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 101 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 0329 May 15. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1591 Jun 21. The total duration of Saros series 101 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0329 May 15 13:16:33 TD
Last Eclipse = 1591 Jun 21 04:28:43 TD
Duration of Saros 101 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 101 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 101 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 18 | 25.4% |
| Annular | A | 53 | 74.6% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 0 | 0.0% |
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 101 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 101 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 53 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 52 | 98.1% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 101: 8P 53A 10P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 101 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0689 Dec 17 Duration = 10m31s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1411 Feb 23 Duration = 02m05s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0455 Jul 30 Magnitude = 0.9406
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1591 Jun 21 Magnitude = 0.0129
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 101 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 101 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 0329 May 15 13:16:33 7277 -20663 Pb 1.5194 0.0460 62.9N 122.5W 0 45
02 -34 0347 May 26 20:15:24 7108 -20440 P 1.4489 0.1753 63.6N 122.7E 0 35
03 -33 0365 Jun 06 03:10:31 6938 -20217 P 1.3761 0.3084 64.4N 8.7E 0 26
04 -32 0383 Jun 17 10:04:04 6768 -19994 P 1.3025 0.4418 65.3N 105.3W 0 17
05 -31 0401 Jun 27 16:57:24 6598 -19771 P 1.2292 0.5739 66.3N 140.5E 0 7
06 -30 0419 Jul 08 23:50:44 6428 -19548 P 1.1565 0.7035 67.3N 25.8E 0 357
07 -29 0437 Jul 19 06:47:24 6257 -19325 P 1.0873 0.8256 68.3N 90.2W 0 346
08 -28 0455 Jul 30 13:47:01 6085 -19102 P 1.0212 0.9406 69.3N 152.5E 0 334
09 -27 0473 Aug 09 20:51:51 5913 -18879 A 0.9601 0.9654 78.2N 19.1W 16 272 463 02m13s
10 -26 0491 Aug 21 04:01:41 5740 -18656 A 0.9036 0.9621 71.1N 170.8W 25 230 323 02m44s
11 -25 0509 Aug 31 11:18:53 5567 -18433 A 0.8538 0.9579 62.5N 65.0E 31 217 294 03m22s
12 -24 0527 Sep 11 18:42:58 5392 -18210 A 0.8106 0.9532 54.6N 54.3W 36 211 290 04m05s
13 -23 0545 Sep 22 02:14:00 5216 -17987 A 0.7737 0.9485 47.4N 173.1W 39 207 296 04m53s
14 -22 0563 Oct 03 09:52:51 5037 -17764 A 0.7438 0.9438 41.0N 67.3E 42 203 307 05m44s
15 -21 0581 Oct 13 17:39:23 4858 -17541 A 0.7205 0.9393 35.4N 53.6W 44 200 321 06m38s
16 -20 0599 Oct 25 01:32:36 4678 -17318 A 0.7033 0.9352 30.6N 175.7W 45 196 337 07m32s
17 -19 0617 Nov 04 09:31:18 4534 -17095 A 0.6910 0.9314 26.6N 61.4E 46 192 353 08m25s
18 -18 0635 Nov 15 17:34:25 4391 -16872 A 0.6828 0.9283 23.4N 62.4W 47 188 367 09m12s
19 -17 0653 Nov 26 01:41:15 4239 -16649 A 0.6779 0.9257 21.1N 173.0E 47 184 380 09m51s
20 -16 0671 Dec 07 09:48:18 4059 -16426 A 0.6733 0.9238 19.4N 48.3E 48 179 389 10m18s
21 -15 0689 Dec 17 17:56:06 3880 -16203 A 0.6698 0.9225 18.4N 76.4W 48 175 394 10m31s
22 -14 0707 Dec 29 02:00:34 3716 -15980 A 0.6636 0.9219 17.9N 159.8E 48 170 392 10m30s
23 -13 0726 Jan 08 10:02:27 3572 -15757 A 0.6558 0.9219 18.0N 36.8E 49 165 387 10m16s
24 -12 0744 Jan 19 17:56:37 3429 -15534 A 0.6418 0.9227 18.4N 84.0W 50 161 375 09m52s
25 -11 0762 Jan 30 01:45:52 3285 -15311 A 0.6242 0.9239 19.2N 156.6E 51 157 360 09m22s
26 -10 0780 Feb 10 09:25:34 3141 -15088 A 0.5986 0.9257 20.2N 39.9E 53 154 341 08m49s
27 -09 0798 Feb 20 16:57:03 2998 -14865 A 0.5668 0.9279 21.3N 74.4W 55 151 321 08m15s
