Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 48

Introduction

The periodicity and recurrence of solar 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. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.


Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 48

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 - 74100.0%
PartialP 29 39.2%
AnnularA 6 8.1%
TotalT 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 45100.0%
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 central eclipses of Saros 48 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 48
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -0376 Sep 0402m34s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -0466 Jul 1300m05s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -1079 Jul 0906m36s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -0520 Jun 1001m26s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0502 Jun 2100m56s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0484 Jul 0100m25s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -0358 Sep 16 - 0.91305
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -1331 Feb 08 - 0.01628

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 48

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 48. A description or explanation of each parameter listed in the catalog can be found in Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.

Several fields in the catalog link to web pages or files containing additional information for each eclipse (for the years -1999 through +3000). The following gives a brief explanation of each link.


For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Animation of Saros 48.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 48

                         TD of
 Seq. Rel.   Calendar   Greatest          Luna  Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Path  Central
 Num. Num.     Date      Eclipse     ΔT   Num.  Type  Gamma    Mag.    Lat   Long  Alt Width   Dur.
                                      s                                 °      °     °    km

01586 -39 -1331 Feb 08  11:09:17  31610 -41198   Pb  -1.5290  0.0163  69.1S  59.4W   0             
01629 -38 -1313 Feb 19  19:12:20  31249 -40975   P   -1.4916  0.0838  70.0S 165.9E   0             
01673 -37 -1295 Mar 02  03:07:17  30890 -40752   P   -1.4471  0.1655  70.7S  32.7E   0             
01717 -36 -1277 Mar 13  10:55:17  30534 -40529   P   -1.3965  0.2597  71.2S  99.2W   0             
01761 -35 -1259 Mar 23  18:36:27  30179 -40306   P   -1.3398  0.3669  71.6S 130.2E   0             
01807 -34 -1241 Apr 04  02:12:31  29826 -40083   P   -1.2781  0.4845  71.7S   0.7E   0             
01852 -33 -1223 Apr 14  09:43:26  29475 -39860   P   -1.2117  0.6122  71.5S 127.5W   0             
01897 -32 -1205 Apr 25  17:10:35  29127 -39637   P   -1.1418  0.7476  71.2S 105.6E   0             
01942 -31 -1187 May 06  00:35:19  28780 -39414   P   -1.0692  0.8888  70.6S  20.4W   0             
01988 -30 -1169 May 17  07:59:08  28436 -39191   Ts  -0.9953  1.0601  67.1S 150.8W   3   -   03m46s

02034 -29 -1151 May 27  15:21:38  28094 -38968   T   -0.9200  1.0676  47.4S  76.5E  23  567  05m04s
02080 -28 -1133 Jun 07  22:45:58  27753 -38745   T   -0.8458  1.0708  36.5S  42.7W  32  433  05m48s
02125 -27 -1115 Jun 18  06:11:48  27415 -38522   T   -0.7726  1.0725  27.8S 159.8W  39  371  06m18s
02169 -26 -1097 Jun 29  13:42:32  27079 -38299   T   -0.7034  1.0729  21.0S  83.1E  45  333  06m33s
02212 -25 -1079 Jul 09  21:15:56  26745 -38076   T   -0.6363  1.0723  15.6S  33.6W  50  304  06m36s
02255 -24 -1061 Jul 21  04:56:56  26413 -37853   T   -0.5753  1.0709  11.6S 151.7W  55  281  06m28s
02298 -23 -1043 Jul 31  12:43:14  26083 -37630   T   -0.5187  1.0687   9.0S  89.5E  59  260  06m11s
02342 -22 -1025 Aug 11  20:38:00  25755 -37407   T   -0.4692  1.0660   7.7S  31.1W  62  242  05m49s
02384 -21 -1007 Aug 22  04:39:03  25429 -37184   T   -0.4251  1.0627   7.6S 153.1W  65  225  05m25s
02426 -20 -0989 Sep 02  12:49:37  25105 -36961   T   -0.3889  1.0592   8.7S  82.5E  67  210  05m00s

