Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 81

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 81

Solar eclipses of Saros 81 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 -0322 May 12. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0958 Jun 19. The total duration of Saros series 81 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -0322 May 12   11:41:16 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   0958 Jun 19   23:06:54 TD

                      Duration of Saros  81  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 81 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 81
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 14 19.4%
AnnularA 5 6.9%
TotalT 44 61.1%
Hybrid[3]H 9 12.5%

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 81 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 81
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 58100.0%
Central (two limits) 58100.0%
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 81: 7P 5A 9H 44T 7P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 81 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 81
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -0196 Jul 2600m31s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -0124 Sep 0700m00s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 0363 Jun 2707m24s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 0832 Apr 0400m47s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0038 Dec 1401m19s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0106 Sep 1900m03s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -0214 Jul 16 - 0.90723
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0322 May 12 - 0.03380

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 81

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 81. 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 81.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 81

                         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

04010 -35 -0322 May 12  11:41:16  14310 -28715   Pb   1.5329  0.0338  62.1N  62.2W   0             
04051 -34 -0304 May 22  18:26:38  14062 -28492   P    1.4496  0.1804  62.8N 173.7W   0             
04092 -33 -0286 Jun 03  01:10:51  13818 -28269   P    1.3641  0.3323  63.6N  74.9E   0             
04132 -32 -0268 Jun 13  07:59:41  13581 -28046   P    1.2811  0.4807  64.5N  37.9W   0             
04172 -31 -0250 Jun 24  14:50:42  13348 -27823   P    1.1987  0.6289  65.4N 151.6W   0             
04213 -30 -0232 Jul 04  21:48:29  13120 -27600   P    1.1203  0.7704  66.4N  92.7E   0             
04253 -29 -0214 Jul 16  04:51:12  12896 -27377   P    1.0448  0.9072  67.4N  24.7W   0             
04294 -28 -0196 Jul 26  12:03:26  12677 -27154   A    0.9758  0.9909  79.3N 163.0W  12  157  00m31s
04336 -27 -0178 Aug 06  19:23:28  12462 -26931   A    0.9123  0.9949  79.2N   1.3W  24   44  00m19s
04379 -26 -0160 Aug 17  02:53:04  12251 -26708   A    0.8557  0.9973  70.2N 137.1W  31   18  00m11s

04422 -25 -0142 Aug 28  10:32:25  12044 -26485   A    0.8060  0.9988  61.7N  99.0E  36    7  00m05s
04465 -24 -0124 Sep 07  18:22:16  11841 -26262   A    0.7642  0.9999  54.1N  24.4W  40    1  00m00s
04508 -23 -0106 Sep 19  02:21:57  11641 -26039   H    0.7298  1.0006  47.1N 149.0W  43    3  00m03s
04551 -22 -0088 Sep 29  10:30:23  11444 -25816   H    0.7020  1.0013  40.8N  84.7E  45    6  00m07s
04595 -21 -0070 Oct 10  18:48:28  11251 -25593   H    0.6815  1.0020  35.2N  43.5W  47    9  00m11s
04640 -20 -0052 Oct 21  03:14:09  11060 -25370   H    0.6666  1.0028  30.3N 173.4W  48   13  00m16s
04685 -19 -0034 Nov 01  11:46:46  10873 -25147   H    0.6569  1.0040  26.1N  55.2E  49   18  00m23s
04732 -18 -0016 Nov 11  20:24:21  10688 -24924   H    0.6508  1.0054  22.7N  77.2W  49   25  00m33s
04778 -17  0002 Nov 23  05:06:15  10505 -24701   H    0.6476  1.0074  20.0N 149.5E  49   33  00m45s
04824 -16  0020 Dec 03  13:49:49  10324 -24478   H    0.6453  1.0098  18.0N  15.9E  50   44  01m01s

04870 -15  0038 Dec 14  22:33:40  10146 -24255   H    0.6427  1.0128  16.7N 117.8W  50   57  01m19s
04915 -14  0056 Dec 25  07:16:33   9969 -24032   T    0.6386  1.0163  15.9N 108.9E  50   73  01m40s
04959 -13  0075 Jan 05  15:57:02   9793 -23809   T    0.6317  1.0204  15.6N  23.7W  51   89  02m01s
05003 -12  0093 Jan 16  00:32:32   9619 -23586   T    0.6202  1.0250  15.7N 155.0W  52  107  02m25s
05048 -11  0111 Jan 27  09:03:03   9446 -23363   T    0.6041  1.0299  16.3N  75.2E  53  126  02m47s
05092 -10  0129 Feb 06  17:27:01   9274 -23140   T    0.5820  1.0354  17.1N  52.8W  54  144  03m10s
05136 -09  0147 Feb 18  01:45:03   9102 -22917   T    0.5541  1.0409  18.2N 179.0W  56  162  03m32s
05178 -08  0165 Feb 28  09:54:09   8931 -22694   T    0.5184  1.0467  19.4N  57.5E  59  179  03m54s
05219 -07  0183 Mar 11  17:57:10   8760 -22471   T    0.4771  1.0523  20.9N  64.2W  61  195  04m14s
05260 -06  0201 Mar 22  01:51:41   8589 -22248   T    0.4284  1.0578  22.3N 176.7E  65  209  04m35s

