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 120 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 0933 May 27. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2195 Jul 07. The total duration of Saros series 120 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0933 May 27 04:10:41 TD
Last Eclipse = 2195 Jul 07 15:41:21 TD
Duration of Saros 120 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 120 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 120 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 22.5% |
| Annular | A | 25 | 35.2% |
| Total | T | 26 | 36.6% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.6% |
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 120 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 120 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 120: 7P 25A 4H 26T 9P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 120 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 1997 Mar 09 Duration = 02m50s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 1582 Jun 20 Duration = 01m59s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1113 Sep 11 Duration = 06m24s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1492 Apr 26 Duration = 00m16s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1564 Jun 08 Duration = 01m44s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1510 May 08 Duration = 00m22s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 2051 Apr 11 Magnitude = 0.9849
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 2195 Jul 07 Magnitude = 0.0353
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 120 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 120 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 -33 0933 May 27 04:10:41 1986 -13192 Pb -1.5258 0.0630 67.7S 132.4E 0 353
02 -32 0951 Jun 07 10:33:36 1878 -12969 P -1.4414 0.2073 66.7S 25.3E 0 3
03 -31 0969 Jun 17 16:54:26 1771 -12746 P -1.3547 0.3558 65.7S 80.8W 0 13
04 -30 0987 Jun 28 23:17:31 1663 -12523 P -1.2690 0.5024 64.8S 172.9E 0 23
05 -29 1005 Jul 09 05:42:18 1561 -12300 P -1.1837 0.6481 63.9S 66.6E 0 32
06 -28 1023 Jul 20 12:11:29 1471 -12077 P -1.1015 0.7883 63.0S 40.5W 0 42
07 -27 1041 Jul 30 18:45:44 1381 -11854 P -1.0226 0.9223 62.3S 148.5W 0 51
08 -26 1059 Aug 11 01:27:30 1292 -11631 A -0.9493 0.9337 49.9S 125.9E 18 39 775 06m10s
09 -25 1077 Aug 21 08:17:11 1202 -11408 A -0.8817 0.9344 43.9S 27.1E 28 38 502 06m21s
10 -24 1095 Sep 01 15:14:39 1112 -11185 A -0.8197 0.9343 41.2S 75.9W 35 39 414 06m24s
11 -23 1113 Sep 11 22:22:41 1036 -10962 A -0.7658 0.9336 40.5S 177.7E 40 40 373 06m24s
12 -22 1131 Sep 23 05:39:54 964 -10739 A -0.7188 0.9328 41.2S 68.9E 44 40 351 06m24s
13 -21 1149 Oct 03 13:08:11 893 -10516 A -0.6802 0.9320 43.0S 42.7W 47 40 339 06m24s
14 -20 1167 Oct 14 20:44:41 839 -10293 A -0.6477 0.9313 45.4S 156.0W 49 39 332 06m24s
15 -19 1185 Oct 25 04:31:56 785 -10070 A -0.6233 0.9308 48.4S 88.5E 51 37 328 06m24s
16 -18 1203 Nov 05 12:25:54 731 -9847 A -0.6037 0.9307 51.4S 27.8W 53 34 323 06m23s
17 -17 1221 Nov 15 20:27:28 677 -9624 A -0.5900 0.9310 54.2S 145.0W 54 29 319 06m20s
18 -16 1239 Nov 27 04:33:35 624 -9401 A -0.5795 0.9318 56.5S 98.1E 54 23 313 06m16s
19 -15 1257 Dec 07 12:44:36 573 -9178 A -0.5725 0.9332 57.9S 18.9W 55 15 305 06m09s
20 -14 1275 Dec 18 20:56:34 527 -8955 A -0.5657 0.9352 58.0S 135.5W 55 7 294 06m00s
21 -13 1293 Dec 29 05:09:12 480 -8732 A -0.5588 0.9379 56.8S 107.5E 56 358 279 05m48s
22 -12 1312 Jan 09 13:20:03 443 -8509 A -0.5500 0.9413 54.3S 10.3W 56 352 261 05m33s
23 -11 1330 Jan 19 21:28:48 411 -8286 A -0.5391 0.9452 50.6S 129.1W 57 346 240 05m16s
24 -10 1348 Jan 31 05:31:34 379 -8063 A -0.5226 0.9499 46.0S 111.8E 58 343 216 04m55s
25 -09 1366 Feb 10 13:29:55 350 -7840 A -0.5016 0.9549 40.6S 7.5W 60 341 190 04m32s
