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 123 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 1074 Apr 29. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2318 May 31. The total duration of Saros series 123 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1074 Apr 29 01:23:46 TD
Last Eclipse = 2318 May 31 05:42:33 TD
Duration of Saros 123 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 123 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 123 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 26 | 37.1% |
| Annular | A | 27 | 38.6% |
| Total | T | 14 | 20.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.3% |
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 123 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 123 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 42 | 95.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 123: 6P 27A 3H 14T 20P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 123 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 1813 Jul 27 Duration = 03m27s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 1939 Oct 12 Duration = 01m32s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1398 Nov 09 Duration = 08m07s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1651 Apr 19 Duration = 00m14s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1705 May 22 Duration = 01m32s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1669 Apr 30 Duration = 00m22s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1975 Nov 03 Magnitude = 0.9588
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1074 Apr 29 Magnitude = 0.1151
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 123 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 123 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 1074 Apr 29 01:23:46 1218 -11449 Pb 1.4965 0.1151 62.2N 39.9E 0 54
02 -32 1092 May 09 07:55:04 1129 -11226 P 1.4182 0.2481 62.8N 67.3W 0 45
03 -31 1110 May 20 14:22:27 1049 -11003 P 1.3362 0.3876 63.6N 173.8W 0 36
04 -30 1128 May 30 20:45:57 978 -10780 P 1.2507 0.5336 64.5N 80.5E 0 26
05 -29 1146 Jun 11 03:09:15 906 -10557 P 1.1642 0.6817 65.4N 25.4W 0 17
06 -28 1164 Jun 21 09:30:36 848 -10334 P 1.0754 0.8336 66.4N 131.2W 0 7
07 -27 1182 Jul 02 15:55:48 795 -10111 An 0.9892 0.9368 74.6N 120.1E 7 355 - 03m50s
08 -26 1200 Jul 12 22:22:50 741 -9888 A 0.9039 0.9409 83.6N 101.4W 25 232 521 04m12s
09 -25 1218 Jul 24 04:55:35 687 -9665 A 0.8225 0.9425 72.3N 135.4E 34 209 376 04m34s
10 -24 1236 Aug 03 11:33:03 634 -9442 A 0.7441 0.9432 61.9N 29.8E 42 205 314 04m57s
11 -23 1254 Aug 14 18:19:43 582 -9219 A 0.6726 0.9433 52.6N 75.8W 47 204 282 05m23s
12 -22 1272 Aug 25 01:13:45 535 -8996 A 0.6067 0.9430 43.9N 177.3E 52 203 264 05m50s
13 -21 1290 Sep 05 08:17:10 489 -8773 A 0.5480 0.9424 35.8N 68.3E 57 201 253 06m17s
14 -20 1308 Sep 15 15:30:02 449 -8550 A 0.4964 0.9417 28.2N 42.7W 60 200 247 06m43s
15 -19 1326 Sep 26 22:53:53 417 -8327 A 0.4531 0.9409 21.3N 156.2W 63 199 244 07m07s
16 -18 1344 Oct 07 06:26:57 385 -8104 A 0.4170 0.9402 15.1N 88.3E 65 197 242 07m29s
17 -17 1362 Oct 18 14:09:27 355 -7881 A 0.3879 0.9397 9.6N 29.2W 67 194 241 07m48s
18 -16 1380 Oct 28 22:00:47 326 -7658 A 0.3656 0.9395 4.9N 148.5W 69 191 240 08m01s
19 -15 1398 Nov 09 06:00:34 298 -7435 A 0.3493 0.9397 1.1N 90.4E 70 188 238 08m07s
20 -14 1416 Nov 19 14:05:55 273 -7212 A 0.3370 0.9404 1.8S 31.7W 70 184 234 08m05s
21 -13 1434 Nov 30 22:17:34 248 -6989 A 0.3290 0.9416 3.7S 155.1W 71 180 229 07m54s
22 -12 1452 Dec 11 06:31:53 224 -6766 A 0.3224 0.9434 4.8S 81.0E 71 175 221 07m32s
23 -11 1470 Dec 22 14:49:05 206 -6543 A 0.3175 0.9458 4.9S 43.5W 72 171 210 07m02s