05301 -05  0219 Apr 02  09:40:55   8418 -22025   T    0.3748  1.0629  23.7N  59.3E  68  221  04m56s
05343 -04  0237 Apr 12  17:21:56   8247 -21802   T    0.3138  1.0677  24.8N  55.4W  72  232  05m18s
05384 -03  0255 Apr 24  00:59:20   8075 -21579   T    0.2494  1.0718  25.5N 169.0W  75  241  05m39s
05425 -02  0273 May 04  08:30:52   7902 -21356   T    0.1800  1.0753  25.5N  79.3E  79  248  06m02s
05465 -01  0291 May 15  16:00:04   7729 -21133   T    0.1081  1.0781  24.7N  31.8W  84  254  06m24s
05504  00  0309 May 25  23:26:08   7555 -20910   T    0.0334  1.0799  23.1N 142.3W  88  258  06m45s
05543  01  0327 Jun 06  06:52:21   7380 -20687   Tm  -0.0413  1.0810  20.5N 106.9E  88  261  07m03s
05583  02  0345 Jun 16  14:18:48   7204 -20464   T   -0.1162  1.0811  17.0N   4.5W  83  263  07m17s
05623  03  0363 Jun 27  21:46:29   7028 -20241   T   -0.1899  1.0804  12.7N 116.8W  79  264  07m24s
05664  04  0381 Jul 08  05:17:09   6850 -20018   T   -0.2612  1.0788   7.6N 129.4E  75  264  07m22s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 81

                         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

05705  05  0399 Jul 19  12:51:41   6672 -19795   T   -0.3290  1.0764   2.0N  13.9E  71  262  07m11s
05747  06  0417 Jul 29  20:31:08   6494 -19572   T   -0.3928  1.0734   4.1S 103.3W  67  259  06m50s
05788  07  0435 Aug 10  04:16:06   6316 -19349   T   -0.4516  1.0697  10.6S 137.5E  63  254  06m22s
05828  08  0453 Aug 20  12:07:55   6137 -19126   T   -0.5045  1.0656  17.2S  16.3E  60  247  05m50s
05871  09  0471 Aug 31  20:07:11   5960 -18903   T   -0.5507  1.0611  23.8S 107.1W  56  239  05m15s
05914  10  0489 Sep 11  04:13:02   5783 -18680   T   -0.5912  1.0564  30.4S 127.8E  54  229  04m40s
05958  11  0507 Sep 22  12:27:05   5606 -18457   T   -0.6247  1.0516  36.8S   0.7E  51  217  04m06s
06002  12  0525 Oct 02  20:48:13   5430 -18234   T   -0.6521  1.0469  43.1S 127.7W  49  205  03m35s
06047  13  0543 Oct 14  05:17:10   5254 -18011   T   -0.6726  1.0424  48.9S 102.6E  47  191  03m07s
06093  14  0561 Oct 24  13:50:59   5080 -17788   T   -0.6888  1.0381  54.5S  27.3W  46  176  02m43s

06139  15  0579 Nov 04  22:31:45   4907 -17565   T   -0.6991  1.0344  59.4S 157.1W  45  162  02m24s
06185  16  0597 Nov 15  07:16:12   4736 -17342   T   -0.7064  1.0310  63.7S  74.5E  45  148  02m07s
06230  17  0615 Nov 26  16:04:23   4565 -17119   T   -0.7105  1.0282  67.0S  51.7W  44  137  01m54s
06275  18  0633 Dec 07  00:53:04   4397 -16896   T   -0.7139  1.0258  68.9S 175.0W  44  126  01m43s
06321  19  0651 Dec 18  09:42:29   4229 -16673   T   -0.7167  1.0241  69.2S  63.2E  44  118  01m36s
06368  20  0669 Dec 28  18:29:34   4064 -16450   T   -0.7212  1.0227  68.0S  58.9W  44  112  01m30s
06413  21  0688 Jan 09  03:13:09   3900 -16227   T   -0.7284  1.0218  65.6S 177.5E  43  108  01m27s
06457  22  0706 Jan 19  11:51:48   3739 -16004   T   -0.7395  1.0211  62.5S  52.6E  42  107  01m24s
06499  23  0724 Jan 30  20:24:34   3580 -15781   T   -0.7552  1.0207  59.2S  72.8W  41  107  01m23s
06541  24  0742 Feb 10  04:48:57   3423 -15558   T   -0.7774  1.0203  56.2S 162.8E  39  109  01m22s

06583  25  0760 Feb 21  13:05:15   3269 -15335   T   -0.8057  1.0199  53.6S  39.6E  36  113  01m22s
06624  26  0778 Mar 03  21:12:24   3117 -15112   T   -0.8411  1.0192  51.9S  81.3W  32  119  01m20s
06665  27  0796 Mar 14  05:11:10   2969 -14889   T   -0.8830  1.0181  51.4S 160.4E  28  129  01m16s
06706  28  0814 Mar 25  12:59:04   2824 -14666   T   -0.9332  1.0161  52.9S  46.7E  21  152  01m07s
06747  29  0832 Apr 04  20:39:15   2683 -14443   T   -0.9888  1.0120  58.4S  56.1W   8  305  00m47s
06786  30  0850 Apr 16  04:09:53   2545 -14220   P   -1.0515  0.9045  61.4S 164.2W   0             
06826  31  0868 Apr 26  11:34:04   2411 -13997   P   -1.1188  0.7799  61.9S  75.3E   0             
06866  32  0886 May 07  18:49:14   2282 -13774   P   -1.1926  0.6435  62.6S  43.1W   0             
06906  33  0904 May 18  02:00:21   2156 -13551   P   -1.2687  0.5031  63.3S 160.7W   0             
06946  34  0922 May 29  09:05:23   2034 -13328   P   -1.3483  0.3570  64.2S  83.0E   0             

06987  35  0940 Jun 08  16:07:41   1917 -13105   P   -1.4291  0.2096  65.1S  32.9W   0             
07028  36  0958 Jun 19  23:06:54   1805 -12882   Pe  -1.5110  0.0612  66.1S 148.3W   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