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 27 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 -1993 Mar 09. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0713 Apr 16. The total duration of Saros series 27 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1993 Mar 09 19:48:09 TD Last Eclipse = -0713 Apr 16 08:59:26 TD Duration of Saros 27 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 27 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 27 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 23 | 31.9% |
| Annular | A | 20 | 27.8% |
| Total | T | 14 | 19.4% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 15 | 20.8% |
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 27 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 27 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 49 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 45 | 91.8% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 3 | 6.1% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 27: 8P 14T 15H 20A 15P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 27 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 27 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1074 Sep 12 | 06m19s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1326 Apr 14 | 00m02s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1777 Jul 17 | 03m53s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1615 Oct 22 | 01m40s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1597 Nov 03 | 01m22s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1344 Apr 02 | 00m06s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1867 May 24 | - | 0.98444 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1993 Mar 09 | - | 0.07542 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 27. 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 27.
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
00016 -38 -1993 Mar 09 19:48:09 46299 -49385 Pb 1.4907 0.0754 61.2N 11.4E 0
00059 -37 -1975 Mar 20 03:32:45 45862 -49162 P 1.4354 0.1811 60.9N 115.5W 0
00101 -36 -1957 Mar 31 11:10:33 45426 -48939 P 1.3744 0.2986 60.7N 119.5E 0
00144 -35 -1939 Apr 10 18:42:36 44994 -48716 P 1.3086 0.4259 60.6N 4.1W 0
00187 -34 -1921 Apr 22 02:10:29 44563 -48493 P 1.2395 0.5603 60.7N 126.7W 0
00231 -33 -1903 May 02 09:35:23 44134 -48270 P 1.1681 0.6993 61.0N 111.5E 0
00275 -32 -1885 May 13 16:58:46 43707 -48047 P 1.0951 0.8412 61.4N 10.0W 0
00321 -31 -1867 May 24 00:20:47 43283 -47824 P 1.0213 0.9844 61.9N 131.3W 0
00367 -30 -1849 Jun 04 07:44:24 42860 -47601 T 0.9488 1.0660 71.4N 148.2E 18 698 03m25s
00413 -29 -1831 Jun 14 15:09:59 42439 -47378 T 0.8784 1.0667 74.3N 64.4E 28 459 03m40s
00458 -28 -1813 Jun 25 22:38:32 42021 -47155 T 0.8105 1.0656 74.1N 23.1W 36 369 03m49s
00504 -27 -1795 Jul 06 06:11:22 41605 -46932 T 0.7465 1.0633 71.5N 117.7W 41 313 03m53s
00550 -26 -1777 Jul 17 13:49:57 41190 -46709 T 0.6876 1.0601 67.3N 139.2E 46 273 03m53s
00595 -25 -1759 Jul 27 21:35:14 40778 -46486 T 0.6349 1.0561 62.3N 29.0E 50 240 03m49s
00640 -24 -1741 Aug 08 05:26:17 40368 -46263 T 0.5875 1.0516 56.7N 86.0W 54 212 03m41s
00686 -23 -1723 Aug 18 13:25:56 39960 -46040 T 0.5480 1.0467 51.0N 154.6E 57 186 03m30s
00732 -22 -1705 Aug 29 21:32:37 39554 -45817 T 0.5150 1.0416 45.2N 32.0E 59 162 03m16s
00776 -21 -1687 Sep 09 05:47:51 39150 -45594 T 0.4896 1.0364 39.5N 93.5W 60 140 02m59s
00820 -20 -1669 Sep 20 14:08:41 38748 -45371 T 0.4697 1.0313 33.9N 138.9E 62 119 02m40s
00861 -19 -1651 Sep 30 22:37:42 38348 -45148 T 0.4574 1.0264 28.6N 9.0E 63 100 02m20s
00902 -18 -1633 Oct 12 07:11:21 37951 -44925 T 0.4495 1.0217 23.7N 122.2W 63 83 02m00s
00943 -17 -1615 Oct 22 15:50:19 37555 -44702 T 0.4467 1.0176 19.2N 105.2E 63 67 01m40s
00984 -16 -1597 Nov 03 00:31:48 37161 -44479 H 0.4466 1.0138 15.1N 28.1W 63 53 01m22s
01025 -15 -1579 Nov 13 09:16:15 36770 -44256 H 0.4492 1.0107 11.6N 162.0W 63 41 01m05s
01066 -14 -1561 Nov 24 17:59:42 36380 -44033 H 0.4519 1.0080 8.6N 64.4E 63 31 00m51s
