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 91 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 -0159 Aug 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1175 Oct 16. The total duration of Saros series 91 is 1334.23 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0159 Aug 06 16:17:02 TD
Last Eclipse = 1175 Oct 16 15:57:46 TD
Duration of Saros 91 = 1334.23 Years
Saros 91 is composed of 75 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 91 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 75 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 33 | 44.0% |
| Annular | A | 25 | 33.3% |
| Total | T | 14 | 18.7% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.0% |
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 91 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 91 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 75 eclipses in Saros 91: 23P 14T 3H 25A 10P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 91 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0382 Jun 27 Duration = 04m03s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 0490 Aug 31 Duration = 02m19s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0977 Jun 19 Duration = 05m16s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0562 Oct 14 Duration = 00m05s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0508 Sep 11 Duration = 01m45s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0544 Oct 02 Duration = 00m31s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0238 Apr 02 Magnitude = 0.9523
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1175 Oct 16 Magnitude = 0.0019
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 91 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 091 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 -40 -0159 Aug 06 16:17:02 12130 -26696 Pb 1.5260 0.0126 69.4N 136.7E 0 331
02 -39 -0141 Aug 18 00:07:27 11931 -26473 P 1.4734 0.1129 70.2N 5.8E 0 319
03 -38 -0123 Aug 28 08:05:47 11734 -26250 P 1.4272 0.2012 70.9N 127.7W 0 306
04 -37 -0105 Sep 08 16:13:09 11540 -26027 P 1.3881 0.2759 71.4N 96.1E 0 293
05 -36 -0087 Sep 19 00:29:08 11347 -25804 P 1.3559 0.3372 71.7N 42.7W 0 279
06 -35 -0069 Sep 30 08:52:47 11157 -25581 P 1.3300 0.3866 71.8N 176.4E 0 265
07 -34 -0051 Oct 10 17:24:36 10968 -25358 P 1.3105 0.4235 71.6N 33.6E 0 251
08 -33 -0033 Oct 22 02:03:25 10781 -25135 P 1.2967 0.4498 71.1N 110.7W 0 237
09 -32 -0015 Nov 01 10:48:19 10596 -24912 P 1.2881 0.4661 70.4N 104.0E 0 224
10 -31 0003 Nov 12 19:36:29 10413 -24689 P 1.2822 0.4772 69.6N 41.6W 0 211
11 -30 0021 Nov 23 04:28:42 10231 -24466 P 1.2797 0.4820 68.6N 172.5E 0 198
