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 61 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 -0973 May 10. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0289 Jun 05. The total duration of Saros series 61 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0973 May 10 20:50:26 TD
Last Eclipse = 0289 Jun 05 14:20:04 TD
Duration of Saros 61 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 61 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 61 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 21.1% |
| Annular | A | 52 | 73.2% |
| Total | T | 3 | 4.2% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 1 | 1.4% |
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 61 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 61 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 54 | 96.4% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 61: 8P 3T 1H 52A 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 61 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -0811 Aug 15 Duration = 00m42s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0793 Aug 26 Duration = 00m29s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0162 Sep 08 Duration = 08m39s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0757 Sep 17 Duration = 00m13s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0775 Sep 06 Duration = 00m10s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0775 Sep 06 Duration = 00m10s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0847 Jul 25 Magnitude = 0.9115
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0973 May 10 Magnitude = 0.0379
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 61 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 061 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 -0973 May 10 20:50:26 24046 -36767 Pb 1.5114 0.0379 61.8N 153.5W 0 58
02 -35 -0955 May 21 04:09:23 23736 -36544 P 1.4428 0.1701 62.4N 86.4E 0 49
03 -34 -0937 Jun 01 11:26:28 23428 -36321 P 1.3729 0.3043 63.1N 33.4W 0 40
04 -33 -0919 Jun 11 18:43:06 23122 -36098 P 1.3032 0.4376 63.9N 153.3W 0 30
05 -32 -0901 Jun 23 02:01:09 22818 -35875 P 1.2351 0.5666 64.8N 86.1E 0 21
06 -31 -0883 Jul 03 09:21:33 22517 -35652 P 1.1699 0.6894 65.7N 35.3W 0 11
07 -30 -0865 Jul 14 16:44:39 22217 -35429 P 1.1075 0.8054 66.7N 157.8W 0 1
08 -29 -0847 Jul 25 00:12:34 21919 -35206 P 1.0497 0.9115 67.7N 78.0E 0 350
09 -28 -0829 Aug 05 07:46:01 21623 -34983 T+ 0.9972 1.0064 68.7N 48.1W 0 339 - -
10 -27 -0811 Aug 15 15:26:27 21330 -34760 T 0.9514 1.0121 79.2N 124.5E 17 270 140 00m42s
11 -26 -0793 Aug 26 23:12:24 21038 -34537 T 0.9110 1.0076 73.2N 29.7W 24 235 65 00m29s
12 -25 -0775 Sep 06 07:07:03 20748 -34314 H 0.8785 1.0025 66.2N 162.9W 28 223 18 00m10s
13 -24 -0757 Sep 17 15:08:17 20460 -34091 A 0.8522 0.9970 59.6N 68.1E 31 216 20 00m13s
14 -23 -0739 Sep 27 23:17:35 20175 -33868 A 0.8331 0.9916 53.8N 60.6W 33 212 53 00m40s
15 -22 -0721 Oct 09 07:32:07 19891 -33645 A 0.8192 0.9863 48.5N 170.2E 35 208 84 01m09s
16 -21 -0703 Oct 19 15:53:39 19609 -33422 A 0.8117 0.9813 44.1N 40.0E 35 204 113 01m40s
17 -20 -0685 Oct 31 00:18:57 19306 -33199 A 0.8080 0.9767 40.3N 91.1W 36 200 140 02m11s
18 -19 -0667 Nov 10 08:47:36 19004 -32976 A 0.8077 0.9726 37.3N 137.2E 36 195 166 02m42s
19 -18 -0649 Nov 21 17:17:39 18706 -32753 A 0.8092 0.9690 34.9N 5.2E 36 191 189 03m11s
20 -17 -0631 Dec 02 01:48:06 18414 -32530 A 0.8116 0.9662 33.0N 126.8W 35 186 209 03m35s
21 -16 -0613 Dec 13 10:16:03 18126 -32307 A 0.8129 0.9638 31.7N 101.7E 35 181 225 03m55s
22 -15 -0595 Dec 23 18:39:43 17842 -32084 A 0.8114 0.9622 30.6N 28.6W 36 176 235 04m09s
23 -14 -0576 Jan 04 02:58:21 17563 -31861 A 0.8066 0.9611 29.9N 157.6W 36 171 238 04m17s
24 -13 -0558 Jan 14 11:10:14 17288 -31638 A 0.7966 0.9606 29.2N 75.3E 37 166 234 04m19s
25 -12 -0540 Jan 25 19:12:59 17018 -31415 A 0.7801 0.9606 28.6N 49.1W 39 161 225 04m15s
26 -11 -0522 Feb 05 03:06:44 16751 -31192 A 0.7570 0.9609 28.2N 170.8W 41 157 212 04m08s
