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 40 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 -1653 May 28. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0373 Jul 04. The total duration of Saros series 40 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1653 May 28 18:12:41 TD
Last Eclipse = -0373 Jul 04 14:30:41 TD
Duration of Saros 40 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 40 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 40 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 19 | 26.4% |
| Annular | A | 53 | 73.6% |
| 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 40 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 40 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 53 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 51 | 96.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 40: 11P 53A 8P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 40 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0734 Nov 30 Duration = 08m30s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0517 Apr 09 Duration = 00m59s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0499 Apr 19 Magnitude = 0.9617
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1653 May 28 Magnitude = 0.0073
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 40 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 040 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 -1653 May 28 18:12:41 37194 -45177 Pb -1.5359 0.0073 69.1S 89.5E 0 331
02 -35 -1635 Jun 08 01:14:28 36809 -44954 P -1.4667 0.1372 68.2S 29.4W 0 343
03 -34 -1617 Jun 19 08:17:47 36425 -44731 P -1.3992 0.2632 67.3S 148.2W 0 354
04 -33 -1599 Jun 29 15:23:21 36044 -44508 P -1.3341 0.3833 66.3S 92.9E 0 4
05 -32 -1581 Jul 10 22:32:03 35664 -44285 P -1.2721 0.4967 65.3S 26.3W 0 14
06 -31 -1563 Jul 21 05:46:11 35287 -44062 P -1.2151 0.5997 64.4S 146.4W 0 24
07 -30 -1545 Aug 01 13:05:55 34911 -43839 P -1.1630 0.6926 63.5S 92.4E 0 34
08 -29 -1527 Aug 11 20:32:13 34538 -43616 P -1.1170 0.7734 62.6S 30.2W 0 43
09 -28 -1509 Aug 23 04:05:42 34167 -43393 P -1.0774 0.8417 61.9S 154.2W 0 53
10 -27 -1491 Sep 02 11:46:56 33797 -43170 P -1.0446 0.8972 61.4S 80.0E 0 62
11 -26 -1473 Sep 13 19:36:05 33430 -42947 P -1.0190 0.9395 60.9S 47.7W 0 71
12 -25 -1455 Sep 24 03:31:13 33064 -42724 A- -0.9989 0.9719 60.6S 176.7W 0 80 - -
13 -24 -1437 Oct 05 11:34:09 32701 -42501 As -0.9860 0.9460 59.4S 69.6E 9 74 - 03m49s
14 -23 -1419 Oct 15 19:41:51 32339 -42278 A -0.9779 0.9420 60.4S 56.5W 11 78 1058 04m02s
15 -22 -1401 Oct 27 03:54:45 31980 -42055 A -0.9744 0.9382 62.3S 172.8E 12 85 1052 04m13s
16 -21 -1383 Nov 06 12:08:33 31623 -41832 A -0.9724 0.9348 64.7S 40.7E 13 92 1076 04m20s
17 -20 -1365 Nov 17 20:25:06 31267 -41609 A -0.9735 0.9320 67.2S 94.5W 13 102 1159 04m25s
18 -19 -1347 Nov 28 04:39:56 30914 -41386 A -0.9739 0.9298 69.8S 130.0E 12 112 1219 04m28s
19 -18 -1329 Dec 09 12:52:56 30563 -41163 A -0.9735 0.9284 72.4S 5.8W 13 124 1243 04m30s
20 -17 -1311 Dec 19 21:00:36 30213 -40940 A -0.9696 0.9277 75.6S 139.8W 13 134 1169 04m33s
21 -16 -1293 Dec 31 05:03:18 29866 -40717 A -0.9620 0.9279 79.5S 86.0E 15 146 1036 04m35s
22 -15 -1274 Jan 10 12:58:00 29520 -40494 A -0.9485 0.9288 84.2S 54.3W 18 166 873 04m39s
23 -14 -1256 Jan 21 20:44:11 29177 -40271 A -0.9287 0.9302 87.0S 102.6E 21 251 722 04m45s
24 -13 -1238 Feb 01 04:20:38 28836 -40048 A -0.9016 0.9321 81.7S 68.7W 25 305 596 04m52s
25 -12 -1220 Feb 12 11:47:38 28496 -39825 A -0.8674 0.9343 74.4S 164.1E 29 318 497 05m01s
26 -11 -1202 Feb 22 19:02:52 28159 -39602 A -0.8240 0.9367 66.4S 45.5E 34 325 417 05m12s
27 -10 -1184 Mar 05 02:08:32 27824 -39379 A -0.7730 0.9391 58.0S 68.5W 39 330 355 05m26s
28 -09 -1166 Mar 16 09:03:26 27490 -39156 A -0.7137 0.9415 49.2S 179.0W 44 333 307 05m40s
