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 29 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 -1881 Mar 01. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0583 Apr 19. The total duration of Saros series 29 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1881 Mar 01 09:41:45 TD
Last Eclipse = -0583 Apr 19 02:23:20 TD
Duration of Saros 29 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 29 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 29 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 28 | 38.4% |
| Annular | A | 3 | 4.1% |
| Total | T | 28 | 38.4% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 14 | 19.2% |
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 29 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 29 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 45 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 45 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 29: 7P 3A 14H 28T 21P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 29 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -1106 Jun 09 Duration = 07m04s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -1449 Nov 15 Duration = 01m53s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1755 May 15 Duration = 00m51s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1719 Jun 05 Duration = 00m06s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1467 Nov 04 Duration = 01m39s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1701 Jun 17 Duration = 00m11s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0944 Sep 14 Magnitude = 0.9987
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0583 Apr 19 Magnitude = 0.0408
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 29 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 029 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 -36 -1881 Mar 01 09:41:45 42248 -48000 Pb 1.5127 0.0793 61.4N 152.1E 0 120
02 -35 -1863 Mar 11 16:45:13 41837 -47777 P 1.4511 0.1845 61.0N 35.6E 0 111
03 -34 -1845 Mar 22 23:43:44 41428 -47554 P 1.3838 0.3009 60.7N 79.5W 0 102
04 -33 -1827 Apr 02 06:34:52 41021 -47331 P 1.3094 0.4314 60.5N 167.4E 0 93
05 -32 -1809 Apr 13 13:24:19 40616 -47108 P 1.2320 0.5684 60.5N 54.6E 0 85
06 -31 -1791 Apr 23 20:09:41 40214 -46885 P 1.1501 0.7149 60.7N 57.1W 0 76
07 -30 -1773 May 05 02:55:56 39813 -46662 P 1.0674 0.8642 61.0N 169.1W 0 68
08 -29 -1755 May 15 09:40:36 39414 -46439 A 0.9819 0.9858 65.4N 100.0E 10 78 284 00m51s
09 -28 -1737 May 26 16:29:39 39017 -46216 A 0.8985 0.9933 68.0N 28.1E 26 107 54 00m26s
10 -27 -1719 Jun 05 23:20:36 38622 -45993 A 0.8156 0.9985 67.9N 55.9W 35 127 9 00m06s
11 -26 -1701 Jun 17 06:16:54 38229 -45770 H 0.7360 1.0025 66.4N 145.3W 42 144 13 00m11s
12 -25 -1683 Jun 27 13:18:34 37838 -45547 H 0.6596 1.0056 63.7N 120.5E 48 158 26 00m25s
13 -24 -1665 Jul 08 20:28:30 37450 -45324 H 0.5893 1.0079 60.0N 20.8E 54 170 34 00m37s
14 -23 -1647 Jul 19 03:46:15 37063 -45101 H 0.5243 1.0096 55.3N 83.7W 58 178 39 00m47s
15 -22 -1629 Jul 30 11:12:58 36678 -44878 H 0.4660 1.0108 50.2N 167.1E 62 185 42 00m55s
16 -21 -1611 Aug 09 18:49:44 36295 -44655 H 0.4152 1.0115 44.7N 53.7E 65 190 44 01m01s
17 -20 -1593 Aug 21 02:36:50 35914 -44432 H 0.3723 1.0120 39.0N 63.6W 68 193 44 01m05s
18 -19 -1575 Aug 31 10:33:31 35536 -44209 H 0.3364 1.0123 33.2N 175.9E 70 196 45 01m08s
19 -18 -1557 Sep 11 18:40:22 35159 -43986 H 0.3083 1.0124 27.5N 52.2E 72 198 45 01m10s
20 -17 -1539 Sep 22 02:56:41 34784 -43763 H 0.2873 1.0127 21.9N 74.1W 73 199 45 01m13s
21 -16 -1521 Oct 03 11:22:04 34411 -43540 H 0.2732 1.0131 16.6N 157.1E 74 199 47 01m16s
22 -15 -1503 Oct 13 19:53:42 34041 -43317 H 0.2637 1.0138 11.6N 26.6E 75 198 49 01m22s
23 -14 -1485 Oct 25 04:32:54 33672 -43094 H 0.2597 1.0149 7.0N 105.6W 75 197 53 01m29s
24 -13 -1467 Nov 04 13:16:02 33305 -42871 H2 0.2581 1.0164 2.9N 121.3E 75 195 58 01m39s
25 -12 -1449 Nov 15 22:02:29 32940 -42648 T 0.2591 1.0185 0.8S 12.4W 75 192 65 01m53s
26 -11 -1431 Nov 26 06:48:35 32578 -42425 T 0.2592 1.0210 3.9S 145.9W 75 189 74 02m09s
