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 104 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 0470 Apr 17. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 1714 May 13. The total duration of Saros series 104 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0470 Apr 17 10:26:56 TD
Last Eclipse = 1714 May 13 18:39:35 TD
Duration of Saros 104 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 104 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 104 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 41.4% |
| Annular | A | 41 | 58.6% |
| 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 104 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 104 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 39 | 95.1% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 104: 7P 41A 22P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 104 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0957 Feb 02 Duration = 08m57s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0614 Jul 12 Duration = 02m41s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1335 Sep 17 Magnitude = 0.9134
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0470 Apr 17 Magnitude = 0.0867
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 104 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 104 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 -34 0470 Apr 17 10:26:56 5945 -18920 Pb -1.4981 0.0867 71.0S 103.8E 0 305
02 -33 0488 Apr 27 17:36:45 5772 -18697 P -1.4368 0.1983 70.3S 17.4W 0 318
03 -32 0506 May 09 00:40:11 5599 -18474 P -1.3709 0.3179 69.5S 136.5W 0 330
04 -31 0524 May 19 07:37:25 5424 -18251 P -1.3006 0.4452 68.7S 106.4E 0 341
05 -30 0542 May 30 14:29:35 5249 -18028 P -1.2268 0.5781 67.7S 8.8W 0 352
06 -29 0560 Jun 09 21:18:56 5070 -17805 P -1.1512 0.7134 66.7S 122.8W 0 3
07 -28 0578 Jun 21 04:06:31 4891 -17582 P -1.0745 0.8494 65.7S 124.1E 0 13
08 -27 0596 Jul 01 10:54:33 4711 -17359 A- -0.9988 0.9827 64.7S 11.3E 0 23 - -
09 -26 0614 Jul 12 17:42:54 4561 -17136 A -0.9237 0.9722 43.7S 84.9W 22 19 259 02m41s
10 -25 0632 Jul 23 00:35:01 4417 -16913 A -0.8522 0.9696 35.9S 171.0E 31 22 205 03m07s
11 -24 0650 Aug 03 07:30:19 4272 -16690 A -0.7836 0.9660 30.9S 66.1E 38 25 193 03m34s
12 -23 0668 Aug 13 14:31:17 4092 -16467 A -0.7202 0.9619 28.1S 40.2W 44 28 194 04m00s
13 -22 0686 Aug 24 21:37:46 3913 -16244 A -0.6619 0.9573 26.8S 147.8W 48 30 202 04m27s
14 -21 0704 Sep 04 04:52:06 3742 -16021 A -0.6104 0.9526 26.8S 102.8E 52 32 214 04m53s
15 -20 0722 Sep 15 12:13:45 3599 -15798 A -0.5655 0.9477 28.0S 8.2W 55 33 228 05m19s
16 -19 0740 Sep 25 19:42:24 3455 -15575 A -0.5269 0.9431 29.9S 120.8W 58 34 243 05m45s
17 -18 0758 Oct 07 03:19:35 3311 -15352 A -0.4959 0.9385 32.6S 124.6E 60 34 259 06m12s
18 -17 0776 Oct 17 11:03:26 3168 -15129 A -0.4712 0.9343 35.6S 8.6E 62 33 275 06m37s
19 -16 0794 Oct 28 18:54:46 3024 -14906 A -0.4528 0.9305 38.8S 108.7W 63 31 290 07m02s
20 -15 0812 Nov 08 02:49:59 2880 -14683 A -0.4381 0.9272 41.9S 133.7E 64 27 303 07m26s
21 -14 0830 Nov 19 10:51:10 2737 -14460 A -0.4289 0.9245 44.7S 15.3E 64 23 314 07m47s
22 -13 0848 Nov 29 18:54:07 2593 -14237 A -0.4215 0.9224 46.7S 102.6W 65 18 323 08m06s
23 -12 0866 Dec 11 02:59:11 2449 -14014 A -0.4163 0.9210 47.9S 139.6E 65 12 329 08m22s
24 -11 0884 Dec 21 11:02:39 2305 -13791 A -0.4102 0.9202 47.9S 22.6E 66 5 332 08m35s
25 -10 0903 Jan 01 19:04:58 2168 -13568 A -0.4032 0.9202 46.6S 94.4W 66 358 331 08m45s
26 -09 0921 Jan 12 03:02:26 2060 -13345 A -0.3925 0.9207 44.0S 149.1E 67 353 327 08m51s
