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 55 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 -1255 Jul 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0043 Aug 23. The total duration of Saros series 55 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1255 Jul 06 01:56:11 TD
Last Eclipse = 0043 Aug 23 10:28:50 TD
Duration of Saros 55 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 55 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 55 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 32 | 43.8% |
| Annular | A | 41 | 56.2% |
| 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 55 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 55 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 39 | 95.1% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 2 | 4.9% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 55: 24P 41A 8P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 55 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0426 Nov 15 Duration = 10m23s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0786 Apr 13 Duration = 01m43s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0840 Mar 11 Magnitude = 0.8831
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0043 Aug 23 Magnitude = 0.0091
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 55 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 055 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 -37 -1255 Jul 06 01:56:11 29149 -40253 Pb 1.5161 0.0296 65.7N 103.5E 0 11
02 -36 -1237 Jul 17 09:29:13 28808 -40030 P 1.4588 0.1408 66.6N 21.6W 0 1
03 -35 -1219 Jul 27 17:07:31 28469 -39807 P 1.4063 0.2420 67.6N 148.6W 0 350
04 -34 -1201 Aug 08 00:53:11 28132 -39584 P 1.3603 0.3301 68.6N 82.1E 0 339
05 -33 -1183 Aug 18 08:44:20 27797 -39361 P 1.3193 0.4077 69.5N 49.1W 0 327
06 -32 -1165 Aug 29 16:43:59 27464 -39138 P 1.2862 0.4700 70.3N 176.9E 0 315
07 -31 -1147 Sep 09 00:50:01 27133 -38915 P 1.2589 0.5206 71.0N 40.8E 0 302
08 -30 -1129 Sep 20 09:04:16 26803 -38692 P 1.2390 0.5572 71.4N 97.9W 0 288
09 -29 -1111 Sep 30 17:24:12 26476 -38469 P 1.2245 0.5834 71.6N 121.7E 0 274
10 -28 -1093 Oct 12 01:51:37 26151 -38246 P 1.2167 0.5973 71.6N 20.7W 0 260
11 -27 -1075 Oct 22 10:23:13 25828 -38023 P 1.2132 0.6032 71.3N 164.0W 0 245
12 -26 -1057 Nov 02 18:59:05 25507 -37800 P 1.2138 0.6016 70.7N 52.1E 0 232
13 -25 -1039 Nov 13 03:36:49 25188 -37577 P 1.2166 0.5962 70.0N 91.8W 0 218
14 -24 -1021 Nov 24 12:16:23 24871 -37354 P 1.2213 0.5876 69.1N 124.5E 0 206
15 -23 -1003 Dec 04 20:53:48 24556 -37131 P 1.2251 0.5807 68.0N 17.9W 0 194
16 -22 -0985 Dec 16 05:28:52 24243 -36908 P 1.2277 0.5761 67.0N 159.2W 0 182
17 -21 -0967 Dec 26 13:58:52 23931 -36685 P 1.2267 0.5777 65.9N 61.3E 0 171
18 -20 -0948 Jan 06 22:24:11 23622 -36462 P 1.2226 0.5850 64.9N 76.5W 0 161
19 -19 -0930 Jan 17 06:39:57 23315 -36239 P 1.2115 0.6049 63.9N 148.5E 0 150
20 -18 -0912 Jan 28 14:48:33 23010 -36016 P 1.1954 0.6336 63.1N 15.5E 0 141
21 -17 -0894 Feb 07 22:46:04 22707 -35793 P 1.1711 0.6769 62.3N 114.3W 0 131
22 -16 -0876 Feb 19 06:35:08 22406 -35570 P 1.1408 0.7308 61.7N 118.1E 0 122
23 -15 -0858 Mar 01 14:11:36 22107 -35347 P 1.1009 0.8017 61.2N 6.1W 0 113
24 -14 -0840 Mar 11 21:39:48 21810 -35124 P 1.0552 0.8831 60.9N 128.2W 0 104
25 -13 -0822 Mar 23 04:56:24 21515 -34901 A+ 1.0009 0.9795 60.7N 112.7E 0 95 - -
26 -12 -0804 Apr 02 12:04:22 21222 -34678 A 0.9403 0.9759 56.4N 32.6E 19 118 250 01m44s
27 -11 -0786 Apr 13 19:02:34 20931 -34455 A 0.8723 0.9772 54.5N 64.2W 29 125 163 01m43s
28 -10 -0768 Apr 24 01:54:31 20642 -34232 A 0.8001 0.9776 53.7N 161.6W 37 130 131 01m44s
29 -09 -0750 May 05 08:39:48 20355 -34009 A 0.7229 0.9772 53.2N 102.4E 43 136 116 01m49s
30 -08 -0732 May 15 15:19:45 20070 -33786 A 0.6419 0.9761 52.4N 7.8E 50 143 110 01m59s