02467 -19 -0971 Sep 12  21:07:23  24784 -36738   T   -0.3588  1.0554  10.8S  43.7W  69  195  04m36s
02508 -18 -0953 Sep 24  05:32:57  24464 -36515   T   -0.3353  1.0518  13.6S 171.8W  70  181  04m14s
02549 -17 -0935 Oct 04  14:05:36  24147 -36292   T   -0.3180  1.0481  17.1S  58.2E  71  168  03m54s
02589 -16 -0917 Oct 15  22:45:19  23831 -36069   T   -0.3072  1.0447  21.0S  73.4W  72  156  03m36s
02629 -15 -0899 Oct 26  07:30:00  23518 -35846   T   -0.3004  1.0416  25.1S 154.0E  72  145  03m21s
02669 -14 -0881 Nov 06  16:17:53  23207 -35623   T   -0.2968  1.0389  29.2S  21.0E  73  136  03m08s
02710 -13 -0863 Nov 17  01:08:32  22897 -35400   T   -0.2959  1.0367  33.1S 112.1W  73  129  02m58s
02750 -12 -0845 Nov 28  10:00:06  22590 -35177   T   -0.2963  1.0350  36.4S 115.3E  73  123  02m51s
02790 -11 -0827 Dec 08  18:50:11  22285 -34954   T   -0.2960  1.0338  39.0S  16.2W  73  119  02m47s
02831 -10 -0809 Dec 20  03:37:52  21982 -34731   T   -0.2942  1.0331  40.5S 146.4W  73  117  02m45s

02872 -09 -0791 Dec 30  12:21:11  21681 -34508   T   -0.2892  1.0328  40.7S  84.7E  73  116  02m46s
02913 -08 -0772 Jan 10  20:59:12  21382 -34285   T   -0.2803  1.0329  39.6S  42.9W  74  116  02m49s
02955 -07 -0754 Jan 21  05:29:27  21086 -34062   T   -0.2655  1.0333  37.2S 169.2W  74  116  02m54s
02997 -06 -0736 Feb 01  13:52:44  20791 -33839   T   -0.2453  1.0339  33.5S  65.4E  76  118  03m01s
03041 -05 -0718 Feb 11  22:07:07  20498 -33616   T   -0.2186  1.0345  28.8S  58.7W  77  119  03m08s
03085 -04 -0700 Feb 23  06:12:09  20208 -33393   T   -0.1843  1.0352  23.2S 178.5E  79  121  03m16s
03130 -03 -0682 Mar 05  14:07:49  19919 -33170   T   -0.1429  1.0356  16.8S  57.4E  82  121  03m23s
03175 -02 -0664 Mar 15  21:54:36  19633 -32947   Tm  -0.0946  1.0359  10.0S  62.1W  85  121  03m28s
03220 -01 -0646 Mar 27  05:32:40  19349 -32724   T   -0.0399  1.0356   2.6S 179.8W  88  120  03m29s
03265  00 -0628 Apr 06  13:01:12  19066 -32501   T    0.0221  1.0349   5.0N  64.7E  89  118  03m26s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 48

                         TD of
 Seq. Rel.   Calendar   Greatest          Luna  Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Path  Central
 Num. Num.     Date      Eclipse     ΔT   Num.  Type  Gamma    Mag.    Lat   Long  Alt Width   Dur.
                                      s                                 °      °     °    km

03311  01 -0610 Apr 17  20:23:07  18786 -32278   T    0.0887  1.0336  12.9N  49.2W  85  114  03m18s
03358  02 -0592 Apr 28  03:37:40  18508 -32055   T    0.1609  1.0317  20.8N 160.9W  81  109  03m05s
03406  03 -0574 May 09  10:47:35  18232 -31832   T    0.2358  1.0291  28.7N  89.0E  76  101  02m46s
03453  04 -0556 May 19  17:51:44  17958 -31609   T    0.3145  1.0258  36.6N  19.0W  71   92  02m22s
03498  05 -0538 May 31  00:54:35  17686 -31386   T    0.3934  1.0218  44.0N 125.4W  67   81  01m55s
03543  06 -0520 Jun 10  07:54:41  17416 -31163   T    0.4737  1.0170  51.0N 130.6E  61   66  01m26s
03588  07 -0502 Jun 21  14:54:51  17148 -30940   H    0.5529  1.0116  57.3N  28.9E  56   48  00m56s
03633  08 -0484 Jul 01  21:55:42  16832 -30717   H    0.6304  1.0055  62.5N  69.9W  51   25  00m25s
03676  09 -0466 Jul 13  04:59:52  16521 -30494   A    0.7042  0.9989  66.2N 165.8W  45    5  00m05s
03720  10 -0448 Jul 23  12:07:49  16218 -30271   A    0.7738  0.9918  68.0N 100.3E  39   45  00m35s

