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 44 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 -1447 Apr 30. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0167 Jun 07. The total duration of Saros series 44 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1447 Apr 30 16:14:13 TD
Last Eclipse = -0167 Jun 07 18:25:15 TD
Duration of Saros 44 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 44 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 44 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 21 | 29.2% |
| Total | T | 35 | 48.6% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.8% |
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 44 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 44 | ||
| 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 44: 6P 21A 2H 35T 8P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 44 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -0780 Jun 04 Duration = 05m06s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0924 Mar 09 Duration = 01m45s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1303 Jul 25 Duration = 05m09s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0978 Feb 05 Duration = 00m09s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0942 Feb 27 Duration = 01m05s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0960 Feb 17 Duration = 00m27s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0293 Mar 24 Magnitude = 0.9751
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0167 Jun 07 Magnitude = 0.0459
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 44 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 044 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 -34 -1447 Apr 30 16:14:13 32911 -42630 Pb -1.5170 0.0757 71.0S 131.0E 0 303
02 -33 -1429 May 11 22:34:56 32548 -42407 P -1.4306 0.2237 70.4S 21.2E 0 316
03 -32 -1411 May 22 04:55:43 32188 -42184 P -1.3429 0.3744 69.6S 88.1W 0 328
04 -31 -1393 Jun 02 11:18:15 31829 -41961 P -1.2553 0.5257 68.7S 162.7E 0 339
05 -30 -1375 Jun 12 17:43:49 31473 -41738 P -1.1691 0.6748 67.7S 53.3E 0 350
06 -29 -1357 Jun 24 00:13:59 31118 -41515 P -1.0855 0.8198 66.7S 56.7W 0 1
07 -28 -1339 Jul 04 06:50:46 30766 -41292 A- -1.0061 0.9574 65.7S 167.9W 0 11 - -
08 -27 -1321 Jul 15 13:35:28 30415 -41069 A -0.9318 0.9509 44.6S 89.7E 21 12 498 05m04s
09 -26 -1303 Jul 25 20:28:00 30067 -40846 A -0.8627 0.9530 35.8S 16.6W 30 16 337 05m09s
10 -25 -1285 Aug 06 03:31:11 29720 -40623 A -0.8011 0.9540 30.5S 125.3W 37 20 276 05m06s
11 -24 -1267 Aug 16 10:44:25 29376 -40400 A -0.7469 0.9546 27.4S 123.8E 41 23 244 04m59s
12 -23 -1249 Aug 27 18:09:35 29033 -40177 A -0.7012 0.9549 26.1S 10.1E 45 27 225 04m50s
13 -22 -1231 Sep 07 01:43:58 28693 -39954 A -0.6621 0.9550 26.2S 105.8W 48 30 213 04m40s
14 -21 -1213 Sep 18 09:30:30 28354 -39731 A -0.6319 0.9552 27.7S 135.2E 51 32 206 04m29s
15 -20 -1195 Sep 28 17:25:34 28018 -39508 A -0.6079 0.9555 30.0S 14.2E 52 34 200 04m18s
16 -19 -1177 Oct 10 01:30:33 27683 -39285 A -0.5913 0.9562 33.3S 109.3W 54 36 194 04m07s
17 -18 -1159 Oct 20 09:42:04 27351 -39062 A -0.5793 0.9571 37.0S 125.9E 54 36 188 03m55s
18 -17 -1141 Oct 31 18:01:02 27020 -38839 A -0.5727 0.9586 41.2S 0.5W 55 36 181 03m41s
19 -16 -1123 Nov 11 02:23:36 26692 -38616 A -0.5683 0.9606 45.4S 127.0W 55 35 172 03m26s
20 -15 -1105 Nov 22 10:49:20 26365 -38393 A -0.5659 0.9632 49.4S 106.7E 55 32 161 03m09s
21 -14 -1087 Dec 02 19:15:52 26041 -38170 A -0.5634 0.9664 52.9S 18.5W 55 28 146 02m50s
22 -13 -1069 Dec 14 03:42:16 25718 -37947 A -0.5605 0.9703 55.6S 142.0W 56 22 129 02m29s
23 -12 -1051 Dec 24 12:05:18 25398 -37724 A -0.5537 0.9748 57.0S 96.7E 56 14 108 02m06s
24 -11 -1032 Jan 04 20:24:42 25080 -37501 A -0.5432 0.9799 56.8S 23.1W 57 6 85 01m41s
25 -10 -1014 Jan 15 04:38:44 24763 -37278 A -0.5275 0.9856 54.9S 142.1W 58 358 60 01m13s
26 -09 -0996 Jan 26 12:47:41 24449 -37055 A -0.5068 0.9917 51.6S 98.7E 59 352 34 00m43s
27 -08 -0978 Feb 05 20:48:17 24136 -36832 A -0.4783 0.9982 46.9S 20.2W 61 347 7 00m09s
