00966 -05 -1604 Mar 27 18:33:35 37327 -44573 T 0.3569 1.0603 15.3N 49.2E 69 211 04m56s
01008 -04 -1586 Apr 08 02:05:05 36935 -44350 T 0.2911 1.0653 16.0N 64.6W 73 222 05m16s
01049 -03 -1568 Apr 18 09:30:17 36544 -44127 T 0.2195 1.0696 16.6N 176.5W 77 232 05m35s
01090 -02 -1550 Apr 29 16:54:59 36156 -43904 T 0.1468 1.0731 17.0N 71.9E 81 240 05m54s
01130 -01 -1532 May 10 00:16:30 35770 -43681 T 0.0711 1.0758 17.0N 38.7W 86 246 06m12s
01169 00 -1514 May 21 07:39:13 35386 -43458 T -0.0042 1.0776 16.5N 149.6W 90 251 06m29s
01209 01 -1496 May 31 15:00:53 35004 -43235 Tm -0.0807 1.0785 15.2N 99.7E 85 254 06m44s
01249 02 -1478 Jun 11 22:26:44 34624 -43012 T -0.1541 1.0785 13.2N 12.4W 81 257 06m57s
01289 03 -1460 Jun 22 05:54:44 34246 -42789 T -0.2256 1.0776 10.4N 125.4W 77 257 07m04s
01330 04 -1442 Jul 03 13:27:32 33870 -42566 T -0.2933 1.0760 6.9N 119.9E 73 257 07m05s
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
01371 05 -1424 Jul 13 21:05:32 33497 -42343 T -0.3564 1.0736 2.8N 3.4E 69 256 06m58s
01413 06 -1406 Jul 25 04:50:26 33125 -42120 T -0.4136 1.0707 1.8S 115.5W 66 252 06m42s
01454 07 -1388 Aug 04 12:42:32 32755 -41897 T -0.4648 1.0672 6.8S 123.4E 62 247 06m19s
01496 08 -1370 Aug 15 20:41:22 32388 -41674 T -0.5101 1.0633 12.1S 0.2E 59 241 05m51s
01538 09 -1352 Aug 26 04:48:59 32022 -41451 T -0.5478 1.0592 17.5S 125.6W 57 232 05m20s
01580 10 -1334 Sep 06 13:04:19 31659 -41228 T -0.5790 1.0551 22.9S 106.6E 54 222 04m48s
01623 11 -1316 Sep 16 21:27:43 31298 -41005 T -0.6034 1.0510 28.3S 23.3W 53 211 04m18s
01667 12 -1298 Sep 28 05:58:24 30939 -40782 T -0.6217 1.0471 33.7S 154.9W 51 199 03m50s
01711 13 -1280 Oct 08 14:36:40 30581 -40559 T -0.6338 1.0435 38.9S 72.1E 50 187 03m26s
01755 14 -1262 Oct 19 23:20:22 30226 -40336 T -0.6412 1.0404 43.8S 61.7W 50 175 03m05s
01801 15 -1244 Oct 30 08:08:04 29873 -40113 T -0.6452 1.0377 48.6S 164.5E 50 165 02m48s
01846 16 -1226 Nov 10 16:59:00 29522 -39890 T -0.6465 1.0355 53.1S 31.0E 49 156 02m34s
01891 17 -1208 Nov 21 01:51:47 29174 -39667 T -0.6463 1.0337 57.1S 101.3W 49 149 02m24s
01936 18 -1190 Dec 02 10:43:27 28827 -39444 T -0.6469 1.0326 60.6S 128.7E 49 145 02m17s
01982 19 -1172 Dec 12 19:33:06 28482 -39221 T -0.6490 1.0317 63.2S 1.3E 49 142 02m12s
02029 20 -1154 Dec 24 04:18:39 28139 -38998 T -0.6543 1.0314 64.7S 123.2W 49 141 02m09s
02075 21 -1135 Jan 03 12:59:50 27799 -38775 T -0.6630 1.0314 64.9S 114.2E 48 142 02m08s
02120 22 -1117 Jan 14 21:32:42 27460 -38552 T -0.6783 1.0316 64.1S 6.7W 47 145 02m08s
02164 23 -1099 Jan 25 05:59:25 27124 -38329 T -0.6985 1.0318 62.4S 127.4W 45 150 02m08s
02207 24 -1081 Feb 05 14:16:06 26790 -38106 T -0.7266 1.0320 60.4S 113.0E 43 157 02m08s
02250 25 -1063 Feb 15 22:25:15 26457 -37883 T -0.7605 1.0320 58.2S 6.0W 40 165 02m07s
02293 26 -1045 Feb 27 06:23:22 26127 -37660 T -0.8033 1.0315 56.4S 122.7W 36 177 02m05s
02337 27 -1027 Mar 09 14:14:08 25799 -37437 T -0.8517 1.0305 55.3S 122.4E 31 194 02m00s
02379 28 -1009 Mar 20 21:54:33 25473 -37214 T -0.9081 1.0286 55.6S 11.6E 24 228 01m52s
02421 29 -0991 Mar 31 05:27:07 25149 -36991 T -0.9705 1.0250 58.0S 91.2W 13 357 01m34s
02461 30 -0973 Apr 11 12:51:12 24827 -36768 P -1.0390 0.9324 60.7S 173.4E 0
02502 31 -0955 Apr 21 20:09:28 24507 -36545 P -1.1115 0.7966 60.9S 53.8E 0
02543 32 -0937 May 03 03:21:34 24189 -36322 P -1.1882 0.6532 61.3S 64.4W 0
02583 33 -0919 May 13 10:28:46 23874 -36099 P -1.2677 0.5051 61.8S 178.5E 0
02623 34 -0901 May 24 17:32:58 23560 -35876 P -1.3484 0.3556 62.5S 62.0E 0
02663 35 -0883 Jun 04 00:35:08 23248 -35653 P -1.4293 0.2069 63.3S 54.2W 0
02704 36 -0865 Jun 15 07:36:22 22939 -35430 Pe -1.5097 0.0606 64.1S 170.4W 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)"
