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 53 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1277 Sep 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0220 Feb 21. The total duration of Saros series 53 is 1496.50 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1277 Sep 06 14:49:01 TD
Last Eclipse = 0220 Feb 21 17:30:46 TD
Duration of Saros 53 = 1496.50 Years
Saros 53 is composed of 84 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 53 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 84 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 41 | 48.8% |
| Annular | A | 22 | 26.2% |
| Total | T | 17 | 20.2% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 4.8% |
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 53 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 53 | ||
| 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 84 eclipses in Saros 53: 20P 22A 4H 17T 21P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 53 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -0231 May 26 Duration = 06m01s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0447 Jan 16 Duration = 01m46s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0916 Apr 09 Duration = 03m26s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0538 Nov 23 Duration = 00m06s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0465 Jan 05 Duration = 01m20s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0520 Dec 03 Duration = 00m11s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0141 Jul 19 Magnitude = 0.8805
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0220 Feb 21 Magnitude = 0.0338
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 53 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 053 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 -33 -1277 Sep 06 14:49:01 29565 -40523 Pb 1.5325 0.0604 70.8N 153.9W 0 306
02 -32 -1259 Sep 16 22:15:38 29222 -40300 P 1.5024 0.1122 71.4N 79.4E 0 293
03 -31 -1241 Sep 28 05:50:36 28880 -40077 P 1.4788 0.1527 71.7N 49.8W 0 279
04 -30 -1223 Oct 08 13:33:39 28540 -39854 P 1.4614 0.1825 71.7N 178.8E 0 265
05 -29 -1205 Oct 19 21:23:26 28203 -39631 P 1.4493 0.2033 71.5N 45.8E 0 250
06 -28 -1187 Oct 30 05:19:26 27867 -39408 P 1.4418 0.2161 71.0N 88.4W 0 236
07 -27 -1169 Nov 10 13:18:03 27534 -39185 P 1.4363 0.2256 70.3N 137.2E 0 223
08 -26 -1151 Nov 20 21:20:09 27202 -38962 P 1.4332 0.2307 69.5N 2.6E 0 210
09 -25 -1133 Dec 02 05:21:10 26873 -38739 P 1.4287 0.2379 68.5N 131.1W 0 198
10 -24 -1115 Dec 12 13:21:48 26545 -38516 P 1.4240 0.2455 67.4N 96.0E 0 186
11 -23 -1097 Dec 23 21:17:02 26219 -38293 P 1.4143 0.2611 66.3N 35.0W 0 175
12 -22 -1078 Jan 03 05:09:27 25896 -38070 P 1.4020 0.2809 65.2N 164.8W 0 164
13 -21 -1060 Jan 14 12:54:16 25574 -37847 P 1.3827 0.3124 64.2N 67.8E 0 154
14 -20 -1042 Jan 24 20:32:30 25255 -37624 P 1.3578 0.3535 63.3N 57.6W 0 144
15 -19 -1024 Feb 05 04:01:24 24937 -37401 P 1.3246 0.4088 62.5N 179.5E 0 135
