Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 26

Introduction

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.


Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 26

Solar eclipses of Saros 26 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 -2004 Apr 08. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0724 May 17. The total duration of Saros series 26 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -2004 Apr 08   20:14:58 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  -0724 May 17   05:04:34 TD

                      Duration of Saros  26  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 26 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 26
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 14 19.4%
AnnularA 10 13.9%
TotalT 41 56.9%
Hybrid[3]H 7 9.7%

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 26 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 26
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 58100.0%
Central (two limits) 58100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 26: 6P 10A 7H 41T 8P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 26 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 26
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -1896 Jun 1201m29s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -1734 Sep 1800m03s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -1355 May 0306m53s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -0868 Feb 2000m53s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1608 Dec 0200m59s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1716 Sep 2800m01s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -0850 Mar 03 - 0.93484
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0724 May 17 - 0.06275

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 26

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 26. 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 26.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 26

                         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 -2004 Apr 08  20:14:58  46564 -49520   Pb  -1.4845  0.1235  71.6S 160.4E   0             
00032 -34 -1986 Apr 20  02:55:09  46126 -49297   P   -1.4035  0.2645  71.5S  44.6E   0             
00075 -33 -1968 Apr 30  09:34:02  45690 -49074   P   -1.3203  0.4110  71.2S  70.6W   0             
00118 -32 -1950 May 11  16:12:21  45255 -48851   P   -1.2352  0.5621  70.6S 174.6E   0             
00161 -31 -1932 May 21  22:52:55  44823 -48628   P   -1.1505  0.7135  69.9S  59.9E   0             
00204 -30 -1914 Jun 02  05:36:42  44393 -48405   P   -1.0668  0.8639  69.0S  55.2W   0             
00248 -29 -1896 Jun 12  12:24:24  43965 -48182   A   -0.9851  0.9821  59.4S 174.8W   9  402  01m29s
00293 -28 -1878 Jun 23  19:18:52  43539 -47959   A   -0.9074  0.9881  42.6S  71.0E  24  101  01m09s
00339 -27 -1860 Jul 04  02:20:00  43116 -47736   A   -0.8339  0.9917  32.9S  40.2W  33   53  00m52s
00385 -26 -1842 Jul 15  09:30:31  42694 -47513   A   -0.7668  0.9941  26.0S 152.4W  40   32  00m38s

00431 -25 -1824 Jul 25  16:48:41  42274 -47290   A   -0.7049  0.9959  21.1S  94.4E  45   20  00m26s
00476 -24 -1806 Aug 06  00:18:42  41856 -47067   A   -0.6514  0.9971  17.9S  21.3W  49   13  00m18s
00523 -23 -1788 Aug 16  07:57:40  41441 -46844   A   -0.6041  0.9980  16.2S 138.8W  53    9  00m12s
00568 -22 -1770 Aug 27  15:48:22  41028 -46621   A   -0.5657  0.9986  16.0S 100.9E  55    6  00m08s
00613 -21 -1752 Sep 06  23:48:10  40616 -46398   A   -0.5338  0.9991  17.0S  21.6W  58    4  00m05s
00658 -20 -1734 Sep 18  07:59:14  40207 -46175   A   -0.5105  0.9995  19.1S 146.9W  59    2  00m03s
00705 -19 -1716 Sep 28  16:18:00  39799 -45952   H   -0.4927  1.0002  22.0S  85.8E  60    1  00m01s
00750 -18 -1698 Oct 10  00:44:55  39394 -45729   H   -0.4809  1.0011  25.6S  43.4W  61    4  00m06s
00794 -17 -1680 Oct 20  09:17:56  38991 -45506   H   -0.4736  1.0023  29.7S 174.1W  62    9  00m12s
00836 -16 -1662 Oct 31  17:56:59  38590 -45283   H   -0.4710  1.0040  34.1S  54.1E  62   15  00m20s

