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 60 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 -1020 May 18. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0260 Jun 26. The total duration of Saros series 60 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1020 May 18 22:05:51 TD
Last Eclipse = 0260 Jun 26 07:30:13 TD
Duration of Saros 60 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 60 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 60 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 14 | 19.4% |
| Total | T | 40 | 55.6% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.6% |
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 60 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 60 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 57 | 98.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.7% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 60: 8P 40T 4H 14A 6P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 60 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -0407 May 22 Duration = 07m13s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0173 Oct 10 Duration = 01m35s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0134 Apr 12 Duration = 01m24s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0083 Dec 03 Duration = 00m16s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0155 Oct 20 Duration = 01m10s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0101 Nov 22 Duration = 00m03s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0894 Aug 03 Magnitude = 0.9629
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1020 May 18 Magnitude = 0.0219
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 60 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 060 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 -1020 May 18 22:05:51 24862 -37348 Pb -1.5290 0.0219 69.6S 16.0W 0 328
02 -35 -1002 May 30 05:07:56 24547 -37125 P -1.4485 0.1695 68.7S 134.9W 0 339
03 -34 -0984 Jun 09 12:13:01 24234 -36902 P -1.3689 0.3165 67.7S 106.0E 0 350
04 -33 -0966 Jun 20 19:22:47 23923 -36679 P -1.2918 0.4598 66.7S 13.7W 0 1
05 -32 -0948 Jul 01 02:36:52 23614 -36456 P -1.2170 0.5994 65.7S 134.1W 0 11
06 -31 -0930 Jul 12 09:58:18 23307 -36233 P -1.1471 0.7302 64.7S 104.2E 0 21
07 -30 -0912 Jul 22 17:26:11 23002 -36010 P -1.0815 0.8530 63.8S 18.9W 0 31
08 -29 -0894 Aug 03 01:03:26 22699 -35787 P -1.0228 0.9629 63.0S 143.9W 0 40
09 -28 -0876 Aug 13 08:47:40 22398 -35564 T -0.9692 1.0250 52.1S 106.5E 14 35 349 01m50s
10 -27 -0858 Aug 24 16:42:49 22099 -35341 T -0.9238 1.0271 46.2S 11.9W 22 36 236 02m03s
11 -26 -0840 Sep 04 00:45:59 21802 -35118 T -0.8844 1.0280 43.8S 134.2W 27 38 199 02m06s
12 -25 -0822 Sep 15 08:59:19 21507 -34895 T -0.8531 1.0283 43.5S 100.2E 31 41 180 02m06s
13 -24 -0804 Sep 25 17:20:29 21214 -34672 T -0.8278 1.0284 44.7S 27.6W 34 43 167 02m03s
14 -23 -0786 Oct 07 01:50:51 20923 -34449 T -0.8099 1.0284 47.1S 157.9W 36 46 161 01m59s
15 -22 -0768 Oct 17 10:27:38 20634 -34226 T -0.7967 1.0284 50.2S 70.2E 37 47 157 01m56s
16 -21 -0750 Oct 28 19:10:19 20347 -34003 T -0.7881 1.0288 54.0S 62.9W 38 49 156 01m55s
17 -20 -0732 Nov 08 03:57:44 20063 -33780 T -0.7831 1.0293 58.2S 163.3E 38 49 158 01m54s
18 -19 -0714 Nov 19 12:48:45 19780 -33557 T -0.7812 1.0304 62.6S 29.6E 38 48 164 01m56s
19 -18 -0696 Nov 29 21:40:32 19491 -33334 T -0.7793 1.0318 66.8S 102.1W 39 45 172 02m00s
20 -17 -0678 Dec 11 06:31:58 19186 -33111 T -0.7772 1.0338 70.5S 129.5E 39 38 182 02m06s
21 -16 -0660 Dec 21 15:21:15 18886 -32888 T -0.7731 1.0364 73.1S 6.4E 39 27 194 02m15s
22 -15 -0641 Jan 02 00:07:37 18590 -32665 T -0.7666 1.0394 73.8S 111.9W 40 11 207 02m26s
23 -14 -0623 Jan 12 08:47:53 18300 -32442 T -0.7552 1.0428 72.1S 130.8E 41 356 220 02m41s
24 -13 -0605 Jan 23 17:23:02 18013 -32219 T -0.7396 1.0467 68.4S 10.0E 42 345 232 02m59s
25 -12 -0587 Feb 03 01:50:15 17731 -31996 T -0.7174 1.0508 63.3S 113.7W 44 339 242 03m21s
26 -11 -0569 Feb 14 10:10:41 17454 -31773 T -0.6896 1.0551 57.4S 121.1E 46 337 251 03m45s
