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 77 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 -0474 Jul 11. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0788 Aug 06. The total duration of Saros series 77 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0474 Jul 11 14:09:39 TD
Last Eclipse = 0788 Aug 06 11:52:52 TD
Duration of Saros 77 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 77 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 77 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 26 | 36.6% |
| Annular | A | 36 | 50.7% |
| Total | T | 7 | 9.9% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.8% |
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 77 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 77 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 45 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 95.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.2% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.2% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 77: 18P 36A 2H 7T 8P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 77 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0626 May 01 Duration = 03m01s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 0536 Mar 08 Duration = 01m17s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0131 Feb 01 Duration = 07m45s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0482 Feb 04 Duration = 00m05s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0518 Feb 25 Duration = 00m50s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0500 Feb 15 Duration = 00m22s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0662 May 23 Magnitude = 0.9440
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0788 Aug 06 Magnitude = 0.0607
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 77 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 077 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 -33 -0474 Jul 11 14:09:39 16056 -30593 Pb 1.4887 0.1193 66.8N 145.0W 0 1
02 -32 -0456 Jul 21 20:57:12 15804 -30370 P 1.4221 0.2366 67.8N 101.2E 0 350
03 -31 -0438 Aug 02 03:48:23 15556 -30147 P 1.3586 0.3475 68.8N 14.1W 0 339
04 -30 -0420 Aug 12 10:47:49 15311 -29924 P 1.3022 0.4450 69.7N 132.0W 0 327
05 -29 -0402 Aug 23 17:53:19 15070 -29701 P 1.2510 0.5327 70.5N 108.0E 0 315
06 -28 -0384 Sep 03 01:08:00 14833 -29478 P 1.2073 0.6067 71.2N 14.9W 0 302
07 -27 -0366 Sep 14 08:29:47 14599 -29255 P 1.1697 0.6697 71.7N 140.1W 0 288
08 -26 -0348 Sep 24 16:01:22 14368 -29032 P 1.1402 0.7185 71.9N 91.9E 0 274
09 -25 -0330 Oct 05 23:39:58 14141 -28809 P 1.1169 0.7567 71.8N 38.0W 0 260
10 -24 -0312 Oct 16 07:25:31 13917 -28586 P 1.0994 0.7848 71.5N 169.4W 0 246
11 -23 -0294 Oct 27 15:17:24 13695 -28363 P 1.0873 0.8041 71.0N 58.0E 0 232
12 -22 -0276 Nov 06 23:14:33 13477 -28140 P 1.0793 0.8166 70.2N 75.4W 0 219
13 -21 -0258 Nov 18 07:14:57 13262 -27917 P 1.0744 0.8243 69.3N 151.1E 0 206
14 -20 -0240 Nov 28 15:16:22 13049 -27694 P 1.0702 0.8310 68.2N 18.0E 0 194
15 -19 -0222 Dec 09 23:18:20 12839 -27471 P 1.0664 0.8371 67.1N 114.6W 0 182
16 -18 -0204 Dec 20 07:18:35 12632 -27248 P 1.0610 0.8464 66.0N 113.8E 0 171
17 -17 -0186 Dec 31 15:14:40 12427 -27025 P 1.0521 0.8615 65.0N 16.2W 0 161
18 -16 -0167 Jan 10 23:05:42 12225 -26802 P 1.0389 0.8841 64.0N 144.5W 0 151
19 -15 -0149 Jan 22 06:49:55 12025 -26579 A+ 1.0200 0.9166 63.1N 89.1E 0 141 - -
20 -14 -0131 Feb 01 14:27:14 11827 -26356 An 0.9951 0.9121 59.7N 29.4W 4 136 - 07m45s
21 -13 -0113 Feb 12 21:54:51 11632 -26133 A 0.9620 0.9179 51.6N 135.7W 15 140 1135 07m43s
22 -12 -0095 Feb 23 05:14:37 11438 -25910 A 0.9222 0.9229 47.7N 115.0E 22 139 732 07m19s
23 -11 -0077 Mar 06 12:24:40 11247 -25687 A 0.8741 0.9279 45.2N 8.0E 29 138 539 06m50s
24 -10 -0059 Mar 16 19:25:48 11058 -25464 A 0.8184 0.9329 43.7N 96.3W 35 138 422 06m19s
25 -09 -0041 Mar 28 02:18:20 10870 -25241 A 0.7551 0.9377 42.9N 162.0E 41 138 343 05m50s
