Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 131

Introduction

The periodicity and recurrence of solar 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. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.


Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 131

Solar eclipses of Saros 131 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 1125 Aug 01. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2369 Sep 02. The total duration of Saros series 131 is 1244.08 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   1125 Aug 01   05:15:09 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   2369 Sep 02   03:25:56 TD

                      Duration of Saros 131  =  1244.08 Years

Saros 131 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 131
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 70100.0%
PartialP 29 41.4%
AnnularA 30 42.9%
TotalT 6 8.6%
Hybrid[3]H 5 7.1%

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 131 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 131
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 41100.0%
Central (two limits) 41100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 131: 22P 6T 5H 30A 7P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 131 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 131
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 2009 Jan 2607m54s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 1720 Aug 0400m27s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 1612 May 3000m58s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 1522 Mar 2700m26s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1630 Jun 1000m55s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1702 Jul 2400m01s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 1504 Mar 16 - 0.93484
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 2369 Sep 02 - 0.10247

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 131

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 131. A description or explanation of each parameter listed in the catalog can be found in Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.

Several fields in the catalog link to web pages or files containing additional information for each eclipse (for the years -1999 through +3000). The following gives a brief explanation of each link.


For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Animation of Saros 131.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 131

                         TD of
 Seq. Rel.   Calendar   Greatest          Luna  Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Path  Central
 Num. Num.     Date      Eclipse     ΔT   Num.  Type  Gamma    Mag.    Lat   Long  Alt Width   Dur.
                                      s                                 °      °     °    km

07428 -37  1125 Aug 01  05:15:09    978 -10815   Pb   1.4666  0.1198  69.9N 109.5W   0             
07473 -36  1143 Aug 12  12:57:36    911 -10592   P    1.4088  0.2324  70.7N 121.9E   0             
07518 -35  1161 Aug 22  20:46:37    849 -10369   P    1.3564  0.3340  71.3N   8.8W   0             
07564 -34  1179 Sep 03  04:42:14    791 -10146   P    1.3096  0.4241  71.7N 141.7W   0             
07609 -33  1197 Sep 13  12:45:54    736  -9923   P    1.2695  0.5009  71.9N  83.1E   0             
07654 -32  1215 Sep 24  20:55:57    685  -9700   P    1.2351  0.5664  71.9N  53.7W   0             
07700 -31  1233 Oct 05  05:14:34    637  -9477   P    1.2080  0.6174  71.6N 167.4E   0             
07745 -30  1251 Oct 16  13:39:20    592  -9254   P    1.1863  0.6578  71.0N  27.4E   0             
07789 -29  1269 Oct 26  22:11:15    550  -9031   P    1.1708  0.6862  70.3N 113.8W   0             
07832 -28  1287 Nov 07  06:48:15    511  -8808   P    1.1600  0.7059  69.4N 104.2E   0             

07874 -27  1305 Nov 17  15:30:56    475  -8585   P    1.1540  0.7163  68.4N  38.4W   0             
07916 -26  1323 Nov 29  00:16:10    441  -8362   P    1.1509  0.7215  67.3N 178.8E   0             
07957 -25  1341 Dec 09  09:03:29    409  -8139   P    1.1500  0.7229  66.3N  36.2E   0             
07998 -24  1359 Dec 20  17:50:58    378  -7916   P    1.1496  0.7231  65.2N 106.0W   0             
08039 -23  1377 Dec 31  02:38:10    350  -7693   P    1.1494  0.7234  64.3N 112.2E   0             
08080 -22  1396 Jan 11  11:21:14    323  -7470   P    1.1464  0.7287  63.4N  28.1W   0             
08120 -21  1414 Jan 21  20:00:46    298  -7247   P    1.1411  0.7384  62.6N 167.3W   0             
08160 -20  1432 Feb 02  04:33:42    274  -7024   P    1.1309  0.7571  62.0N  55.4E   0             
08200 -19  1450 Feb 12  13:01:23    252  -6801   P    1.1169  0.7829  61.5N  80.5W   0             
08240 -18  1468 Feb 23  21:18:55    230  -6578   P    1.0953  0.8228  61.2N 146.3E   0             

