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 97 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 0123 Jun 11. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1385 Jul 08. The total duration of Saros series 97 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0123 Jun 11 10:40:13 TD
Last Eclipse = 1385 Jul 08 04:02:10 TD
Duration of Saros 97 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 97 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 97 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.7% |
| Annular | A | 23 | 32.4% |
| Total | T | 32 | 45.1% |
| 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 97 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 97 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 57 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 55 | 96.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 97: 8P 32T 2H 23A 6P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 97 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0700 May 23 Duration = 03m56s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 0826 Aug 07 Duration = 01m56s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1259 Apr 24 Duration = 05m15s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0880 Sep 08 Duration = 00m09s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0844 Aug 17 Duration = 01m15s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0862 Aug 29 Duration = 00m33s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0249 Aug 25 Magnitude = 0.9597
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1385 Jul 08 Magnitude = 0.0745
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 97 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 097 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 0123 Jun 11 10:40:13 9230 -23210 Pb 1.4766 0.1028 64.6N 96.8W 0 24
02 -35 0141 Jun 21 18:02:55 9056 -22987 P 1.4015 0.2470 65.6N 141.8E 0 14
03 -34 0159 Jul 03 01:30:16 8883 -22764 P 1.3295 0.3856 66.5N 18.8E 0 4
04 -33 0177 Jul 13 09:00:47 8710 -22541 P 1.2600 0.5196 67.5N 105.3W 0 354
05 -32 0195 Jul 24 16:36:40 8539 -22318 P 1.1945 0.6457 68.5N 128.7E 0 343
06 -31 0213 Aug 04 00:18:25 8368 -22095 P 1.1337 0.7625 69.5N 0.6E 0 331
07 -30 0231 Aug 15 08:07:30 8197 -21872 P 1.0789 0.8673 70.3N 129.8W 0 319
08 -29 0249 Aug 25 16:04:09 8027 -21649 P 1.0303 0.9597 71.0N 97.2E 0 306
09 -28 0267 Sep 06 00:08:11 7857 -21426 Tn 0.9878 1.0472 73.1N 63.3W 8 269 - 02m32s
10 -27 0285 Sep 16 08:21:02 7687 -21203 T 0.9528 1.0475 67.4N 135.0E 17 233 531 02m51s
11 -26 0303 Sep 27 16:41:24 7518 -20980 T 0.9240 1.0463 60.6N 5.6W 22 219 405 03m00s
12 -25 0321 Oct 08 01:09:39 7349 -20757 T 0.9018 1.0445 54.6N 142.0W 25 211 343 03m05s
13 -24 0339 Oct 19 09:44:42 7179 -20534 T 0.8852 1.0425 49.5N 82.3E 27 204 305 03m07s
14 -23 0357 Oct 29 18:26:42 7010 -20311 T 0.8744 1.0406 45.3N 54.0W 29 199 280 03m07s
15 -22 0375 Nov 10 03:13:23 6840 -20088 T 0.8677 1.0388 42.0N 169.2E 29 194 262 03m07s
16 -21 0393 Nov 20 12:03:39 6670 -19865 T 0.8640 1.0373 39.4N 31.9E 30 188 250 03m05s
17 -20 0411 Dec 01 20:56:26 6500 -19642 T 0.8625 1.0363 37.6N 105.9W 30 183 242 03m04s
18 -19 0429 Dec 12 05:50:23 6329 -19419 T 0.8620 1.0356 36.4N 116.1E 30 178 237 03m02s
19 -18 0447 Dec 23 14:42:21 6158 -19196 T 0.8603 1.0355 35.6N 21.4W 30 172 235 03m02s
20 -17 0466 Jan 02 23:31:56 5986 -18973 T 0.8569 1.0357 35.2N 158.2W 31 167 233 03m02s
21 -16 0484 Jan 14 08:16:49 5813 -18750 T 0.8499 1.0366 35.0N 66.4E 32 161 232 03m04s
22 -15 0502 Jan 24 16:57:17 5640 -18527 T 0.8396 1.0378 35.1N 67.6W 33 157 230 03m06s
23 -14 0520 Feb 05 01:29:14 5466 -18304 T 0.8227 1.0395 35.2N 161.0E 34 152 228 03m10s
24 -13 0538 Feb 15 09:55:14 5290 -18081 T 0.8012 1.0412 35.7N 31.7E 37 148 226 03m14s
25 -12 0556 Feb 26 18:11:26 5113 -17858 T 0.7721 1.0433 36.2N 94.5W 39 145 222 03m19s
26 -11 0574 Mar 09 02:20:43 4933 -17635 T 0.7376 1.0452 37.1N 141.7E 42 143 218 03m23s
