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 68 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 -0626 Mar 16. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0654 Apr 22. The total duration of Saros series 68 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0626 Mar 16 01:05:55 TD
Last Eclipse = 0654 Apr 22 17:13:12 TD
Duration of Saros 68 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 68 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 68 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 30 | 41.7% |
| Annular | A | 28 | 38.9% |
| Total | T | 11 | 15.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.2% |
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 68 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 68 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 97.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 68: 7P 28A 3H 11T 23P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 68 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0131 Jun 12 Duration = 02m31s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 0239 Aug 16 Duration = 01m45s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0428 Jul 12 Duration = 07m07s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0013 Mar 18 Duration = 00m27s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0041 Apr 19 Duration = 01m24s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0005 Mar 28 Duration = 00m14s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0257 Aug 26 Magnitude = 0.9969
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0626 Mar 16 Magnitude = 0.0422
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 68 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 068 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 -34 -0626 Mar 16 01:05:55 18345 -32477 Pb -1.5403 0.0422 71.6S 12.6W 0 255
02 -33 -0608 Mar 26 07:53:16 18058 -32254 P -1.4781 0.1467 71.8S 129.6W 0 268
03 -32 -0590 Apr 06 14:34:18 17775 -32031 P -1.4109 0.2605 71.7S 114.9E 0 282
04 -31 -0572 Apr 16 21:05:31 17497 -31808 P -1.3355 0.3886 71.4S 2.1E 0 295
05 -30 -0554 Apr 28 03:33:20 17223 -31585 P -1.2569 0.5225 70.9S 109.4W 0 308
06 -29 -0536 May 08 09:54:52 16954 -31362 P -1.1725 0.6670 70.2S 141.1E 0 321
07 -28 -0518 May 19 16:14:51 16688 -31139 P -1.0865 0.8144 69.3S 32.6E 0 333
08 -27 -0500 May 29 22:32:09 16427 -30916 A- -0.9975 0.9670 68.4S 74.6W 0 344 - -
09 -26 -0482 Jun 10 04:51:57 16170 -30693 A -0.9098 0.9417 43.3S 175.2E 24 357 524 06m26s
10 -25 -0464 Jun 20 11:13:11 15916 -30470 A -0.8224 0.9439 32.0S 74.5E 34 2 365 06m51s
11 -24 -0446 Jul 01 17:38:34 15666 -30247 A -0.7375 0.9451 23.7S 25.6W 42 7 299 07m03s
12 -23 -0428 Jul 12 00:09:36 15420 -30024 A -0.6564 0.9456 17.3S 126.0W 49 11 264 07m07s
13 -22 -0410 Jul 23 06:47:50 15178 -29801 A -0.5804 0.9456 12.7S 132.4E 54 15 243 07m03s
14 -21 -0392 Aug 02 13:34:16 14939 -29578 A -0.5104 0.9452 9.7S 29.4E 59 19 232 06m56s
15 -20 -0374 Aug 13 20:28:56 14704 -29355 A -0.4465 0.9445 8.0S 75.4W 63 22 226 06m47s
16 -19 -0356 Aug 24 03:34:30 14471 -29132 A -0.3907 0.9437 7.7S 177.3E 67 25 224 06m39s
17 -18 -0338 Sep 04 10:49:39 14243 -28909 A -0.3420 0.9427 8.5S 67.6E 70 28 223 06m33s
18 -17 -0320 Sep 14 18:15:18 14017 -28686 A -0.3015 0.9418 10.3S 44.7W 72 29 224 06m29s
19 -16 -0302 Sep 26 01:50:57 13794 -28463 A -0.2686 0.9411 12.9S 159.6W 74 30 225 06m26s
20 -15 -0284 Oct 06 09:37:04 13575 -28240 A -0.2438 0.9406 16.0S 82.9E 76 30 226 06m25s
21 -14 -0266 Oct 17 17:31:31 13358 -28017 A -0.2251 0.9405 19.5S 36.6W 77 29 225 06m24s
22 -13 -0248 Oct 28 01:33:12 13144 -27794 A -0.2115 0.9408 23.1S 157.6W 78 28 224 06m21s
23 -12 -0230 Nov 08 09:41:29 12933 -27571 A -0.2028 0.9417 26.6S 80.1E 78 25 220 06m17s
24 -11 -0212 Nov 18 17:55:03 12725 -27348 A -0.1981 0.9431 29.7S 43.0W 78 22 214 06m10s
25 -10 -0194 Nov 30 02:10:48 12519 -27125 A -0.1943 0.9452 32.2S 166.2W 79 18 206 05m58s