12 -29 0039 Dec 04 13:22:13 10050 -24243 P 1.2781 0.4850 67.5N 26.9E 0 187
13 -28 0057 Dec 14 22:15:33 9871 -24020 P 1.2766 0.4881 66.5N 118.0W 0 175
14 -27 0075 Dec 26 07:06:47 9693 -23797 P 1.2734 0.4942 65.4N 98.1E 0 165
15 -26 0094 Jan 05 15:55:02 9516 -23574 P 1.2679 0.5046 64.4N 44.7W 0 154
16 -25 0112 Jan 17 00:38:49 9341 -23351 P 1.2589 0.5217 63.5N 174.0E 0 144
17 -24 0130 Jan 27 09:15:57 9166 -23128 P 1.2446 0.5488 62.7N 34.7E 0 135
18 -23 0148 Feb 07 17:46:55 8992 -22905 P 1.2255 0.5854 62.0N 102.8W 0 125
19 -22 0166 Feb 18 02:09:50 8819 -22682 P 1.2001 0.6340 61.5N 121.8E 0 116
20 -21 0184 Feb 29 10:24:45 8647 -22459 P 1.1684 0.6947 61.1N 11.5W 0 107
21 -20 0202 Mar 11 18:30:53 8476 -22236 P 1.1299 0.7688 60.9N 142.5W 0 98
22 -19 0220 Mar 22 02:29:25 8305 -22013 P 1.0855 0.8543 60.8N 88.5E 0 89
23 -18 0238 Apr 02 10:19:52 8134 -21790 P 1.0347 0.9523 60.9N 38.6W 0 80
24 -17 0256 Apr 12 18:02:10 7964 -21567 T 0.9776 1.0522 62.9N 139.5W 11 93 857 02m50s
25 -16 0274 Apr 24 01:38:24 7795 -21344 T 0.9159 1.0564 63.5N 124.4E 23 109 463 03m14s
26 -15 0292 May 04 09:08:37 7625 -21121 T 0.8497 1.0586 63.9N 23.8E 31 121 364 03m29s
27 -14 0310 May 15 16:34:57 7456 -20898 T 0.7804 1.0596 63.9N 76.7W 38 133 313 03m41s
28 -13 0328 May 25 23:56:30 7286 -20675 T 0.7077 1.0596 63.0N 176.3W 45 145 277 03m50s
29 -12 0346 Jun 06 07:17:19 7117 -20452 T 0.6346 1.0586 60.9N 83.1E 50 157 250 03m58s
30 -11 0364 Jun 16 14:36:12 6947 -20229 T 0.5608 1.0566 57.4N 18.9W 56 167 226 04m02s
31 -10 0382 Jun 27 21:55:37 6778 -20006 T 0.4878 1.0538 52.9N 123.4W 61 175 204 04m03s
32 -09 0400 Jul 08 05:16:04 6608 -19783 T 0.4163 1.0502 47.5N 129.7E 65 182 183 04m00s
33 -08 0418 Jul 19 12:39:47 6437 -19560 T 0.3481 1.0459 41.5N 20.2E 69 187 163 03m52s
34 -07 0436 Jul 29 20:07:35 6266 -19337 T 0.2842 1.0409 35.1N 91.7W 73 190 143 03m37s
35 -06 0454 Aug 10 03:39:07 6095 -19114 T 0.2243 1.0355 28.5N 154.5E 77 193 122 03m17s
36 -05 0472 Aug 20 11:17:31 5923 -18891 T 0.1710 1.0296 21.8N 38.3E 80 195 102 02m50s
37 -04 0490 Aug 31 19:01:26 5750 -18668 T 0.1232 1.0235 15.1N 79.6W 83 197 81 02m19s
38 -03 0508 Sep 11 02:53:05 5576 -18445 H3 0.0826 1.0173 8.6N 160.3E 85 198 59 01m45s
39 -02 0526 Sep 22 10:50:19 5401 -18222 H 0.0476 1.0111 2.3N 38.8E 87 198 38 01m08s
40 -01 0544 Oct 02 18:56:04 5226 -17999 H 0.0206 1.0050 3.5S 84.6W 89 198 17 00m31s
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 00 0562 Oct 14 03:07:26 5047 -17776 A -0.0010 0.9992 9.0S 150.8E 90 8 3 00m05s
42 01 0580 Oct 24 11:25:33 4867 -17553 A -0.0163 0.9938 13.9S 25.0E 89 13 22 00m40s
43 02 0598 Nov 04 19:48:16 4688 -17330 A -0.0271 0.9888 18.0S 101.4W 88 11 40 01m13s
