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 73 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 -0698 Jul 27. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0582 Sep 03. The total duration of Saros series 73 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0698 Jul 27 12:52:31 TD
Last Eclipse = 0582 Sep 03 00:33:28 TD
Duration of Saros 73 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 73 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 73 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 31 | 43.1% |
| Annular | A | 31 | 43.1% |
| Total | T | 7 | 9.7% |
| 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 73 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 73 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 73: 23P 7T 3H 31A 8P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 73 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -0229 May 05 Duration = 01m25s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0283 Apr 02 Duration = 00m59s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0167 Dec 29 Duration = 08m08s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0103 Jul 19 Duration = 00m11s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0157 Jun 17 Duration = 01m00s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0121 Jul 09 Duration = 00m19s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0301 Mar 23 Magnitude = 0.9196
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0582 Sep 03 Magnitude = 0.0511
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 73 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 073 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 -38 -0698 Jul 27 12:52:31 19531 -33363 Pb 1.4732 0.1077 68.0N 125.8W 0 347
02 -37 -0680 Aug 06 20:42:19 19225 -33140 P 1.4218 0.2079 69.0N 103.8E 0 335
03 -36 -0662 Aug 18 04:38:34 18925 -32917 P 1.3757 0.2972 69.9N 28.7W 0 323
04 -35 -0644 Aug 28 12:43:01 18628 -32694 P 1.3365 0.3729 70.6N 164.0W 0 310
05 -34 -0626 Sep 08 20:55:06 18337 -32471 P 1.3038 0.4357 71.2N 58.4E 0 297
06 -33 -0608 Sep 19 05:15:43 18050 -32248 P 1.2786 0.4838 71.6N 81.8W 0 283
07 -32 -0590 Sep 30 13:42:15 17768 -32025 P 1.2586 0.5216 71.7N 136.2E 0 269
08 -31 -0572 Oct 10 22:16:56 17490 -31802 P 1.2458 0.5456 71.6N 7.8W 0 255
09 -30 -0554 Oct 22 06:56:52 17216 -31579 P 1.2376 0.5609 71.2N 152.8W 0 241
10 -29 -0536 Nov 01 15:42:22 16947 -31356 P 1.2343 0.5669 70.6N 61.2E 0 228
11 -28 -0518 Nov 13 00:30:08 16681 -31133 P 1.2334 0.5684 69.8N 84.7W 0 215
12 -27 -0500 Nov 23 09:20:49 16420 -30910 P 1.2353 0.5650 68.8N 129.2E 0 202
13 -26 -0482 Dec 04 18:11:07 16163 -30687 P 1.2373 0.5611 67.8N 16.0W 0 190
14 -25 -0464 Dec 15 03:00:05 15909 -30464 P 1.2387 0.5586 66.7N 160.4W 0 179
15 -24 -0446 Dec 26 11:45:57 15660 -30241 P 1.2379 0.5601 65.7N 56.6E 0 168
16 -23 -0427 Jan 05 20:27:49 15414 -30018 P 1.2343 0.5669 64.7N 85.0W 0 157
17 -22 -0409 Jan 17 05:02:42 15171 -29795 P 1.2256 0.5831 63.7N 135.6E 0 147
18 -21 -0391 Jan 27 13:30:34 14933 -29572 P 1.2119 0.6086 62.9N 1.8W 0 138
19 -20 -0373 Feb 07 21:50:08 14697 -29349 P 1.1920 0.6457 62.2N 136.8W 0 128
20 -19 -0355 Feb 18 06:01:40 14465 -29126 P 1.1661 0.6939 61.6N 90.3E 0 119
21 -18 -0337 Mar 01 14:02:23 14236 -28903 P 1.1321 0.7573 61.2N 39.6W 0 110
22 -17 -0319 Mar 11 21:54:53 14011 -28680 P 1.0922 0.8314 60.9N 167.5W 0 101
23 -16 -0301 Mar 23 05:37:13 13788 -28457 P 1.0448 0.9196 60.8N 67.3E 0 92
24 -15 -0283 Apr 02 13:11:49 13569 -28234 T 0.9917 1.0166 61.1N 43.4W 6 94 519 00m59s
25 -14 -0265 Apr 13 20:36:22 13352 -28011 T 0.9310 1.0201 59.7N 133.7W 21 113 187 01m16s
26 -13 -0247 Apr 24 03:55:23 13139 -27788 T 0.8664 1.0211 59.4N 125.8E 30 121 143 01m23s
27 -12 -0229 May 05 11:06:48 12927 -27565 T 0.7965 1.0210 59.2N 26.0E 37 129 118 01m25s
28 -11 -0211 May 15 18:13:53 12719 -27342 T 0.7236 1.0201 58.9N 72.9W 43 138 99 01m25s
