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 96 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0094 Jul 01. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 1374 Aug 08. The total duration of Saros series 96 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0094 Jul 01 10:27:36 TD
Last Eclipse = 1374 Aug 08 16:20:08 TD
Duration of Saros 96 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 96 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 96 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 17 | 23.6% |
| Annular | A | 14 | 19.4% |
| Total | T | 39 | 54.2% |
| 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 96 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 96 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 52 | 94.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 2 | 3.6% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 96: 10P 14A 2H 39T 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 96 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0707 Jul 04 Duration = 04m57s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 0563 Apr 08 Duration = 01m25s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0292 Oct 27 Duration = 03m50s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0509 Mar 06 Duration = 00m32s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0545 Mar 28 Duration = 00m42s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0527 Mar 18 Duration = 00m03s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1266 Jun 04 Magnitude = 0.9156
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0094 Jul 01 Magnitude = 0.0070
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 96 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 096 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 -35 0094 Jul 01 10:27:36 9512 -23568 Pb -1.5566 0.0070 65.1S 42.1E 0 19
02 -34 0112 Jul 11 17:00:26 9336 -23345 P -1.4751 0.1475 64.2S 66.7W 0 28
03 -33 0130 Jul 22 23:40:13 9161 -23122 P -1.3977 0.2808 63.3S 176.9W 0 38
04 -32 0148 Aug 02 06:27:42 8988 -22899 P -1.3252 0.4058 62.5S 71.2E 0 47
05 -31 0166 Aug 13 13:24:10 8815 -22676 P -1.2589 0.5199 61.9S 42.6W 0 56
06 -30 0184 Aug 23 20:29:42 8643 -22453 P -1.1989 0.6231 61.3S 158.6W 0 65
07 -29 0202 Sep 04 03:46:22 8471 -22230 P -1.1469 0.7123 61.0S 82.8E 0 74
08 -28 0220 Sep 14 11:13:10 8300 -22007 P -1.1022 0.7890 60.7S 38.3W 0 83
09 -27 0238 Sep 25 18:49:44 8130 -21784 P -1.0645 0.8534 60.7S 161.8W 0 92
10 -26 0256 Oct 06 02:36:21 7960 -21561 P -1.0342 0.9052 60.8S 72.3E 0 101
11 -25 0274 Oct 17 10:32:32 7790 -21338 A- -1.0113 0.9444 61.1S 56.1W 0 110 - -
12 -24 0292 Oct 27 18:36:49 7620 -21115 As -0.9939 0.9382 63.6S 177.4W 5 111 - 03m50s
13 -23 0310 Nov 08 02:47:32 7451 -20892 As -0.9810 0.9405 67.3S 62.3E 10 109 - 03m43s
14 -22 0328 Nov 18 11:04:09 7282 -20669 A -0.9722 0.9426 70.6S 66.4W 13 113 951 03m33s
15 -21 0346 Nov 29 19:25:12 7112 -20446 A -0.9664 0.9449 74.1S 160.3E 14 121 825 03m23s
16 -20 0364 Dec 10 03:47:33 6943 -20223 A -0.9609 0.9479 77.7S 24.0E 15 131 721 03m11s
17 -19 0382 Dec 21 12:10:55 6773 -20000 A -0.9555 0.9513 81.4S 117.8W 17 146 628 02m58s
18 -18 0400 Dec 31 20:32:08 6603 -19777 A -0.9475 0.9556 85.0S 86.6E 18 175 523 02m44s
19 -17 0419 Jan 12 04:51:32 6433 -19554 A -0.9373 0.9605 85.8S 108.9W 20 245 423 02m29s
20 -16 0437 Jan 22 13:04:52 6262 -19331 A -0.9216 0.9662 81.8S 80.7E 22 290 321 02m11s
21 -15 0455 Feb 02 21:14:29 6090 -19108 A -0.9020 0.9723 76.1S 60.0W 25 307 233 01m52s
22 -14 0473 Feb 13 05:16:16 5918 -18885 A -0.8754 0.9790 69.5S 167.8E 29 317 156 01m29s
23 -13 0491 Feb 24 13:11:57 5745 -18662 A -0.8429 0.9860 62.3S 40.2E 32 324 92 01m02s
24 -12 0509 Mar 06 20:59:05 5571 -18439 A -0.8024 0.9933 54.6S 84.0W 36 329 39 00m32s
25 -11 0527 Mar 18 04:40:28 5397 -18216 H -0.7564 1.0006 46.8S 154.3E 41 333 3 00m03s
26 -10 0545 Mar 28 12:14:40 5221 -17993 H -0.7036 1.0079 38.7S 35.1E 45 337 38 00m42s
