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 87 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 -0076 Feb 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1222 Apr 13. The total duration of Saros series 87 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0076 Feb 23 14:20:30 TD
Last Eclipse = 1222 Apr 13 10:33:58 TD
Duration of Saros 87 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 87 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 87 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 39.7% |
| Annular | A | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | T | 42 | 57.5% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.7% |
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 87 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 87 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 97.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 87: 9P 2H 42T 20P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 87 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0699 Jun 03 Duration = 07m17s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 0122 Jun 21 Duration = 00m55s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0104 Jun 10 Duration = 00m33s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0086 May 31 Duration = 00m08s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0068 May 19 Magnitude = 0.9519
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0076 Feb 23 Magnitude = 0.0121
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 87 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 087 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 -36 -0076 Feb 23 14:20:30 11237 -25675 Pb 1.5513 0.0121 61.3N 53.4W 0 113
02 -35 -0058 Mar 05 21:50:17 11047 -25452 P 1.5057 0.0889 61.0N 175.3W 0 104
03 -34 -0040 Mar 16 05:12:45 10860 -25229 P 1.4529 0.1791 60.8N 64.6E 0 96
04 -33 -0022 Mar 27 12:27:48 10674 -25006 P 1.3932 0.2829 60.7N 53.6W 0 87
05 -32 -0004 Apr 06 19:37:20 10490 -24783 P 1.3277 0.3983 60.9N 170.5W 0 78
06 -31 0014 Apr 18 02:41:51 10307 -24560 P 1.2571 0.5240 61.2N 73.9E 0 69
07 -30 0032 Apr 28 09:42:10 10126 -24337 P 1.1818 0.6596 61.6N 40.8W 0 61
08 -29 0050 May 09 16:39:47 9946 -24114 P 1.1028 0.8033 62.1N 154.9W 0 52
09 -28 0068 May 19 23:36:21 9768 -23891 P 1.0218 0.9519 62.8N 91.1E 0 43
10 -27 0086 May 31 06:33:47 9591 -23668 H 0.9401 1.0022 75.5N 23.7E 19 78 23 00m08s
11 -26 0104 Jun 10 13:31:44 9415 -23445 H2 0.8576 1.0087 77.6N 35.3W 31 125 59 00m33s
12 -25 0122 Jun 21 20:33:47 9240 -23222 T 0.7773 1.0136 74.0N 109.6W 39 158 75 00m55s
13 -24 0140 Jul 02 03:39:41 9065 -22999 T 0.6994 1.0175 68.0N 158.8E 45 175 84 01m15s
14 -23 0158 Jul 13 10:52:07 8892 -22776 T 0.6255 1.0206 61.3N 57.5E 51 184 90 01m33s
15 -22 0176 Jul 23 18:09:39 8720 -22553 T 0.5550 1.0228 54.2N 49.3W 56 190 94 01m48s
16 -21 0194 Aug 04 01:36:08 8548 -22330 T 0.4912 1.0245 47.0N 160.4W 60 194 96 02m02s
17 -20 0212 Aug 14 09:10:09 8377 -22107 T 0.4330 1.0255 39.9N 85.3E 64 196 96 02m12s
18 -19 0230 Aug 25 16:53:17 8206 -21884 T 0.3818 1.0261 32.9N 32.0W 67 198 96 02m20s
19 -18 0248 Sep 05 00:45:17 8036 -21661 T 0.3372 1.0263 26.1N 152.1W 70 199 95 02m25s
20 -17 0266 Sep 16 08:47:23 7866 -21438 T 0.3004 1.0264 19.7N 85.2E 72 199 94 02m29s
21 -16 0284 Sep 26 16:58:52 7696 -21215 T 0.2710 1.0263 13.6N 39.8W 74 198 92 02m31s
22 -15 0302 Oct 08 01:17:57 7527 -20992 T 0.2474 1.0263 7.9N 166.7W 76 197 92 02m34s
23 -14 0320 Oct 18 09:46:09 7358 -20769 T 0.2308 1.0263 2.9N 64.4E 77 196 92 02m36s
24 -13 0338 Oct 29 18:20:54 7188 -20546 T 0.2190 1.0266 1.6S 65.8W 77 193 92 02m39s
25 -12 0356 Nov 09 03:02:18 7019 -20323 T 0.2122 1.0272 5.3S 162.6E 78 190 94 02m44s
26 -11 0374 Nov 20 11:46:54 6849 -20100 T 0.2076 1.0283 8.3S 30.5E 78 187 98 02m51s
27 -10 0392 Nov 30 20:35:47 6679 -19877 T 0.2060 1.0298 10.4S 102.3W 78 183 103 03m00s
