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 117 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 0792 Jun 24. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2054 Aug 03. The total duration of Saros series 117 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0792 Jun 24 06:42:26 TD
Last Eclipse = 2054 Aug 03 18:04:02 TD
Duration of Saros 117 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 117 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 117 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 21.1% |
| Annular | A | 23 | 32.4% |
| Total | T | 28 | 39.4% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 5 | 7.0% |
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 117 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 117 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 54 | 96.4% |
| 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 117: 8P 23A 5H 28T 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 117 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 1892 Apr 26 Duration = 04m19s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 1639 Nov 24 Duration = 01m27s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1062 Dec 03 Duration = 09m26s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1333 May 14 Duration = 00m20s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1423 Jul 08 Duration = 01m45s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1351 May 25 Duration = 00m09s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0918 Sep 08 Magnitude = 0.9012
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0792 Jun 24 Magnitude = 0.0523
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 117 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 117 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 0792 Jun 24 06:42:26 3043 -14935 Pb 1.5320 0.0523 66.4N 80.4W 0 7
02 -33 0810 Jul 05 13:05:52 2899 -14712 P 1.4484 0.1957 67.4N 172.6E 0 357
03 -32 0828 Jul 15 19:32:47 2755 -14489 P 1.3671 0.3348 68.4N 64.1E 0 346
04 -31 0846 Jul 27 02:04:20 2612 -14266 P 1.2888 0.4684 69.3N 46.0W 0 335
05 -30 0864 Aug 06 08:42:56 2468 -14043 P 1.2155 0.5928 70.2N 158.5W 0 323
06 -29 0882 Aug 17 15:29:23 2324 -13820 P 1.1482 0.7066 71.0N 86.4E 0 310
07 -28 0900 Aug 27 22:23:35 2182 -13597 P 1.0865 0.8104 71.6N 31.2W 0 297
08 -27 0918 Sep 08 05:27:33 2074 -13374 P 1.0322 0.9012 72.0N 151.6W 0 283
09 -26 0936 Sep 18 12:41:00 1966 -13151 An 0.9851 0.9215 70.1N 58.5E 9 244 - 05m59s
10 -25 0954 Sep 29 20:04:21 1859 -12928 A 0.9454 0.9220 61.4N 80.0W 18 218 912 06m47s
11 -24 0972 Oct 10 03:36:50 1751 -12705 A 0.9127 0.9216 54.0N 155.4E 24 208 724 07m31s
12 -23 0990 Oct 21 11:18:41 1643 -12482 A 0.8870 0.9211 47.9N 32.5E 27 201 644 08m09s
13 -22 1008 Oct 31 19:08:48 1544 -12259 A 0.8676 0.9207 43.0N 90.8W 29 195 601 08m43s
14 -21 1026 Nov 12 03:05:07 1455 -12036 A 0.8527 0.9208 39.0N 145.4E 31 190 573 09m08s
15 -20 1044 Nov 22 11:07:50 1365 -11813 A 0.8426 0.9213 36.0N 20.5E 32 185 555 09m24s
16 -19 1062 Dec 03 19:13:41 1275 -11590 A 0.8342 0.9223 33.8N 104.9W 33 180 534 09m26s
17 -18 1080 Dec 14 03:22:42 1185 -11367 A 0.8281 0.9239 32.4N 129.1E 34 174 512 09m16s
18 -17 1098 Dec 25 11:30:26 1096 -11144 A 0.8201 0.9263 31.4N 3.6E 35 169 483 08m53s
19 -16 1117 Jan 04 19:38:51 1023 -10921 A 0.8121 0.9292 31.0N 121.9W 35 164 450 08m19s
20 -15 1135 Jan 16 03:43:17 951 -10698 A 0.7997 0.9329 30.9N 114.0E 37 159 410 07m39s
21 -14 1153 Jan 26 11:44:14 882 -10475 A 0.7839 0.9372 31.1N 8.9W 38 155 367 06m53s
22 -13 1171 Feb 06 19:38:30 829 -10252 A 0.7618 0.9421 31.6N 129.7W 40 151 321 06m05s
23 -12 1189 Feb 17 03:27:37 775 -10029 A 0.7346 0.9475 32.3N 111.4E 43 148 276 05m18s
24 -11 1207 Feb 28 11:09:12 721 -9806 A 0.7002 0.9534 33.2N 5.0W 45 145 232 04m32s
25 -10 1225 Mar 10 18:43:38 668 -9583 A 0.6590 0.9596 34.3N 118.9W 49 144 190 03m49s
