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 37 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 -1794 Jun 25. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0496 Aug 12. The total duration of Saros series 37 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1794 Jun 25 20:54:42 TD Last Eclipse = -0496 Aug 12 01:14:42 TD Duration of Saros 37 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 37 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 37 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 33 | 45.2% |
| Annular | A | 40 | 54.8% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 0 | 0.0% |
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 37 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 37 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 40 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 40 | 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 37: 24P 40A 9P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 37 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 37 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1037 Sep 22 | 09m21s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0658 May 07 | 00m50s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0640 May 17 | - | 0.97458 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1794 Jun 25 | - | 0.01444 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 37. 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 37.
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
00508 -36 -1794 Jun 25 20:54:42 41582 -46920 Pb 1.5328 0.0144 64.4N 115.8W 0
00554 -35 -1776 Jul 06 04:07:49 41168 -46697 P 1.4717 0.1295 65.3N 124.2E 0
00599 -34 -1758 Jul 17 11:26:42 40756 -46474 P 1.4162 0.2332 66.2N 2.5E 0
00644 -33 -1740 Jul 27 18:50:24 40346 -46251 P 1.3653 0.3273 67.2N 120.9W 0
00690 -32 -1722 Aug 08 02:21:22 39938 -46028 P 1.3210 0.4084 68.2N 113.3E 0
00736 -31 -1704 Aug 18 09:58:25 39532 -45805 P 1.2823 0.4782 69.2N 14.5W 0
00780 -30 -1686 Aug 29 17:43:54 39128 -45582 P 1.2512 0.5337 70.1N 145.0W 0
00822 -29 -1668 Sep 09 01:35:56 38727 -45359 P 1.2266 0.5771 70.8N 82.3E 0
00863 -28 -1650 Sep 20 09:35:05 38327 -45136 P 1.2085 0.6083 71.3N 52.8W 0
00904 -27 -1632 Sep 30 17:40:36 37929 -44913 P 1.1964 0.6288 71.6N 170.1E 0
00945 -26 -1614 Oct 12 01:52:40 37534 -44690 P 1.1902 0.6389 71.6N 31.2E 0
00986 -25 -1596 Oct 22 10:08:45 37140 -44467 P 1.1881 0.6419 71.4N 108.6W 0
01027 -24 -1578 Nov 02 18:28:07 36749 -44244 P 1.1893 0.6394 70.9N 111.2E 0
01068 -23 -1560 Nov 13 02:48:31 36360 -44021 P 1.1921 0.6342 70.2N 28.9W 0
01108 -22 -1542 Nov 24 11:09:45 35972 -43798 P 1.1960 0.6272 69.3N 168.5W 0
01148 -21 -1524 Dec 04 19:27:19 35587 -43575 P 1.1975 0.6244 68.3N 53.5E 0
01188 -20 -1506 Dec 16 03:42:20 35204 -43352 P 1.1975 0.6243 67.3N 83.2W 0
01228 -19 -1488 Dec 26 11:50:17 34823 -43129 P 1.1921 0.6335 66.2N 142.4E 0
01268 -18 -1469 Jan 06 19:52:36 34444 -42906 P 1.1831 0.6489 65.1N 9.9E 0
01308 -17 -1451 Jan 17 03:43:57 34067 -42683 P 1.1656 0.6789 64.1N 119.4W 0
01350 -16 -1433 Jan 28 11:27:55 33692 -42460 P 1.1428 0.7181 63.2N 113.5E 0
01391 -15 -1415 Feb 07 18:59:49 33320 -42237 P 1.1105 0.7734 62.4N 10.3W 0
01432 -14 -1397 Feb 19 02:22:00 32949 -42014 P 1.0711 0.8412 61.7N 131.5W 0
01473 -13 -1379 Mar 01 09:31:59 32580 -41791 P 1.0223 0.9252 61.2N 110.6E 0
01515 -12 -1361 Mar 12 16:33:12 32214 -41568 A 0.9669 0.9403 54.3N 18.6E 14 864 04m57s
01557 -11 -1343 Mar 22 23:24:02 31849 -41345 A 0.9031 0.9437 49.4N 77.9W 25 470 04m53s
01600 -10 -1325 Apr 03 06:05:37 31487 -41122 A 0.8322 0.9462 46.8N 175.2W 33 347 04m45s
01643 -09 -1307 Apr 13 12:39:37 31127 -40899 A 0.7554 0.9480 45.2N 88.9E 41 284 04m40s
01686 -08 -1289 Apr 24 19:07:29 30769 -40676 A 0.6738 0.9494 44.3N 5.5W 47 246 04m38s