29 -08 -1148 Mar 26 15:50:19 27159 -38933 A -0.6482 0.9436 40.3S 73.2E 49 336 271 05m55s
30 -07 -1130 Apr 06 22:26:34 26830 -38710 A -0.5743 0.9456 31.2S 31.7W 55 339 242 06m10s
31 -06 -1112 Apr 17 04:57:35 26503 -38487 A -0.4964 0.9472 22.2S 134.7W 60 342 222 06m25s
32 -05 -1094 Apr 28 11:21:18 26177 -38264 A -0.4123 0.9484 13.2S 124.5E 66 344 207 06m37s
33 -04 -1076 May 08 17:42:37 25854 -38041 A -0.3266 0.9493 4.6S 24.8E 71 347 196 06m46s
34 -03 -1058 May 19 23:59:17 25533 -37818 A -0.2370 0.9496 3.8N 73.1W 76 349 190 06m52s
35 -02 -1040 May 30 06:17:20 25213 -37595 A -0.1485 0.9495 11.5N 170.5W 82 353 187 06m53s
36 -01 -1022 Jun 10 12:34:40 24896 -37372 A -0.0591 0.9489 18.7N 93.1E 87 356 188 06m50s
37 00 -1004 Jun 20 18:55:29 24581 -37149 Am 0.0276 0.9479 25.0N 3.2W 88 181 192 06m43s
38 01 -0986 Jul 02 01:19:51 24268 -36926 A 0.1115 0.9464 30.4N 99.3W 83 185 199 06m35s
39 02 -0968 Jul 12 07:51:00 23956 -36703 A 0.1901 0.9447 34.5N 163.9E 79 191 208 06m28s
40 03 -0950 Jul 23 14:29:18 23647 -36480 A 0.2631 0.9427 37.2N 66.0E 75 196 220 06m24s
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 -0932 Aug 02 21:15:20 23340 -36257 A 0.3301 0.9405 38.7N 33.4W 71 202 233 06m22s
42 05 -0914 Aug 14 04:11:20 23035 -36034 A 0.3892 0.9382 38.9N 135.4W 67 207 248 06m25s
43 06 -0896 Aug 24 11:16:27 22732 -35811 A 0.4412 0.9360 37.9N 119.8E 64 211 264 06m32s
44 07 -0878 Sep 04 18:32:13 22430 -35588 A 0.4845 0.9338 36.1N 11.5E 61 213 279 06m42s
45 08 -0860 Sep 15 01:57:24 22131 -35365 A 0.5206 0.9319 33.7N 100.1W 58 215 293 06m55s
46 09 -0842 Sep 26 09:33:26 21834 -35142 A 0.5482 0.9303 30.8N 144.8E 57 215 306 07m11s
47 10 -0824 Oct 06 17:18:03 21539 -34919 A 0.5692 0.9292 27.8N 26.8E 55 214 316 07m29s
48 11 -0806 Oct 18 01:11:04 21246 -34696 A 0.5837 0.9286 24.7N 93.7W 54 211 322 07m47s
49 12 -0788 Oct 28 09:11:01 20955 -34473 A 0.5931 0.9286 21.7N 143.6E 53 209 325 08m04s
50 13 -0770 Nov 08 17:17:02 20665 -34250 A 0.5976 0.9292 18.9N 19.3E 53 205 324 08m19s
51 14 -0752 Nov 19 01:26:10 20378 -34027 A 0.6005 0.9305 16.6N 105.9W 53 201 320 08m28s
52 15 -0734 Nov 30 09:37:18 20093 -33804 A 0.6024 0.9324 14.9N 128.5E 53 197 312 08m30s
53 16 -0716 Dec 10 17:48:27 19810 -33581 A 0.6048 0.9351 13.8N 2.9E 53 193 301 08m22s
54 17 -0698 Dec 22 01:59:06 19524 -33358 A 0.6081 0.9384 13.6N 122.6W 52 188 287 08m03s
55 18 -0679 Jan 01 10:04:53 19219 -33135 A 0.6160 0.9423 14.4N 113.0E 52 183 271 07m32s
56 19 -0661 Jan 12 18:07:10 18918 -32912 A 0.6274 0.9466 16.1N 10.7W 51 179 252 06m51s
57 20 -0643 Jan 23 02:02:02 18622 -32689 A 0.6456 0.9515 19.1N 132.7W 50 175 232 06m02s
58 21 -0625 Feb 03 09:52:04 18331 -32466 A 0.6684 0.9567 23.0N 106.1E 48 170 211 05m09s
59 22 -0607 Feb 13 17:32:25 18044 -32243 A 0.6995 0.9620 28.1N 13.3W 45 166 191 04m14s
60 23 -0589 Feb 25 01:07:26 17762 -32020 A 0.7358 0.9675 34.1N 131.9W 42 162 171 03m23s
61 24 -0571 Mar 07 08:33:18 17484 -31797 A 0.7802 0.9728 41.2N 110.7E 38 158 154 02m36s
62 25 -0553 Mar 18 15:53:22 17210 -31574 A 0.8300 0.9778 49.2N 6.8W 34 152 140 01m56s
63 26 -0535 Mar 28 23:05:20 16941 -31351 A 0.8873 0.9823 58.4N 125.8W 27 144 136 01m23s
64 27 -0517 Apr 09 06:13:34 16675 -31128 A 0.9484 0.9858 68.4N 105.3E 18 125 161 00m59s
65 28 -0499 Apr 19 13:16:39 16414 -30905 P 1.0144 0.9617 71.2N 68.7W 0 61
66 29 -0481 Apr 30 20:16:46 16157 -30682 P 1.0836 0.8385 70.6N 171.9E 0 48
67 30 -0463 May 11 03:14:59 15904 -30459 P 1.1553 0.7094 69.9N 53.6E 0 36
68 31 -0445 May 22 10:13:27 15654 -30236 P 1.2277 0.5777 69.0N 64.2W 0 24
69 32 -0427 Jun 01 17:12:55 15408 -30013 P 1.2999 0.4453 68.1N 178.3E 0 13
70 33 -0409 Jun 13 00:14:15 15166 -29790 P 1.3713 0.3136 67.1N 60.9E 0 3
71 34 -0391 Jun 23 07:19:55 14927 -29567 P 1.4400 0.1861 66.1N 57.1W 0 352
72 35 -0373 Jul 04 14:30:41 14692 -29344 Pe 1.5055 0.0643 65.2N 176.0W 0 343
[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)"