03764  11 -0430 Aug 03  19:20:15  15923 -30048   A    0.8388  0.9843  68.0N   5.9E  33  102  01m04s
03806  12 -0412 Aug 14  02:39:14  15636 -29825   A    0.8974  0.9765  66.7N  91.5W  26  190  01m34s
03848  13 -0394 Aug 25  10:04:55  15357 -29602   A    0.9496  0.9682  64.9N 169.0E  18  369  02m04s
03890  14 -0376 Sep 04  17:37:31  15084 -29379   An   0.9951  0.9584  62.2N  77.3E   4   -   02m34s
03931  15 -0358 Sep 16  01:17:33  14818 -29156   P    1.0334  0.9131  60.7N  39.7W   0             
03970  16 -0340 Sep 26  09:05:02  14558 -28933   P    1.0650  0.8560  60.6N 166.3W   0             
04011  17 -0322 Oct 07  16:59:55  14304 -28710   P    1.0895  0.8118  60.7N  65.3E   0             
04052  18 -0304 Oct 18  00:59:44  14056 -28487   P    1.1092  0.7764  60.9N  64.3W   0             
04093  19 -0286 Oct 29  09:06:06  13813 -28264   P    1.1226  0.7523  61.3N 164.4E   0             
04133  20 -0268 Nov 08  17:15:46  13575 -28041   P    1.1322  0.7349  61.9N  32.2E   0             

04173  21 -0250 Nov 20  01:28:50  13343 -27818   P    1.1388  0.7230  62.6N 101.1W   0             
04214  22 -0232 Nov 30  09:40:44  13115 -27595   P    1.1455  0.7110  63.4N 125.8E   0             
04254  23 -0214 Dec 11  17:53:27  12891 -27372   P    1.1509  0.7015  64.4N   7.9W   0             
04295  24 -0196 Dec 22  02:02:20  12672 -27149   P    1.1585  0.6883  65.4N 140.9W   0             
04337  25 -0177 Jan 02  10:07:17  12457 -26926   P    1.1687  0.6709  66.5N  86.6E   0             
04380  26 -0159 Jan 12  18:05:07  12246 -26703   P    1.1839  0.6453  67.6N  44.7W   0             
04423  27 -0141 Jan 24  01:56:29  12039 -26480   P    1.2040  0.6116  68.7N 174.8W   0             
04466  28 -0123 Feb 03  09:38:33  11836 -26257   P    1.2307  0.5665  69.7N  56.7E   0             
04509  29 -0105 Feb 14  17:11:14  11636 -26034   P    1.2643  0.5099  70.5N  70.0W   0             
04552  30 -0087 Feb 25  00:33:44  11440 -25811   P    1.3053  0.4406  71.2N 165.3E   0             

04596  31 -0069 Mar 08  07:46:43  11247 -25588   P    1.3531  0.3595  71.7N  42.5E   0             
04641  32 -0051 Mar 18  14:48:25  11056 -25365   P    1.4092  0.2640  71.9N  77.8W   0             
04686  33 -0033 Mar 29  21:41:30  10869 -25142   P    1.4714  0.1577  71.8N 164.1E   0             
04733  34 -0015 Apr 09  04:25:09  10684 -24919   Pe   1.5403  0.0397  71.6N  48.5E   0             


Calendar

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..


Predictions

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

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.


Footnotes

[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 Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is nearly equal 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.


Acknowledgments

The information presented on this web page is based on data published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. The individual global maps appearing in links (both GIF an animation) were extracted from full page plates appearing in Five Millennium Canon by Dan McGlaun. The Besselian elements were provided by Jean Meeus. Fred Espenak assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all eclipse calculations.

Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26