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 42 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 -1577 Apr 28. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0297 Jun 05. The total duration of Saros series 42 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1577 Apr 28 09:28:38 TD
Last Eclipse = -0297 Jun 05 10:12:52 TD
Duration of Saros 42 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 42 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 42 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 21 | 29.2% |
| Total | T | 34 | 47.2% |
| 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 42 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 42 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 57 | 98.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.7% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 42: 8P 34T 3H 21A 6P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 42 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -0964 Apr 30 Duration = 05m00s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0838 Jul 15 Duration = 02m01s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0531 Jan 15 Duration = 06m47s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0766 Aug 28 Duration = 00m23s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0820 Jul 26 Duration = 01m24s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0784 Aug 16 Duration = 00m12s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1451 Jul 12 Magnitude = 0.9944
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1577 Apr 28 Magnitude = 0.0233
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 42 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 042 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 -37 -1577 Apr 28 09:28:38 35585 -44238 Pb -1.5198 0.0233 71.1S 111.6W 0 298
02 -36 -1559 May 08 16:46:41 35208 -44015 P -1.4450 0.1650 70.5S 124.0E 0 311
03 -35 -1541 May 20 00:03:34 34833 -43792 P -1.3684 0.3112 69.8S 0.4E 0 323
04 -34 -1523 May 30 07:22:51 34460 -43569 P -1.2928 0.4563 68.9S 123.2W 0 335
05 -33 -1505 Jun 10 14:43:50 34089 -43346 P -1.2178 0.6009 68.0S 113.3E 0 346
06 -32 -1487 Jun 20 22:09:54 33720 -43123 P -1.1463 0.7387 67.0S 11.0W 0 357
07 -31 -1469 Jul 02 05:39:07 33353 -42900 P -1.0770 0.8722 66.0S 135.5W 0 7
08 -30 -1451 Jul 12 13:15:57 32988 -42677 P -1.0135 0.9944 65.0S 98.5E 0 17
09 -29 -1433 Jul 23 20:58:00 32625 -42454 T -0.9538 1.0553 48.3S 16.8W 17 17 615 04m08s
10 -28 -1415 Aug 03 04:48:22 32264 -42231 T -0.9008 1.0560 40.7S 137.3W 25 21 423 04m22s
11 -27 -1397 Aug 14 12:45:34 31905 -42008 T -0.8534 1.0554 36.4S 100.3E 31 24 346 04m23s
12 -26 -1379 Aug 24 20:52:28 31548 -41785 T -0.8141 1.0540 34.4S 24.4W 35 28 302 04m14s
13 -25 -1361 Sep 05 05:06:58 31193 -41562 T -0.7810 1.0521 33.9S 151.0W 38 31 270 04m01s
14 -24 -1343 Sep 15 13:29:48 30840 -41339 T -0.7547 1.0500 34.9S 80.3E 41 35 247 03m46s
15 -23 -1325 Sep 26 22:00:17 30489 -41116 T -0.7348 1.0478 37.0S 50.3W 42 37 229 03m30s
16 -22 -1307 Oct 07 06:38:34 30140 -40893 T -0.7216 1.0456 40.0S 177.0E 44 40 215 03m16s
17 -21 -1289 Oct 18 15:22:14 29793 -40670 T -0.7127 1.0436 43.6S 43.2E 44 41 204 03m03s
18 -20 -1271 Oct 29 00:11:01 29448 -40447 T -0.7083 1.0418 47.8S 91.6W 45 42 196 02m51s
19 -19 -1253 Nov 09 09:02:45 29105 -40224 T -0.7064 1.0405 52.2S 133.5E 45 42 190 02m43s
20 -18 -1235 Nov 19 17:57:11 28764 -40001 T -0.7069 1.0396 56.7S 1.1W 45 41 187 02m36s
21 -17 -1217 Dec 01 02:50:17 28425 -39778 T -0.7066 1.0392 60.9S 133.6W 45 38 186 02m33s
22 -16 -1199 Dec 11 11:43:12 28088 -39555 T -0.7065 1.0393 64.6S 96.3E 45 32 186 02m32s
23 -15 -1181 Dec 22 20:31:34 27753 -39332 T -0.7031 1.0399 67.1S 29.5W 45 23 189 02m34s
24 -14 -1162 Jan 02 05:16:03 27420 -39109 T -0.6968 1.0409 67.9S 151.9W 46 12 192 02m40s
25 -13 -1144 Jan 13 13:52:43 27090 -38886 T -0.6845 1.0423 66.7S 87.7E 47 360 195 02m48s
26 -12 -1126 Jan 23 22:23:45 26761 -38663 T -0.6681 1.0440 63.6S 33.6W 48 351 198 02m58s