27 -09 0563 Apr 08 19:42:28 5042 -17770 T -0.6445 1.0150 30.6S 82.1W 50 341 67 01m25s
28 -08 0581 Apr 19 03:05:14 4863 -17547 T -0.5800 1.0218 22.6S 162.6E 54 344 91 02m09s
29 -07 0599 Apr 30 10:23:56 4683 -17324 T -0.5110 1.0281 14.8S 48.9E 59 348 110 02m52s
30 -06 0617 May 10 17:39:29 4538 -17101 T -0.4384 1.0340 7.4S 63.3W 64 351 127 03m32s
31 -05 0635 May 22 00:52:37 4394 -16878 T -0.3629 1.0391 0.4S 174.2W 69 355 141 04m06s
32 -04 0653 Jun 01 08:05:39 4244 -16655 T -0.2861 1.0436 5.9N 75.6E 73 358 152 04m32s
33 -03 0671 Jun 12 15:19:39 4064 -16432 T -0.2090 1.0473 11.4N 34.2W 78 2 161 04m48s
34 -02 0689 Jun 22 22:34:45 3885 -16209 T -0.1319 1.0503 16.1N 143.6W 83 7 168 04m56s
35 -01 0707 Jul 04 05:53:44 3720 -15986 T -0.0573 1.0525 19.8N 106.8E 87 12 174 04m57s
36 00 0725 Jul 14 13:16:42 3576 -15763 T 0.0146 1.0540 22.3N 3.2W 89 194 179 04m53s
37 01 0743 Jul 25 20:46:00 3433 -15540 Tm 0.0819 1.0547 23.7N 114.4W 85 200 181 04m46s
38 02 0761 Aug 05 04:19:51 3289 -15317 T 0.1459 1.0548 24.1N 133.2E 81 204 183 04m38s
39 03 0779 Aug 16 12:02:26 3145 -15094 T 0.2033 1.0544 23.5N 18.5E 78 207 183 04m29s
40 04 0797 Aug 26 19:51:37 3001 -14871 T 0.2556 1.0535 22.2N 98.2W 75 209 182 04m21s
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 05 0815 Sep 07 03:50:18 2858 -14648 T 0.3003 1.0522 20.3N 142.3E 72 210 180 04m14s
42 06 0833 Sep 17 11:56:03 2714 -14425 T 0.3394 1.0507 18.0N 20.5E 70 211 178 04m08s
43 07 0851 Sep 28 20:12:09 2570 -14202 T 0.3705 1.0492 15.4N 104.2W 68 210 174 04m03s
44 08 0869 Oct 09 04:35:25 2427 -13979 T 0.3960 1.0475 12.8N 128.9E 67 208 171 04m00s
45 09 0887 Oct 20 13:06:40 2283 -13756 T 0.4151 1.0461 10.2N 0.2W 65 206 167 03m59s
46 10 0905 Oct 30 21:44:30 2151 -13533 T 0.4293 1.0449 7.8N 131.0W 65 203 164 03m59s
47 11 0923 Nov 11 06:29:02 2043 -13310 T 0.4377 1.0440 5.8N 96.6E 64 199 162 04m01s
48 12 0941 Nov 21 15:17:26 1935 -13087 T 0.4437 1.0436 4.2N 36.8W 64 195 162 04m05s
49 13 0959 Dec 03 00:08:45 1828 -12864 T 0.4473 1.0435 3.3N 170.9W 63 191 162 04m10s
50 14 0977 Dec 13 09:01:41 1720 -12641 T 0.4499 1.0439 3.0N 54.7E 63 186 164 04m16s
51 15 0995 Dec 24 17:55:08 1612 -12418 T 0.4518 1.0448 3.6N 80.0W 63 182 168 04m23s
52 16 1014 Jan 04 02:45:41 1518 -12195 T 0.4565 1.0462 5.0N 146.1E 63 178 173 04m29s
53 17 1032 Jan 15 11:33:38 1429 -11972 T 0.4632 1.0479 7.4N 12.7E 62 173 179 04m35s
54 18 1050 Jan 25 20:16:08 1339 -11749 T 0.4746 1.0499 10.6N 119.7W 62 170 188 04m41s
55 19 1068 Feb 06 04:53:52 1249 -11526 T 0.4899 1.0521 14.7N 108.9E 61 166 197 04m46s
56 20 1086 Feb 16 13:23:18 1160 -11303 T 0.5120 1.0544 19.7N 20.8W 59 164 208 04m48s
57 21 1104 Feb 27 21:46:57 1074 -11080 T 0.5390 1.0568 25.3N 149.3W 57 161 221 04m49s
58 22 1122 Mar 10 06:01:29 1002 -10857 T 0.5736 1.0588 31.6N 84.2E 55 159 235 04m47s
59 23 1140 Mar 20 14:08:51 931 -10634 T 0.6143 1.0607 38.6N 40.8W 52 157 251 04m42s
60 24 1158 Mar 31 22:07:25 867 -10411 T 0.6623 1.0621 46.2N 163.9W 48 155 271 04m33s
61 25 1176 Apr 11 05:59:31 813 -10188 T 0.7156 1.0629 54.2N 74.2E 44 154 295 04m20s
62 26 1194 Apr 22 13:44:30 760 -9965 T 0.7748 1.0629 62.9N 46.7W 39 151 327 04m03s
63 27 1212 May 02 21:22:43 706 -9742 T 0.8394 1.0620 72.4N 168.7W 33 146 377 03m43s
64 28 1230 May 14 04:56:10 652 -9519 T 0.9078 1.0597 82.5N 52.4E 24 122 476 03m17s
65 29 1248 May 24 12:24:47 598 -9296 T 0.9801 1.0549 78.2N 170.9W 11 13 997 02m42s
66 30 1266 Jun 04 19:50:32 551 -9073 P 1.0541 0.9156 66.8N 60.4E 0 357
67 31 1284 Jun 15 03:13:07 505 -8850 P 1.1301 0.7690 65.8N 60.8W 0 347
68 32 1302 Jun 26 10:35:49 460 -8627 P 1.2055 0.6240 64.8N 178.3E 0 337
69 33 1320 Jul 06 17:58:24 428 -8404 P 1.2804 0.4807 63.9N 57.8E 0 327
70 34 1338 Jul 18 01:22:26 396 -8181 P 1.3535 0.3419 63.2N 62.7W 0 318
71 35 1356 Jul 28 08:49:12 365 -7958 P 1.4235 0.2101 62.5N 176.3E 0 309
72 36 1374 Aug 08 16:20:08 336 -7735 Pe 1.4893 0.0875 61.9N 54.4E 0 300
[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)"
