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 103 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 0387 Apr 04. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1667 May 22. The total duration of Saros series 103 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0387 Apr 04 21:52:16 TD
Last Eclipse = 1667 May 22 22:57:60 TD
Duration of Saros 103 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 103 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 103 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 22 | 30.6% |
| Annular | A | 13 | 18.1% |
| Total | T | 34 | 47.2% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.2% |
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 103 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 103 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 50 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 46 | 92.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 3 | 6.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 103: 8P 34T 3H 13A 14P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 103 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0639 Sep 03 Duration = 04m42s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 1126 Jun 22 Duration = 02m09s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1360 Nov 09 Duration = 03m53s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1198 Aug 04 Duration = 00m21s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1144 Jul 02 Duration = 01m39s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1180 Jul 24 Duration = 00m21s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0513 Jun 19 Magnitude = 0.9908
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1667 May 22 Magnitude = 0.0102
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 103 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 103 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 -37 0387 Apr 04 21:52:16 6733 -19947 Pb 1.5046 0.0533 61.1N 139.8E 0 78
02 -36 0405 Apr 15 05:32:35 6562 -19724 P 1.4444 0.1668 61.3N 15.2E 0 69
03 -35 0423 Apr 26 13:07:50 6392 -19501 P 1.3796 0.2901 61.8N 108.2W 0 60
04 -34 0441 May 06 20:39:42 6221 -19278 P 1.3114 0.4208 62.3N 129.1E 0 51
05 -33 0459 May 18 04:07:08 6049 -19055 P 1.2392 0.5603 63.0N 7.3E 0 42
06 -32 0477 May 28 11:33:37 5877 -18832 P 1.1660 0.7023 63.8N 114.5W 0 33
07 -31 0495 Jun 08 18:58:41 5704 -18609 P 1.0914 0.8472 64.7N 123.9E 0 24
08 -30 0513 Jun 19 02:25:05 5530 -18386 P 1.0176 0.9908 65.6N 1.5E 0 14
09 -29 0531 Jun 30 09:51:59 5355 -18163 T 0.9440 1.0666 85.2N 106.4W 19 19 680 03m23s
10 -28 0549 Jul 10 17:23:12 5179 -17940 T 0.8739 1.0688 83.1N 38.8W 29 201 468 03m48s
11 -27 0567 Jul 22 00:57:59 5000 -17717 T 0.8068 1.0692 73.4N 153.5W 36 202 385 04m07s
12 -26 0585 Aug 01 08:37:54 4820 -17494 T 0.7441 1.0687 64.6N 89.5E 42 203 336 04m22s
13 -25 0603 Aug 12 16:23:34 4647 -17271 T 0.6860 1.0671 56.4N 29.5W 46 203 301 04m33s
14 -24 0621 Aug 23 00:16:24 4504 -17048 T 0.6340 1.0648 48.6N 150.4W 50 203 274 04m40s
15 -23 0639 Sep 03 08:17:01 4360 -16825 T 0.5887 1.0620 41.3N 86.6E 54 203 250 04m42s
16 -22 0657 Sep 13 16:24:06 4201 -16602 T 0.5490 1.0588 34.4N 38.2W 56 202 230 04m42s
17 -21 0675 Sep 25 00:40:11 4021 -16379 T 0.5170 1.0553 28.0N 165.1W 59 200 212 04m37s
18 -20 0693 Oct 05 09:03:11 3842 -16156 T 0.4910 1.0517 22.2N 66.3E 60 198 196 04m30s
19 -19 0711 Oct 16 17:34:15 3686 -15933 T 0.4719 1.0482 17.1N 64.0W 62 196 181 04m21s
20 -18 0729 Oct 27 02:10:21 3542 -15710 T 0.4574 1.0448 12.6N 164.8E 63 193 167 04m11s
21 -17 0747 Nov 07 10:53:06 3398 -15487 T 0.4487 1.0416 8.9N 32.1E 63 190 155 04m00s
22 -16 0765 Nov 17 19:39:02 3255 -15264 T 0.4430 1.0389 6.0N 101.1W 64 186 145 03m49s
23 -15 0783 Nov 29 04:28:09 3111 -15041 T 0.4403 1.0365 3.9N 125.1E 64 182 137 03m39s
24 -14 0801 Dec 09 13:18:07 2967 -14818 T 0.4386 1.0346 2.7N 8.8W 64 178 130 03m29s