27 -08 0939 Jan 23 10:54:43 1952 -13122 A -0.3778 0.9219 40.3S 32.9E 68 348 319 08m56s
28 -07 0957 Feb 02 18:39:45 1845 -12899 A -0.3573 0.9236 35.6S 82.7W 69 345 308 08m57s
29 -06 0975 Feb 14 02:17:42 1737 -12676 A -0.3314 0.9258 30.2S 162.4E 70 343 296 08m56s
30 -05 0993 Feb 24 09:45:28 1629 -12453 A -0.2971 0.9283 24.0S 49.1E 73 342 281 08m51s
31 -04 1011 Mar 07 17:04:52 1533 -12230 A -0.2559 0.9311 17.3S 62.6W 75 342 266 08m44s
32 -03 1029 Mar 18 00:14:06 1443 -12007 A -0.2064 0.9342 10.2S 172.1W 78 342 250 08m32s
33 -02 1047 Mar 29 07:16:02 1353 -11784 A -0.1510 0.9373 2.9S 80.0E 81 343 236 08m15s
34 -01 1065 Apr 08 14:06:48 1263 -11561 A -0.0864 0.9403 4.7N 25.1W 85 344 222 07m54s
35 00 1083 Apr 19 20:52:17 1174 -11338 A -0.0173 0.9432 12.3N 128.7W 89 345 210 07m28s
36 01 1101 Apr 30 03:29:14 1085 -11115 Am 0.0594 0.9459 20.0N 130.3E 86 169 200 06m57s
37 02 1119 May 11 10:03:00 1014 -10892 A 0.1386 0.9484 27.4N 30.9E 82 172 192 06m24s
38 03 1137 May 21 16:30:23 942 -10669 A 0.2236 0.9504 34.5N 66.0W 77 175 187 05m51s
39 04 1155 Jun 01 22:57:44 875 -10446 A 0.3088 0.9520 41.1N 161.5W 72 180 185 05m19s
40 05 1173 Jun 12 05:22:44 822 -10223 A 0.3966 0.9531 47.0N 105.1E 66 186 187 04m51s
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 06 1191 Jun 23 11:49:25 768 -10000 A 0.4833 0.9539 52.0N 13.3E 61 193 193 04m28s
42 07 1209 Jul 03 18:17:42 714 -9777 A 0.5692 0.9540 55.8N 77.1W 55 202 204 04m11s
43 08 1227 Jul 15 00:51:05 661 -9554 A 0.6512 0.9537 58.3N 167.1W 49 212 222 03m59s
44 09 1245 Jul 25 07:29:42 607 -9331 A 0.7295 0.9528 59.6N 102.3E 43 222 251 03m52s
45 10 1263 Aug 05 14:14:43 558 -9108 A 0.8030 0.9515 60.0N 10.2E 36 231 295 03m49s
46 11 1281 Aug 15 21:07:56 512 -8885 A 0.8702 0.9497 59.9N 84.3W 29 239 370 03m50s
47 12 1299 Aug 27 04:09:37 465 -8662 A 0.9311 0.9474 60.0N 179.9E 21 248 526 03m53s
48 13 1317 Sep 06 11:21:05 433 -8439 An 0.9843 0.9439 60.9N 87.5E 9 260 - 03m55s
49 14 1335 Sep 17 18:41:54 401 -8216 P 1.0305 0.9134 60.9N 12.5W 0 268
50 15 1353 Sep 28 02:13:52 369 -7993 P 1.0684 0.8481 61.0N 134.2W 0 259
51 16 1371 Oct 09 09:55:25 341 -7770 P 1.0990 0.7952 61.3N 101.6E 0 250
52 17 1389 Oct 19 17:46:26 312 -7547 P 1.1226 0.7545 61.7N 25.0W 0 241
53 18 1407 Oct 31 01:46:22 285 -7324 P 1.1398 0.7250 62.3N 154.1W 0 232
54 19 1425 Nov 10 09:54:28 260 -7101 P 1.1506 0.7064 63.1N 74.7E 0 222
55 20 1443 Nov 21 18:08:47 235 -6878 P 1.1575 0.6946 63.9N 58.3W 0 213
56 21 1461 Dec 02 02:27:45 215 -6655 P 1.1614 0.6882 64.9N 167.2E 0 203
57 22 1479 Dec 13 10:50:14 197 -6432 P 1.1630 0.6858 65.9N 31.5E 0 192
58 23 1497 Dec 23 19:14:58 179 -6209 P 1.1634 0.6856 67.0N 105.3W 0 181
59 24 1516 Jan 04 03:38:41 165 -5986 P 1.1652 0.6830 68.1N 117.7E 0 170
60 25 1534 Jan 14 12:01:19 150 -5763 P 1.1685 0.6778 69.1N 19.7W 0 158
61 26 1552 Jan 25 20:19:44 137 -5540 P 1.1760 0.6655 70.0N 156.7W 0 146
62 27 1570 Feb 05 04:34:49 126 -5317 P 1.1866 0.6475 70.9N 66.6E 0 133
63 28 1588 Feb 26 12:42:31 115 -5094 P 1.2038 0.6178 71.5N 68.8W 0 119
64 29 1606 Mar 08 20:45:39 103 -4871 P 1.2253 0.5800 71.9N 156.4E 0 105
65 30 1624 Mar 19 04:40:36 88 -4648 P 1.2540 0.5288 72.0N 23.5E 0 91
66 31 1642 Mar 30 12:29:29 57 -4425 P 1.2884 0.4668 71.9N 108.0W 0 77
67 32 1660 Apr 09 20:10:11 36 -4202 P 1.3301 0.3906 71.5N 122.9E 0 64
68 33 1678 Apr 21 03:45:50 17 -3979 P 1.3765 0.3049 71.0N 4.5W 0 51
69 34 1696 May 01 11:15:19 8 -3756 P 1.4286 0.2078 70.2N 129.8W 0 38
70 35 1714 May 13 18:39:35 9 -3533 Pe 1.4856 0.1007 69.4N 106.9E 0 26
[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)"