28 -08 0816 Mar 03 00:17:49 2854 -14642 A 0.5262 0.9304 22.6N 174.6E 58 149 300 07m45s
29 -07 0834 Mar 14 07:30:30 2710 -14419 A 0.4792 0.9331 23.9N 66.0E 61 148 280 07m17s
30 -06 0852 Mar 24 14:33:08 2566 -14196 A 0.4238 0.9359 25.1N 39.5W 65 148 260 06m53s
31 -05 0870 Apr 04 21:26:39 2423 -13973 A 0.3608 0.9388 26.0N 142.2W 69 149 242 06m35s
32 -04 0888 Apr 15 04:11:50 2279 -13750 A 0.2910 0.9414 26.5N 117.7E 73 151 225 06m22s
33 -03 0906 Apr 26 10:50:32 2148 -13527 A 0.2158 0.9440 26.4N 19.6E 77 154 211 06m15s
34 -02 0924 May 06 17:22:41 2040 -13304 A 0.1351 0.9462 25.4N 76.6W 82 158 200 06m12s
35 -01 0942 May 17 23:50:31 1932 -13081 A 0.0504 0.9481 23.4N 171.9W 87 163 191 06m15s
36 00 0960 May 28 06:15:21 1825 -12858 Am -0.0369 0.9497 20.3N 93.2E 88 346 185 06m21s
37 01 0978 Jun 08 12:39:24 1717 -12635 A -0.1248 0.9507 16.3N 2.1W 83 351 182 06m30s
38 02 0996 Jun 18 19:01:57 1609 -12412 A -0.2142 0.9514 11.3N 97.8W 78 356 182 06m39s
39 03 1014 Jun 30 01:27:23 1516 -12189 A -0.3013 0.9515 5.5N 165.1E 72 360 186 06m45s
40 04 1032 Jul 10 07:55:08 1426 -11966 A -0.3866 0.9513 1.1S 66.6E 67 4 193 06m46s
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 1050 Jul 21 14:29:16 1337 -11743 A -0.4670 0.9506 8.2S 34.3W 62 7 204 06m42s
42 06 1068 Jul 31 21:07:35 1247 -11520 A -0.5441 0.9495 15.8S 136.9W 57 11 220 06m33s
43 07 1086 Aug 12 03:55:33 1157 -11297 A -0.6134 0.9482 23.5S 117.4E 52 15 239 06m20s
44 08 1104 Aug 22 10:50:41 1072 -11074 A -0.6772 0.9466 31.5S 9.3E 47 18 264 06m04s
45 09 1122 Sep 02 17:56:11 1000 -10851 A -0.7328 0.9449 39.3S 101.9W 43 22 295 05m48s
46 10 1140 Sep 13 01:10:24 929 -10628 A -0.7820 0.9431 47.1S 144.0E 38 27 334 05m31s
47 11 1158 Sep 24 08:36:09 866 -10405 A -0.8223 0.9415 54.6S 26.5E 34 31 378 05m15s
48 12 1176 Oct 04 16:11:30 812 -10182 A -0.8551 0.9400 61.7S 94.1W 31 37 428 05m00s
49 13 1194 Oct 15 23:56:12 758 -9959 A -0.8811 0.9389 68.2S 142.1E 28 43 481 04m45s
50 14 1212 Oct 26 07:50:26 704 -9736 A -0.9000 0.9382 74.2S 14.8E 25 51 533 04m33s
51 15 1230 Nov 06 15:52:58 651 -9513 A -0.9131 0.9380 79.6S 116.1W 24 60 574 04m21s
52 16 1248 Nov 17 00:02:16 597 -9290 A -0.9210 0.9385 84.4S 107.9E 22 73 599 04m10s
53 17 1266 Nov 28 08:16:01 550 -9067 A -0.9262 0.9396 88.5S 67.8W 22 125 608 04m00s
54 18 1284 Dec 08 16:34:01 503 -8844 A -0.9284 0.9414 86.2S 56.2E 21 235 598 03m49s
55 19 1302 Dec 20 00:53:51 459 -8621 A -0.9302 0.9438 82.1S 85.4W 21 251 578 03m37s
56 20 1320 Dec 30 09:13:30 427 -8398 A -0.9327 0.9468 77.9S 141.2E 21 259 553 03m25s
57 21 1339 Jan 10 17:31:41 395 -8175 A -0.9371 0.9504 73.9S 10.8E 20 265 531 03m11s
58 22 1357 Jan 21 01:46:45 364 -7952 A -0.9448 0.9543 70.1S 116.9W 19 269 517 02m56s
59 23 1375 Feb 01 09:57:38 336 -7729 A -0.9565 0.9586 66.8S 118.3E 16 271 525 02m39s
60 24 1393 Feb 11 18:02:26 307 -7506 A -0.9742 0.9628 64.1S 1.5W 12 270 618 02m22s
61 25 1411 Feb 23 02:01:36 281 -7283 As -0.9972 0.9654 61.6S 105.8W 1 258 - 02m05s
62 26 1429 Mar 05 09:54:08 256 -7060 P -1.0266 0.9336 61.0S 129.5E 0 265
63 27 1447 Mar 16 17:39:01 231 -6837 P -1.0629 0.8715 61.0S 4.6E 0 274
64 28 1465 Mar 27 01:17:27 212 -6614 P -1.1052 0.7976 61.1S 118.8W 0 282
65 29 1483 Apr 07 08:49:08 194 -6391 P -1.1536 0.7117 61.5S 119.4E 0 291
66 30 1501 Apr 17 16:15:52 176 -6168 P -1.2071 0.6155 61.9S 1.2W 0 300
67 31 1519 Apr 28 23:35:43 162 -5945 P -1.2666 0.5070 62.5S 120.3W 0 309
68 32 1537 May 09 06:52:57 148 -5722 P -1.3289 0.3922 63.2S 121.1E 0 318
69 33 1555 May 20 14:06:06 135 -5499 P -1.3947 0.2696 64.0S 3.3E 0 328
70 34 1573 May 30 21:18:24 124 -5276 P -1.4619 0.1436 64.9S 114.6W 0 337
71 35 1591 Jun 21 04:28:43 113 -5053 Pe -1.5311 0.0129 65.8S 127.7E 0 347
[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)"