27 -11 -1108 Feb 04 06:45:48 26434 -38440 T -0.6450 1.0458 59.0S 155.9W 50 344 200 03m12s
28 -10 -1090 Feb 14 14:59:22 26109 -38217 T -0.6152 1.0477 53.4S 81.0E 52 341 201 03m27s
29 -09 -1072 Feb 25 23:03:35 25786 -37994 T -0.5781 1.0495 46.9S 41.6W 54 339 201 03m45s
30 -08 -1054 Mar 08 06:59:28 25465 -37771 T -0.5344 1.0511 39.8S 163.4W 57 339 200 04m04s
31 -07 -1036 Mar 18 14:46:50 25146 -37548 T -0.4843 1.0523 32.4S 76.2E 61 339 197 04m22s
32 -06 -1018 Mar 29 22:25:34 24830 -37325 T -0.4276 1.0531 24.7S 42.5W 65 340 194 04m38s
33 -05 -1000 Apr 09 05:57:32 24515 -37102 T -0.3655 1.0533 16.8S 159.7W 68 341 189 04m51s
34 -04 -0982 Apr 20 13:23:00 24202 -36879 T -0.2985 1.0529 8.9S 84.9E 73 343 183 04m59s
35 -03 -0964 Apr 30 20:43:01 23891 -36656 T -0.2274 1.0517 1.0S 29.0W 77 345 176 05m00s
36 -02 -0946 May 12 03:58:30 23582 -36433 T -0.1532 1.0497 6.7N 141.3W 81 347 167 04m54s
37 -01 -0928 May 22 11:10:57 23276 -36210 Tm -0.0771 1.0470 14.0N 107.8E 86 350 157 04m39s
38 00 -0910 Jun 02 18:21:52 22971 -35987 T -0.0005 1.0435 20.9N 2.0W 90 182 145 04m16s
39 01 -0892 Jun 13 01:31:21 22668 -35764 T 0.0765 1.0392 27.1N 110.6W 85 178 132 03m47s
40 02 -0874 Jun 24 08:42:23 22367 -35541 T 0.1513 1.0343 32.4N 141.5E 81 182 117 03m13s
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 03 -0856 Jul 04 15:55:03 22068 -35318 T 0.2239 1.0287 36.8N 34.3E 77 188 100 02m37s
42 04 -0838 Jul 15 23:12:04 21772 -35095 T 0.2919 1.0227 39.9N 73.1W 73 194 81 02m01s
43 05 -0820 Jul 26 06:32:15 21477 -34872 H3 0.3561 1.0161 41.8N 179.2E 69 200 59 01m24s
44 06 -0802 Aug 06 13:59:03 21184 -34649 H 0.4140 1.0094 42.3N 70.0E 65 205 36 00m48s
45 07 -0784 Aug 16 21:31:24 20893 -34426 H 0.4666 1.0024 41.8N 40.9W 62 210 9 00m12s
46 08 -0766 Aug 28 05:11:00 20605 -34203 A 0.5121 0.9955 40.3N 154.5W 59 213 18 00m23s
47 09 -0748 Sep 07 12:57:40 20318 -33980 A 0.5509 0.9886 38.1N 89.2E 56 215 48 00m58s
48 10 -0730 Sep 18 20:52:12 20033 -33757 A 0.5823 0.9821 35.5N 30.0W 54 216 77 01m34s
49 11 -0712 Sep 29 04:54:14 19751 -33534 A 0.6068 0.9758 32.6N 152.0W 52 216 107 02m11s
50 12 -0694 Oct 10 13:01:39 19459 -33311 A 0.6263 0.9701 29.7N 84.1E 51 214 135 02m48s
51 13 -0676 Oct 20 21:15:40 19155 -33088 A 0.6394 0.9648 26.8N 42.1W 50 211 161 03m27s
52 14 -0658 Nov 01 05:33:35 18855 -32865 A 0.6482 0.9602 24.1N 169.5W 49 208 185 04m05s
53 15 -0640 Nov 11 13:55:10 18560 -32642 A 0.6536 0.9563 21.7N 62.0E 49 204 206 04m43s
54 16 -0622 Nov 22 22:16:40 18270 -32419 A 0.6580 0.9530 19.8N 66.6W 49 200 224 05m19s
55 17 -0604 Dec 03 06:38:55 17984 -32196 A 0.6612 0.9504 18.5N 164.7E 48 196 240 05m51s
56 18 -0586 Dec 14 14:58:15 17703 -31973 A 0.6658 0.9484 18.0N 36.8E 48 191 253 06m18s
57 19 -0568 Dec 24 23:13:44 17426 -31750 A 0.6726 0.9470 18.4N 90.2W 48 186 263 06m37s
58 20 -0549 Jan 05 07:22:57 17153 -31527 A 0.6837 0.9460 19.8N 144.2E 47 182 273 06m47s
59 21 -0531 Jan 15 15:25:39 16884 -31304 A 0.6993 0.9455 22.3N 20.1E 45 177 281 06m47s
60 22 -0513 Jan 26 23:19:08 16620 -31081 A 0.7217 0.9452 25.9N 102.0W 44 173 291 06m38s
61 23 -0495 Feb 06 07:03:27 16360 -30858 A 0.7509 0.9451 30.7N 137.5E 41 168 305 06m22s
62 24 -0477 Feb 17 14:37:28 16103 -30635 A 0.7877 0.9451 36.7N 18.9E 38 163 326 06m00s
63 25 -0459 Feb 27 22:02:12 15851 -30412 A 0.8311 0.9449 43.8N 98.7W 33 158 362 05m35s
64 26 -0441 Mar 11 05:14:24 15602 -30189 A 0.8841 0.9444 52.5N 144.2E 27 151 436 05m08s
65 27 -0423 Mar 21 12:18:06 15357 -29966 A 0.9433 0.9430 62.8N 22.4E 19 138 640 04m39s
66 28 -0405 Apr 01 19:10:51 15115 -29743 A+ 1.0107 0.9459 71.9N 140.6W 0 82 - -
67 29 -0387 Apr 12 01:57:00 14877 -29520 P 1.0823 0.8230 71.6N 102.9E 0 69
68 30 -0369 Apr 23 08:32:44 14643 -29297 P 1.1614 0.6870 71.1N 10.6W 0 56
69 31 -0351 May 03 15:04:44 14412 -29074 P 1.2425 0.5475 70.5N 122.7W 0 43
70 32 -0333 May 14 21:29:55 14184 -28851 P 1.3284 0.3998 69.6N 127.6E 0 31
71 33 -0315 May 25 03:53:17 13959 -28628 P 1.4145 0.2521 68.7N 18.9E 0 20
72 34 -0297 Jun 05 10:12:52 13737 -28405 Pe 1.5027 0.1011 67.7N 88.3W 0 9
[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)"