27 -10 0592 Mar 19 10:19:26 4754 -17412 T 0.6948 1.0470 38.0N 21.4E 46 142 213 03m29s
28 -09 0610 Mar 30 18:11:46 4595 -17189 T 0.6469 1.0485 39.2N 96.5W 49 142 208 03m34s
29 -08 0628 Apr 10 01:54:42 4451 -16966 T 0.5919 1.0496 40.2N 148.9E 53 143 202 03m40s
30 -07 0646 Apr 21 09:31:04 4307 -16743 T 0.5316 1.0502 41.0N 36.6E 58 146 195 03m45s
31 -06 0664 May 01 16:59:55 4135 -16520 T 0.4658 1.0501 41.3N 73.1W 62 150 187 03m50s
32 -05 0682 May 13 00:23:49 3955 -16297 T 0.3964 1.0494 40.8N 178.7E 66 155 178 03m54s
33 -04 0700 May 23 07:42:50 3776 -16074 T 0.3233 1.0480 39.4N 71.9E 71 161 168 03m56s
34 -03 0718 Jun 03 14:57:54 3633 -15851 T 0.2478 1.0458 36.9N 34.1W 75 166 157 03m56s
35 -02 0736 Jun 13 22:11:01 3489 -15628 T 0.1715 1.0428 33.5N 140.3W 80 172 145 03m52s
36 -01 0754 Jun 25 05:23:15 3346 -15405 Tm 0.0955 1.0391 29.1N 112.9E 84 177 132 03m43s
37 00 0772 Jul 05 12:35:35 3202 -15182 T 0.0204 1.0347 23.9N 5.1E 89 181 117 03m27s
38 01 0790 Jul 16 19:49:25 3058 -14959 T -0.0525 1.0296 18.0N 104.0W 87 6 100 03m03s
39 02 0808 Jul 27 03:06:05 2914 -14736 T -0.1222 1.0241 11.7N 145.5E 83 9 83 02m33s
40 03 0826 Aug 07 10:27:15 2771 -14513 T -0.1869 1.0180 5.0N 33.3E 79 12 63 01m56s
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 0844 Aug 17 17:52:11 2627 -14290 H -0.2475 1.0117 1.8S 80.3W 76 14 42 01m15s
42 05 0862 Aug 29 01:24:08 2483 -14067 H -0.3013 1.0051 8.7S 164.1E 72 16 19 00m33s
43 06 0880 Sep 08 09:02:03 2340 -13844 A -0.3493 0.9985 15.6S 46.8E 69 18 6 00m09s
44 07 0898 Sep 19 16:48:21 2196 -13621 A -0.3894 0.9919 22.2S 72.3W 67 19 31 00m50s
45 08 0916 Sep 30 00:40:10 2086 -13398 A -0.4242 0.9855 28.7S 167.5E 65 20 56 01m27s
46 09 0934 Oct 11 08:40:25 1978 -13175 A -0.4510 0.9794 34.6S 45.9E 63 19 82 02m01s
47 10 0952 Oct 21 16:46:04 1870 -12952 A -0.4727 0.9736 40.2S 76.2W 62 18 107 02m32s
48 11 0970 Nov 02 00:58:17 1762 -12729 A -0.4883 0.9684 45.1S 161.1E 61 16 130 02m59s
49 12 0988 Nov 12 09:14:16 1655 -12506 A -0.4999 0.9636 49.2S 38.9E 60 11 152 03m23s
50 13 1006 Nov 23 17:34:38 1554 -12283 A -0.5074 0.9596 52.3S 82.9W 59 6 171 03m43s
51 14 1024 Dec 04 01:56:15 1464 -12060 A -0.5130 0.9561 54.2S 156.3E 59 359 187 04m00s
52 15 1042 Dec 15 10:17:55 1374 -11837 A -0.5180 0.9533 54.8S 36.2E 59 351 200 04m14s
53 16 1060 Dec 25 18:38:02 1285 -11614 A -0.5234 0.9511 54.2S 83.5W 58 344 211 04m26s
54 17 1079 Jan 06 02:55:27 1195 -11391 A -0.5307 0.9494 52.5S 156.7E 58 337 219 04m35s
55 18 1097 Jan 16 11:07:06 1105 -11168 A -0.5420 0.9483 50.1S 37.3E 57 332 225 04m41s
56 19 1115 Jan 27 19:12:32 1031 -10945 A -0.5578 0.9477 47.3S 81.6W 56 327 230 04m46s
57 20 1133 Feb 07 03:10:08 959 -10722 A -0.5794 0.9473 44.3S 160.7E 54 325 235 04m49s
58 21 1151 Feb 18 11:00:02 888 -10499 A -0.6070 0.9473 41.6S 44.2E 52 323 240 04m52s
59 22 1169 Feb 28 18:38:38 835 -10276 A -0.6431 0.9473 39.3S 69.7W 50 322 248 04m55s
60 23 1187 Mar 12 02:08:41 781 -10053 A -0.6856 0.9474 37.8S 178.3E 47 322 259 04m59s
61 24 1205 Mar 22 09:27:32 727 -9830 A -0.7365 0.9473 37.3S 69.0E 42 323 278 05m04s
62 25 1223 Apr 02 16:37:47 673 -9607 A -0.7938 0.9471 38.2S 38.0W 37 324 310 05m09s
63 26 1241 Apr 12 23:36:48 620 -9384 A -0.8597 0.9462 41.1S 141.6W 30 325 376 05m14s
64 27 1259 Apr 24 06:28:48 570 -9161 A -0.9304 0.9445 46.9S 117.8E 21 325 548 05m15s
65 28 1277 May 04 13:11:57 523 -8938 A- -1.0071 0.9528 62.6S 34.0E 0 312 - -
66 29 1295 May 15 19:48:34 476 -8715 P -1.0884 0.8131 63.3S 74.6W 0 321
67 30 1313 May 26 02:19:28 441 -8492 P -1.1731 0.6672 64.2S 178.1E 0 331
68 31 1331 Jun 06 08:46:50 408 -8269 P -1.2597 0.5183 65.1S 71.3E 0 340
69 32 1349 Jun 16 15:12:24 376 -8046 P -1.3468 0.3687 66.1S 35.4W 0 350
70 33 1367 Jun 27 21:36:10 348 -7823 P -1.4343 0.2188 67.1S 142.0W 0 0
71 34 1385 Jul 08 04:02:10 319 -7600 Pe -1.5189 0.0745 68.1S 110.3E 0 11
[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)"