00877 -15 -1644 Nov 11  02:38:09  38191 -45060   H   -0.4694  1.0062  38.5S  77.6W  62   24  00m30s
00918 -14 -1626 Nov 22  11:21:31  37794 -44837   H   -0.4691  1.0089  42.6S 150.9E  62   35  00m43s
00959 -13 -1608 Dec 02  20:03:58  37399 -44614   H   -0.4676  1.0122  46.2S  20.8E  62   48  00m59s
01000 -12 -1590 Dec 14  04:45:51  37007 -44391   T   -0.4650  1.0161  49.0S 108.1W  62   62  01m16s
01041 -11 -1572 Dec 24  13:22:36  36616 -44168   T   -0.4577  1.0206  50.4S 125.5E  63   79  01m37s
01082 -10 -1553 Jan 04  21:56:12  36227 -43945   T   -0.4474  1.0254  50.5S   0.3E  63   97  02m01s
01122 -09 -1535 Jan 15  06:22:23  35841 -43722   T   -0.4303  1.0308  49.0S 123.2W  64  115  02m27s
01162 -08 -1517 Jan 26  14:43:34  35456 -43499   T   -0.4084  1.0364  46.0S 113.6E  66  134  02m56s
01202 -07 -1499 Feb 05  22:55:25  35074 -43276   T   -0.3784  1.0421  41.7S   8.7W  68  152  03m28s
01242 -06 -1481 Feb 17  07:01:44  34694 -43053   T   -0.3430  1.0480  36.3S 131.0W  70  170  04m01s

01282 -05 -1463 Feb 27  14:59:01  34315 -42830   T   -0.2999  1.0537  30.1S 107.8E  72  186  04m35s
01323 -04 -1445 Mar 10  22:49:45  33939 -42607   T   -0.2507  1.0593  23.2S  12.6W  75  201  05m10s
01364 -03 -1427 Mar 21  06:32:50  33565 -42384   T   -0.1946  1.0643  15.9S 131.8W  79  214  05m41s
01405 -02 -1409 Apr 01  14:10:45  33193 -42161   T   -0.1337  1.0690   8.2S 110.0E  82  227  06m09s
01446 -01 -1391 Apr 11  21:43:28  32823 -41938   T   -0.0681  1.0729   0.3S   7.1W  86  237  06m31s
01487  00 -1373 Apr 23  05:11:28  32455 -41715   T    0.0018  1.0762   7.7N 123.0W  90  247  06m47s
01529  01 -1355 May 03  12:36:48  32089 -41492   Tm   0.0743  1.0785  15.7N 122.0E  86  254  06m53s
01571  02 -1337 May 14  20:00:27  31726 -41269   T    0.1487  1.0801  23.5N   8.0E  81  261  06m51s
01614  03 -1319 May 25  03:23:45  31364 -41046   T    0.2236  1.0807  31.0N 105.3W  77  267  06m41s
01658  04 -1301 Jun 05  10:47:32  31004 -40823   T    0.2982  1.0805  38.1N 142.3E  72  272  06m25s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 26

                         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

01702  05 -1283 Jun 15  18:14:09  30647 -40600   T    0.3708  1.0793  44.5N  30.6E  68  276  06m03s
01747  06 -1265 Jun 27  01:44:15  30291 -40377   T    0.4405  1.0773  49.9N  80.2W  64  279  05m39s
01793  07 -1247 Jul 07  09:18:23  29938 -40154   T    0.5071  1.0744  54.3N 169.8E  59  281  05m14s
01838  08 -1229 Jul 18  16:58:10  29587 -39931   T    0.5689  1.0709  57.1N  60.1E  55  281  04m49s
01883  09 -1211 Jul 29  00:44:16  29238 -39708   T    0.6254  1.0668  58.4N  50.4W  51  280  04m25s
01928  10 -1193 Aug 09  08:37:50  28890 -39485   T    0.6756  1.0623  58.2N 163.2W  47  276  04m02s
01973  11 -1175 Aug 19  16:37:58  28545 -39262   T    0.7202  1.0574  56.9N  80.9E  44  271  03m41s
02020  12 -1157 Aug 31  00:46:43  28202 -39039   T    0.7576  1.0524  54.8N  39.1W  40  263  03m23s
02066  13 -1139 Sep 10  09:03:02  27861 -38816   T    0.7886  1.0474  52.3N 162.9W  38  253  03m05s
02111  14 -1121 Sep 21  17:27:06  27522 -38593   T    0.8129  1.0426  49.7N  69.8E  35  240  02m50s