01731 -07 -1271 May 05 01:30:28 30412 -40453 A 0.5883 0.9502 43.6N 98.4W 54 223 04m41s
01776 -06 -1253 May 16 07:49:59 30058 -40230 A 0.4999 0.9505 42.6N 169.7E 60 208 04m49s
01822 -05 -1235 May 26 14:08:26 29706 -40007 A 0.4107 0.9502 41.1N 78.1E 66 199 05m03s
01867 -04 -1217 Jun 06 20:27:30 29356 -39784 A 0.3222 0.9495 39.1N 14.0W 71 196 05m24s
01912 -03 -1199 Jun 17 02:47:15 29008 -39561 A 0.2344 0.9482 36.1N 106.8W 76 196 05m51s
01957 -02 -1181 Jun 28 09:11:15 28663 -39338 A 0.1501 0.9466 32.4N 158.5E 81 199 06m23s
02003 -01 -1163 Jul 08 15:39:35 28319 -39115 A 0.0697 0.9446 27.9N 61.9E 86 205 07m00s
02049 00 -1145 Jul 19 22:15:27 27977 -38892 Am -0.0047 0.9423 22.9N 37.5W 90 213 07m36s
02095 01 -1127 Jul 30 04:57:21 27638 -38669 A -0.0740 0.9398 17.4N 139.2W 86 224 08m11s
02140 02 -1109 Aug 10 11:49:26 27300 -38446 A -0.1346 0.9372 11.6N 115.9E 82 236 08m39s
02183 03 -1091 Aug 20 18:50:03 26965 -38223 A -0.1883 0.9345 5.6N 8.3E 79 248 09m00s
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
02226 04 -1073 Sep 01 02:01:19 26631 -38000 A -0.2333 0.9321 0.4S 102.3W 77 261 09m13s
02269 05 -1055 Sep 11 09:21:49 26300 -37777 A -0.2710 0.9297 6.5S 144.7E 74 273 09m20s
02312 06 -1037 Sep 22 16:52:58 25971 -37554 A -0.3001 0.9278 12.3S 29.0E 72 283 09m21s
02357 07 -1019 Oct 03 00:33:14 25644 -37331 A -0.3220 0.9261 18.0S 88.8W 71 293 09m18s
02399 08 -1001 Oct 14 08:21:12 25319 -37108 A -0.3380 0.9250 23.4S 151.8E 70 299 09m10s
02440 09 -0983 Oct 24 16:17:12 24996 -36885 A -0.3478 0.9245 28.4S 30.9E 69 303 09m01s
02481 10 -0965 Nov 05 00:18:37 24675 -36662 A -0.3539 0.9246 33.0S 90.6W 69 303 08m48s
02522 11 -0947 Nov 15 08:24:40 24356 -36439 A -0.3565 0.9253 37.0S 147.5E 69 301 08m32s
02563 12 -0929 Nov 26 16:31:30 24039 -36216 A -0.3590 0.9268 40.5S 26.3E 69 295 08m12s
02603 13 -0911 Dec 07 00:39:47 23724 -35993 A -0.3608 0.9289 43.1S 94.3W 69 286 07m48s
02642 14 -0893 Dec 18 08:46:03 23412 -35770 A -0.3651 0.9318 44.9S 146.3E 68 275 07m20s
02683 15 -0875 Dec 28 16:49:08 23101 -35547 A -0.3725 0.9352 45.8S 28.2E 68 260 06m49s
02724 16 -0856 Jan 09 00:47:00 22793 -35324 A -0.3849 0.9392 45.8S 88.5W 67 244 06m14s
02764 17 -0838 Jan 19 08:39:19 22486 -35101 A -0.4025 0.9437 45.0S 155.9E 66 227 05m38s
02805 18 -0820 Jan 30 16:24:32 22182 -34878 A -0.4265 0.9487 43.6S 41.8E 65 208 05m00s
02846 19 -0802 Feb 10 00:02:01 21879 -34655 A -0.4578 0.9539 41.9S 71.0W 63 188 04m23s
02887 20 -0784 Feb 21 07:32:00 21579 -34432 A -0.4961 0.9594 40.1S 177.6E 60 168 03m47s
02928 21 -0766 Mar 03 14:54:43 21281 -34209 A -0.5412 0.9648 38.3S 67.6E 57 149 03m14s
02970 22 -0748 Mar 13 22:09:18 20985 -33986 A -0.5938 0.9702 37.0S 40.7W 53 131 02m42s
03012 23 -0730 Mar 25 05:17:53 20691 -33763 A -0.6522 0.9753 36.2S 147.6W 49 114 02m13s
03056 24 -0712 Apr 04 12:20:27 20399 -33540 A -0.7163 0.9801 36.4S 106.8E 44 98 01m47s
03100 25 -0694 Apr 15 19:19:40 20109 -33317 A -0.7843 0.9844 37.9S 2.1E 38 87 01m23s
03145 26 -0676 Apr 26 02:13:09 19821 -33094 A -0.8577 0.9878 41.2S 100.6W 31 81 01m04s
03190 27 -0658 May 07 09:06:41 19536 -32871 A -0.9318 0.9900 47.2S 158.0E 21 95 00m50s
03235 28 -0640 May 17 15:57:53 19252 -32648 P -1.0082 0.9746 62.3S 71.5E 0
03281 29 -0622 May 28 22:51:36 18971 -32425 P -1.0834 0.8397 63.0S 42.4W 0
03327 30 -0604 Jun 08 05:45:23 18691 -32202 P -1.1592 0.7026 63.8S 156.5W 0
03374 31 -0586 Jun 19 12:45:10 18414 -31979 P -1.2308 0.5723 64.7S 87.6E 0
03422 32 -0568 Jun 29 19:48:30 18138 -31756 P -1.2998 0.4458 65.7S 29.5W 0
03468 33 -0550 Jul 11 02:58:25 17865 -31533 P -1.3642 0.3277 66.7S 148.7W 0
03513 34 -0532 Jul 21 10:14:50 17594 -31310 P -1.4240 0.2175 67.7S 90.1E 0
03558 35 -0514 Aug 01 17:40:32 17325 -31087 P -1.4768 0.1200 68.6S 34.0W 0
03603 36 -0496 Aug 12 01:14:42 17043 -30864 Pe -1.5237 0.0335 69.5S 160.8W 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)"
