Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 39

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 39

Solar eclipses of Saros 39 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 -1718 May 26. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0438 Jul 03. The total duration of Saros series 39 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -1718 May 26   11:58:02 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  -0438 Jul 03   12:58:27 TD

                      Duration of Saros  39  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 39 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 39
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 15 20.8%
AnnularA 22 30.6%
TotalT 32 44.4%
Hybrid[3]H 3 4.2%

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 39 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 39
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 57100.0%
Central (two limits) 56 98.2%
Central (one limit) 1 1.8%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 39: 9P 32T 3H 22A 6P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 39 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 39
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -0546 Apr 2904m20s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -0925 Sep 1500m21s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -1141 May 0804m36s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -1556 Aug 3102m05s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0979 Aug 1301m48s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0943 Sep 0300m21s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -1574 Aug 21 - 0.97105
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -1718 May 26 - 0.03190

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 39

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 39. 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 39.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 39

                         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

00700 -37 -1718 May 26  11:58:02  39852 -45981   Pb   1.5157  0.0319  62.2N  37.2E   0             
00745 -36 -1700 Jun 05  19:15:14  39447 -45758   P    1.4394  0.1769  62.9N  83.1W   0             
00789 -35 -1682 Jun 17  02:36:40  39043 -45535   P    1.3656  0.3177  63.7N 155.4E   0             
00831 -34 -1664 Jun 27  10:01:58  38642 -45312   P    1.2944  0.4538  64.6N  32.7E   0             
00872 -33 -1646 Jul 08  17:34:05  38243 -45089   P    1.2284  0.5802  65.5N  92.0W   0             
00913 -32 -1628 Jul 19  01:13:01  37846 -44866   P    1.1677  0.6962  66.5N 141.1E   0             
00954 -31 -1610 Jul 30  08:59:13  37451 -44643   P    1.1127  0.8009  67.6N  12.0E   0             
00995 -30 -1592 Aug 09  16:53:53  37058 -44420   P    1.0643  0.8927  68.6N 119.8W   0             
01036 -29 -1574 Aug 21  00:57:11  36667 -44197   P    1.0228  0.9711  69.5N 105.6E   0             
01077 -28 -1556 Aug 31  09:09:55  36278 -43974   Tn   0.9891  1.0404  74.7N  51.1W   7   -   02m05s

01117 -27 -1538 Sep 11  17:29:52  35891 -43751   T    0.9613  1.0409  73.4N 137.0E  15  514  02m18s
01157 -26 -1520 Sep 22  01:59:24  35506 -43528   T    0.9413  1.0400  68.3N  11.9W  19  403  02m24s
01197 -25 -1502 Oct 03  10:35:41  35124 -43305   T    0.9268  1.0389  63.1N 153.6W  22  350  02m28s
01237 -24 -1484 Oct 13  19:19:27  34743 -43082   T    0.9184  1.0376  58.6N  66.5E  23  320  02m30s
01277 -23 -1466 Oct 25  04:07:02  34365 -42859   T    0.9133  1.0365  54.7N  73.0W  24  302  02m33s
01317 -22 -1448 Nov 04  12:59:34  33988 -42636   T    0.9124  1.0357  51.5N 147.1E  24  294  02m36s
01358 -21 -1430 Nov 15  21:53:14  33614 -42413   T    0.9127  1.0353  48.9N   7.2E  24  292  02m39s
01399 -20 -1412 Nov 26  06:47:37  33241 -42190   T    0.9137  1.0353  46.7N 132.8W  24  294  02m44s
01440 -19 -1394 Dec 07  15:40:19  32871 -41967   T    0.9135  1.0359  44.8N  87.7E  24  299  02m51s
01482 -18 -1376 Dec 18  00:30:56  32503 -41744   T    0.9116  1.0369  43.1N  51.2W  24  304  02m59s

01524 -17 -1358 Dec 29  09:15:55  32137 -41521   T    0.9054  1.0386  41.3N 171.4E  25  307  03m09s
01566 -16 -1339 Jan 08  17:55:37  31773 -41298   T    0.8952  1.0406  39.5N  35.8E  26  306  03m20s
01609 -15 -1321 Jan 20  02:27:58  31411 -41075   T    0.8791  1.0432  37.6N  97.5W  28  301  03m32s
01653 -14 -1303 Jan 30  10:53:53  31051 -40852   T    0.8578  1.0459  36.0N 131.5E  31  294  03m44s
01696 -13 -1285 Feb 10  19:09:44  30693 -40629   T    0.8283  1.0488  34.3N   3.7E  34  285  03m56s
01741 -12 -1267 Feb 21  03:18:32  30338 -40406   T    0.7933  1.0515  33.2N 121.6W  37  275  04m05s
01786 -11 -1249 Mar 04  11:17:32  29984 -40183   T    0.7504  1.0542  32.3N 116.2E  41  265  04m14s
01831 -10 -1231 Mar 14  19:09:48  29632 -39960   T    0.7022  1.0564  32.0N   3.7W  45  256  04m20s
01876 -09 -1213 Mar 26  02:51:53  29283 -39737   T    0.6458  1.0582  32.0N 120.3W  50  246  04m26s
01921 -08 -1195 Apr 05  10:28:46  28935 -39514   T    0.5854  1.0595  32.3N 124.9E  54  237  04m30s