27 -10 -1413 Dec 07 15:35:10 32217 -42202 T 0.2593 1.0242 6.3S 80.7E 75 185 85 02m29s
28 -09 -1395 Dec 18 00:18:52 31858 -41979 T 0.2562 1.0278 8.2S 51.8W 75 181 97 02m50s
29 -08 -1377 Dec 29 08:58:42 31501 -41756 T 0.2495 1.0320 9.4S 176.8E 76 176 112 03m13s
30 -07 -1358 Jan 08 17:33:00 31147 -41533 T 0.2376 1.0365 10.1S 46.9E 76 172 126 03m36s
31 -06 -1340 Jan 20 02:01:16 30794 -41310 T 0.2203 1.0414 10.3S 81.4W 77 167 142 03m58s
32 -05 -1322 Jan 30 10:22:25 30443 -41087 T 0.1965 1.0465 10.0S 152.2E 79 163 158 04m19s
33 -04 -1304 Feb 10 18:35:48 30095 -40864 T 0.1657 1.0518 9.2S 27.7E 81 159 174 04m38s
34 -03 -1286 Feb 21 02:41:58 29748 -40641 T 0.1281 1.0569 8.2S 94.8W 83 156 189 04m56s
35 -02 -1268 Mar 03 10:40:37 29403 -40418 T 0.0837 1.0619 6.9S 144.5E 85 153 204 05m13s
36 -01 -1250 Mar 14 18:31:41 29061 -40195 T 0.0324 1.0665 5.5S 25.8E 88 151 217 05m29s
37 00 -1232 Mar 25 02:16:17 28720 -39972 Tm -0.0247 1.0707 4.2S 91.2W 89 331 230 05m45s
38 01 -1214 Apr 05 09:54:42 28381 -39749 T -0.0874 1.0743 3.0S 153.5E 85 331 242 06m00s
39 02 -1196 Apr 15 17:28:48 28045 -39526 T -0.1542 1.0772 2.2S 39.2E 81 331 252 06m16s
40 03 -1178 Apr 27 00:57:21 27710 -39303 T -0.2259 1.0793 2.0S 73.7W 77 333 262 06m31s
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 04 -1160 May 07 08:24:20 27377 -39080 T -0.2990 1.0806 2.4S 173.8E 73 335 271 06m45s
42 05 -1142 May 18 15:48:36 27047 -38857 T -0.3742 1.0809 3.7S 61.8E 68 338 280 06m56s
43 06 -1124 May 28 23:13:30 26718 -38634 T -0.4490 1.0804 5.8S 50.7W 63 341 288 07m03s
44 07 -1106 Jun 09 06:37:50 26391 -38411 T -0.5241 1.0788 8.9S 163.5W 58 345 297 07m04s
45 08 -1088 Jun 19 14:05:30 26067 -38188 T -0.5964 1.0763 12.9S 82.3E 53 349 307 06m56s
46 09 -1070 Jun 30 21:35:38 25744 -37965 T -0.6661 1.0729 17.8S 33.1W 48 353 317 06m37s
47 10 -1052 Jul 11 05:10:06 25424 -37742 T -0.7320 1.0689 23.6S 150.4W 43 358 330 06m09s
48 11 -1034 Jul 22 12:49:59 25105 -37519 T -0.7932 1.0639 30.1S 90.1E 37 2 344 05m32s
49 12 -1016 Aug 01 20:36:28 24789 -37296 T -0.8486 1.0584 37.3S 32.1W 32 7 364 04m49s
50 13 -0998 Aug 13 04:30:26 24474 -37073 T -0.8975 1.0524 45.0S 157.7W 26 14 394 04m04s
51 14 -0980 Aug 23 12:30:59 24161 -36850 T -0.9406 1.0458 53.4S 72.6E 19 21 455 03m18s
52 15 -0962 Sep 03 20:40:19 23851 -36627 T -0.9762 1.0387 62.4S 64.6W 12 34 627 02m33s
53 16 -0944 Sep 14 04:56:40 23542 -36404 P -1.0056 0.9987 71.4S 135.7E 0 67
54 17 -0926 Sep 25 13:21:07 23236 -36181 P -1.0283 0.9539 71.7S 5.8W 0 81
55 18 -0908 Oct 05 21:51:28 22931 -35958 P -1.0457 0.9194 71.8S 148.9W 0 95
56 19 -0890 Oct 17 06:28:56 22629 -35735 P -1.0571 0.8966 71.5S 66.3E 0 109
57 20 -0872 Oct 27 15:10:23 22328 -35512 P -1.0647 0.8809 71.1S 79.2W 0 123
58 21 -0854 Nov 07 23:55:36 22030 -35289 P -1.0690 0.8718 70.4S 134.9E 0 137
59 22 -0836 Nov 18 08:42:37 21733 -35066 P -1.0716 0.8661 69.5S 10.9W 0 150
60 23 -0818 Nov 29 17:30:50 21439 -34843 P -1.0730 0.8627 68.5S 156.3W 0 162
61 24 -0800 Dec 10 02:16:34 21146 -34620 P -1.0761 0.8565 67.4S 59.6E 0 174
62 25 -0782 Dec 21 10:59:39 20856 -34397 P -1.0810 0.8473 66.3S 83.2W 0 185
63 26 -0764 Dec 31 19:37:35 20567 -34174 P -1.0898 0.8308 65.3S 135.7E 0 196
64 27 -0745 Jan 12 04:10:49 20281 -33951 P -1.1024 0.8077 64.3S 3.7W 0 206
65 28 -0727 Jan 22 12:34:44 19996 -33728 P -1.1222 0.7714 63.3S 140.5W 0 216
66 29 -0709 Feb 02 20:51:57 19714 -33505 P -1.1471 0.7260 62.5S 84.7E 0 225
67 30 -0691 Feb 13 04:58:26 19419 -33282 P -1.1803 0.6652 61.9S 47.2W 0 235
68 31 -0673 Feb 24 12:57:12 19116 -33059 P -1.2192 0.5940 61.3S 177.1W 0 244
69 32 -0655 Mar 06 20:43:54 18817 -32836 P -1.2674 0.5057 61.0S 56.2E 0 253
70 33 -0637 Mar 18 04:23:10 18522 -32613 P -1.3210 0.4076 60.7S 68.6W 0 262
71 34 -0619 Mar 28 11:51:15 18232 -32390 P -1.3825 0.2950 60.7S 169.5E 0 270
72 35 -0601 Apr 08 19:12:05 17947 -32167 P -1.4489 0.1737 60.8S 49.4E 0 279
73 36 -0583 Apr 19 02:23:20 17666 -31944 Pe -1.5219 0.0408 61.0S 68.4W 0 288
[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)"