26 -09 1243 Mar 22 02:10:26 614 -9360 A 0.6104 0.9659 35.5N 129.9E 52 144 152 03m08s
27 -08 1261 Apr 01 09:30:56 565 -9137 A 0.5560 0.9724 36.6N 21.0E 56 145 117 02m31s
28 -07 1279 Apr 12 16:44:05 518 -8914 A 0.4945 0.9788 37.4N 85.3W 60 147 86 01m55s
29 -06 1297 Apr 22 23:51:57 471 -8691 A 0.4275 0.9850 37.7N 170.3E 64 150 58 01m22s
30 -05 1315 May 04 06:54:52 437 -8468 A 0.3556 0.9909 37.3N 67.6E 69 155 34 00m51s
31 -04 1333 May 14 13:55:23 405 -8245 A 0.2806 0.9964 36.1N 34.3W 74 160 13 00m20s
32 -03 1351 May 25 20:52:03 373 -8022 H 0.2015 1.0016 33.7N 135.6W 78 165 6 00m09s
33 -02 1369 Jun 05 03:49:31 344 -7799 H 0.1222 1.0061 30.4N 122.4E 83 170 21 00m37s
34 -01 1387 Jun 16 10:46:23 316 -7576 H 0.0416 1.0100 26.0N 19.7E 87 176 35 01m03s
35 00 1405 Jun 26 17:47:04 288 -7353 H -0.0370 1.0134 20.9N 84.8W 88 360 46 01m26s
36 01 1423 Jul 08 00:48:40 263 -7130 H2 -0.1158 1.0161 15.0N 169.6E 83 4 55 01m45s
37 02 1441 Jul 18 07:57:16 238 -6907 T -0.1896 1.0181 8.6N 61.5E 79 8 63 01m59s
38 03 1459 Jul 29 15:10:11 217 -6684 T -0.2605 1.0196 1.8N 48.3W 75 11 69 02m07s
39 04 1477 Aug 08 22:30:57 199 -6461 T -0.3257 1.0206 5.2S 160.6W 71 14 74 02m10s
40 05 1495 Aug 20 05:58:28 182 -6238 T -0.3862 1.0210 12.4S 85.0E 67 16 77 02m08s
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 1513 Aug 30 13:35:52 167 -6015 T -0.4392 1.0211 19.5S 31.9W 64 18 80 02m03s
42 07 1531 Sep 10 21:21:52 152 -5792 T -0.4857 1.0208 26.4S 151.0W 61 20 81 01m56s
43 08 1549 Sep 21 05:16:24 138 -5569 T -0.5257 1.0205 33.2S 87.9E 58 21 82 01m49s
44 09 1567 Oct 02 13:20:27 127 -5346 T -0.5584 1.0200 39.7S 35.0W 56 22 82 01m42s
45 10 1585 Oct 22 21:33:25 117 -5123 T -0.5846 1.0196 45.7S 159.3W 54 21 82 01m35s
46 11 1603 Nov 03 05:54:55 105 -4900 T -0.6041 1.0193 51.1S 75.5E 53 20 83 01m31s
47 12 1621 Nov 13 14:23:13 90 -4677 T -0.6187 1.0194 55.8S 49.7W 52 16 84 01m28s
48 13 1639 Nov 24 22:58:55 61 -4454 T -0.6278 1.0197 59.6S 174.7W 51 10 87 01m27s
49 14 1657 Dec 05 07:39:36 38 -4231 T -0.6335 1.0205 62.1S 61.3E 50 3 91 01m29s
50 15 1675 Dec 16 16:24:03 19 -4008 T -0.6367 1.0218 63.1S 62.0W 50 353 97 01m33s
51 16 1693 Dec 27 01:10:50 8 -3785 T -0.6387 1.0236 62.6S 174.3E 50 343 105 01m39s
52 17 1712 Jan 08 09:58:39 9 -3562 T -0.6406 1.0258 60.6S 49.2E 50 335 114 01m48s
53 18 1730 Jan 18 18:45:15 10 -3339 T -0.6440 1.0285 57.8S 77.4W 50 329 126 01m59s
54 19 1748 Jan 30 03:29:13 12 -3116 T -0.6501 1.0316 54.4S 154.8E 49 324 140 02m12s
55 20 1766 Feb 09 12:09:44 16 -2893 T -0.6598 1.0352 50.7S 26.6E 48 321 156 02m27s
56 21 1784 Feb 20 20:45:38 17 -2670 T -0.6739 1.0389 47.2S 101.5W 47 320 174 02m44s
57 22 1802 Mar 04 05:14:29 13 -2447 T -0.6943 1.0428 44.0S 131.5E 46 320 196 03m02s
58 23 1820 Mar 14 13:37:15 12 -2224 T -0.7199 1.0467 41.5S 5.7E 44 320 220 03m20s
59 24 1838 Mar 25 21:52:16 5 -2001 T -0.7525 1.0505 39.7S 118.3W 41 321 249 03m39s
60 25 1856 Apr 05 06:01:01 8 -1778 T -0.7906 1.0539 39.1S 119.2E 38 323 285 03m56s
61 26 1874 Apr 16 14:00:53 -3 -1555 T -0.8364 1.0569 39.9S 0.9W 33 325 335 04m11s
62 27 1892 Apr 26 21:55:20 -6 -1332 T -0.8870 1.0591 42.5S 119.4W 27 327 414 04m19s
63 28 1910 May 09 05:42:13 11 -1109 T -0.9437 1.0600 48.2S 125.2E 19 328 594 04m15s
64 29 1928 May 19 13:24:20 24 -886 T- -1.0048 1.0140 63.3S 22.5E 0 319 - -
65 30 1946 May 30 21:00:24 27 -663 P -1.0711 0.8865 64.1S 101.0W 0 328
66 31 1964 Jun 10 04:34:07 35 -440 P -1.1393 0.7545 65.0S 135.9E 0 338
67 32 1982 Jun 21 12:04:33 53 -217 P -1.2102 0.6168 65.9S 13.2E 0 347
68 33 2000 Jul 01 19:33:34 64 6 P -1.2821 0.4768 66.9S 109.5W 0 358
69 34 2018 Jul 13 03:02:16 70 229 P -1.3542 0.3365 67.9S 127.4E 0 8
70 35 2036 Jul 23 10:32:06 81 452 P -1.4250 0.1991 68.9S 3.6E 0 19
71 36 2054 Aug 03 18:04:02 103 675 Pe -1.4941 0.0655 69.8S 121.3W 0 31
[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)"