16 -18 -1006 Feb 15 11:23:11 24622 -37178 P 1.2850 0.4754 61.8N 58.7E 0 125
17 -17 -0988 Feb 26 18:36:12 24308 -36955 P 1.2372 0.5567 61.3N 59.7W 0 116
18 -16 -0970 Mar 09 01:40:51 23997 -36732 P 1.1818 0.6518 60.9N 175.9W 0 107
19 -15 -0952 Mar 19 08:38:04 23687 -36509 P 1.1192 0.7602 60.6N 69.8E 0 99
20 -14 -0934 Mar 30 15:28:49 23380 -36286 P 1.0506 0.8800 60.5N 42.8W 0 90
21 -13 -0916 Apr 09 22:13:31 23074 -36063 A 0.9759 0.9512 60.3N 129.8W 12 103 841 03m26s
22 -12 -0898 Apr 21 04:53:45 22771 -35840 A 0.8964 0.9591 58.2N 148.2E 26 119 330 03m04s
23 -11 -0880 May 01 11:30:53 22469 -35617 A 0.8132 0.9653 56.9N 58.5E 35 128 212 02m42s
24 -10 -0862 May 12 18:07:22 22170 -35394 A 0.7284 0.9706 55.9N 33.1W 43 136 152 02m21s
25 -09 -0844 May 23 00:42:20 21873 -35171 A 0.6413 0.9753 54.6N 124.8W 50 145 114 02m03s
26 -08 -0826 Jun 03 07:20:24 21577 -34948 A 0.5557 0.9792 52.8N 141.9E 56 153 89 01m47s
27 -07 -0808 Jun 13 14:00:41 21284 -34725 A 0.4711 0.9825 50.0N 47.1E 62 161 70 01m34s
28 -06 -0790 Jun 24 20:47:17 20992 -34502 A 0.3903 0.9852 46.5N 50.6W 67 169 57 01m24s
29 -05 -0772 Jul 05 03:37:59 20703 -34279 A 0.3119 0.9872 42.1N 150.7W 72 175 47 01m15s
30 -04 -0754 Jul 16 10:37:53 20416 -34056 A 0.2401 0.9888 37.1N 105.7E 76 181 41 01m09s
31 -03 -0736 Jul 26 17:45:01 20130 -33833 A 0.1735 0.9899 31.6N 1.0W 80 185 36 01m04s
32 -02 -0718 Aug 07 01:02:14 19847 -33610 A 0.1142 0.9906 25.8N 111.1W 83 189 33 01m01s
33 -01 -0700 Aug 17 08:28:33 19564 -33387 A 0.0615 0.9910 19.8N 135.8E 86 192 32 00m59s
34 00 -0682 Aug 28 16:06:23 19258 -33164 A 0.0172 0.9913 13.7N 19.3E 89 193 31 00m57s
35 01 -0664 Sep 07 23:54:24 18957 -32941 A -0.0191 0.9914 7.7N 100.0W 89 17 30 00m57s
36 02 -0646 Sep 19 07:51:54 18660 -32718 A -0.0485 0.9916 1.9N 138.1E 87 18 30 00m55s
37 03 -0628 Sep 29 15:59:34 18368 -32495 A -0.0702 0.9919 3.8S 13.8E 86 18 29 00m52s
38 04 -0610 Oct 11 00:15:52 18081 -32272 A -0.0856 0.9925 9.1S 112.4W 85 18 27 00m48s
39 05 -0592 Oct 21 08:40:14 17798 -32049 A -0.0949 0.9934 14.0S 119.8E 84 17 23 00m42s
40 06 -0574 Nov 01 17:09:53 17520 -31826 A -0.1006 0.9947 18.4S 9.0W 84 15 19 00m33s
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 07 -0556 Nov 12 01:45:24 17245 -31603 A -0.1020 0.9965 22.2S 138.7W 84 12 12 00m21s
42 08 -0538 Nov 23 10:23:35 16976 -31380 A -0.1021 0.9989 25.3S 91.5E 84 8 4 00m06s
43 09 -0520 Dec 03 19:03:27 16710 -31157 Hm -0.1014 1.0019 27.7S 38.2W 84 4 7 00m11s
44 10 -0502 Dec 15 03:42:43 16448 -30934 H -0.1022 1.0054 29.2S 167.4W 84 360 19 00m32s
45 11 -0484 Dec 25 12:20:30 16190 -30711 H -0.1049 1.0095 29.9S 64.0E 84 355 33 00m55s
46 12 -0465 Jan 05 20:54:17 15936 -30488 H -0.1117 1.0141 29.8S 63.5W 83 349 49 01m20s
47 13 -0447 Jan 16 05:23:22 15686 -30265 T -0.1232 1.0191 29.0S 170.0E 83 345 66 01m46s
48 14 -0429 Jan 27 13:46:44 15440 -30042 T -0.1404 1.0245 27.6S 44.8E 82 340 84 02m12s
49 15 -0411 Feb 06 22:04:04 15197 -29819 T -0.1635 1.0300 25.8S 79.1W 80 336 103 02m38s