29 -10 -0193 May 27 01:16:17 12513 -27119 T 0.6476 1.0182 57.8N 170.7W 49 148 81 01m20s
30 -09 -0175 Jun 06 08:17:11 12310 -26896 T 0.5711 1.0156 55.8N 91.3E 55 157 65 01m13s
31 -08 -0157 Jun 17 15:16:42 12109 -26673 H 0.4943 1.0121 52.7N 7.6W 60 166 48 01m00s
32 -07 -0139 Jun 27 22:15:44 11910 -26450 H 0.4178 1.0081 48.5N 108.0W 65 173 31 00m42s
33 -06 -0121 Jul 09 05:17:01 11714 -26227 H 0.3444 1.0034 43.5N 149.4E 70 180 12 00m19s
34 -05 -0103 Jul 19 12:20:49 11520 -26004 A 0.2740 0.9982 37.8N 44.7E 74 185 6 00m11s
35 -04 -0085 Jul 30 19:29:21 11327 -25781 A 0.2084 0.9926 31.7N 62.5W 78 189 27 00m46s
36 -03 -0067 Aug 10 02:42:07 11137 -25558 A 0.1474 0.9867 25.3N 171.5W 81 192 47 01m26s
37 -02 -0049 Aug 21 10:02:16 10949 -25335 Am 0.0935 0.9807 18.8N 76.9E 85 194 69 02m10s
38 -01 -0031 Aug 31 17:28:31 10762 -25112 A 0.0458 0.9745 12.3N 36.6W 87 196 91 02m55s
39 00 -0013 Sep 12 01:01:55 10577 -24889 A 0.0050 0.9685 5.9N 152.1W 90 195 113 03m41s
40 01 0005 Sep 22 08:42:23 10394 -24666 A -0.0291 0.9626 0.4S 90.6E 88 18 135 04m25s
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 02 0023 Oct 03 16:31:02 10212 -24443 A -0.0558 0.9570 6.3S 28.5W 87 18 157 05m07s
42 03 0041 Oct 14 00:26:01 10032 -24220 A -0.0762 0.9519 11.8S 148.9W 86 17 177 05m47s
43 04 0059 Oct 25 08:26:50 9853 -23997 A -0.0913 0.9472 16.8S 89.6E 85 15 195 06m23s
44 05 0077 Nov 04 16:32:39 9675 -23774 A -0.1015 0.9431 21.1S 32.6W 84 13 211 06m55s
45 06 0095 Nov 16 00:43:03 9498 -23551 A -0.1075 0.9396 24.8S 155.3W 84 9 225 07m23s
46 07 0113 Nov 26 08:54:28 9323 -23328 A -0.1122 0.9369 27.6S 82.3E 83 5 236 07m44s
47 08 0131 Dec 07 17:06:49 9148 -23105 A -0.1155 0.9347 29.6S 39.8W 83 1 245 07m59s
48 09 0149 Dec 18 01:16:52 8974 -22882 A -0.1204 0.9332 30.7S 161.1W 83 356 251 08m07s
49 10 0167 Dec 29 09:25:01 8802 -22659 A -0.1262 0.9324 30.8S 78.3E 83 351 255 08m08s
50 11 0186 Jan 08 17:26:06 8630 -22436 A -0.1376 0.9321 30.3S 40.6W 82 346 256 08m01s
51 12 0204 Jan 20 01:22:31 8458 -22213 A -0.1522 0.9324 29.0S 158.6W 81 341 256 07m51s
52 13 0222 Jan 30 09:09:29 8287 -21990 A -0.1743 0.9331 27.3S 85.5E 80 337 254 07m37s
53 14 0240 Feb 10 16:48:43 8117 -21767 A -0.2021 0.9342 25.2S 28.7W 78 334 250 07m21s
54 15 0258 Feb 21 00:16:25 7947 -21544 A -0.2392 0.9355 23.2S 140.2W 76 331 247 07m06s
55 16 0276 Mar 03 07:36:11 7777 -21321 A -0.2822 0.9370 21.2S 110.1E 73 330 243 06m53s
56 17 0294 Mar 14 14:44:43 7608 -21098 A -0.3343 0.9385 19.5S 3.1E 70 329 240 06m43s
57 18 0312 Mar 24 21:43:57 7438 -20875 A -0.3936 0.9401 18.4S 101.7W 67 329 239 06m36s
58 19 0330 Apr 05 04:33:27 7269 -20652 A -0.4603 0.9413 18.1S 155.9E 62 330 241 06m34s
59 20 0348 Apr 15 11:15:44 7099 -20429 A -0.5326 0.9424 18.8S 55.3E 58 332 247 06m35s
60 21 0366 Apr 26 17:50:18 6930 -20206 A -0.6110 0.9430 20.6S 43.6W 52 334 260 06m38s
61 22 0384 May 07 00:18:55 6760 -19983 A -0.6941 0.9432 24.0S 141.2W 46 336 284 06m42s
62 23 0402 May 18 06:43:34 6590 -19760 A -0.7800 0.9428 29.1S 121.9E 39 339 331 06m44s
63 24 0420 May 28 13:05:35 6419 -19537 A -0.8673 0.9415 36.7S 25.4E 30 342 430 06m38s
64 25 0438 Jun 08 19:25:47 6249 -19314 A -0.9558 0.9388 48.9S 70.5W 17 345 783 06m17s
65 26 0456 Jun 19 01:47:00 6077 -19091 P -1.0431 0.8887 65.6S 166.2W 0 346
66 27 0474 Jun 30 08:10:05 5905 -18868 P -1.1285 0.7425 66.6S 86.9E 0 356
67 28 0492 Jul 10 14:37:35 5732 -18645 P -1.2099 0.6032 67.6S 21.5W 0 6
68 29 0510 Jul 21 21:08:35 5558 -18422 P -1.2882 0.4692 68.6S 131.3W 0 17
69 30 0528 Aug 01 03:47:42 5383 -18199 P -1.3595 0.3476 69.5S 116.2E 0 29
70 31 0546 Aug 12 10:33:29 5208 -17976 P -1.4253 0.2357 70.4S 1.6E 0 41
71 32 0564 Aug 22 17:29:17 5029 -17753 P -1.4832 0.1376 71.0S 116.2W 0 54
72 33 0582 Sep 03 00:33:28 4849 -17530 Pe -1.5345 0.0511 71.5S 123.4E 0 67
[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)"
