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 46 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 -1371 Apr 01. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0091 May 08. The total duration of Saros series 46 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1371 Apr 01 12:44:43 TD
Last Eclipse = -0091 May 08 09:27:57 TD
Duration of Saros 46 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 46 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 46 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 40.3% |
| Annular | A | 43 | 59.7% |
| 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 46 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 46 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 43 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 42 | 97.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 46: 8P 43A 21P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 46 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0848 Feb 09 Duration = 07m48s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1227 Jun 26 Duration = 01m37s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1245 Jun 16 Magnitude = 0.9177
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1371 Apr 01 Magnitude = 0.0258
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 46 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 046 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 -1371 Apr 01 12:44:43 31398 -41691 Pb -1.5280 0.0258 71.5S 146.9W 0 268
02 -35 -1353 Apr 12 19:56:23 31044 -41468 P -1.4667 0.1390 71.4S 89.8E 0 282
03 -34 -1335 Apr 23 03:03:14 30691 -41245 P -1.4024 0.2575 71.2S 32.1W 0 295
04 -33 -1317 May 04 10:01:54 30341 -41022 P -1.3322 0.3865 70.7S 151.6W 0 308
05 -32 -1299 May 14 16:58:50 29993 -40799 P -1.2611 0.5164 70.0S 89.8E 0 320
06 -31 -1281 May 25 23:51:04 29647 -40576 P -1.1866 0.6517 69.2S 27.1W 0 332
07 -30 -1263 Jun 05 06:43:23 29303 -40353 P -1.1127 0.7847 68.3S 143.5W 0 343
08 -29 -1245 Jun 16 13:34:06 28961 -40130 P -1.0381 0.9177 67.3S 101.1E 0 354
09 -28 -1227 Jun 26 20:27:49 28621 -39907 A -0.9665 0.9820 52.1S 12.7W 14 3 258 01m37s
10 -27 -1209 Jul 08 03:23:31 28283 -39684 A -0.8972 0.9796 39.9S 121.9W 26 8 165 02m03s
11 -26 -1191 Jul 18 10:23:28 27947 -39461 A -0.8318 0.9758 32.3S 129.1E 33 12 155 02m35s
12 -25 -1173 Jul 29 17:28:25 27613 -39238 A -0.7713 0.9712 27.2S 19.7E 39 16 160 03m10s
13 -24 -1155 Aug 09 00:40:11 27281 -39015 A -0.7169 0.9663 24.0S 91.0W 44 20 172 03m44s
14 -23 -1137 Aug 20 07:58:52 26951 -38792 A -0.6690 0.9610 22.4S 156.9E 48 24 186 04m17s
15 -22 -1119 Aug 30 15:24:47 26623 -38569 A -0.6278 0.9557 22.1S 43.1E 51 27 203 04m47s
16 -21 -1101 Sep 10 22:58:38 26297 -38346 A -0.5936 0.9504 23.1S 72.5W 53 30 221 05m15s
17 -20 -1083 Sep 21 06:40:11 25973 -38123 A -0.5664 0.9454 25.2S 169.9E 55 32 239 05m40s
18 -19 -1065 Oct 02 14:28:21 25651 -37900 A -0.5454 0.9407 28.0S 50.8E 57 34 257 06m02s
19 -18 -1047 Oct 12 22:23:36 25331 -37677 A -0.5307 0.9364 31.6S 70.0W 58 35 274 06m23s
20 -17 -1029 Oct 24 06:24:09 25013 -37454 A -0.5211 0.9327 35.5S 168.2E 58 35 291 06m41s
21 -16 -1011 Nov 03 14:29:28 24697 -37231 A -0.5157 0.9295 39.7S 45.6E 59 34 305 06m56s
22 -15 -0993 Nov 14 22:36:00 24383 -37008 A -0.5116 0.9270 43.8S 76.4W 59 32 317 07m09s
23 -14 -0975 Nov 25 06:44:22 24071 -36785 A -0.5096 0.9252 47.5S 162.0E 59 28 326 07m19s
24 -13 -0957 Dec 06 14:51:13 23761 -36562 A -0.5070 0.9240 50.6S 42.2E 59 24 332 07m27s
25 -12 -0939 Dec 16 22:55:10 23453 -36339 A -0.5023 0.9237 52.7S 75.7W 60 17 333 07m33s
26 -11 -0921 Dec 28 06:53:44 23147 -36116 A -0.4937 0.9238 53.3S 168.7E 60 10 331 07m38s
27 -10 -0902 Jan 07 14:46:26 22843 -35893 A -0.4807 0.9247 52.4S 54.7E 61 3 324 07m41s