25 -13 0819 Dec 20 22:08:51 2824 -14595 T 0.4377 1.0332 2.2N 142.9W 64 174 124 03m19s
26 -12 0837 Dec 31 06:56:29 2680 -14372 T 0.4348 1.0323 2.5N 83.9E 64 169 121 03m12s
27 -11 0856 Jan 11 15:41:03 2536 -14149 T 0.4296 1.0318 3.4N 48.6W 65 165 118 03m05s
28 -10 0874 Jan 22 00:20:14 2392 -13926 T 0.4203 1.0318 4.8N 179.7W 65 161 117 03m01s
29 -09 0892 Feb 02 08:54:33 2249 -13703 T 0.4071 1.0320 6.6N 50.4E 66 157 117 02m57s
30 -08 0910 Feb 12 17:19:42 2125 -13480 T 0.3867 1.0325 8.6N 77.0W 67 154 118 02m56s
31 -07 0928 Feb 24 01:38:26 2017 -13257 T 0.3615 1.0331 10.9N 157.4E 69 152 119 02m55s
32 -06 0946 Mar 06 09:46:58 1910 -13034 T 0.3283 1.0338 13.1N 34.6E 71 150 120 02m56s
33 -05 0964 Mar 16 17:48:19 1802 -12811 T 0.2895 1.0344 15.3N 86.1W 73 150 120 02m57s
34 -04 0982 Mar 28 01:38:12 1694 -12588 T 0.2418 1.0347 17.2N 156.4E 76 150 120 02m59s
35 -03 1000 Apr 07 09:21:38 1587 -12365 T 0.1892 1.0348 18.7N 40.9E 79 151 119 03m01s
36 -02 1018 Apr 18 16:54:52 1497 -12142 T 0.1290 1.0344 19.5N 71.6W 82 154 117 03m03s
37 -01 1036 Apr 29 00:21:45 1407 -11919 Tm 0.0642 1.0335 19.6N 177.8E 86 157 113 03m04s
38 00 1054 May 10 07:40:25 1318 -11696 T -0.0066 1.0319 18.8N 69.2E 90 332 108 03m02s
39 01 1072 May 20 14:54:52 1228 -11473 T -0.0801 1.0299 16.9N 38.5W 86 344 101 02m58s
40 02 1090 May 31 22:03:44 1138 -11250 T -0.1573 1.0270 14.0N 145.1W 81 349 93 02m48s
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 03 1108 Jun 11 05:09:17 1057 -11027 T -0.2364 1.0235 10.0N 108.6E 76 353 82 02m32s
42 04 1126 Jun 22 12:12:40 985 -10804 T -0.3161 1.0193 5.0N 2.2E 72 357 69 02m09s
43 05 1144 Jul 02 19:15:50 913 -10581 H -0.3949 1.0145 0.8S 104.9W 67 1 54 01m39s
44 06 1162 Jul 14 02:19:38 854 -10358 H -0.4722 1.0091 7.3S 147.1E 62 5 35 01m02s
45 07 1180 Jul 24 09:25:08 801 -10135 H -0.5471 1.0031 14.4S 38.1E 57 9 13 00m21s
46 08 1198 Aug 04 16:34:46 747 -9912 A -0.6176 0.9967 22.0S 72.8W 52 13 15 00m21s
47 09 1216 Aug 14 23:48:35 693 -9689 A -0.6832 0.9899 29.9S 174.6E 47 17 48 01m02s
48 10 1234 Aug 26 07:07:19 639 -9466 A -0.7438 0.9829 38.0S 60.0E 42 21 90 01m39s
49 11 1252 Sep 05 14:32:18 587 -9243 A -0.7982 0.9757 46.2S 57.1W 37 26 143 02m11s
50 12 1270 Sep 16 22:04:26 540 -9020 A -0.8459 0.9686 54.3S 177.2W 32 31 211 02m38s
51 13 1288 Sep 27 05:43:53 494 -8797 A -0.8863 0.9616 62.1S 58.8E 27 39 301 03m00s
52 14 1306 Oct 08 13:29:27 452 -8574 A -0.9208 0.9547 69.4S 70.7W 22 51 428 03m18s
53 15 1324 Oct 18 21:22:40 420 -8351 A -0.9481 0.9483 75.4S 149.8E 18 71 613 03m33s
54 16 1342 Oct 30 05:22:14 388 -8128 A -0.9696 0.9422 78.6S 5.8W 13 106 920 03m44s
55 17 1360 Nov 09 13:27:09 358 -7905 As -0.9858 0.9366 76.8S 166.7W 9 145 - 03m53s
56 18 1378 Nov 20 21:36:04 329 -7682 A- -0.9981 0.9635 68.1S 45.4E 0 170 - -
57 19 1396 Dec 01 05:48:03 301 -7459 A- -1.0074 0.9463 67.0S 88.7W 0 181 - -
58 20 1414 Dec 12 14:01:50 275 -7236 A- -1.0145 0.9330 65.9S 137.2E 0 192 - -
59 21 1432 Dec 22 22:14:13 250 -7013 P -1.0224 0.9188 64.9S 4.0E 0 203
60 22 1451 Jan 03 06:25:40 226 -6790 P -1.0306 0.9045 63.9S 128.7W 0 213
61 23 1469 Jan 13 14:32:44 208 -6567 P -1.0420 0.8851 63.0S 100.2E 0 222
62 24 1487 Jan 24 22:35:03 190 -6344 P -1.0566 0.8604 62.3S 29.5W 0 232
63 25 1505 Feb 04 06:29:08 173 -6121 P -1.0775 0.8255 61.7S 157.0W 0 241
64 26 1523 Feb 15 14:16:44 159 -5898 P -1.1030 0.7827 61.2S 77.3E 0 250
65 27 1541 Feb 25 21:54:42 145 -5675 P -1.1360 0.7272 61.0S 45.9W 0 259
66 28 1559 Mar 09 05:23:01 132 -5452 P -1.1761 0.6598 60.8S 166.6W 0 268
67 29 1577 Mar 19 12:41:15 122 -5229 P -1.2235 0.5798 60.9S 75.2E 0 277
68 30 1595 Apr 09 19:50:05 111 -5006 P -1.2777 0.4879 61.1S 40.7W 0 286
69 31 1613 Apr 20 02:49:29 97 -4783 P -1.3389 0.3839 61.5S 154.4W 0 295
70 32 1631 May 01 09:39:23 80 -4560 P -1.4070 0.2677 62.0S 94.2E 0 304
71 33 1649 May 11 16:22:04 48 -4337 P -1.4801 0.1427 62.7S 15.7W 0 313
72 34 1667 May 22 22:58:00 28 -4114 Pe -1.5574 0.0102 63.5S 124.0W 0 322
[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)"
