Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 66

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 66

Solar eclipses of Saros 66 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 -0756 Mar 12. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0542 May 01. The total duration of Saros series 66 is 1298.17 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -0756 Mar 12   08:51:34 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   0542 May 01   02:16:58 TD

                      Duration of Saros  66  =  1298.17 Years

Saros 66 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 66
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 73100.0%
PartialP 25 34.2%
AnnularA 4 5.5%
TotalT 43 58.9%
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 66 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 66
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 48100.0%
Central (two limits) 47 97.9%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.1%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 66: 8P 43T 1H 4A 17P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 66 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 66
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 0217 Oct 1801m10s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 0181 Sep 2600m09s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -0089 Apr 1706m15s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 0145 Sep 0400m52s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0163 Sep 1600m21s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0163 Sep 1600m21s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 0253 Nov 08 - 0.95699
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0756 Mar 12 - 0.00472

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 66

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 66. 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 66.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 66

                         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

02951 -37 -0756 Mar 12  08:51:34  21116 -34085   Pb  -1.5417  0.0047  71.4S 112.2W   0             
02993 -36 -0738 Mar 23  16:19:52  20821 -33862   P   -1.4834  0.1085  71.7S 120.6E   0             
03037 -35 -0720 Apr 02  23:44:08  20528 -33639   P   -1.4209  0.2216  71.7S   5.7W   0             
03081 -34 -0702 Apr 14  07:02:58  20238 -33416   P   -1.3528  0.3465  71.5S 130.6W   0             
03125 -33 -0684 Apr 24  14:18:14  19949 -33193   P   -1.2806  0.4804  71.0S 105.8E   0             
03170 -32 -0666 May 05  21:31:04  19662 -32970   P   -1.2052  0.6216  70.4S  16.8W   0             
03215 -31 -0648 May 16  04:43:15  19378 -32747   P   -1.1279  0.7675  69.6S 138.6W   0             
03260 -30 -0630 May 27  11:55:19  19095 -32524   P   -1.0497  0.9162  68.7S 100.2E   0             
03306 -29 -0612 Jun 06  19:08:18  18815 -32301   T   -0.9713  1.0379  54.8S  24.4W  13  558  02m52s
03353 -28 -0594 Jun 18  02:24:37  18537 -32078   T   -0.8947  1.0440  40.6S 141.2W  26  331  03m44s

03400 -27 -0576 Jun 28  09:45:01  18260 -31855   T   -0.8206  1.0478  31.4S 103.9E  35  279  04m18s
03447 -26 -0558 Jul 09  17:09:51  17986 -31632   T   -0.7494  1.0504  24.7S  10.9W  41  252  04m39s
03492 -25 -0540 Jul 20  00:41:28  17714 -31409   T   -0.6831  1.0520  19.8S 126.5W  47  234  04m48s
03537 -24 -0522 Jul 31  08:20:05  17444 -31186   T   -0.6223  1.0527  16.5S 116.6E  51  221  04m49s
03582 -23 -0504 Aug 10  16:07:21  17176 -30963   T   -0.5679  1.0528  14.8S   2.1W  55  210  04m43s
03627 -22 -0486 Aug 22  00:01:27  16865 -30740   T   -0.5188  1.0522  14.2S 122.5W  59  200  04m33s
03671 -21 -0468 Sep 01  08:05:35  16553 -30517   T   -0.4775  1.0513  14.9S 114.7E  61  191  04m21s
03715 -20 -0450 Sep 12  16:17:47  16249 -30294   T   -0.4426  1.0501  16.6S  10.0W  64  184  04m09s
03759 -19 -0432 Sep 23  00:39:06  15953 -30071   T   -0.4149  1.0489  19.2S 137.0W  65  177  03m57s
03802 -18 -0414 Oct 04  09:07:54  15666 -29848   T   -0.3933  1.0475  22.4S  94.3E  67  170  03m47s

03844 -17 -0396 Oct 14  17:44:49  15385 -29625   T   -0.3782  1.0463  26.1S  36.3W  68  165  03m39s
03886 -16 -0378 Oct 26  02:27:56  15112 -29402   T   -0.3681  1.0453  30.0S 168.1W  68  161  03m32s
03927 -15 -0360 Nov 05  11:15:17  14845 -29179   T   -0.3614  1.0446  33.9S  59.5E  69  159  03m28s
03966 -14 -0342 Nov 16  20:07:00  14585 -28956   T   -0.3583  1.0443  37.5S  73.3W  69  158  03m26s
04006 -13 -0324 Nov 27  05:00:21  14330 -28733   T   -0.3570  1.0445  40.7S 154.4E  69  159  03m28s
04047 -12 -0306 Dec 08  13:54:19  14081 -28510   T   -0.3559  1.0452  43.0S  22.7E  69  161  03m31s
04088 -11 -0288 Dec 18  22:45:47  13838 -28287   T   -0.3529  1.0463  44.2S 107.6W  69  165  03m38s
04128 -10 -0270 Dec 30  07:35:31  13600 -28064   T   -0.3486  1.0479  44.2S 122.7E  69  170  03m47s
04168 -09 -0251 Jan 09  16:20:26  13366 -27841   T   -0.3405  1.0499  42.9S   5.9W  70  176  03m59s
04209 -08 -0233 Jan 21  00:59:37  13138 -27618   T   -0.3277  1.0522  40.2S 133.9W  71  183  04m13s