50 16 -0393 Feb 18 06:12:56 14958 -29596 T -0.1944 1.0358 23.8S 158.8E 79 333 123 03m03s
51 17 -0375 Feb 28 14:15:18 14722 -29373 T -0.2312 1.0415 21.7S 38.1E 77 331 142 03m28s
52 18 -0357 Mar 11 22:09:30 14490 -29150 T -0.2756 1.0471 19.7S 80.7W 74 330 162 03m53s
53 19 -0339 Mar 22 05:58:20 14261 -28927 T -0.3252 1.0523 17.9S 161.7E 71 329 182 04m17s
54 20 -0321 Apr 02 13:38:29 14035 -28704 T -0.3826 1.0571 16.8S 46.3E 67 330 202 04m41s
55 21 -0303 Apr 12 21:15:09 13812 -28481 T -0.4435 1.0613 16.2S 68.4W 64 331 222 05m04s
56 22 -0285 Apr 24 04:45:23 13592 -28258 T -0.5100 1.0649 16.5S 178.4E 59 333 244 05m25s
57 23 -0267 May 04 12:13:28 13375 -28035 T -0.5788 1.0677 17.8S 65.5E 55 335 267 05m43s
58 24 -0249 May 15 19:37:08 13161 -27812 T -0.6518 1.0695 20.4S 46.5W 49 338 295 05m56s
59 25 -0231 May 26 03:01:25 12950 -27589 T -0.7246 1.0704 24.2S 159.1W 43 341 329 06m01s
60 26 -0213 Jun 06 10:24:42 12741 -27366 T -0.7985 1.0702 29.5S 88.0E 37 345 377 05m55s
61 27 -0195 Jun 16 17:49:40 12535 -27143 T -0.8712 1.0687 36.7S 26.0W 29 349 457 05m36s
62 28 -0177 Jun 28 01:16:50 12332 -26920 T -0.9423 1.0656 46.9S 141.5W 19 353 650 04m59s
63 29 -0159 Jul 08 08:48:26 12131 -26697 T- -1.0096 1.0051 66.8S 99.7E 0 359 - -
64 30 -0141 Jul 19 16:24:37 11932 -26474 P -1.0736 0.8805 67.8S 26.2W 0 9
65 31 -0123 Jul 30 00:06:03 11735 -26251 P -1.1331 0.7648 68.8S 153.9W 0 21
66 32 -0105 Aug 10 07:54:22 11541 -26028 P -1.1869 0.6604 69.7S 76.1E 0 33
67 33 -0087 Aug 20 15:49:58 11348 -25805 P -1.2346 0.5682 70.5S 56.3W 0 45
68 34 -0069 Aug 31 23:52:47 11158 -25582 P -1.2764 0.4878 71.1S 168.9E 0 58
69 35 -0051 Sep 11 08:03:38 10969 -25359 P -1.3117 0.4204 71.6S 31.7E 0 72
70 36 -0033 Sep 22 16:22:35 10782 -25136 P -1.3406 0.3658 71.8S 107.9W 0 85
71 37 -0015 Oct 03 00:49:29 10597 -24913 P -1.3627 0.3242 71.7S 110.5E 0 100
72 38 0003 Oct 14 09:21:59 10413 -24690 P -1.3804 0.2914 71.4S 32.5W 0 114
73 39 0021 Oct 24 18:01:51 10232 -24467 P -1.3922 0.2698 70.9S 176.9W 0 127
74 40 0039 Nov 05 02:46:19 10051 -24244 P -1.4007 0.2547 70.2S 38.1E 0 141
75 41 0057 Nov 15 11:35:19 9872 -24021 P -1.4055 0.2463 69.3S 107.4W 0 153
76 42 0075 Nov 26 20:25:25 9694 -23798 P -1.4094 0.2394 68.3S 107.4E 0 165
77 43 0093 Dec 07 05:17:33 9517 -23575 P -1.4120 0.2352 67.2S 37.7W 0 177
78 44 0111 Dec 18 14:08:22 9341 -23352 P -1.4157 0.2285 66.1S 178.1E 0 188
79 45 0129 Dec 28 22:56:40 9167 -23129 P -1.4215 0.2179 65.1S 35.1E 0 199
80 46 0148 Jan 09 07:40:46 8993 -22906 P -1.4308 0.2007 64.1S 106.5W 0 209
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
81 47 0166 Jan 19 16:19:33 8820 -22683 P -1.4443 0.1756 63.3S 113.5E 0 219
82 48 0184 Jan 31 00:51:23 8648 -22460 P -1.4631 0.1402 62.5S 24.4W 0 228
83 49 0202 Feb 10 09:15:07 8476 -22237 P -1.4884 0.0928 61.9S 160.1W 0 238
84 50 0220 Feb 21 17:30:46 8306 -22014 Pe -1.5199 0.0338 61.4S 66.4E 0 247
[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)"