27 -10 -0551 Feb 24 18:21:56 17181 -31550 T -0.6543 1.0593 50.7S 3.8W 49 336 257 04m13s
28 -09 -0533 Mar 08 02:26:22 16912 -31327 T -0.6132 1.0635 43.5S 128.2W 52 337 262 04m44s
29 -08 -0515 Mar 18 10:22:33 16647 -31104 T -0.5654 1.0673 36.1S 108.9E 55 338 265 05m15s
30 -07 -0497 Mar 29 18:11:18 16386 -30881 T -0.5113 1.0708 28.4S 12.5W 59 339 267 05m47s
31 -06 -0479 Apr 09 01:53:28 16130 -30658 T -0.4515 1.0737 20.6S 132.2W 63 341 267 06m16s
32 -05 -0461 Apr 20 09:30:02 15877 -30435 T -0.3870 1.0760 12.8S 109.7E 67 343 266 06m42s
33 -04 -0443 Apr 30 17:02:20 15628 -30212 T -0.3188 1.0774 5.1S 7.1W 71 346 264 07m01s
34 -03 -0425 May 12 00:29:44 15382 -29989 T -0.2467 1.0782 2.4N 122.2W 76 349 260 07m12s
35 -02 -0407 May 22 07:55:23 15140 -29766 T -0.1732 1.0779 9.4N 123.7E 80 352 256 07m13s
36 -01 -0389 Jun 02 15:19:08 14902 -29543 T -0.0980 1.0769 15.9N 10.8E 84 355 250 07m04s
37 00 -0371 Jun 12 22:43:10 14667 -29320 Tm -0.0234 1.0749 21.7N 101.3W 89 359 243 06m46s
38 01 -0353 Jun 24 06:07:24 14435 -29097 T 0.0505 1.0721 26.7N 147.5E 87 184 235 06m22s
39 02 -0335 Jul 04 13:35:01 14207 -28874 T 0.1213 1.0685 30.6N 36.2E 83 189 225 05m53s
40 03 -0317 Jul 15 21:05:41 13982 -28651 T 0.1890 1.0642 33.4N 75.1W 79 194 214 05m21s
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 -0299 Jul 26 04:40:36 13760 -28428 T 0.2527 1.0593 35.0N 173.0E 75 199 201 04m50s
42 05 -0281 Aug 06 12:20:45 13541 -28205 T 0.3114 1.0539 35.4N 59.8E 72 204 187 04m18s
43 06 -0263 Aug 16 20:07:28 13324 -27982 T 0.3639 1.0480 34.8N 55.3W 68 208 171 03m48s
44 07 -0245 Aug 28 04:01:10 13111 -27759 T 0.4102 1.0420 33.2N 172.8W 66 211 153 03m19s
45 08 -0227 Sep 07 12:01:32 12900 -27536 T 0.4503 1.0359 31.1N 67.4E 63 213 134 02m52s
46 09 -0209 Sep 18 20:09:46 12692 -27313 T 0.4835 1.0298 28.5N 55.1W 61 213 114 02m25s
47 10 -0191 Sep 29 04:25:30 12487 -27090 T 0.5099 1.0238 25.7N 179.9E 59 213 93 01m59s
48 11 -0173 Oct 10 12:47:45 12284 -26867 T 0.5303 1.0183 22.7N 52.8E 58 211 73 01m35s
49 12 -0155 Oct 20 21:16:23 12083 -26644 H 0.5448 1.0130 19.8N 76.3W 57 209 53 01m10s
50 13 -0137 Nov 01 05:49:52 11885 -26421 H 0.5549 1.0083 17.2N 153.2E 56 206 34 00m47s
51 14 -0119 Nov 11 14:27:46 11689 -26198 H 0.5607 1.0041 14.8N 21.4E 56 202 17 00m24s
52 15 -0101 Nov 22 23:06:25 11495 -25975 H 0.5654 1.0005 12.9N 110.5W 55 198 2 00m03s
53 16 -0083 Dec 03 07:47:15 11303 -25752 A 0.5675 0.9974 11.6N 117.1E 55 194 11 00m16s
54 17 -0065 Dec 14 16:26:07 11113 -25529 A 0.5702 0.9949 11.0N 14.8W 55 189 22 00m33s
55 18 -0047 Dec 25 01:02:53 10924 -25306 A 0.5744 0.9930 11.3N 146.2W 55 185 30 00m47s
56 19 -0028 Jan 05 09:33:30 10738 -25083 A 0.5827 0.9915 12.6N 83.8E 54 180 37 00m58s
57 20 -0010 Jan 15 17:59:33 10553 -24860 A 0.5941 0.9903 14.9N 45.2W 53 176 42 01m05s
58 21 0008 Jan 27 02:17:23 10370 -24637 A 0.6115 0.9895 18.2N 172.4W 52 172 47 01m09s
59 22 0026 Feb 06 10:26:56 10188 -24414 A 0.6348 0.9888 22.5N 62.1E 50 168 51 01m12s
60 23 0044 Feb 17 18:26:46 10008 -24191 A 0.6653 0.9881 27.9N 61.5W 48 164 56 01m13s
61 24 0062 Feb 28 02:17:27 9829 -23968 A 0.7028 0.9874 34.1N 176.5E 45 160 62 01m14s
62 25 0080 Mar 10 09:57:24 9652 -23745 A 0.7482 0.9864 41.4N 56.4E 41 156 72 01m15s
63 26 0098 Mar 21 17:27:30 9475 -23522 A 0.8008 0.9850 49.6N 62.8W 36 152 88 01m16s
64 27 0116 Apr 01 00:47:48 9300 -23299 A 0.8606 0.9830 58.9N 177.5E 30 144 118 01m19s
65 28 0134 Apr 12 07:59:44 9125 -23076 A 0.9262 0.9801 69.0N 50.3E 22 128 190 01m24s
66 29 0152 Apr 22 15:01:57 8952 -22853 A+ 0.9989 0.9832 71.0N 136.7W 0 51 - -
67 30 0170 May 03 21:58:07 8779 -22630 P 1.0752 0.8467 70.2N 105.7E 0 38
68 31 0188 May 14 04:47:09 8607 -22407 P 1.1564 0.7019 69.3N 9.7W 0 26
69 32 0206 May 25 11:32:45 8436 -22184 P 1.2389 0.5555 68.4N 123.5W 0 15
70 33 0224 Jun 04 18:12:32 8265 -21961 P 1.3248 0.4037 67.4N 124.6E 0 4
71 34 0242 Jun 16 00:52:20 8095 -21738 P 1.4092 0.2555 66.4N 13.3E 0 354
72 35 0260 Jun 26 07:30:13 7925 -21515 Pe 1.4942 0.1074 65.4N 97.2W 0 344
[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)"