26 -08 -0023 Apr 07 09:03:45 10684 -25018 A 0.6856 0.9425 42.5N 62.6E 46 140 285 05m23s
27 -07 -0005 Apr 18 15:43:14 10500 -24795 A 0.6104 0.9470 42.3N 34.7W 52 143 242 05m00s
28 -06 0013 Apr 28 22:16:18 10317 -24572 A 0.5293 0.9512 41.8N 129.9W 58 146 208 04m41s
29 -05 0031 May 10 04:46:51 10136 -24349 A 0.4456 0.9549 41.0N 135.8E 63 151 183 04m26s
30 -04 0049 May 20 11:14:25 9956 -24126 A 0.3588 0.9583 39.4N 42.2E 69 156 162 04m15s
31 -03 0067 May 31 17:42:22 9777 -23903 A 0.2714 0.9612 37.0N 51.7W 74 162 146 04m08s
32 -02 0085 Jun 11 00:09:59 9600 -23680 A 0.1828 0.9636 33.6N 146.2W 79 168 134 04m04s
33 -01 0103 Jun 22 06:42:09 9424 -23457 A 0.0971 0.9654 29.4N 117.3E 84 173 125 04m02s
34 00 0121 Jul 02 13:17:36 9249 -23234 A 0.0136 0.9668 24.3N 19.0E 89 178 120 04m02s
35 01 0139 Jul 13 19:59:21 9075 -23011 A -0.0655 0.9677 18.7N 81.8W 86 2 116 04m02s
36 02 0157 Jul 24 02:47:35 8901 -22788 Am -0.1401 0.9682 12.6N 175.1E 82 6 115 04m01s
37 03 0175 Aug 04 09:44:59 8729 -22565 A -0.2079 0.9684 6.2N 68.9E 78 10 116 03m59s
38 04 0193 Aug 14 16:50:56 8557 -22342 A -0.2692 0.9683 0.4S 39.9W 74 12 118 03m56s
39 05 0211 Aug 26 00:06:18 8386 -22119 A -0.3234 0.9679 7.0S 151.4W 71 15 122 03m51s
40 06 0229 Sep 05 07:32:08 8215 -21896 A -0.3696 0.9676 13.6S 94.4E 68 17 125 03m46s
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 07 0247 Sep 16 15:08:27 8045 -21673 A -0.4079 0.9671 20.0S 22.5W 66 19 129 03m40s
42 08 0265 Sep 26 22:54:42 7875 -21450 A -0.4387 0.9669 26.2S 141.6W 64 20 132 03m32s
43 09 0283 Oct 08 06:51:00 7706 -21227 A -0.4620 0.9669 32.1S 97.2E 62 20 134 03m24s
44 10 0301 Oct 18 14:56:19 7536 -21004 A -0.4787 0.9672 37.5S 25.5W 61 20 134 03m15s
45 11 0319 Oct 29 23:10:06 7367 -20781 A -0.4892 0.9679 42.3S 149.3W 60 18 132 03m04s
46 12 0337 Nov 09 07:29:17 7197 -20558 A -0.4961 0.9691 46.6S 86.6E 60 15 128 02m52s
47 13 0355 Nov 20 15:55:14 7028 -20335 A -0.4984 0.9708 49.9S 37.7W 60 10 121 02m38s
48 14 0373 Dec 01 00:23:43 6858 -20112 A -0.4996 0.9732 52.3S 161.4W 60 4 111 02m22s
49 15 0391 Dec 12 08:55:08 6688 -19889 A -0.4991 0.9761 53.5S 75.2E 60 357 99 02m04s
50 16 0409 Dec 22 17:24:51 6518 -19666 A -0.5009 0.9797 53.6S 47.5W 60 350 84 01m44s
51 17 0428 Jan 03 01:54:51 6347 -19443 A -0.5033 0.9838 52.5S 170.6W 60 342 66 01m22s
52 18 0446 Jan 13 10:20:25 6176 -19220 A -0.5105 0.9884 50.6S 66.7E 59 336 47 00m58s
53 19 0464 Jan 24 18:42:06 6004 -18997 A -0.5215 0.9935 48.0S 56.1W 58 331 27 00m32s
54 20 0482 Feb 04 02:57:02 5832 -18774 A -0.5389 0.9989 45.2S 178.1W 57 327 4 00m05s
55 21 0500 Feb 15 11:06:27 5659 -18551 H -0.5616 1.0046 42.2S 60.5E 56 325 19 00m22s
56 22 0518 Feb 25 19:08:25 5485 -18328 H -0.5912 1.0104 39.6S 59.7W 54 323 44 00m50s
57 23 0536 Mar 08 03:03:15 5309 -18105 T -0.6276 1.0162 37.4S 178.4W 51 323 70 01m17s
58 24 0554 Mar 19 10:50:48 5132 -17882 T -0.6708 1.0217 35.9S 64.4E 48 323 98 01m44s
59 25 0572 Mar 29 18:32:10 4953 -17659 T -0.7198 1.0270 35.3S 51.3W 44 324 129 02m10s
60 26 0590 Apr 10 02:06:40 4773 -17436 T -0.7752 1.0318 36.0S 165.3W 39 326 166 02m33s
61 27 0608 Apr 20 09:36:37 4610 -17213 T -0.8352 1.0358 38.3S 81.9E 33 327 214 02m51s
62 28 0626 May 01 17:01:46 4467 -16990 T -0.8997 1.0389 42.9S 29.1W 26 329 294 03m01s
63 29 0644 May 12 00:25:07 4323 -16767 T -0.9666 1.0400 51.6S 137.5W 14 329 531 02m56s
64 30 0662 May 23 07:44:42 4154 -16544 P -1.0371 0.9440 63.5S 118.9E 0 324
65 31 0680 Jun 02 15:04:59 3975 -16321 P -1.1075 0.8109 64.4S 1.5W 0 333
66 32 0698 Jun 13 22:24:22 3795 -16098 P -1.1789 0.6750 65.3S 122.0W 0 343
67 33 0716 Jun 24 05:46:51 3648 -15875 P -1.2484 0.5420 66.3S 116.4E 0 353
68 34 0734 Jul 05 13:10:19 3505 -15652 P -1.3172 0.4098 67.3S 5.8W 0 3
69 35 0752 Jul 15 20:39:39 3361 -15429 P -1.3816 0.2859 68.3S 129.9W 0 14
70 36 0770 Jul 27 04:12:53 3217 -15206 P -1.4428 0.1682 69.2S 104.4E 0 25
71 37 0788 Aug 06 11:52:52 3074 -14983 Pe -1.4989 0.0607 70.0S 23.5W 0 37
[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)"