01966 -07 -1177 Apr 16  17:57:28  28590 -39291   T    0.5187  1.0599  32.7N  12.7E  59  228  04m33s
02013 -06 -1159 Apr 27  01:22:00  28247 -39068   T    0.4491  1.0598  33.1N  97.9W  63  218  04m35s
02059 -05 -1141 May 08  08:40:41  27905 -38845   T    0.3750  1.0587  33.2N 153.4E  68  207  04m36s
02105 -04 -1123 May 18  15:57:41  27566 -38622   T    0.3003  1.0569  32.9N  45.3E  72  196  04m35s
02150 -03 -1105 May 29  23:12:07  27229 -38399   T    0.2242  1.0541  31.9N  62.0W  77  183  04m32s
02193 -02 -1087 Jun 09  06:25:42  26894 -38176   T    0.1481  1.0506  30.1N 169.3W  81  170  04m26s
02236 -01 -1069 Jun 20  13:40:07  26561 -37953   Tm   0.0736  1.0463  27.5N  82.8E  86  155  04m16s
02279  00 -1051 Jun 30  20:56:39  26231 -37730   T    0.0020  1.0414  24.0N  26.1W  90  139  03m59s
02322  01 -1033 Jul 12  04:16:54  25902 -37507   T   -0.0660  1.0358  19.9N 136.7W  86  121  03m36s
02365  02 -1015 Jul 22  11:40:52  25575 -37284   T   -0.1298  1.0298  15.2N 111.1E  83  102  03m06s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 39

                         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

02407  03 -0997 Aug 02  19:11:20  25250 -37061   T   -0.1874  1.0234  10.0N   3.3W  79   81  02m29s
02448  04 -0979 Aug 13  02:47:53  24928 -36838   H3  -0.2387  1.0168   4.5N 119.8W  76   59  01m48s
02489  05 -0961 Aug 24  10:31:09  24607 -36615   H   -0.2836  1.0100   1.2S 121.7E  74   36  01m05s
02530  06 -0943 Sep 03  18:21:30  24289 -36392   H   -0.3218  1.0033   7.0S   1.2E  71   12  00m21s
02571  07 -0925 Sep 15  02:19:48  23972 -36169   A   -0.3526  0.9968  12.8S 121.5W  69   12  00m21s
02611  08 -0907 Sep 25  10:25:04  23658 -35946   A   -0.3764  0.9905  18.4S 114.3E  68   36  00m59s
02651  09 -0889 Oct 06  18:36:18  23346 -35723   A   -0.3944  0.9846  23.9S  11.2W  67   59  01m34s
02692  10 -0871 Oct 17  02:53:28  23036 -35500   A   -0.4066  0.9793  29.1S 137.7W  66   80  02m05s
02733  11 -0853 Oct 28  11:15:54  22728 -35277   A   -0.4137  0.9744  34.0S  95.2E  65  100  02m32s
02772  12 -0835 Nov 07  19:40:57  22422 -35054   A   -0.4178  0.9703  38.4S  31.8W  65  117  02m54s

02813  13 -0817 Nov 19  04:07:45  22118 -34831   A   -0.4197  0.9667  42.2S 158.2W  65  132  03m14s
02854  14 -0799 Nov 29  12:34:02  21816 -34608   A   -0.4214  0.9638  45.4S  76.5E  65  144  03m29s
02895  15 -0781 Dec 10  20:59:29  21516 -34385   A   -0.4230  0.9615  47.7S  47.5W  65  154  03m41s
02936  16 -0763 Dec 21  05:19:37  21219 -34162   A   -0.4284  0.9598  49.1S 169.5W  64  162  03m49s
02978  17 -0744 Jan 01  13:36:07  20923 -33939   A   -0.4362  0.9586  49.6S  69.8E  64  167  03m54s
03021  18 -0726 Jan 11  21:44:28  20629 -33716   A   -0.4504  0.9579  49.1S  48.9W  63  172  03m56s
03066  19 -0708 Jan 23  05:45:46  20338 -33493   A   -0.4695  0.9575  48.0S 166.2W  62  175  03m56s
03110  20 -0690 Feb 02  13:36:01  20048 -33270   A   -0.4972  0.9573  46.4S  78.7E  60  178  03m55s
03155  21 -0672 Feb 13  21:18:09  19761 -33047   A   -0.5308  0.9573  44.5S  35.1W  58  182  03m54s
03200  22 -0654 Feb 24  04:48:41  19476 -32824   A   -0.5735  0.9572  42.7S 146.4W  55  188  03m53s

03245  23 -0636 Mar 06  12:08:54  19193 -32601   A   -0.6238  0.9571  41.2S 104.5E  51  196  03m54s
03291  24 -0618 Mar 17  19:18:06  18911 -32378   A   -0.6821  0.9567  40.5S   2.0W  47  211  03m57s
03338  25 -0600 Mar 28  02:18:16  18632 -32155   A   -0.7469  0.9559  40.6S 106.2W  41  235  04m02s
03385  26 -0582 Apr 08  09:08:42  18355 -31932   A   -0.8188  0.9546  42.3S 152.5E  35  280  04m09s
03432  27 -0564 Apr 18  15:50:40  18080 -31709   A   -0.8967  0.9523  46.2S  54.7E  26  382  04m17s
03478  28 -0546 Apr 29  22:26:02  17808 -31486   A   -0.9788  0.9481  55.2S  34.6W  11  954  04m20s
03523  29 -0528 May 10  04:56:01  17537 -31263   P   -1.0641  0.8568  61.8S 124.6W   0             
03568  30 -0510 May 21  11:21:36  17268 -31040   P   -1.1519  0.7048  62.5S 128.8E   0             
03613  31 -0492 May 31  17:45:10  16975 -30817   P   -1.2404  0.5518  63.3S  22.4E   0             
03657  32 -0474 Jun 12  00:08:10  16659 -30594   P   -1.3282  0.4005  64.1S  84.2W   0             

03701  33 -0456 Jun 22  06:32:48  16353 -30371   P   -1.4136  0.2541  65.1S 168.5E   0             
03744  34 -0438 Jul 03  12:58:27  16055 -30148   Pe  -1.4974  0.1112  66.1S  60.6E   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