01106 -13 -1543 Dec 05 02:41:32 35993 -43810 H 0.4537 1.0060 6.2N 68.7W 63 23 00m39s
01146 -12 -1525 Dec 16 11:19:44 35608 -43587 H 0.4531 1.0044 4.4N 159.2E 63 17 00m29s
01186 -11 -1507 Dec 26 19:53:46 35225 -43364 H 0.4493 1.0034 3.0N 28.1E 63 13 00m22s
01226 -10 -1488 Jan 07 04:19:45 34843 -43141 H 0.4395 1.0028 2.1N 100.8W 64 11 00m18s
01266 -09 -1470 Jan 17 12:38:40 34464 -42918 H 0.4246 1.0025 1.6N 132.2E 65 9 00m16s
01306 -08 -1452 Jan 28 20:47:42 34087 -42695 H 0.4021 1.0025 1.5N 7.8E 66 9 00m16s
01348 -07 -1434 Feb 08 04:48:24 33713 -42472 H 0.3736 1.0026 1.8N 114.4W 68 10 00m16s
01389 -06 -1416 Feb 19 12:36:46 33340 -42249 H 0.3355 1.0027 2.2N 126.8E 70 10 00m16s
01430 -05 -1398 Mar 01 20:16:49 32969 -42026 H 0.2913 1.0027 3.0N 10.3E 73 10 00m16s
01471 -04 -1380 Mar 12 03:44:58 32600 -41803 H 0.2381 1.0025 3.9N 103.1W 76 9 00m14s
01513 -03 -1362 Mar 23 11:05:00 32234 -41580 H 0.1792 1.0020 4.9N 145.9E 80 7 00m12s
01555 -02 -1344 Apr 02 18:14:26 31869 -41357 Hm 0.1122 1.0010 5.8N 37.7E 84 4 00m06s
01598 -01 -1326 Apr 14 01:17:31 31506 -41134 A 0.0409 0.9996 6.4N 68.7W 88 1 00m02s
01641 00 -1308 Apr 24 08:12:33 31146 -40911 A -0.0361 0.9976 6.6N 172.9W 88 8 00m14s
01684 01 -1290 May 05 15:02:06 30788 -40688 A -0.1168 0.9951 6.3N 84.3E 83 17 00m30s
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
01729 02 -1272 May 15 21:47:18 30431 -40465 A -0.2000 0.9919 5.2N 17.5W 78 29 00m52s
01774 03 -1254 May 27 04:30:06 30077 -40242 A -0.2840 0.9882 3.2N 118.8W 74 43 01m19s
01820 04 -1236 Jun 06 11:11:54 29725 -40019 A -0.3680 0.9838 0.4N 139.7E 68 61 01m54s
01865 05 -1218 Jun 17 17:53:15 29375 -39796 A -0.4513 0.9790 3.5S 37.8E 63 83 02m34s
01910 06 -1200 Jun 28 00:37:20 29027 -39573 A -0.5311 0.9736 8.1S 65.4W 58 111 03m19s
01955 07 -1182 Jul 09 07:23:58 28681 -39350 A -0.6074 0.9678 13.7S 169.9W 53 146 04m04s
02001 08 -1164 Jul 19 14:15:09 28337 -39127 A -0.6788 0.9617 19.9S 83.6E 47 189 04m46s
02047 09 -1146 Jul 30 21:11:33 27996 -38904 A -0.7450 0.9554 26.8S 25.0W 42 244 05m22s
02093 10 -1128 Aug 10 04:15:31 27656 -38681 A -0.8039 0.9490 34.1S 136.5W 36 314 05m49s
02138 11 -1110 Aug 21 11:26:42 27318 -38458 A -0.8556 0.9425 41.7S 109.0E 31 409 06m07s
02181 12 -1092 Aug 31 18:45:26 26983 -38235 A -0.9002 0.9361 49.5S 9.0W 25 544 06m17s
02224 13 -1074 Sep 12 02:12:47 26649 -38012 A -0.9368 0.9299 57.2S 131.7W 20 754 06m19s
02267 14 -1056 Sep 22 09:48:30 26318 -37789 A -0.9661 0.9240 64.5S 98.8E 14 1140 06m16s
02310 15 -1038 Oct 03 17:31:41 25989 -37566 As -0.9885 0.9182 70.6S 43.4W 7 - 06m07s
02355 16 -1020 Oct 14 01:21:23 25661 -37343 A- -1.0050 0.9429 71.7S 160.5E 0
02397 17 -1002 Oct 25 09:16:56 25336 -37120 A- -1.0163 0.9227 71.3S 26.2E 0
02438 18 -0984 Nov 04 17:17:19 25013 -36897 A- -1.0234 0.9099 70.7S 108.8W 0
02479 19 -0966 Nov 16 01:19:18 24692 -36674 P -1.0288 0.9002 69.9S 116.4E 0
02520 20 -0948 Nov 26 09:23:16 24373 -36451 P -1.0323 0.8940 68.9S 18.3W 0
02561 21 -0930 Dec 07 17:25:13 24056 -36228 P -1.0375 0.8855 67.8S 151.7W 0
02601 22 -0912 Dec 18 01:25:26 23741 -36005 P -1.0434 0.8758 66.7S 75.9E 0
02640 23 -0894 Dec 29 09:19:00 23428 -35782 P -1.0548 0.8575 65.6S 54.3W 0
02681 24 -0875 Jan 08 17:08:29 23118 -35559 P -1.0690 0.8345 64.6S 177.0E 0
02722 25 -0857 Jan 20 00:49:06 22809 -35336 P -1.0907 0.7993 63.6S 50.9E 0
02762 26 -0839 Jan 30 08:22:00 22503 -35113 P -1.1181 0.7545 62.7S 72.9W 0
02802 27 -0821 Feb 10 15:44:20 22198 -34890 P -1.1538 0.6955 62.0S 166.2E 0
02843 28 -0803 Feb 20 22:58:47 21896 -34667 P -1.1957 0.6259 61.4S 47.4E 0
02884 29 -0785 Mar 04 06:03:10 21595 -34444 P -1.2457 0.5420 61.0S 68.8W 0
02925 30 -0767 Mar 14 12:58:32 21297 -34221 P -1.3028 0.4454 60.8S 177.5E 0
02966 31 -0749 Mar 25 19:45:38 21001 -33998 P -1.3664 0.3371 60.6S 65.8E 0
03008 32 -0731 Apr 05 02:25:46 20707 -33775 P -1.4353 0.2191 60.7S 44.2W 0
03052 33 -0713 Apr 16 08:59:26 20415 -33552 Pe -1.5091 0.0917 60.9S 152.5W 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)"