28 -09 -0884 Jan 18 22:31:37 22541 -35670 A -0.4619 0.9261 50.0S 58.3W 62 356 314 07m44s
29 -08 -0866 Jan 29 06:07:11 22241 -35447 A -0.4358 0.9280 46.0S 170.3W 64 350 301 07m46s
30 -07 -0848 Feb 09 13:33:40 21943 -35224 A -0.4026 0.9301 40.9S 78.4E 66 347 286 07m48s
31 -06 -0830 Feb 19 20:49:59 21647 -35001 A -0.3612 0.9327 34.8S 31.7W 69 344 269 07m48s
32 -05 -0812 Mar 02 03:56:29 21353 -34778 A -0.3122 0.9353 27.9S 140.5W 72 343 253 07m46s
33 -04 -0794 Mar 13 10:52:47 21061 -34555 A -0.2548 0.9381 20.4S 112.6E 75 342 237 07m40s
34 -03 -0776 Mar 23 17:40:54 20771 -34332 A -0.1907 0.9407 12.6S 7.2E 79 342 223 07m32s
35 -02 -0758 Apr 04 00:20:54 20484 -34109 A -0.1200 0.9432 4.4S 96.5W 83 342 211 07m20s
36 -01 -0740 Apr 14 06:52:52 20198 -33886 A -0.0426 0.9455 4.1N 161.9E 88 343 201 07m04s
37 00 -0722 Apr 25 13:19:51 19914 -33663 Am 0.0391 0.9475 12.6N 61.6E 88 165 193 06m45s
38 01 -0704 May 05 19:42:17 19632 -33440 A 0.1249 0.9491 21.1N 37.1W 83 166 188 06m23s
39 02 -0686 May 17 02:03:10 19330 -33217 A 0.2121 0.9503 29.4N 134.9W 78 168 187 05m59s
40 03 -0668 May 27 08:21:30 19028 -32994 A 0.3016 0.9510 37.5N 128.9E 72 171 189 05m34s
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 -0650 Jun 07 14:42:20 18730 -32771 A 0.3893 0.9512 45.0N 33.5E 67 175 194 05m12s
42 05 -0632 Jun 17 21:04:47 18437 -32548 A 0.4762 0.9509 51.9N 60.4W 61 181 205 04m53s
43 06 -0614 Jun 29 03:31:25 18149 -32325 A 0.5597 0.9503 57.8N 152.7W 56 189 221 04m37s
44 07 -0596 Jul 09 10:03:01 17865 -32102 A 0.6394 0.9490 62.4N 116.9E 50 200 244 04m26s
45 08 -0578 Jul 20 16:42:17 17585 -31879 A 0.7131 0.9476 65.2N 27.5E 44 212 275 04m19s
46 09 -0560 Jul 30 23:29:54 17310 -31656 A 0.7805 0.9456 66.1N 62.7W 38 226 320 04m16s
47 10 -0542 Aug 11 06:25:39 17039 -31433 A 0.8418 0.9435 65.6N 155.7W 32 238 384 04m17s
48 11 -0524 Aug 21 13:32:20 16773 -31210 A 0.8945 0.9412 64.2N 106.4E 26 248 484 04m20s
49 12 -0506 Sep 01 20:49:02 16510 -30987 A 0.9396 0.9387 62.7N 4.6E 20 255 664 04m25s
50 13 -0488 Sep 12 04:17:06 16251 -30764 A 0.9761 0.9359 61.6N 99.7W 12 262 1132 04m30s
51 14 -0470 Sep 23 11:54:07 15996 -30541 A+ 1.0061 0.9514 60.6N 160.9E 0 275 - -
52 15 -0452 Oct 03 19:42:34 15746 -30318 P 1.0275 0.9146 60.7N 34.1E 0 266
53 16 -0434 Oct 15 03:38:57 15498 -30095 P 1.0434 0.8875 60.8N 94.6W 0 257
54 17 -0416 Oct 25 11:43:57 15255 -29872 P 1.0527 0.8718 61.2N 134.4E 0 247
55 18 -0398 Nov 05 19:54:43 15015 -29649 P 1.0582 0.8627 61.7N 1.9E 0 238
56 19 -0380 Nov 16 04:11:34 14778 -29426 P 1.0592 0.8616 62.3N 132.2W 0 229
57 20 -0362 Nov 27 12:30:33 14545 -29203 P 1.0592 0.8622 63.1N 92.9E 0 219
58 21 -0344 Dec 07 20:51:06 14315 -28980 P 1.0588 0.8640 64.0N 42.7W 0 209
59 22 -0326 Dec 19 05:10:48 14088 -28757 P 1.0595 0.8640 65.0N 178.4W 0 199
60 23 -0308 Dec 29 13:29:23 13865 -28534 P 1.0614 0.8622 66.1N 45.8E 0 188
61 24 -0289 Jan 09 21:42:33 13644 -28311 P 1.0685 0.8515 67.2N 89.1W 0 177
62 25 -0271 Jan 20 05:51:47 13427 -28088 P 1.0794 0.8342 68.2N 136.5E 0 166
63 26 -0253 Jan 31 13:53:47 13212 -27865 P 1.0968 0.8054 69.2N 3.2E 0 154
64 27 -0235 Feb 10 21:50:55 13000 -27642 P 1.1190 0.7678 70.1N 129.4W 0 141
65 28 -0217 Feb 22 05:38:32 12791 -27419 P 1.1494 0.7153 70.8N 99.8E 0 128
66 29 -0199 Mar 04 13:21:05 12584 -27196 P 1.1848 0.6531 71.4N 30.3W 0 115
67 30 -0181 Mar 15 20:54:50 12380 -26973 P 1.2282 0.5757 71.7N 158.5W 0 101
68 31 -0163 Mar 26 04:23:52 12178 -26750 P 1.2760 0.4891 71.7N 74.4E 0 88
69 32 -0145 Apr 06 11:45:06 11979 -26527 P 1.3309 0.3886 71.6N 50.7W 0 74
70 33 -0127 Apr 16 19:03:40 11782 -26304 P 1.3888 0.2815 71.2N 174.8W 0 61
71 34 -0109 Apr 28 02:16:52 11587 -26081 P 1.4516 0.1641 70.6N 62.9E 0 48
72 35 -0091 May 08 09:27:57 11394 -25858 Pe 1.5167 0.0414 69.8N 58.3W 0 36
[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)"