28 -09 0410 Dec 12 05:25:03 6509 -19654 T 0.2041 1.0318 11.7S 124.9E 78 178 110 03m11s
29 -08 0428 Dec 22 14:14:19 6338 -19431 T 0.2019 1.0343 12.1S 7.7W 78 173 118 03m22s
30 -07 0447 Jan 02 23:00:54 6167 -19208 T 0.1969 1.0373 11.8S 139.7W 79 169 128 03m35s
31 -06 0465 Jan 13 07:44:43 5995 -18985 T 0.1892 1.0407 10.9S 89.0E 79 165 139 03m49s
32 -05 0483 Jan 24 16:22:34 5823 -18762 T 0.1763 1.0446 9.4S 41.0W 80 161 151 04m03s
33 -04 0501 Feb 04 00:54:51 5649 -18539 T 0.1585 1.0487 7.4S 169.6W 81 157 164 04m18s
34 -03 0519 Feb 15 09:19:56 5475 -18316 T 0.1343 1.0530 5.2S 63.5E 82 154 177 04m33s
35 -02 0537 Feb 25 17:38:41 5300 -18093 T 0.1043 1.0574 2.9S 61.8W 84 152 190 04m49s
36 -01 0555 Mar 09 01:47:58 5123 -17870 T 0.0662 1.0618 0.7S 175.4E 86 151 203 05m05s
37 00 0573 Mar 19 09:51:15 4943 -17647 Tm 0.0228 1.0659 1.5N 54.1E 89 151 215 05m22s
38 01 0591 Mar 30 17:45:50 4764 -17424 T -0.0281 1.0697 3.2N 64.9W 88 331 227 05m41s
39 02 0609 Apr 10 01:35:40 4602 -17201 T -0.0835 1.0730 4.5N 177.5E 85 332 238 06m00s
40 03 0627 Apr 21 09:16:52 4459 -16978 T -0.1462 1.0758 5.0N 62.3E 82 335 248 06m19s
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 04 0645 May 01 16:55:24 4315 -16755 T -0.2115 1.0779 4.7N 52.3W 78 338 257 06m38s
42 05 0663 May 13 00:27:42 4145 -16532 T -0.2818 1.0792 3.4N 165.6W 74 341 266 06m56s
43 06 0681 May 23 07:58:17 3965 -16309 T -0.3538 1.0797 1.2N 81.3E 69 345 274 07m10s
44 07 0699 Jun 03 15:24:55 3785 -16086 T -0.4291 1.0792 2.2S 31.3W 65 349 282 07m17s
45 08 0717 Jun 13 22:52:28 3641 -15863 T -0.5035 1.0779 6.5S 144.6W 60 353 291 07m15s
46 09 0735 Jun 25 06:19:09 3497 -15640 T -0.5781 1.0756 11.9S 101.7E 55 357 300 07m02s
47 10 0753 Jul 05 13:47:40 3353 -15417 T -0.6509 1.0725 18.1S 13.2W 49 1 310 06m38s
48 11 0771 Jul 16 21:18:25 3210 -15194 T -0.7214 1.0684 25.2S 129.6W 44 6 322 06m04s
49 12 0789 Jul 27 04:53:37 3066 -14971 T -0.7876 1.0636 32.9S 111.9E 38 10 338 05m22s
50 13 0807 Aug 07 12:33:13 2922 -14748 T -0.8498 1.0579 41.4S 9.2W 31 16 361 04m35s
51 14 0825 Aug 17 20:18:04 2778 -14525 T -0.9071 1.0515 50.7S 133.9W 24 23 406 03m46s
52 15 0843 Aug 29 04:09:48 2635 -14302 T -0.9582 1.0442 60.8S 94.3E 16 35 526 02m56s
53 16 0861 Sep 08 12:08:25 2491 -14079 T- -1.0032 1.0053 71.9S 70.2W 0 77 - -
54 17 0879 Sep 19 20:14:10 2347 -13856 P -1.0419 0.9299 72.0S 153.6E 0 91
55 18 0897 Sep 30 04:27:23 2204 -13633 P -1.0742 0.8672 71.9S 15.5E 0 105
56 19 0915 Oct 11 12:48:25 2091 -13410 P -1.0999 0.8174 71.5S 124.2W 0 119
57 20 0933 Oct 21 21:16:05 1984 -13187 P -1.1197 0.7793 70.8S 94.9E 0 132
58 21 0951 Nov 02 05:48:45 1876 -12964 P -1.1351 0.7496 70.0S 46.7W 0 145
59 22 0969 Nov 12 14:26:54 1768 -12741 P -1.1457 0.7291 69.1S 171.0E 0 158
60 23 0987 Nov 23 23:08:42 1661 -12518 P -1.1533 0.7145 68.0S 28.4E 0 170
61 24 1005 Dec 04 07:52:26 1559 -12295 P -1.1589 0.7037 67.0S 114.1W 0 181
62 25 1023 Dec 15 16:36:13 1469 -12072 P -1.1640 0.6940 65.9S 104.1E 0 192
63 26 1041 Dec 26 01:19:06 1379 -11849 P -1.1695 0.6835 64.8S 37.1W 0 202
64 27 1060 Jan 06 09:59:33 1290 -11626 P -1.1766 0.6704 63.9S 177.3W 0 213
65 28 1078 Jan 16 18:34:30 1200 -11403 P -1.1878 0.6499 63.0S 44.2E 0 222
66 29 1096 Jan 28 03:04:32 1110 -11180 P -1.2026 0.6230 62.3S 92.8W 0 232
67 30 1114 Feb 07 11:26:45 1034 -10957 P -1.2234 0.5854 61.7S 132.4E 0 241
68 31 1132 Feb 18 19:41:35 963 -10734 P -1.2495 0.5380 61.3S 0.4W 0 250
69 32 1150 Mar 01 03:46:23 891 -10511 P -1.2835 0.4765 61.0S 130.6W 0 259
70 33 1168 Mar 11 11:43:09 837 -10288 P -1.3232 0.4045 60.9S 101.3E 0 268
71 34 1186 Mar 22 19:29:34 784 -10065 P -1.3708 0.3183 61.0S 24.2W 0 277
72 35 1204 Apr 02 03:06:26 730 -9842 P -1.4253 0.2196 61.2S 147.3W 0 286
73 36 1222 Apr 13 10:33:58 676 -9619 Pe -1.4863 0.1092 61.5S 91.8E 0 295
[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)"
