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 48 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 -1331 Feb 08. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0015 Apr 09. The total duration of Saros series 48 is 1316.20 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1331 Feb 08 11:09:17 TD
Last Eclipse = -0015 Apr 09 04:25:09 TD
Duration of Saros 48 = 1316.20 Years
Saros 48 is composed of 74 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 48 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 74 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 39.2% |
| Annular | A | 6 | 8.1% |
| Total | T | 37 | 50.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.7% |
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 48 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 48 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 45 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 95.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 2 | 4.4% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 74 eclipses in Saros 48: 9P 37T 2H 6A 20P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 48 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -1079 Jul 09 Duration = 06m36s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0520 Jun 10 Duration = 01m26s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0376 Sep 04 Duration = 02m34s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0466 Jul 13 Duration = 00m05s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0502 Jun 21 Duration = 00m56s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0484 Jul 01 Duration = 00m25s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0358 Sep 16 Magnitude = 0.9131
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1331 Feb 08 Magnitude = 0.0163
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 48 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 048 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 -39 -1331 Feb 08 11:09:17 30618 -41198 Pb -1.5290 0.0163 69.1S 63.5W 0 207
02 -38 -1313 Feb 19 19:12:20 30268 -40975 P -1.4916 0.0838 70.0S 161.8E 0 219
03 -37 -1295 Mar 02 03:07:17 29920 -40752 P -1.4471 0.1655 70.7S 28.7E 0 232
04 -36 -1277 Mar 13 10:55:17 29575 -40529 P -1.3965 0.2597 71.2S 103.2W 0 245
05 -35 -1259 Mar 23 18:36:27 29231 -40306 P -1.3398 0.3669 71.6S 126.2E 0 259
06 -34 -1241 Apr 04 02:12:31 28889 -40083 P -1.2781 0.4845 71.7S 3.2W 0 272
07 -33 -1223 Apr 14 09:43:26 28550 -39860 P -1.2117 0.6122 71.5S 131.3W 0 286
08 -32 -1205 Apr 25 17:10:35 28212 -39637 P -1.1418 0.7476 71.2S 101.8E 0 299
09 -31 -1187 May 06 00:35:19 27876 -39414 P -1.0692 0.8888 70.6S 24.1W 0 312
10 -30 -1169 May 17 07:59:08 27543 -39191 Ts -0.9953 1.0601 67.1S 154.5W 3 329 - 03m46s
