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 36 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 -1859 Jun 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0561 Aug 11. The total duration of Saros series 36 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1859 Jun 23 14:36:03 TD
Last Eclipse = -0561 Aug 11 23:14:48 TD
Duration of Saros 36 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 36 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 36 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 39.7% |
| Annular | A | 23 | 31.5% |
| Total | T | 18 | 24.7% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.1% |
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 36 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 36 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 97.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 36: 22P 18T 3H 23A 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 36 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -1300 May 25 Duration = 06m00s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -1156 Aug 19 Duration = 02m09s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0885 Jan 29 Duration = 03m50s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1084 Oct 01 Duration = 00m09s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1138 Aug 30 Duration = 01m32s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1102 Sep 21 Duration = 00m23s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1480 Feb 06 Magnitude = 0.9547
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1859 Jun 23 Magnitude = 0.0181
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 36 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 036 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 -38 -1859 Jun 23 14:36:03 41740 -47724 Pb -1.5239 0.0181 67.0S 136.4E 0 357
02 -37 -1841 Jul 04 22:03:49 41331 -47501 P -1.4564 0.1461 66.0S 12.0E 0 7
03 -36 -1823 Jul 15 05:38:07 40925 -47278 P -1.3935 0.2659 65.0S 113.6W 0 17
04 -35 -1805 Jul 26 13:20:27 40520 -47055 P -1.3363 0.3747 64.1S 119.2E 0 27
05 -34 -1787 Aug 05 21:11:03 40118 -46832 P -1.2853 0.4718 63.2S 9.8W 0 36
06 -33 -1769 Aug 17 05:11:34 39718 -46609 P -1.2420 0.5539 62.4S 140.9W 0 46
07 -32 -1751 Aug 27 13:20:51 39319 -46386 P -1.2053 0.6232 61.8S 86.0E 0 55
08 -31 -1733 Sep 07 21:38:26 38923 -46163 P -1.1752 0.6800 61.2S 49.0W 0 64
09 -30 -1715 Sep 18 06:04:44 38529 -45940 P -1.1521 0.7235 60.8S 174.0E 0 74
10 -29 -1697 Sep 29 14:39:00 38136 -45717 P -1.1353 0.7547 60.6S 35.1E 0 83
11 -28 -1679 Oct 09 23:19:31 37746 -45494 P -1.1237 0.7763 60.6S 105.3W 0 92
12 -27 -1661 Oct 21 08:05:55 37357 -45271 P -1.1170 0.7887 60.7S 112.8E 0 101
13 -26 -1643 Oct 31 16:56:07 36971 -45048 P -1.1135 0.7952 61.0S 30.1W 0 110
14 -25 -1625 Nov 12 01:49:44 36587 -44825 P -1.1128 0.7965 61.4S 173.9W 0 120
15 -24 -1607 Nov 22 10:42:35 36204 -44602 P -1.1117 0.7986 62.1S 42.3E 0 129
16 -23 -1589 Dec 03 19:36:25 35824 -44379 P -1.1114 0.7994 62.8S 101.9W 0 139
17 -22 -1571 Dec 14 04:26:39 35446 -44156 P -1.1088 0.8046 63.7S 114.5E 0 149
18 -21 -1553 Dec 25 13:14:00 35069 -43933 P -1.1037 0.8148 64.7S 28.7W 0 159
19 -20 -1534 Jan 04 21:54:23 34695 -43710 P -1.0931 0.8353 65.7S 170.5W 0 169
20 -19 -1516 Jan 16 06:30:12 34323 -43487 P -1.0790 0.8627 66.8S 48.4E 0 180
21 -18 -1498 Jan 26 14:57:28 33953 -43264 P -1.0584 0.9028 67.8S 91.1W 0 191
22 -17 -1480 Feb 06 23:17:12 33584 -43041 P -1.0317 0.9547 68.8S 130.8E 0 203
23 -16 -1462 Feb 17 07:27:51 33218 -42818 T- -0.9981 1.0200 69.7S 5.7W 0 215 - -
24 -15 -1444 Feb 28 15:30:44 32854 -42595 T -0.9581 1.0513 75.5S 164.7E 16 280 614 02m48s
25 -14 -1426 Mar 10 23:24:56 32492 -42372 T -0.9114 1.0557 68.4S 13.0E 24 310 451 03m20s
26 -13 -1408 Mar 21 07:11:08 32131 -42149 T -0.8586 1.0592 59.5S 119.8W 30 323 379 03m51s
27 -12 -1390 Apr 01 14:50:14 31773 -41926 T -0.8002 1.0619 50.4S 114.9E 37 331 337 04m22s
28 -11 -1372 Apr 11 22:23:02 31417 -41703 T -0.7369 1.0637 41.4S 6.4W 42 336 306 04m52s