26 -09 -0176 Dec 10 10:28:09 12315 -26902 A -0.1911 0.9479 33.9S 70.8E 79 13 195 05m43s
27 -08 -0158 Dec 21 18:44:20 12114 -26679 A -0.1862 0.9514 34.5S 51.6W 79 8 181 05m22s
28 -07 -0139 Jan 01 02:59:33 11916 -26456 A -0.1796 0.9554 34.0S 173.8W 79 2 166 04m57s
29 -06 -0121 Jan 12 11:09:11 11719 -26233 A -0.1679 0.9601 32.1S 65.1E 80 357 147 04m27s
30 -05 -0103 Jan 22 19:15:23 11525 -26010 A -0.1527 0.9652 29.1S 55.7W 81 353 127 03m53s
31 -04 -0085 Feb 03 03:13:49 11333 -25787 A -0.1302 0.9709 25.0S 175.3W 82 349 105 03m15s
32 -03 -0067 Feb 13 11:06:56 11142 -25564 A -0.1026 0.9769 20.0S 65.6E 84 346 83 02m35s
33 -02 -0049 Feb 24 18:50:54 10954 -25341 A -0.0666 0.9831 14.1S 52.0W 86 344 60 01m52s
34 -01 -0031 Mar 07 02:29:23 10767 -25118 A -0.0252 0.9895 7.7S 168.7W 89 343 37 01m09s
35 00 -0013 Mar 18 09:59:34 10582 -24895 A 0.0238 0.9959 0.8S 76.2E 89 162 14 00m27s
36 01 0005 Mar 28 17:23:34 10399 -24672 H 0.0789 1.0022 6.6N 37.5W 85 162 8 00m14s
37 02 0023 Apr 09 00:41:09 10217 -24449 Hm 0.1404 1.0082 14.2N 149.8W 82 163 29 00m51s
38 03 0041 Apr 19 07:54:46 10036 -24226 H 0.2062 1.0139 22.0N 99.2E 78 163 49 01m24s
39 04 0059 Apr 30 15:04:34 9857 -24003 T 0.2762 1.0191 29.8N 10.6W 74 165 68 01m50s
40 05 0077 May 10 22:11:37 9680 -23780 T 0.3493 1.0238 37.5N 119.0W 69 167 86 02m10s
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 06 0095 May 22 05:17:54 9503 -23557 T 0.4242 1.0277 45.0N 133.9E 65 170 104 02m22s
42 07 0113 Jun 01 12:24:30 9327 -23334 T 0.5000 1.0310 52.1N 28.3E 60 175 121 02m29s
43 08 0131 Jun 12 19:32:12 9153 -23111 T 0.5756 1.0335 58.6N 75.2W 55 181 139 02m31s
44 09 0149 Jun 23 02:42:52 8979 -22888 T 0.6495 1.0352 64.1N 176.0W 49 191 156 02m29s
45 10 0167 Jul 04 09:57:52 8806 -22665 T 0.7207 1.0361 68.2N 86.5E 44 205 176 02m24s
46 11 0185 Jul 14 17:18:39 8634 -22442 T 0.7879 1.0362 70.2N 8.4W 38 222 198 02m17s
47 12 0203 Jul 26 00:44:37 8463 -22219 T 0.8516 1.0355 70.3N 103.1W 31 240 229 02m09s
48 13 0221 Aug 05 08:18:57 8292 -21996 T 0.9089 1.0339 68.8N 158.5E 24 256 276 01m58s
49 14 0239 Aug 16 16:00:15 8121 -21773 T 0.9611 1.0313 66.4N 58.3E 15 270 392 01m45s
50 15 0257 Aug 26 23:51:08 7951 -21550 P 1.0060 0.9969 61.3N 34.7W 0 292
51 16 0275 Sep 07 07:49:10 7782 -21327 P 1.0456 0.9222 61.0N 163.7W 0 284
52 17 0293 Sep 17 15:57:50 7612 -21104 P 1.0773 0.8624 60.9N 64.7E 0 275
53 18 0311 Sep 29 00:14:07 7443 -20881 P 1.1035 0.8130 60.9N 68.7W 0 266
54 19 0329 Oct 09 08:39:31 7273 -20658 P 1.1227 0.7769 61.0N 155.5E 0 256
55 20 0347 Oct 20 17:12:08 7104 -20435 P 1.1367 0.7504 61.4N 17.9E 0 247
56 21 0365 Oct 31 01:52:16 6934 -20212 P 1.1450 0.7347 61.9N 121.6W 0 238
57 22 0383 Nov 11 10:37:14 6765 -19989 P 1.1502 0.7249 62.5N 97.4E 0 228
58 23 0401 Nov 21 19:26:03 6595 -19766 P 1.1528 0.7201 63.3N 44.7W 0 219
59 24 0419 Dec 03 04:17:38 6424 -19543 P 1.1536 0.7187 64.2N 172.2E 0 209
60 25 0437 Dec 13 13:10:27 6253 -19320 P 1.1533 0.7193 65.1N 28.4E 0 199
61 26 0455 Dec 24 22:01:42 6082 -19097 P 1.1551 0.7163 66.2N 115.3W 0 188
62 27 0474 Jan 04 06:50:38 5909 -18874 P 1.1589 0.7095 67.3N 101.0E 0 177
63 28 0492 Jan 15 15:35:24 5736 -18651 P 1.1665 0.6957 68.3N 42.2W 0 165
64 29 0510 Jan 26 00:15:39 5563 -18428 P 1.1778 0.6746 69.3N 175.2E 0 153
65 30 0528 Feb 06 08:48:21 5388 -18205 P 1.1955 0.6417 70.2N 33.8E 0 141
66 31 0546 Feb 16 17:15:08 5212 -17982 P 1.2181 0.5989 70.9N 106.8W 0 128
67 32 0564 Feb 28 01:33:17 5033 -17759 P 1.2481 0.5419 71.5N 114.4E 0 114
68 33 0582 Mar 10 09:44:43 4854 -17536 P 1.2837 0.4737 71.8N 23.2W 0 101
69 34 0600 Mar 20 17:47:01 4675 -17313 P 1.3269 0.3907 71.8N 158.6W 0 87
70 35 0618 Apr 01 01:42:57 4531 -17090 P 1.3754 0.2969 71.6N 67.8E 0 73
71 36 0636 Apr 11 09:31:19 4387 -16867 P 1.4301 0.1909 71.2N 63.6W 0 60
72 37 0654 Apr 22 17:13:12 4235 -16644 Pe 1.4901 0.0743 70.6N 167.1E 0 47
[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)"