11 -29 -1151 May 27 15:21:38 27211 -38968 T -0.9200 1.0676 47.4S 72.8E 23 347 567 05m04s
12 -28 -1133 Jun 07 22:45:58 26881 -38745 T -0.8458 1.0708 36.5S 46.3W 32 354 433 05m48s
13 -27 -1115 Jun 18 06:11:48 26554 -38522 T -0.7726 1.0725 27.8S 163.4W 39 359 371 06m18s
14 -26 -1097 Jun 29 13:42:32 26228 -38299 T -0.7034 1.0729 21.0S 79.6E 45 3 333 06m33s
15 -25 -1079 Jul 09 21:15:56 25905 -38076 T -0.6363 1.0723 15.6S 37.1W 50 8 304 06m36s
16 -24 -1061 Jul 21 04:56:56 25583 -37853 T -0.5753 1.0709 11.6S 155.1W 55 12 281 06m28s
17 -23 -1043 Jul 31 12:43:14 25263 -37630 T -0.5187 1.0687 9.0S 86.1E 59 16 260 06m11s
18 -22 -1025 Aug 11 20:38:00 24946 -37407 T -0.4692 1.0660 7.7S 34.5W 62 20 242 05m49s
19 -21 -1007 Aug 22 04:39:03 24630 -37184 T -0.4251 1.0627 7.6S 156.5W 65 23 225 05m25s
20 -20 -0989 Sep 02 12:49:37 24317 -36961 T -0.3889 1.0592 8.7S 79.2E 67 26 210 05m00s
21 -19 -0971 Sep 12 21:07:23 24005 -36738 T -0.3588 1.0554 10.8S 46.9W 69 28 195 04m36s
22 -18 -0953 Sep 24 05:32:57 23696 -36515 T -0.3353 1.0518 13.6S 175.0W 70 30 181 04m14s
23 -17 -0935 Oct 04 14:05:36 23388 -36292 T -0.3180 1.0481 17.1S 55.1E 71 31 168 03m54s
24 -16 -0917 Oct 15 22:45:19 23083 -36069 T -0.3072 1.0447 21.0S 76.5W 72 31 156 03m36s
25 -15 -0899 Oct 26 07:30:00 22779 -35846 T -0.3004 1.0416 25.1S 150.9E 72 30 145 03m21s
26 -14 -0881 Nov 06 16:17:53 22478 -35623 T -0.2968 1.0389 29.2S 18.0E 73 28 136 03m08s
27 -13 -0863 Nov 17 01:08:32 22178 -35400 T -0.2959 1.0367 33.1S 115.1W 73 25 129 02m58s
28 -12 -0845 Nov 28 10:00:06 21881 -35177 T -0.2963 1.0350 36.4S 112.3E 73 22 123 02m51s
29 -11 -0827 Dec 08 18:50:11 21585 -34954 T -0.2960 1.0338 39.0S 19.1W 73 17 119 02m47s
30 -10 -0809 Dec 20 03:37:52 21292 -34731 T -0.2942 1.0331 40.5S 149.3W 73 12 117 02m45s
31 -09 -0791 Dec 30 12:21:11 21000 -34508 T -0.2892 1.0328 40.7S 81.9E 73 6 116 02m46s
32 -08 -0772 Jan 10 20:59:12 20711 -34285 T -0.2803 1.0329 39.6S 45.7W 74 0 116 02m49s
33 -07 -0754 Jan 21 05:29:27 20423 -34062 T -0.2655 1.0333 37.2S 172.0W 74 355 116 02m54s
34 -06 -0736 Feb 01 13:52:44 20138 -33839 T -0.2453 1.0339 33.5S 62.7E 76 350 118 03m01s
35 -05 -0718 Feb 11 22:07:07 19854 -33616 T -0.2186 1.0345 28.8S 61.4W 77 347 119 03m08s
36 -04 -0700 Feb 23 06:12:09 19573 -33393 T -0.1843 1.0352 23.2S 175.9E 79 345 121 03m16s
37 -03 -0682 Mar 05 14:07:49 19266 -33170 T -0.1429 1.0356 16.8S 54.7E 82 343 121 03m23s
38 -02 -0664 Mar 15 21:54:36 18965 -32947 Tm -0.0946 1.0359 10.0S 64.9W 85 342 121 03m28s
39 -01 -0646 Mar 27 05:32:40 18668 -32724 T -0.0399 1.0356 2.6S 177.3E 88 342 120 03m29s
40 00 -0628 Apr 06 13:01:12 18376 -32501 T 0.0221 1.0349 5.0N 61.8E 89 163 118 03m26s
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 01 -0610 Apr 17 20:23:07 18089 -32278 T 0.0887 1.0336 12.9N 52.1W 85 163 114 03m18s