02156  15 -1103 Oct 02  01:58:07  27186 -38370   T    0.8312  1.0379  47.2N  60.6W  33  224  02m36s
02199  16 -1085 Oct 13  10:35:33  26851 -38147   T    0.8441  1.0338  44.7N 166.4E  32  208  02m24s
02242  17 -1067 Oct 23  19:18:36  26518 -37924   T    0.8522  1.0301  42.3N  31.2E  31  190  02m13s
02285  18 -1049 Nov 04  04:04:27  26188 -37701   T    0.8579  1.0269  40.3N 105.0W  31  174  02m04s
02329  19 -1031 Nov 14  12:54:08  25859 -37478   T    0.8602  1.0243  38.4N 117.5E  30  159  01m57s
02372  20 -1013 Nov 25  21:44:04  25533 -37255   T    0.8617  1.0222  37.0N  20.1W  30  147  01m51s
02414  21 -0995 Dec 06  06:33:58  25208 -37032   T    0.8634  1.0207  36.2N 157.7W  30  139  01m47s
02454  22 -0977 Dec 17  15:19:54  24886 -36809   T    0.8680  1.0195  36.3N  65.8E  29  134  01m43s
02495  23 -0959 Dec 28  00:03:08  24566 -36586   T    0.8746  1.0187  37.1N  70.1W  29  132  01m39s
02536  24 -0940 Jan 08  08:39:54  24248 -36363   T    0.8860  1.0181  39.2N 155.4E  27  134  01m36s

02576  25 -0922 Jan 18  17:10:02  23932 -36140   T    0.9024  1.0176  42.5N  22.1E  25  141  01m31s
02616  26 -0904 Jan 30  01:31:29  23617 -35917   T    0.9253  1.0169  47.4N 110.0W  22  154  01m23s
02656  27 -0886 Feb 09  09:44:46  23306 -35694   T    0.9546  1.0157  54.2N 117.8E  17  185  01m13s
02697  28 -0868 Feb 20  17:48:07  22996 -35471   T    0.9914  1.0129  65.7N  21.5W   6  407  00m53s
02738  29 -0850 Mar 03  01:41:53  22688 -35248   P    1.0352  0.9348  71.1N 164.8W   0             
02777  30 -0832 Mar 13  09:25:58  22382 -35025   P    1.0862  0.8403  71.5N  64.2E   0             
02818  31 -0814 Mar 24  17:01:29  22078 -34802   P    1.1434  0.7344  71.8N  65.0W   0             
02859  32 -0796 Apr 04  00:27:08  21777 -34579   P    1.2078  0.6151  71.7N 168.3E   0             
02900  33 -0778 Apr 15  07:46:06  21477 -34356   P    1.2767  0.4878  71.5N  43.4E   0             
02941  34 -0760 Apr 25  14:57:16  21180 -34133   P    1.3511  0.3506  71.0N  79.2W   0             

02983  35 -0742 May 06  22:04:25  20885 -33910   P    1.4275  0.2104  70.4N 159.7E   0             
03026  36 -0724 May 17  05:04:34  20591 -33687   Pe   1.5084  0.0628  69.5N  40.9E   0             


Calendar

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..


Predictions

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

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.


Footnotes

[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.


Acknowledgments

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)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26