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 137 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 1389 May 25. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2633 Jun 28. The total duration of Saros series 137 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1389 May 25 16:48:11 TD
Last Eclipse = 2633 Jun 28 15:48:41 TD
Duration of Saros 137 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 137 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 137 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 21.4% |
| Annular | A | 36 | 51.4% |
| Total | T | 10 | 14.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 9 | 12.9% |
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 137 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 137 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 54 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 137: 8P 10T 6H 4A 3H 32A 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 137 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 1569 Sep 10 Duration = 02m55s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 1695 Dec 06 Duration = 01m16s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2435 Feb 28 Duration = 07m05s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 1948 May 09 Duration = 00m00s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1713 Dec 17 Duration = 00m56s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1804 Feb 11 Duration = 00m00s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1515 Aug 09 Magnitude = 0.9686
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1389 May 25 Magnitude = 0.0549
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 137 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 137 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 -36 1389 May 25 16:48:11 313 -7552 Pb 1.4993 0.0549 64.4N 139.7E 0 29
02 -35 1407 Jun 06 00:16:35 286 -7329 P 1.4296 0.1902 65.2N 17.7E 0 19
03 -34 1425 Jun 16 07:44:06 261 -7106 P 1.3592 0.3271 66.2N 104.5W 0 9
04 -33 1443 Jun 27 15:11:10 236 -6883 P 1.2887 0.4640 67.2N 133.1E 0 359
05 -32 1461 Jul 07 22:39:29 215 -6660 P 1.2191 0.5989 68.2N 9.9E 0 349
06 -31 1479 Jul 19 06:09:16 198 -6437 P 1.1509 0.7302 69.1N 114.2W 0 337
07 -30 1497 Jul 29 13:43:13 180 -6214 P 1.0863 0.8539 70.0N 120.1E 0 326
08 -29 1515 Aug 09 21:21:25 165 -5991 P 1.0258 0.9686 70.8N 7.2W 0 313
09 -28 1533 Aug 20 05:04:01 151 -5768 T 0.9693 1.0479 73.7N 178.2E 13 257 678 02m40s
10 -27 1551 Aug 31 12:53:01 137 -5545 T 0.9185 1.0460 65.7N 28.4E 23 226 391 02m52s
11 -26 1569 Sep 10 20:48:16 126 -5322 T 0.8732 1.0428 57.4N 103.4W 29 215 293 02m55s
12 -25 1587 Oct 02 04:51:25 116 -5099 T 0.8352 1.0387 50.0N 128.3E 33 208 235 02m51s
13 -24 1605 Oct 12 12:59:58 104 -4876 T 0.8022 1.0344 43.4N 0.6E 36 203 193 02m43s
14 -23 1623 Oct 23 21:17:10 89 -4653 T 0.7770 1.0298 37.8N 128.0W 39 199 159 02m31s
15 -22 1641 Nov 03 05:40:09 58 -4430 T 0.7570 1.0252 33.0N 102.5E 41 194 130 02m15s
16 -21 1659 Nov 14 14:10:08 36 -4207 T 0.7432 1.0208 29.2N 28.2W 42 190 106 01m56s
17 -20 1677 Nov 24 22:44:03 17 -3984 T 0.7332 1.0166 26.3N 159.6W 43 186 84 01m36s
18 -19 1695 Dec 06 07:23:18 8 -3761 T 0.7280 1.0128 24.3N 67.9E 43 181 64 01m16s
19 -18 1713 Dec 17 16:04:20 9 -3538 H 0.7249 1.0094 23.1N 64.8W 43 176 47 00m56s
20 -17 1731 Dec 29 00:46:53 11 -3315 H 0.7234 1.0065 22.7N 162.2E 44 171 32 00m39s
21 -16 1750 Jan 08 09:28:43 12 -3092 H 0.7217 1.0041 23.0N 29.3E 44 167 20 00m24s
22 -15 1768 Jan 19 18:09:29 16 -2869 H 0.7195 1.0022 23.9N 103.2W 44 162 11 00m13s
23 -14 1786 Jan 30 02:45:26 17 -2646 H 0.7140 1.0009 25.1N 125.5E 44 158 5 00m05s
24 -13 1804 Feb 11 11:16:33 13 -2423 H 0.7053 1.0000 26.7N 4.5W 45 153 0 00m00s
25 -12 1822 Feb 21 19:40:40 11 -2200 A 0.6914 0.9996 28.6N 132.3W 46 150 2 00m02s