08280 -17  1486 Mar 06  05:30:00    210  -6355   P    1.0689  0.8714  61.0N  14.7E   0             
08321 -16  1504 Mar 16  13:30:09    191  -6132   P    1.0345  0.9348  61.0N 114.0W   0             
08363 -15  1522 Mar 27  21:22:59    174  -5909   T    0.9946  1.0076  62.0N 127.7E   4  347  00m26s
08404 -14  1540 Apr 07  05:04:30    158  -5686   T    0.9462  1.0115  63.1N  34.7E  18  123  00m42s
08445 -13  1558 Apr 18  12:39:27    144  -5463   T    0.8930  1.0132  64.1N  67.8W  26  100  00m50s
08486 -12  1576 Apr 28  20:04:44    131  -5240   T    0.8328  1.0140  64.8N 168.0W  33   86  00m55s
08527 -11  1594 May 20  03:23:17    121  -5017   T    0.7678  1.0141  64.9N  94.1E  40   76  00m58s
08567 -10  1612 May 30  10:34:29    104  -4794   T    0.6976  1.0135  63.6N   1.9W  45   65  00m58s
08611 -09  1630 Jun 10  17:41:07     79  -4571   H    0.6244  1.0122  60.9N  98.3W  51   54  00m55s
08656 -08  1648 Jun 21  00:43:22     51  -4348   H    0.5483  1.0102  56.7N 164.0E  56   42  00m49s

08702 -07  1666 Jul 02  07:42:30     27  -4125   H    0.4704  1.0075  51.4N  64.4E  62   29  00m39s
08748 -06  1684 Jul 12  14:40:35     11  -3902   H    0.3926  1.0041  45.2N  37.1W  67   16  00m23s
08793 -05  1702 Jul 24  21:38:51      8  -3679   H    0.3160  1.0001  38.4N 140.4W  71    1  00m01s
08838 -04  1720 Aug 04  04:38:15     10  -3456   A    0.2409  0.9957  31.1N 114.8E  76   16  00m27s
08884 -03  1738 Aug 15  11:40:12     11  -3233   A    0.1688  0.9907  23.7N   8.4E  80   33  01m00s
08930 -02  1756 Aug 25  18:46:17     14  -3010   Am   0.1009  0.9853  16.1N  99.5W  84   52  01m38s
08975 -01  1774 Sep 06  01:57:40     16  -2787   A    0.0385  0.9797   8.7N 150.9E  88   72  02m20s
09021  00  1792 Sep 16  09:13:52     16  -2564   A   -0.0191  0.9739   1.3N  39.9E  89   93  03m02s
09066  01  1810 Sep 28  16:37:25     12  -2341   A   -0.0696  0.9681   5.8S  72.8W  86  115  03m45s
09111  02  1828 Oct 09  00:07:47      8  -2118   A   -0.1139  0.9623  12.5S 173.0E  83  137  04m26s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 131

                         TD of
 Seq. Rel.   Calendar   Greatest          Luna  Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Path  Central
 Num. Num.     Date      Eclipse     ΔT   Num.  Type  Gamma    Mag.    Lat   Long  Alt Width   Dur.
                                      s                                 °      °     °    km