24 -10 1489 Jan 01 23:04:27 188 -6320 A 0.3102 0.9489 4.3S 167.6W 72 166 197 06m24s
25 -09 1507 Jan 13 07:20:10 172 -6097 A 0.3024 0.9526 3.0S 68.2E 72 162 181 05m42s
26 -08 1525 Jan 23 15:31:21 158 -5874 A 0.2897 0.9569 1.2S 54.8W 73 159 163 04m58s
27 -07 1543 Feb 03 23:38:52 143 -5651 A 0.2735 0.9617 1.0N 177.0W 74 156 143 04m14s
28 -06 1561 Feb 14 07:39:21 131 -5428 A 0.2507 0.9670 3.4N 62.6E 75 153 122 03m30s
29 -05 1579 Feb 25 15:34:47 121 -5205 A 0.2229 0.9728 6.0N 56.5W 77 151 100 02m48s
30 -04 1597 Mar 17 23:22:39 110 -4982 A 0.1878 0.9788 8.4N 173.4W 79 151 77 02m08s
31 -03 1615 Mar 29 07:03:24 96 -4759 A 0.1461 0.9851 10.7N 71.7E 82 151 53 01m28s
32 -02 1633 Apr 08 14:37:06 75 -4536 A 0.0976 0.9913 12.4N 41.2W 84 152 31 00m51s
33 -01 1651 Apr 19 22:04:37 46 -4313 A 0.0433 0.9976 13.7N 152.4W 87 154 8 00m14s
34 00 1669 Apr 30 05:26:07 26 -4090 H -0.0171 1.0036 14.1N 98.2E 89 334 13 00m22s
35 01 1687 May 11 12:42:28 10 -3867 H -0.0828 1.0094 13.6N 9.9W 85 339 33 00m57s
36 02 1705 May 22 19:55:06 8 -3644 Hm -0.1525 1.0147 12.2N 117.0W 81 343 51 01m32s
37 03 1723 Jun 03 03:05:13 10 -3421 T -0.2251 1.0196 9.6N 136.1E 77 347 69 02m05s
38 04 1741 Jun 13 10:12:48 12 -3198 T -0.3007 1.0239 6.0N 29.4E 73 352 85 02m35s
39 05 1759 Jun 24 17:20:59 14 -2975 T -0.3768 1.0275 1.4N 78.1W 68 356 101 02m59s
40 06 1777 Jul 05 00:29:29 17 -2752 T -0.4531 1.0305 4.2S 173.7E 63 0 115 03m17s
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 1795 Jul 16 07:41:36 15 -2529 T -0.5274 1.0327 10.4S 63.8E 58 4 130 03m26s
42 08 1813 Jul 27 14:55:35 12 -2306 T -0.6006 1.0341 17.4S 47.4W 53 8 144 03m27s
43 09 1831 Aug 07 22:15:59 7 -2083 T -0.6691 1.0349 24.9S 160.9W 48 12 158 03m20s
44 10 1849 Aug 18 05:40:49 7 -1860 T -0.7343 1.0349 32.9S 83.5E 43 16 172 03m07s
45 11 1867 Aug 29 13:13:07 3 -1637 T -0.7940 1.0344 41.1S 34.9W 37 21 189 02m51s
46 12 1885 Sep 08 20:51:52 -6 -1414 T -0.8489 1.0332 49.6S 156.5W 32 27 211 02m31s
47 13 1903 Sep 21 04:39:52 2 -1191 T -0.8967 1.0316 58.0S 77.2E 26 35 241 02m12s
48 14 1921 Oct 01 12:35:58 22 -968 T -0.9383 1.0293 66.1S 56.1W 20 48 291 01m52s
49 15 1939 Oct 12 20:40:23 24 -745 T -0.9737 1.0266 72.8S 155.1E 12 74 418 01m32s
50 16 1957 Oct 23 04:54:02 32 -522 T- -1.0022 1.0013 71.2S 23.1W 0 127 - -
51 17 1975 Nov 03 13:15:54 46 -299 P -1.0248 0.9588 70.4S 161.7W 0 141
52 18 1993 Nov 13 21:45:51 60 -76 P -1.0411 0.9280 69.6S 58.3E 0 153
53 19 2011 Nov 25 06:21:24 67 147 P -1.0536 0.9047 68.6S 82.4W 0 165
54 20 2029 Dec 05 15:03:58 77 370 P -1.0609 0.8911 67.5S 135.7E 0 177
55 21 2047 Dec 16 23:50:12 90 593 P -1.0661 0.8816 66.4S 6.6W 0 188
56 22 2065 Dec 27 08:39:56 127 816 P -1.0688 0.8769 65.4S 149.2W 0 198
57 23 2084 Jan 07 17:30:24 166 1039 P -1.0715 0.8723 64.4S 68.5E 0 209
58 24 2102 Jan 19 02:21:30 208 1262 P -1.0741 0.8682 63.5S 73.6W 0 218
59 25 2120 Jan 30 11:09:56 251 1485 P -1.0792 0.8594 62.7S 145.3E 0 228
60 26 2138 Feb 09 19:55:23 297 1708 P -1.0872 0.8453 62.1S 5.1E 0 238
61 27 2156 Feb 21 04:36:02 341 1931 P -1.0995 0.8230 61.6S 133.7W 0 247
62 28 2174 Mar 03 13:11:54 381 2154 P -1.1162 0.7924 61.3S 88.7E 0 256
63 29 2192 Mar 13 21:40:00 423 2377 P -1.1395 0.7491 61.1S 46.8W 0 265
64 30 2210 Mar 26 06:01:57 466 2600 P -1.1680 0.6954 61.1S 179.2E 0 274
65 31 2228 Apr 05 14:15:36 512 2823 P -1.2036 0.6279 61.3S 47.3E 0 283
66 32 2246 Apr 16 22:23:24 560 3046 P -1.2445 0.5498 61.6S 83.2W 0 292
67 33 2264 Apr 27 06:21:41 611 3269 P -1.2931 0.4564 62.1S 148.5E 0 301
68 34 2282 May 08 14:15:16 663 3492 P -1.3458 0.3545 62.7S 21.3E 0 310
69 35 2300 May 19 22:00:39 717 3715 P -1.4049 0.2399 63.4S 104.1W 0 319
70 36 2318 May 31 05:42:33 773 3938 Pe -1.4670 0.1192 64.2S 131.2E 0 329
[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)"