29 -10 -1354 Apr 23 05:49:30 31063 -41480 T -0.6687 1.0648 32.5S 124.9W 48 340 283 05m19s
30 -09 -1336 May 03 13:12:26 30710 -41257 T -0.5980 1.0649 24.0S 118.5E 53 344 263 05m41s
31 -08 -1318 May 14 20:31:36 30360 -41034 T -0.5244 1.0641 15.8S 3.6E 58 347 245 05m55s
32 -07 -1300 May 25 03:50:16 30012 -40811 T -0.4509 1.0624 8.3S 110.4W 63 350 229 06m00s
33 -06 -1282 Jun 05 11:06:36 29666 -40588 T -0.3759 1.0598 1.2S 136.9E 68 354 212 05m54s
34 -05 -1264 Jun 15 18:25:38 29322 -40365 T -0.3036 1.0564 4.9N 24.3E 72 358 195 05m38s
35 -04 -1246 Jun 27 01:45:21 28979 -40142 T -0.2321 1.0522 10.2N 87.8W 77 2 178 05m13s
36 -03 -1228 Jul 07 09:09:34 28639 -39919 T -0.1653 1.0474 14.5N 159.8E 81 6 160 04m41s
37 -02 -1210 Jul 18 16:36:28 28301 -39696 Tm -0.1014 1.0419 17.6N 47.3E 84 11 141 04m04s
38 -01 -1192 Jul 29 00:10:28 27965 -39473 T -0.0440 1.0360 19.4N 66.5W 88 16 121 03m26s
39 00 -1174 Aug 09 07:49:30 27631 -39250 T 0.0084 1.0297 20.1N 178.6E 89 196 101 02m47s
40 01 -1156 Aug 19 15:35:41 27299 -39027 T 0.0541 1.0233 19.6N 61.8E 87 203 80 02m09s
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 02 -1138 Aug 30 23:28:43 26968 -38804 H3 0.0932 1.0168 18.0N 56.9W 85 206 58 01m32s
42 03 -1120 Sep 10 07:29:50 26640 -38581 H 0.1245 1.0105 15.6N 177.9W 83 208 36 00m57s
43 04 -1102 Sep 21 15:37:58 26314 -38358 H 0.1494 1.0042 12.5N 58.8E 81 209 15 00m23s
44 05 -1084 Oct 01 23:51:56 25990 -38135 A 0.1687 0.9984 9.0N 66.1W 80 210 6 00m09s
45 06 -1066 Oct 13 08:12:39 25668 -37912 A 0.1816 0.9929 5.2N 167.0E 80 209 25 00m41s
46 07 -1048 Oct 23 16:38:03 25348 -37689 A 0.1898 0.9880 1.4N 38.8E 79 208 43 01m11s
47 08 -1030 Nov 04 01:07:24 25030 -37466 A 0.1940 0.9836 2.4S 90.3W 79 206 59 01m40s
48 09 -1012 Nov 14 09:38:15 24714 -37243 A 0.1962 0.9799 5.7S 140.3E 79 203 73 02m07s
49 10 -0994 Nov 25 18:10:20 24400 -37020 A 0.1968 0.9767 8.6S 10.9E 79 199 84 02m32s
50 11 -0976 Dec 06 02:40:40 24087 -36797 A 0.1981 0.9742 10.7S 117.9W 79 195 94 02m54s
51 12 -0958 Dec 17 11:07:32 23777 -36574 A 0.2014 0.9723 11.8S 114.4E 78 191 101 03m14s
52 13 -0940 Dec 27 19:29:39 23469 -36351 A 0.2080 0.9709 11.9S 12.0W 78 186 107 03m29s
53 14 -0921 Jan 08 03:45:32 23163 -36128 A 0.2185 0.9699 10.9S 137.0W 77 182 111 03m40s
54 15 -0903 Jan 18 11:52:49 22859 -35905 A 0.2356 0.9694 8.7S 99.9E 76 177 113 03m46s
55 16 -0885 Jan 29 19:51:01 22557 -35682 A 0.2593 0.9691 5.3S 21.3W 75 173 115 03m50s
56 17 -0867 Feb 09 03:39:24 22257 -35459 A 0.2902 0.9690 0.8S 140.5W 73 170 116 03m49s
57 18 -0849 Feb 20 11:17:55 21959 -35236 A 0.3281 0.9689 4.6N 102.2E 71 167 118 03m46s
58 19 -0831 Mar 02 18:44:13 21663 -35013 A 0.3752 0.9688 11.1N 12.6W 68 164 121 03m41s
59 20 -0813 Mar 14 02:01:21 21369 -34790 A 0.4288 0.9684 18.2N 125.6W 64 162 125 03m36s
60 21 -0795 Mar 24 09:07:14 21077 -34567 A 0.4910 0.9679 26.1N 123.7E 60 160 132 03m31s
61 22 -0777 Apr 04 16:05:25 20787 -34344 A 0.5584 0.9669 34.6N 14.5E 56 158 143 03m25s
62 23 -0759 Apr 14 22:53:03 20499 -34121 A 0.6336 0.9654 43.8N 92.7W 50 156 160 03m20s
63 24 -0741 Apr 26 05:35:33 20213 -33898 A 0.7120 0.9634 53.5N 160.6E 44 153 188 03m16s
64 25 -0723 May 06 12:10:17 19929 -33675 A 0.7960 0.9606 64.2N 53.4E 37 149 236 03m12s
65 26 -0705 May 17 18:41:36 19647 -33452 A 0.8817 0.9569 75.6N 62.3W 28 134 336 03m08s
66 27 -0687 May 28 01:08:50 19347 -33229 A 0.9697 0.9513 80.3N 109.7E 13 46 772 03m05s
67 28 -0669 Jun 08 07:36:00 19044 -33006 P 1.0569 0.8693 67.7N 27.2W 0 9
68 29 -0651 Jun 18 14:02:56 18746 -32783 P 1.1432 0.7194 66.7N 136.1W 0 358
69 30 -0633 Jun 29 20:31:44 18453 -32560 P 1.2270 0.5745 65.7N 115.1E 0 348
70 31 -0615 Jul 10 03:04:02 18164 -32337 P 1.3070 0.4372 64.7N 5.8E 0 338
71 32 -0597 Jul 21 09:41:13 17880 -32114 P 1.3824 0.3088 63.8N 104.4W 0 329
72 33 -0579 Jul 31 16:24:28 17600 -31891 P 1.4518 0.1915 63.0N 144.2E 0 320
73 34 -0561 Aug 11 23:14:48 17325 -31668 Pe 1.5148 0.0861 62.3N 31.3E 0 311
[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)"
