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 116 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 0727 Jun 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 1971 Jul 22. The total duration of Saros series 116 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0727 Jun 23 22:34:35 TD
Last Eclipse = 1971 Jul 22 09:31:55 TD
Duration of Saros 116 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 116 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 116 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 17 | 24.3% |
| Annular | A | 53 | 75.7% |
| 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 116 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 116 | ||
| 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 70 eclipses in Saros 116: 10P 53A 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 116 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1628 Dec 25 Duration = 12m02s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0907 Oct 10 Duration = 00m47s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0889 Sep 28 Magnitude = 0.9748
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1971 Jul 22 Magnitude = 0.0689
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 116 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 116 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 0727 Jun 23 22:34:35 3561 -15739 Pb -1.4763 0.1082 65.4S 161.4W 0 16
02 -34 0745 Jul 04 05:53:18 3417 -15516 P -1.4085 0.2381 64.5S 78.3E 0 26
03 -33 0763 Jul 15 13:14:24 3273 -15293 P -1.3432 0.3625 63.7S 42.3W 0 35
04 -32 0781 Jul 25 20:37:53 3130 -15070 P -1.2802 0.4816 62.9S 163.1W 0 44
05 -31 0799 Aug 06 04:06:08 2986 -14847 P -1.2217 0.5910 62.2S 75.0E 0 54
06 -30 0817 Aug 16 11:38:18 2842 -14624 P -1.1670 0.6921 61.7S 47.6W 0 63
07 -29 0835 Aug 27 19:17:30 2699 -14401 P -1.1186 0.7805 61.3S 171.9W 0 71
08 -28 0853 Sep 07 03:02:42 2555 -14178 P -1.0755 0.8578 61.0S 62.5E 0 80
09 -27 0871 Sep 18 10:54:51 2411 -13955 P -1.0389 0.9224 60.9S 64.8W 0 89
10 -26 0889 Sep 28 18:54:00 2267 -13732 P -1.0086 0.9748 61.0S 166.1E 0 98
11 -25 0907 Oct 10 03:00:37 2139 -13509 A -0.9851 0.9869 62.7S 54.1E 9 91 291 00m47s
12 -24 0925 Oct 20 11:14:00 2031 -13286 A -0.9677 0.9827 64.9S 66.9W 14 89 250 01m03s
13 -23 0943 Oct 31 19:32:08 1924 -13063 A -0.9548 0.9783 67.8S 166.8E 17 91 265 01m19s
14 -22 0961 Nov 11 03:56:16 1816 -12840 A -0.9475 0.9739 71.3S 35.9E 18 96 298 01m35s
15 -21 0979 Nov 22 12:23:31 1708 -12617 A -0.9439 0.9699 75.0S 98.3W 19 102 335 01m49s
16 -20 0997 Dec 02 20:53:29 1601 -12394 A -0.9429 0.9663 78.7S 123.5E 19 112 374 02m02s
17 -19 1015 Dec 14 05:22:20 1509 -12171 A -0.9420 0.9633 82.5S 19.4W 19 127 407 02m14s
18 -18 1033 Dec 24 13:51:14 1419 -11948 A -0.9418 0.9609 85.6S 179.5W 19 159 434 02m24s
19 -17 1052 Jan 04 22:16:17 1329 -11725 A -0.9395 0.9591 86.3S 14.0W 20 227 446 02m33s
20 -16 1070 Jan 15 06:37:03 1240 -11502 A -0.9346 0.9580 83.3S 174.9E 20 272 440 02m42s
21 -15 1088 Jan 26 14:50:56 1150 -11279 A -0.9249 0.9575 78.9S 29.3E 22 293 415 02m50s
22 -14 1106 Feb 05 22:58:18 1066 -11056 A -0.9106 0.9575 73.6S 106.6W 24 306 378 02m59s
23 -13 1124 Feb 17 06:56:07 995 -10833 A -0.8893 0.9581 67.5S 123.1E 27 316 335 03m08s
24 -12 1142 Feb 27 14:45:00 923 -10610 A -0.8615 0.9589 60.8S 2.9W 30 323 293 03m17s
25 -11 1160 Mar 09 22:23:38 861 -10387 A -0.8259 0.9599 53.5S 124.9W 34 329 256 03m28s
26 -10 1178 Mar 21 05:53:15 808 -10164 A -0.7838 0.9610 46.0S 116.5E 38 334 225 03m39s
27 -09 1196 Mar 31 13:11:09 754 -9941 A -0.7326 0.9621 38.1S 1.5E 43 339 200 03m52s