04250 -07 -0215 Jan 31  09:31:56  12914 -27395   T   -0.3093  1.0548  36.3S  98.9E  72  190  04m30s
04291 -06 -0197 Feb 11  17:57:05  12694 -27172   T   -0.2849  1.0574  31.5S  27.6W  73  197  04m48s
04333 -05 -0179 Feb 22  02:14:20  12479 -26949   T   -0.2540  1.0602  25.8S 153.1W  75  204  05m08s
04376 -04 -0161 Mar 05  10:23:04  12268 -26726   T   -0.2163  1.0627  19.6S  82.8E  77  210  05m27s
04419 -03 -0143 Mar 15  18:24:02  12061 -26503   T   -0.1720  1.0650  12.8S  39.9W  80  216  05m45s
04462 -02 -0125 Mar 27  02:17:01  11857 -26280   T   -0.1213  1.0669   5.7S 161.0W  83  220  05m59s
04505 -01 -0107 Apr 06  10:01:59  11657 -26057   Tm  -0.0640  1.0684   1.7N  79.8E  86  223  06m10s
04548  00 -0089 Apr 17  17:40:32  11460 -25834   T   -0.0015  1.0692   9.3N  37.7W  90  225  06m15s
04592  01 -0071 Apr 28  01:12:51  11266 -25611   T    0.0658  1.0694  16.8N 153.3W  86  226  06m13s
04637  02 -0053 May 09  08:41:04  11076 -25388   T    0.1361  1.0686  24.2N  92.5E  82  226  06m03s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 66

                         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

04682  03 -0035 May 19  16:03:49  10888 -25165   T    0.2106  1.0672  31.4N  19.5W  78  225  05m46s
04729  04 -0017 May 30  23:25:29  10703 -24942   T    0.2855  1.0649  38.2N 130.2W  73  222  05m23s
04775  05  0001 Jun 10  06:44:16  10520 -24719   T    0.3625  1.0617  44.4N 121.2E  69  218  04m56s
04821  06  0019 Jun 21  14:04:18  10339 -24496   T    0.4376  1.0577  49.7N  13.9E  64  212  04m26s
04867  07  0037 Jul 01  21:23:24  10160 -24273   T    0.5128  1.0529  54.1N  91.2W  59  204  03m54s
04912  08  0055 Jul 13  04:47:03   9983 -24050   T    0.5837  1.0475  57.0N 164.2E  54  195  03m23s
04956  09  0073 Jul 23  12:12:48   9808 -23827   T    0.6522  1.0413  58.6N  60.1E  49  182  02m52s
05000  10  0091 Aug 03  19:44:06   9633 -23604   T    0.7154  1.0347  58.9N  45.5W  44  167  02m21s
05045  11  0109 Aug 14  03:20:13   9460 -23381   T    0.7739  1.0276  58.4N 153.2W  39  147  01m51s
05089  12  0127 Aug 25  11:03:53   9288 -23158   T    0.8252  1.0203  57.2N  95.5E  34  121  01m22s

05133  13  0145 Sep 04  18:53:49   9116 -22935   T    0.8709  1.0128  56.1N  18.7W  29   88  00m52s
05175  14  0163 Sep 16  02:50:40   8945 -22712   H    0.9101  1.0053  55.3N 135.8W  24   43  00m21s
05216  15  0181 Sep 26  10:54:43   8774 -22489   A    0.9426  0.9978  55.1N 104.4E  19   23  00m09s
05257  16  0199 Oct 07  19:06:10   8603 -22266   A    0.9683  0.9905  55.8N  17.8W  14  134  00m40s
05298  17  0217 Oct 18  03:23:22   8432 -22043   A    0.9884  0.9833  57.9N 140.4W   8  425  01m10s
05340  18  0235 Oct 29  11:46:24   8261 -21820   A+   1.0029  0.9781  61.6N  98.0E   0             
05381  19  0253 Nov 08  20:13:33   8089 -21597   P    1.0136  0.9570  62.2N  38.4W   0             
05422  20  0271 Nov 20  04:44:21   7916 -21374   P    1.0204  0.9430  62.9N 175.9W   0             
05462  21  0289 Nov 30  13:15:06   7743 -21151   P    1.0264  0.9307  63.8N  46.3E   0             
05501  22  0307 Dec 11  21:47:09   7569 -20928   P    1.0308  0.9217  64.8N  92.1W   0             

05540  23  0325 Dec 22  06:16:14   7394 -20705   P    1.0365  0.9106  65.9N 129.9E   0             
05580  24  0344 Jan 02  14:42:39   7218 -20482   P    1.0440  0.8967  67.0N   8.0W   0             
05620  25  0362 Jan 12  23:02:10   7042 -20259   P    1.0565  0.8743  68.0N 144.7W   0             
05661  26  0380 Jan 24  07:16:41   6865 -20036   P    1.0722  0.8464  69.1N  79.3E   0             
05702  27  0398 Feb 03  15:22:22   6687 -19813   P    1.0942  0.8077  70.0N  55.2W   0             
05743  28  0416 Feb 14  23:19:01   6509 -19590   P    1.1229  0.7575  70.8N 171.9E   0             
05784  29  0434 Feb 25  07:05:34   6330 -19367   P    1.1588  0.6947  71.5N  41.0E   0             
05824  30  0452 Mar 07  14:42:20   6152 -19144   P    1.2019  0.6192  71.8N  87.9W   0             
05866  31  0470 Mar 18  22:08:44   5974 -18921   P    1.2523  0.5311  72.0N 145.7E   0             
05909  32  0488 Mar 29  05:24:28   5797 -18698   P    1.3102  0.4298  71.9N  21.9E   0             

05953  33  0506 Apr 09  12:30:50   5621 -18475   P    1.3745  0.3174  71.5N  99.3W   0             
05997  34  0524 Apr 19  19:28:06   5444 -18252   P    1.4451  0.1940  70.9N 142.2E   0             
06042  35  0542 May 01  02:16:58   5268 -18029   Pe   1.5211  0.0615  70.2N  26.4E   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