27 -10 -0504 Feb 16 10:50:13 16489 -30969 A 0.7261 0.9616 28.0N 70.7E 43 153 197 03m59s
28 -09 -0486 Feb 26 18:24:09 16231 -30746 A 0.6880 0.9624 28.0N 44.9W 46 150 182 03m48s
29 -08 -0468 Mar 09 01:46:01 15976 -30523 A 0.6406 0.9633 28.1N 156.7W 50 148 169 03m39s
30 -07 -0450 Mar 20 08:59:06 15725 -30300 A 0.5865 0.9641 28.6N 94.2E 54 146 157 03m31s
31 -06 -0432 Mar 30 16:01:21 15478 -30077 A 0.5243 0.9646 29.0N 11.5W 58 146 147 03m27s
32 -05 -0414 Apr 10 22:55:21 15235 -29854 A 0.4558 0.9650 29.5N 114.5W 63 147 140 03m25s
33 -04 -0396 Apr 21 05:40:33 14995 -29631 A 0.3807 0.9649 29.7N 145.2E 67 149 136 03m29s
34 -03 -0378 May 02 12:19:43 14759 -29408 A 0.3012 0.9645 29.5N 46.7E 72 152 134 03m37s
35 -02 -0360 May 12 18:53:04 14526 -29185 A 0.2177 0.9636 28.6N 50.0W 77 156 135 03m52s
36 -01 -0342 May 24 01:21:41 14297 -28962 Am 0.1308 0.9622 26.9N 145.7W 82 160 138 04m13s
37 00 -0324 Jun 03 07:48:31 14070 -28739 A 0.0434 0.9603 24.3N 118.9E 87 165 144 04m41s
38 01 -0306 Jun 14 14:14:06 13847 -28516 A -0.0442 0.9579 20.8N 23.2E 88 348 153 05m14s
39 02 -0288 Jun 24 20:41:21 13627 -28293 A -0.1300 0.9551 16.4N 73.6W 83 354 165 05m53s
40 03 -0270 Jul 06 03:09:49 13409 -28070 A -0.2141 0.9519 11.2N 171.4W 78 358 180 06m34s
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 -0252 Jul 16 09:43:49 13195 -27847 A -0.2930 0.9483 5.4N 88.6E 73 2 199 07m13s
42 05 -0234 Jul 27 16:21:57 12983 -27624 A -0.3678 0.9445 0.9S 13.1W 68 6 220 07m46s
43 06 -0216 Aug 06 23:07:26 12774 -27401 A -0.4360 0.9404 7.6S 117.2W 64 10 244 08m12s
44 07 -0198 Aug 18 05:59:42 12568 -27178 A -0.4984 0.9363 14.4S 136.4E 60 13 272 08m28s
45 08 -0180 Aug 28 13:02:00 12364 -26955 A -0.5523 0.9323 21.3S 27.2E 56 16 301 08m37s
46 09 -0162 Sep 08 20:12:38 12162 -26732 A -0.5988 0.9284 28.2S 84.3W 53 19 332 08m39s
47 10 -0144 Sep 19 03:32:37 11963 -26509 A -0.6376 0.9247 34.8S 161.7E 50 22 364 08m36s
48 11 -0126 Sep 30 11:01:41 11766 -26286 A -0.6688 0.9214 41.3S 45.7E 48 24 395 08m30s
49 12 -0108 Oct 10 18:39:51 11571 -26063 A -0.6925 0.9186 47.3S 72.0W 46 26 424 08m21s
50 13 -0090 Oct 22 02:25:08 11378 -25840 A -0.7103 0.9164 53.1S 169.2E 44 26 450 08m11s
51 14 -0072 Nov 01 10:17:08 11187 -25617 A -0.7225 0.9147 58.4S 50.2E 43 26 470 08m01s
52 15 -0054 Nov 12 18:13:57 10998 -25394 A -0.7309 0.9137 63.2S 68.0W 43 23 483 07m49s
53 16 -0036 Nov 23 02:15:09 10811 -25171 A -0.7359 0.9134 67.2S 175.7E 42 17 490 07m38s
54 17 -0018 Dec 04 10:16:40 10626 -24948 A -0.7407 0.9139 70.2S 63.0E 42 7 492 07m25s
55 18 0000 Dec 14 18:19:36 10442 -24725 A -0.7446 0.9150 71.8S 46.6W 42 354 488 07m12s
56 19 0018 Dec 26 02:19:23 10260 -24502 A -0.7515 0.9167 71.7S 154.0W 41 339 483 06m56s
57 20 0037 Jan 05 10:17:02 10079 -24279 A -0.7602 0.9191 70.1S 97.3E 40 327 474 06m40s
58 21 0055 Jan 16 18:07:44 9900 -24056 A -0.7752 0.9219 67.7S 12.5W 39 317 467 06m22s
59 22 0073 Jan 27 01:54:29 9722 -23833 A -0.7938 0.9252 64.7S 124.2W 37 311 461 06m02s
60 23 0091 Feb 07 09:32:43 9545 -23610 A -0.8201 0.9288 61.9S 124.9E 35 306 463 05m42s
61 24 0109 Feb 17 17:04:01 9369 -23387 A -0.8523 0.9325 59.5S 14.8E 31 303 475 05m21s
62 25 0127 Mar 01 00:25:56 9194 -23164 A -0.8926 0.9361 58.1S 92.5W 26 299 518 05m00s
63 26 0145 Mar 11 07:41:10 9020 -22941 A -0.9387 0.9395 57.9S 163.8E 20 295 643 04m38s
64 27 0163 Mar 22 14:48:14 8847 -22718 As -0.9922 0.9409 60.3S 74.5E 6 281 - 04m11s
65 28 0181 Apr 01 21:47:59 8675 -22495 P -1.0519 0.8780 60.8S 27.9W 0 279
66 29 0199 Apr 13 04:41:40 8503 -22272 P -1.1170 0.7667 61.1S 140.8W 0 288
67 30 0217 Apr 23 11:30:26 8332 -22049 P -1.1862 0.6472 61.5S 107.5E 0 297
68 31 0235 May 04 18:14:55 8162 -21826 P -1.2592 0.5197 62.0S 3.3W 0 305
69 32 0253 May 15 00:56:59 7992 -21603 P -1.3347 0.3868 62.7S 113.6W 0 314
70 33 0271 May 26 07:37:54 7822 -21380 P -1.4113 0.2507 63.5S 136.1E 0 323
71 34 0289 Jun 05 14:20:04 7652 -21157 Pe -1.4873 0.1149 64.3S 25.2E 0 333
[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)"