28 -08 1214 Apr 11 20:20:49 700 -9718 A -0.6751 0.9629 30.2S 110.7W 47 343 180 04m05s
29 -07 1232 Apr 22 03:20:16 646 -9495 A -0.6097 0.9636 22.2S 140.3E 52 346 165 04m18s
30 -06 1250 May 03 10:13:11 593 -9272 A -0.5397 0.9639 14.6S 33.6E 57 350 155 04m32s
31 -05 1268 May 13 16:56:23 546 -9049 A -0.4622 0.9638 7.2S 70.0W 62 354 148 04m44s
32 -04 1286 May 24 23:36:15 500 -8826 A -0.3825 0.9632 0.4S 171.9W 68 358 144 04m55s
33 -03 1304 Jun 04 06:09:36 457 -8603 A -0.2977 0.9622 5.9N 88.5E 73 2 144 05m04s
34 -02 1322 Jun 15 12:41:47 424 -8380 A -0.2127 0.9607 11.4N 9.9W 78 6 146 05m11s
35 -01 1340 Jun 25 19:10:38 392 -8157 A -0.1253 0.9586 16.0N 106.7W 83 10 151 05m16s
36 00 1358 Jul 07 01:41:45 362 -7934 Am -0.0404 0.9562 19.6N 156.5E 88 16 160 05m22s
37 01 1376 Jul 17 08:13:14 333 -7711 A 0.0439 0.9533 22.2N 60.3E 87 198 171 05m30s
38 02 1394 Jul 28 14:48:17 305 -7488 A 0.1249 0.9501 23.7N 36.6W 83 203 184 05m40s
39 03 1412 Aug 07 21:27:46 279 -7265 A 0.2018 0.9465 24.4N 134.6W 78 206 201 05m55s
40 04 1430 Aug 19 04:13:52 254 -7042 A 0.2729 0.9428 24.2N 125.6E 74 209 219 06m13s
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 1448 Aug 29 11:07:05 229 -6819 A 0.3380 0.9389 23.4N 23.7E 70 211 239 06m37s
42 06 1466 Sep 09 18:07:54 210 -6596 A 0.3966 0.9351 22.2N 80.6W 67 212 260 07m05s
43 07 1484 Sep 20 01:17:55 192 -6373 A 0.4474 0.9313 20.8N 172.4E 63 211 283 07m39s
44 08 1502 Oct 01 08:36:17 175 -6150 A 0.4913 0.9277 19.3N 62.7E 60 210 306 08m16s
45 09 1520 Oct 11 16:03:20 161 -5927 A 0.5277 0.9244 17.8N 49.5W 58 208 329 08m57s
46 10 1538 Oct 22 23:38:41 147 -5704 A 0.5572 0.9214 16.6N 164.1W 56 205 351 09m41s
47 11 1556 Nov 02 07:22:13 134 -5481 A 0.5798 0.9190 15.5N 78.9E 54 201 370 10m24s
48 12 1574 Nov 13 15:12:17 123 -5258 A 0.5970 0.9171 14.8N 40.0W 53 197 387 11m03s
49 13 1592 Dec 03 23:07:16 113 -5035 A 0.6102 0.9159 14.5N 160.2W 52 193 401 11m36s
50 14 1610 Dec 15 07:06:48 99 -4812 A 0.6195 0.9153 14.7N 78.2E 52 188 409 11m56s
51 15 1628 Dec 25 15:08:47 84 -4589 A 0.6265 0.9153 15.4N 44.0W 51 184 413 12m02s
52 16 1647 Jan 05 23:10:59 50 -4366 A 0.6336 0.9161 16.9N 166.5W 51 179 413 11m50s
53 17 1665 Jan 16 07:11:51 31 -4143 A 0.6420 0.9174 19.1N 71.2E 50 175 409 11m24s
54 18 1683 Jan 27 15:10:09 13 -3920 A 0.6526 0.9195 22.1N 50.6W 49 171 401 10m44s
55 19 1701 Feb 07 23:04:53 8 -3697 A 0.6663 0.9219 25.9N 171.7W 48 167 393 09m55s
56 20 1719 Feb 19 06:52:57 10 -3474 A 0.6856 0.9250 30.5N 68.6E 47 163 384 09m01s
57 21 1737 Mar 01 14:35:17 11 -3251 A 0.7099 0.9283 36.0N 50.1W 45 160 378 08m04s
58 22 1755 Mar 12 22:09:32 14 -3028 A 0.7413 0.9319 42.2N 167.4W 42 156 375 07m07s
59 23 1773 Mar 23 05:36:58 16 -2805 A 0.7785 0.9357 49.3N 76.2E 39 152 378 06m13s
60 24 1791 Apr 03 12:55:13 16 -2582 A 0.8236 0.9394 57.1N 39.5W 34 147 394 05m21s
61 25 1809 Apr 14 20:07:11 12 -2359 A 0.8742 0.9429 65.8N 157.3W 29 139 435 04m35s
62 26 1827 Apr 26 03:11:14 9 -2136 A 0.9316 0.9458 74.8N 73.4E 21 118 559 03m53s
63 27 1845 May 06 10:09:00 6 -1913 An 0.9945 0.9462 73.4N 110.6W 4 41 - 03m15s
64 28 1863 May 17 17:00:45 7 -1690 P 1.0627 0.8606 69.2N 126.8E 0 22
65 29 1881 May 27 23:48:41 -5 -1467 P 1.1345 0.7370 68.2N 13.3E 0 10
66 30 1899 Jun 08 06:33:43 -3 -1244 P 1.2089 0.6076 67.2N 98.9W 0 360
67 31 1917 Jun 19 13:16:21 20 -1021 P 1.2857 0.4729 66.2N 150.1E 0 350
68 32 1935 Jun 30 19:59:46 24 -798 P 1.3623 0.3375 65.2N 39.1E 0 340
69 33 1953 Jul 11 02:44:14 31 -575 P 1.4388 0.2015 64.3N 71.7W 0 331
70 34 1971 Jul 22 09:31:55 42 -352 Pe 1.5130 0.0689 63.5N 177.0E 0 321
[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)"