26 -08 1384 Feb 21 21:20:45 321 -7617 A -0.4738 0.9605 34.6S 126.1W 62 340 162 04m05s
27 -07 1402 Mar 04 05:06:39 293 -7394 A -0.4410 0.9665 28.2S 115.8E 64 340 134 03m34s
28 -06 1420 Mar 14 12:42:57 268 -7171 A -0.3994 0.9727 21.4S 0.4W 66 341 106 02m59s
29 -05 1438 Mar 25 20:14:23 243 -6948 A -0.3529 0.9790 14.5S 115.6W 69 342 80 02m21s
30 -04 1456 Apr 05 03:37:14 221 -6725 A -0.2980 0.9853 7.3S 131.4E 73 344 54 01m40s
31 -03 1474 Apr 16 10:55:48 203 -6502 A -0.2387 0.9916 0.2S 19.6E 76 346 30 00m58s
32 -02 1492 Apr 26 18:07:10 185 -6279 A -0.1723 0.9976 6.8N 90.1W 80 349 8 00m16s
33 -01 1510 May 08 01:16:15 169 -6056 H -0.1030 1.0033 13.5N 161.4E 84 352 12 00m22s
34 00 1528 May 18 08:21:05 155 -5833 H -0.0290 1.0085 19.9N 54.6E 88 356 29 00m56s
35 01 1546 May 29 15:24:40 141 -5610 H 0.0470 1.0133 25.7N 51.1W 87 180 46 01m24s
36 02 1564 Jun 08 22:26:49 129 -5387 H2 0.1253 1.0174 30.8N 155.5W 83 185 60 01m44s
37 03 1582 Jun 20 05:30:27 119 -5164 T 0.2032 1.0210 35.0N 100.7E 78 190 73 01m59s
38 04 1600 Jul 10 12:35:58 108 -4941 T 0.2804 1.0238 38.2N 2.7W 74 196 84 02m08s
39 05 1618 Jul 21 19:44:30 93 -4718 T 0.3558 1.0260 40.4N 106.3W 69 201 94 02m13s
40 06 1636 Aug 01 02:58:15 68 -4495 T 0.4279 1.0275 41.5N 148.9E 64 207 103 02m15s
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 07 1654 Aug 12 10:17:43 42 -4272 T 0.4962 1.0285 41.7N 42.5E 60 211 110 02m16s
42 08 1672 Aug 22 17:44:06 22 -4049 T 0.5594 1.0288 41.2N 66.2W 56 215 117 02m15s
43 09 1690 Sep 03 01:17:47 9 -3826 T 0.6173 1.0287 40.3N 177.4W 52 217 122 02m13s
44 10 1708 Sep 14 09:00:22 9 -3603 T 0.6685 1.0281 39.2N 68.3E 48 218 126 02m10s
45 11 1726 Sep 25 16:51:45 10 -3380 T 0.7134 1.0273 38.0N 49.0W 44 218 129 02m07s
46 12 1744 Oct 06 00:51:24 12 -3157 T 0.7521 1.0263 37.0N 169.1W 41 216 132 02m04s
47 13 1762 Oct 17 09:00:34 15 -2934 T 0.7836 1.0253 36.2N 67.6E 38 214 135 02m02s
48 14 1780 Oct 27 17:18:27 17 -2711 T 0.8083 1.0244 35.6N 58.6W 36 210 138 02m00s
49 15 1798 Nov 08 01:44:39 14 -2488 T 0.8270 1.0237 35.1N 172.5E 34 206 141 01m59s
50 16 1816 Nov 19 10:17:23 12 -2265 T 0.8408 1.0233 35.0N 41.5E 33 202 145 02m00s
51 17 1834 Nov 30 18:56:35 6 -2042 T 0.8498 1.0233 34.9N 91.6W 32 197 150 02m02s
52 18 1852 Dec 11 03:40:44 7 -1819 T 0.8551 1.0237 35.2N 133.9E 31 191 156 02m05s
53 19 1870 Dec 22 12:27:33 0 -1596 T 0.8585 1.0248 35.7N 1.5W 31 186 165 02m11s
54 20 1889 Jan 01 21:16:50 -6 -1373 T 0.8603 1.0262 36.7N 137.6W 30 181 175 02m17s
55 21 1907 Jan 14 06:05:43 6 -1150 T 0.8628 1.0281 38.3N 86.4E 30 175 189 02m25s
56 22 1925 Jan 24 14:54:03 24 -927 T 0.8661 1.0304 40.5N 49.6W 30 170 206 02m32s
57 23 1943 Feb 04 23:38:10 26 -704 T 0.8734 1.0331 43.6N 175.1E 29 165 229 02m39s
58 24 1961 Feb 15 08:19:48 34 -481 T 0.8830 1.0360 47.4N 40.0E 28 159 258 02m45s
59 25 1979 Feb 26 16:55:06 50 -258 T 0.8981 1.0391 52.1N 94.5W 26 153 298 02m49s
60 26 1997 Mar 09 01:24:51 62 -35 T 0.9183 1.0420 57.8N 130.7E 23 146 356 02m50s
61 27 2015 Mar 20 09:46:47 68 188 T 0.9454 1.0445 64.4N 6.6W 18 135 463 02m47s
62 28 2033 Mar 30 18:02:36 79 411 T 0.9778 1.0462 71.3N 155.8W 11 111 781 02m37s
63 29 2051 Apr 11 02:10:39 96 634 P 1.0169 0.9849 71.6N 32.2E 0 63
64 30 2069 Apr 21 10:11:09 134 857 P 1.0624 0.8992 71.0N 101.3W 0 50
65 31 2087 May 02 18:04:42 174 1080 P 1.1139 0.8011 70.3N 127.6E 0 37
66 32 2105 May 14 01:52:06 216 1303 P 1.1708 0.6921 69.4N 1.4W 0 25
67 33 2123 May 25 09:33:27 259 1526 P 1.2325 0.5729 68.5N 128.2W 0 14
68 34 2141 Jun 04 17:09:59 305 1749 P 1.2981 0.4458 67.5N 106.7E 0 3
69 35 2159 Jun 16 00:42:44 348 1972 P 1.3668 0.3124 66.5N 17.0W 0 353
70 36 2177 Jun 26 08:13:28 388 2195 P 1.4371 0.1758 65.5N 139.8W 0 343
71 37 2195 Jul 07 15:41:21 430 2418 Pe 1.5095 0.0353 64.6N 98.5E 0 333
[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)"