28 -07 -0960 Feb 17 04:42:54 23826 -36609 H -0.4440 1.0050 41.2S 139.3W 63 344 19 00m27s
29 -06 -0942 Feb 27 12:29:02 23518 -36386 H -0.4016 1.0118 34.7S 102.5E 66 342 44 01m05s
30 -05 -0924 Mar 09 20:09:35 23211 -36163 T -0.3537 1.0187 27.7S 15.3W 69 341 68 01m45s
31 -04 -0906 Mar 21 03:41:44 22907 -35940 T -0.2981 1.0254 20.2S 131.6W 73 341 90 02m26s
32 -03 -0888 Mar 31 11:09:47 22604 -35717 T -0.2381 1.0318 12.5S 112.8E 76 342 110 03m06s
33 -02 -0870 Apr 11 18:31:51 22304 -35494 T -0.1722 1.0377 4.6S 1.5W 80 342 128 03m42s
34 -01 -0852 Apr 22 01:50:28 22006 -35271 T -0.1025 1.0432 3.3N 114.7W 84 344 145 04m14s
35 00 -0834 May 03 09:05:39 21709 -35048 T -0.0291 1.0480 11.2N 133.1E 88 345 159 04m38s
36 01 -0816 May 13 16:20:00 21415 -34825 T 0.0458 1.0521 18.8N 21.7E 87 168 173 04m56s
37 02 -0798 May 24 23:34:25 21123 -34602 Tm 0.1215 1.0554 26.1N 89.0W 83 171 184 05m04s
38 03 -0780 Jun 04 06:49:16 20832 -34379 T 0.1975 1.0580 32.8N 161.1E 78 174 195 05m06s
39 04 -0762 Jun 15 14:07:32 20544 -34156 T 0.2715 1.0596 38.9N 51.5E 74 179 204 05m00s
40 05 -0744 Jun 25 21:29:20 20258 -33933 T 0.3434 1.0605 44.0N 57.5W 70 184 212 04m51s
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 06 -0726 Jul 07 04:56:39 19974 -33710 T 0.4113 1.0607 47.9N 166.6W 65 191 219 04m38s
42 07 -0708 Jul 17 12:28:51 19691 -33487 T 0.4756 1.0601 50.5N 84.3E 61 198 225 04m25s
43 08 -0690 Jul 28 20:09:10 19395 -33264 T 0.5338 1.0589 51.6N 26.6W 57 206 229 04m11s
44 09 -0672 Aug 08 03:56:31 19091 -33041 T 0.5867 1.0572 51.4N 139.5W 54 212 232 03m59s
45 10 -0654 Aug 19 11:52:06 18793 -32818 T 0.6332 1.0551 50.3N 104.4E 50 217 233 03m47s
46 11 -0636 Aug 29 19:55:51 18499 -32595 T 0.6733 1.0528 48.3N 15.0W 47 220 234 03m36s
47 12 -0618 Sep 10 04:09:08 18209 -32372 T 0.7056 1.0503 45.9N 138.2W 45 222 232 03m28s
48 13 -0600 Sep 20 12:30:31 17924 -32149 T 0.7318 1.0478 43.3N 95.3E 43 222 229 03m21s
49 14 -0582 Oct 01 20:59:24 17644 -31926 T 0.7520 1.0455 40.6N 34.1W 41 220 225 03m16s
50 15 -0564 Oct 12 05:35:35 17368 -31703 T 0.7664 1.0435 37.9N 166.0W 40 217 221 03m13s
51 16 -0546 Oct 23 14:18:31 17096 -31480 T 0.7755 1.0418 35.3N 59.8E 39 214 216 03m11s
52 17 -0528 Nov 02 23:05:46 16828 -31257 T 0.7813 1.0406 33.0N 75.9W 38 210 213 03m13s
53 18 -0510 Nov 14 07:57:17 16565 -31034 T 0.7837 1.0397 31.0N 147.3E 38 205 211 03m16s
54 19 -0492 Nov 24 16:50:18 16305 -30811 T 0.7851 1.0395 29.4N 10.0E 38 200 211 03m21s
55 20 -0474 Dec 06 01:44:51 16050 -30588 T 0.7855 1.0397 28.4N 127.7W 38 195 213 03m27s
56 21 -0456 Dec 16 10:36:32 15798 -30365 T 0.7883 1.0403 28.2N 95.4E 38 190 219 03m34s
57 22 -0438 Dec 27 19:27:14 15550 -30142 T 0.7922 1.0413 28.7N 41.2W 37 185 227 03m40s
58 23 -0419 Jan 07 04:12:19 15306 -29919 T 0.8004 1.0426 30.2N 176.6W 37 180 238 03m46s
59 24 -0401 Jan 18 12:52:53 15065 -29696 T 0.8128 1.0442 32.8N 48.9E 35 175 253 03m49s
60 25 -0383 Jan 28 21:25:04 14828 -29473 T 0.8320 1.0456 36.6N 83.9W 33 170 274 03m49s
61 26 -0365 Feb 09 05:51:31 14594 -29250 T 0.8559 1.0471 41.5N 144.0E 31 165 302 03m45s
62 27 -0347 Feb 19 14:08:39 14363 -29027 T 0.8873 1.0481 47.7N 12.8E 27 159 346 03m36s
63 28 -0329 Mar 02 22:17:43 14136 -28804 T 0.9252 1.0486 55.3N 119.1W 22 151 427 03m22s
64 29 -0311 Mar 13 06:17:39 13912 -28581 T 0.9704 1.0476 64.9N 102.7E 13 135 680 02m58s
65 30 -0293 Mar 24 14:10:04 13691 -28358 P 1.0217 0.9751 71.8N 61.9W 0 92
66 31 -0275 Apr 03 21:54:21 13472 -28135 P 1.0792 0.8654 71.7N 167.1E 0 78
67 32 -0257 Apr 15 05:31:25 13257 -27912 P 1.1422 0.7449 71.4N 38.1E 0 65
68 33 -0239 Apr 25 13:02:25 13045 -27689 P 1.2099 0.6153 70.8N 89.0W 0 52
69 34 -0221 May 06 20:28:38 12835 -27466 P 1.2811 0.4790 70.1N 145.7E 0 39
70 35 -0203 May 17 03:49:42 12627 -27243 P 1.3559 0.3360 69.3N 22.2E 0 27
71 36 -0185 May 28 11:08:37 12423 -27020 P 1.4317 0.1917 68.4N 100.1W 0 16
72 37 -0167 Jun 07 18:25:15 12221 -26797 Pe 1.5089 0.0459 67.4N 138.6E 0 5
[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)"