44 03 0616 Nov 15 04:16:21 4542 -17107 A -0.0331 0.9843 21.4S 131.5E 88 8 56 01m43s
45 04 0634 Nov 26 12:46:01 4398 -16884 A -0.0369 0.9804 23.9S 4.4E 88 4 70 02m09s
46 05 0652 Dec 06 21:16:51 4249 -16661 A -0.0391 0.9771 25.5S 122.5W 88 359 82 02m31s
47 06 0670 Dec 18 05:46:46 4069 -16438 A -0.0415 0.9744 26.1S 110.8E 87 355 92 02m49s
48 07 0688 Dec 28 14:15:19 3889 -16215 A -0.0447 0.9723 25.8S 15.4W 87 350 99 03m02s
49 08 0707 Jan 08 22:38:11 3724 -15992 A -0.0520 0.9708 24.8S 140.3W 87 345 105 03m09s
50 09 0725 Jan 19 06:56:11 3580 -15769 A -0.0624 0.9696 23.1S 95.8E 86 341 109 03m14s
51 10 0743 Jan 30 15:05:55 3436 -15546 A -0.0792 0.9690 21.0S 26.2W 85 337 112 03m15s
52 11 0761 Feb 09 23:08:52 3293 -15323 A -0.1007 0.9686 18.5S 146.8W 84 334 113 03m15s
53 12 0779 Feb 21 07:00:09 3149 -15100 A -0.1312 0.9685 16.1S 95.4E 82 332 114 03m14s
54 13 0797 Mar 03 14:43:35 3005 -14877 A -0.1675 0.9685 13.7S 20.6W 80 331 115 03m14s
55 14 0815 Mar 14 22:15:01 2862 -14654 A -0.2128 0.9684 11.7S 133.6W 78 330 116 03m15s
56 15 0833 Mar 25 05:37:48 2718 -14431 A -0.2645 0.9683 10.1S 115.6E 75 331 117 03m18s
57 16 0851 Apr 05 12:48:54 2574 -14208 A -0.3251 0.9680 9.3S 7.7E 71 332 121 03m25s
58 17 0869 Apr 15 19:52:37 2430 -13985 A -0.3909 0.9674 9.3S 98.3W 67 334 126 03m35s
59 18 0887 Apr 27 02:46:27 2287 -13762 A -0.4641 0.9664 10.4S 158.0E 62 336 135 03m50s
60 19 0905 May 07 09:33:22 2154 -13539 A -0.5422 0.9649 12.8S 55.8E 57 339 149 04m07s
61 20 0923 May 18 16:13:31 2046 -13316 A -0.6247 0.9629 16.6S 44.9W 51 343 170 04m28s
62 21 0941 May 28 22:49:33 1938 -13093 A -0.7096 0.9603 21.9S 145.1W 45 347 203 04m49s
63 22 0959 Jun 09 05:22:03 1831 -12870 A -0.7965 0.9569 29.1S 114.8E 37 350 259 05m06s
64 23 0977 Jun 19 11:52:12 1723 -12647 A -0.8844 0.9526 38.8S 14.3E 27 355 373 05m16s
65 24 0995 Jun 30 18:22:43 1615 -12424 A -0.9708 0.9465 53.9S 88.2W 13 360 854 05m11s
66 25 1013 Jul 11 00:53:58 1521 -12201 P -1.0554 0.8698 68.1S 162.7E 0 10
67 26 1031 Jul 22 07:27:48 1431 -11978 P -1.1369 0.7287 69.1S 52.3E 0 22
68 27 1049 Aug 01 14:05:43 1341 -11755 P -1.2142 0.5957 70.0S 59.7W 0 33
69 28 1067 Aug 12 20:49:40 1252 -11532 P -1.2857 0.4734 70.8S 173.8W 0 46
70 29 1085 Aug 23 03:40:37 1162 -11309 P -1.3506 0.3635 71.4S 69.8E 0 59
71 30 1103 Sep 03 10:38:20 1076 -11086 P -1.4094 0.2646 71.8S 48.8W 0 72
72 31 1121 Sep 13 17:45:19 1004 -10863 P -1.4600 0.1802 72.0S 169.9W 0 86
73 32 1139 Sep 25 01:00:38 932 -10640 P -1.5037 0.1081 72.0S 66.8E 0 100
74 33 1157 Oct 05 08:25:14 868 -10417 P -1.5396 0.0494 71.7S 58.7W 0 114
75 34 1175 Oct 16 15:57:46 815 -10194 Pe -1.5690 0.0019 71.1S 174.3E 0 127
[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)"