09155  03  1846 Oct 20  07:46:12      6  -1895   A   -0.1506  0.9567  18.7S  57.3E  81  159  05m05s
09198  04  1864 Oct 30  15:30:31      6  -1672   A   -0.1816  0.9514  24.3S  59.3W  79  181  05m41s
09240  05  1882 Nov 10  23:22:21     -6  -1449   A   -0.2056  0.9465  29.2S 177.0W  78  201  06m14s
09282  06  1900 Nov 22  07:19:43     -2  -1226   A   -0.2245  0.9421  33.1S  64.8E  77  220  06m42s
09325  07  1918 Dec 03  15:22:02     21  -1003   A   -0.2387  0.9383  36.1S  53.7W  76  236  07m06s
09368  08  1936 Dec 13  23:28:12     24   -780   A   -0.2493  0.9349  37.8S 172.6W  75  251  07m25s
09409  09  1954 Dec 25  07:36:42     31   -557   A   -0.2576  0.9323  38.4S  68.2E  75  262  07m39s
09449  10  1973 Jan 04  15:46:21     43   -334   A   -0.2644  0.9303  37.9S  51.2W  74  271  07m49s
09488  11  1991 Jan 15  23:53:51     58   -111   A   -0.2727  0.9290  36.4S 170.4W  74  277  07m53s
09527  12  2009 Jan 26  07:59:45     66    112   A   -0.2820  0.9282  34.1S  70.2E  73  280  07m54s

09567  13  2027 Feb 06  16:00:48     76    335   A   -0.2952  0.9281  31.3S  48.5W  73  282  07m51s
09607  14  2045 Feb 16  23:56:07     89    558   A   -0.3125  0.9285  28.3S 166.2W  72  281  07m47s
09648  15  2063 Feb 28  07:43:30    120    781   A   -0.3360  0.9293  25.2S  77.7E  70  280  07m41s
09689  16  2081 Mar 10  15:23:31    159   1004   A   -0.3653  0.9304  22.4S  36.7W  68  277  07m36s
09731  17  2099 Mar 21  22:54:32    201   1227   A   -0.4016  0.9318  20.0S 149.0W  66  275  07m32s
09772  18  2117 Apr 02  06:15:20    244   1450   A   -0.4459  0.9333  18.4S 101.1E  63  274  07m30s
09813  19  2135 Apr 13  13:27:05    289   1673   A   -0.4973  0.9349  17.6S   6.5W  60  274  07m30s
09855  20  2153 Apr 23  20:29:24    335   1896   A   -0.5557  0.9364  17.9S 111.8W  56  279  07m31s
09897  21  2171 May 05  03:23:15    374   2119   A   -0.6209  0.9378  19.4S 144.8E  51  289  07m32s
09941  22  2189 May 15  10:08:34    416   2342   A   -0.6928  0.9387  22.6S  43.3E  46  309  07m31s

09986  23  2207 May 27  16:47:47    459   2565   A   -0.7692  0.9393  27.5S  57.0W  40  347  07m25s
10029  24  2225 Jun 06  23:21:31    505   2788   A   -0.8496  0.9392  34.6S 156.5W  32  425  07m10s
10073  25  2243 Jun 18  05:49:56    553   3011   A   -0.9342  0.9380  45.6S 104.7E  20  652  06m41s
10118  26  2261 Jun 28  12:16:28    603   3234   P   -1.0198  0.9282  66.6S   6.0E   0             
10163  27  2279 Jul 09  18:41:13    654   3457   P   -1.1065  0.7802  67.7S 100.7W   0             
10209  28  2297 Jul 20  01:07:47    708   3680   P   -1.1915  0.6346  68.7S 151.6E   0             
10254  29  2315 Aug 01  07:34:32    764   3903   P   -1.2761  0.4898  69.6S  43.3E   0             
10299  30  2333 Aug 11  14:06:48    822   4126   P   -1.3558  0.3534  70.5S  66.9W   0             
10345  31  2351 Aug 22  20:42:47    882   4349   P   -1.4322  0.2228  71.2S 178.6W   0             
10390  32  2369 Sep 02  03:25:56    945   4572   Pe  -1.5027  0.1025  71.7S  67.4E   0             


Calendar

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..


Predictions

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

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.


Footnotes

[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 Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is nearly equal 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.


Acknowledgments

The information presented on this web page is based on data published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. The individual global maps appearing in links (both GIF an animation) were extracted from full page plates appearing in Five Millennium Canon by Dan McGlaun. The Besselian elements were provided by Jean Meeus. Fred Espenak assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all eclipse calculations.

Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26