31 -07 -0714 May 26 21:56:48 19787 -33563 A 0.5594 0.9743 51.1N 86.1W 56 150 110 02m14s
32 -06 -0696 Jun 06 04:32:00 19499 -33340 A 0.4761 0.9720 49.0N 180.0E 61 158 114 02m35s
33 -05 -0678 Jun 17 11:07:03 19194 -33117 A 0.3932 0.9691 46.0N 85.2E 67 165 121 03m02s
34 -04 -0660 Jun 27 17:42:34 18894 -32894 A 0.3114 0.9656 42.0N 10.8W 72 172 131 03m35s
35 -03 -0642 Jul 09 00:21:38 18598 -32671 A 0.2331 0.9618 37.2N 109.0W 76 178 143 04m14s
36 -02 -0624 Jul 19 07:04:44 18307 -32448 A 0.1591 0.9575 31.8N 150.7E 81 182 157 04m59s
37 -01 -0606 Jul 30 13:52:42 18021 -32225 Am 0.0900 0.9530 25.9N 48.1E 85 186 172 05m46s
38 00 -0588 Aug 09 20:47:36 17739 -32002 A 0.0271 0.9484 19.7N 57.0W 88 189 190 06m34s
39 01 -0570 Aug 21 03:50:19 17461 -31779 A -0.0286 0.9437 13.3N 164.6W 88 14 208 07m18s
40 02 -0552 Aug 31 11:01:31 17188 -31556 A -0.0767 0.9391 7.0N 85.3E 86 15 227 07m59s
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 03 -0534 Sep 11 18:20:12 16919 -31333 A -0.1181 0.9346 0.6N 26.9W 83 17 245 08m34s
42 04 -0516 Sep 22 01:47:59 16654 -31110 A -0.1513 0.9305 5.5S 141.4W 81 18 263 09m04s
43 05 -0498 Oct 03 09:23:57 16393 -30887 A -0.1775 0.9266 11.4S 102.3E 80 18 280 09m29s
44 06 -0480 Oct 13 17:07:20 16137 -30664 A -0.1973 0.9234 17.0S 15.6W 79 18 295 09m49s
45 07 -0462 Oct 25 00:57:28 15883 -30441 A -0.2114 0.9206 22.1S 134.7W 78 17 307 10m05s
46 08 -0444 Nov 04 08:52:49 15634 -30218 A -0.2212 0.9185 26.7S 105.5E 77 14 317 10m16s
47 09 -0426 Nov 15 16:52:47 15389 -29995 A -0.2269 0.9170 30.6S 14.7W 77 11 324 10m23s
48 10 -0408 Nov 26 00:53:19 15147 -29772 A -0.2323 0.9163 33.8S 134.3W 76 7 327 10m22s
49 11 -0390 Dec 07 08:55:37 14908 -29549 A -0.2361 0.9162 36.2S 106.3E 76 3 328 10m16s
50 12 -0372 Dec 17 16:55:17 14673 -29326 A -0.2424 0.9169 37.7S 11.9W 76 357 326 10m02s
51 13 -0354 Dec 29 00:52:27 14441 -29103 A -0.2505 0.9182 38.3S 129.2W 75 352 321 09m42s
52 14 -0335 Jan 08 08:42:56 14213 -28880 A -0.2643 0.9200 38.1S 115.2E 74 346 314 09m16s
53 15 -0317 Jan 19 16:28:44 13988 -28657 A -0.2819 0.9225 37.1S 0.5E 73 341 305 08m47s
54 16 -0299 Jan 30 00:06:10 13766 -28434 A -0.3069 0.9254 35.7S 112.3W 72 336 295 08m15s
55 17 -0281 Feb 10 07:35:25 13546 -28211 A -0.3386 0.9286 33.9S 136.6E 70 333 283 07m43s
56 18 -0263 Feb 20 14:55:12 13330 -27988 A -0.3782 0.9321 32.1S 27.4E 68 330 272 07m12s
57 19 -0245 Mar 03 22:06:59 13117 -27765 A -0.4246 0.9358 30.3S 80.0W 65 328 261 06m44s
58 20 -0227 Mar 14 05:09:43 12906 -27542 A -0.4788 0.9395 28.9S 174.7E 61 327 252 06m18s
59 21 -0209 Mar 25 12:04:25 12698 -27319 A -0.5401 0.9431 28.1S 71.2E 57 326 245 05m55s
60 22 -0191 Apr 04 18:52:02 12492 -27096 A -0.6076 0.9464 28.2S 30.6W 52 327 242 05m35s
61 23 -0173 Apr 16 01:33:51 12289 -26873 A -0.6800 0.9494 29.3S 131.0W 47 328 246 05m18s
62 24 -0155 Apr 26 08:09:37 12088 -26650 A -0.7577 0.9520 32.0S 130.1E 41 330 261 05m02s
63 25 -0137 May 07 14:42:41 11890 -26427 A -0.8381 0.9538 36.5S 32.0E 33 331 301 04m46s
64 26 -0119 May 17 21:13:08 11694 -26204 A -0.9208 0.9546 44.2S 64.7W 23 333 419 04m28s
65 27 -0101 May 29 03:44:34 11500 -25981 A- -1.0032 0.9654 63.3S 150.0W 0 323 - -
66 28 -0083 Jun 08 10:14:58 11308 -25758 P -1.0867 0.8208 64.2S 102.0E 0 332
67 29 -0065 Jun 19 16:50:19 11118 -25535 P -1.1662 0.6822 65.1S 7.5W 0 342
68 30 -0047 Jun 29 23:28:06 10929 -25312 P -1.2440 0.5461 66.1S 118.0W 0 352
69 31 -0029 Jul 11 06:13:03 10743 -25089 P -1.3164 0.4190 67.1S 129.3E 0 2
70 32 -0011 Jul 21 13:02:52 10558 -24866 P -1.3853 0.2978 68.1S 15.0E 0 13
71 33 0007 Aug 01 20:02:56 10375 -24643 P -1.4464 0.1902 69.1S 102.5W 0 24
72 34 0025 Aug 12 03:10:44 10193 -24420 P -1.5017 0.0928 69.9S 137.5E 0 36
73 35 0043 Aug 23 10:28:50 10013 -24197 Pe -1.5493 0.0091 70.6S 14.4E 0 49
[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)"