26 -11 1840 Mar 04 03:58:22 6 -1977 A 0.6728 0.9995 30.6N 101.7E 48 147 2 00m03s
27 -10 1858 Mar 15 12:05:28 8 -1754 A 0.6461 0.9996 32.7N 20.9W 50 145 2 00m02s
28 -09 1876 Mar 25 20:05:06 -4 -1531 A 0.6142 0.9999 34.8N 141.1W 52 144 1 00m01s
29 -08 1894 Apr 06 03:53:41 -6 -1308 H 0.5740 1.0001 36.7N 102.4E 55 144 1 00m01s
30 -07 1912 Apr 17 11:34:22 14 -1085 H 0.5280 1.0003 38.4N 11.2W 58 146 1 00m02s
31 -06 1930 Apr 28 19:03:34 24 -862 H 0.4730 1.0003 39.4N 121.2W 62 149 1 00m01s
32 -05 1948 May 09 02:26:04 28 -639 A 0.4133 0.9999 39.8N 131.2E 65 153 0 00m00s
33 -04 1966 May 20 09:39:02 37 -416 A 0.3467 0.9991 39.2N 26.4E 70 158 3 00m05s
34 -03 1984 May 30 16:45:41 54 -193 A 0.2755 0.9980 37.5N 76.7W 74 163 7 00m11s
35 -02 2002 Jun 10 23:45:22 64 30 A 0.1993 0.9962 34.5N 178.6W 78 169 13 00m23s
36 -01 2020 Jun 21 06:41:15 71 253 Am 0.1209 0.9940 30.5N 79.7E 83 174 21 00m38s
37 00 2038 Jul 02 13:32:55 83 476 A 0.0398 0.9911 25.4N 21.9W 88 179 31 01m00s
38 01 2056 Jul 12 20:21:59 107 699 A -0.0426 0.9878 19.4N 123.7W 88 3 43 01m26s
39 02 2074 Jul 24 03:10:32 145 922 A -0.1242 0.9838 12.8N 133.7E 83 7 58 01m57s
40 03 2092 Aug 03 09:59:33 186 1145 A -0.2044 0.9794 5.6N 30.3E 78 10 75 02m31s
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 04 2110 Aug 15 16:50:45 228 1368 A -0.2819 0.9746 2.0S 74.3W 74 13 94 03m07s
42 05 2128 Aug 25 23:44:34 273 1591 A -0.3562 0.9694 9.8S 180.0E 69 15 117 03m41s
43 06 2146 Sep 06 06:44:00 319 1814 A -0.4249 0.9639 17.8S 72.6E 65 18 143 04m13s
44 07 2164 Sep 16 13:48:20 360 2037 A -0.4885 0.9583 25.7S 36.3W 61 19 172 04m42s
45 08 2182 Sep 27 20:58:45 400 2260 A -0.5461 0.9527 33.5S 146.7W 57 21 205 05m05s
46 09 2200 Oct 09 04:16:21 443 2483 A -0.5972 0.9470 41.1S 101.3E 53 22 241 05m25s
47 10 2218 Oct 20 11:41:56 488 2706 A -0.6411 0.9416 48.4S 12.1W 50 23 280 05m41s
48 11 2236 Oct 30 19:15:15 535 2929 A -0.6779 0.9365 55.2S 126.4W 47 23 321 05m54s
49 12 2254 Nov 11 02:55:16 584 3152 A -0.7086 0.9317 61.4S 119.3E 45 21 363 06m05s
50 13 2272 Nov 21 10:42:52 635 3375 A -0.7327 0.9275 66.8S 5.9E 43 16 402 06m15s
51 14 2290 Dec 02 18:36:41 688 3598 A -0.7515 0.9237 70.9S 104.7W 41 7 439 06m23s
52 15 2308 Dec 14 02:34:52 743 3821 A -0.7662 0.9207 73.4S 148.6E 40 353 470 06m31s
53 16 2326 Dec 25 10:36:53 801 4044 A -0.7774 0.9182 73.6S 43.3E 39 337 496 06m39s
54 17 2345 Jan 04 18:40:23 860 4267 A -0.7872 0.9165 71.9S 64.6W 38 323 517 06m45s
55 18 2363 Jan 16 02:45:07 922 4490 A -0.7955 0.9154 68.8S 177.6W 37 314 532 06m52s
56 19 2381 Jan 26 10:46:38 985 4713 A -0.8064 0.9149 65.3S 66.8E 36 309 546 06m57s
57 20 2399 Feb 06 18:46:44 1051 4936 A -0.8180 0.9150 61.6S 51.0W 35 307 557 07m01s
58 21 2417 Feb 17 02:40:42 1118 5159 A -0.8345 0.9155 58.3S 168.3W 33 306 574 07m04s
59 22 2435 Feb 28 10:29:45 1188 5382 A -0.8546 0.9165 55.4S 75.0E 31 306 599 07m05s
60 23 2453 Mar 10 18:09:42 1260 5605 A -0.8820 0.9177 53.6S 39.1W 28 306 647 07m04s
61 24 2471 Mar 22 01:43:37 1334 5828 A -0.9141 0.9190 52.9S 151.3W 24 307 738 07m00s
62 25 2489 Apr 01 09:07:55 1410 6051 A -0.9541 0.9200 54.4S 101.3E 17 305 997 06m50s
63 26 2507 Apr 13 16:23:43 1488 6274 A- -1.0006 0.9539 61.3S 13.5E 0 289 - -
64 27 2525 Apr 23 23:30:15 1568 6497 P -1.0544 0.8646 61.8S 101.6W 0 298
65 28 2543 May 05 06:29:19 1650 6720 P -1.1140 0.7648 62.3S 145.1E 0 307
66 29 2561 May 15 13:20:16 1734 6943 P -1.1801 0.6534 63.1S 33.6E 0 316
67 30 2579 May 26 20:04:28 1820 7166 P -1.2516 0.5320 63.9S 76.4W 0 325
68 31 2597 Jun 06 02:43:07 1909 7389 P -1.3272 0.4029 64.8S 174.7E 0 335
69 32 2615 Jun 18 09:17:56 1999 7612 P -1.4053 0.2689 65.7S 66.4E 0 344
70 33 2633 Jun 28 15:48:41 2092 7835 Pe -1.4864 0.1291 66.7S 41.2W 0 354
[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)"