42 02 -0592 Apr 28 03:37:40 17806 -32055 T 0.1609 1.0317 20.8N 163.8W 81 164 109 03m05s
43 03 -0574 May 09 10:47:35 17527 -31832 T 0.2358 1.0291 28.7N 86.0E 76 166 101 02m46s
44 04 -0556 May 19 17:51:44 17253 -31609 T 0.3145 1.0258 36.6N 21.9W 71 169 92 02m22s
45 05 -0538 May 31 00:54:35 16983 -31386 T 0.3934 1.0218 44.0N 128.3W 67 172 81 01m55s
46 06 -0520 Jun 10 07:54:41 16717 -31163 T 0.4737 1.0170 51.0N 127.6E 61 177 66 01m26s
47 07 -0502 Jun 21 14:54:51 16455 -30940 H 0.5529 1.0116 57.3N 26.0E 56 184 48 00m56s
48 08 -0484 Jul 01 21:55:42 16197 -30717 H 0.6304 1.0055 62.5N 72.6W 51 194 25 00m25s
49 09 -0466 Jul 13 04:59:52 15943 -30494 A 0.7042 0.9989 66.2N 168.2W 45 207 5 00m05s
50 10 -0448 Jul 23 12:07:49 15693 -30271 A 0.7738 0.9918 68.0N 98.1E 39 222 45 00m35s
51 11 -0430 Aug 03 19:20:15 15447 -30048 A 0.8388 0.9843 68.0N 3.9E 33 238 102 01m04s
52 12 -0412 Aug 14 02:39:14 15204 -29825 A 0.8974 0.9765 66.7N 93.3W 26 251 190 01m34s
53 13 -0394 Aug 25 10:04:55 14965 -29602 A 0.9496 0.9682 64.9N 167.3E 18 263 369 02m04s
54 14 -0376 Sep 04 17:37:31 14729 -29379 An 0.9951 0.9584 62.2N 75.8E 4 282 - 02m34s
55 15 -0358 Sep 16 01:17:33 14496 -29156 P 1.0334 0.9131 60.7N 41.1W 0 280
56 16 -0340 Sep 26 09:05:02 14267 -28933 P 1.0650 0.8560 60.6N 167.5W 0 271
57 17 -0322 Oct 07 16:59:55 14041 -28710 P 1.0895 0.8118 60.7N 64.2E 0 262
58 18 -0304 Oct 18 00:59:44 13818 -28487 P 1.1092 0.7764 60.9N 65.3W 0 253
59 19 -0286 Oct 29 09:06:06 13598 -28264 P 1.1226 0.7523 61.3N 163.5E 0 244
60 20 -0268 Nov 08 17:15:46 13381 -28041 P 1.1322 0.7349 61.9N 31.4E 0 234
61 21 -0250 Nov 20 01:28:50 13167 -27818 P 1.1388 0.7230 62.6N 101.8W 0 225
62 22 -0232 Nov 30 09:40:44 12956 -27595 P 1.1455 0.7110 63.4N 125.1E 0 215
63 23 -0214 Dec 11 17:53:27 12747 -27372 P 1.1509 0.7015 64.4N 8.5W 0 205
64 24 -0196 Dec 22 02:02:20 12541 -27149 P 1.1585 0.6883 65.4N 141.5W 0 195
65 25 -0177 Jan 02 10:07:17 12337 -26926 P 1.1687 0.6709 66.5N 86.1E 0 184
66 26 -0159 Jan 12 18:05:07 12136 -26703 P 1.1839 0.6453 67.6N 45.1W 0 173
67 27 -0141 Jan 24 01:56:29 11937 -26480 P 1.2040 0.6116 68.7N 175.2W 0 161
68 28 -0123 Feb 03 09:38:33 11740 -26257 P 1.2307 0.5665 69.7N 56.3E 0 149
69 29 -0105 Feb 14 17:11:14 11546 -26034 P 1.2643 0.5099 70.5N 70.4W 0 137
70 30 -0087 Feb 25 00:33:44 11353 -25811 P 1.3053 0.4406 71.2N 164.9E 0 123
71 31 -0069 Mar 08 07:46:43 11163 -25588 P 1.3531 0.3595 71.7N 42.1E 0 110
72 32 -0051 Mar 18 14:48:25 10974 -25365 P 1.4092 0.2640 71.9N 78.1W 0 96
73 33 -0033 Mar 29 21:41:30 10787 -25142 P 1.4714 0.1577 71.8N 163.7E 0 82
74 34 -0015 Apr 09 04:25:09 10602 -24919 Pe 1.5403 0.0397 71.6N 48.2E 0 69
[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)"
