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.
Solar eclipses of Saros 140 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 1512 Apr 16. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2774 Jun 01. The total duration of Saros series 140 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1512 Apr 16 06:22:25 TD Last Eclipse = 2774 Jun 01 13:10:10 TD Duration of Saros 140 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 140 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 140 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 24 | 33.8% |
| Annular | A | 32 | 45.1% |
| Total | T | 11 | 15.5% |
| 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 140 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 140 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 47 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 91.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.1% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 3 | 6.4% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 140: 8P 11T 4H 32A 16P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 140 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 140 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2449 Nov 15 | 07m35s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1927 Jan 03 | 00m03s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1692 Aug 12 | 04m10s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1836 Nov 09 | 01m28s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1854 Nov 20 | 01m07s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1908 Dec 23 | 00m12s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1638 Jul 11 | - | 0.89166 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1512 Apr 16 | - | 0.00034 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 140. 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 140.
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
08340 -37 1512 Apr 16 06:22:25 183 -6032 Pb -1.5289 0.0003 70.6S 131.9E 0
08382 -36 1530 Apr 27 14:07:20 166 -5809 P -1.4726 0.1083 69.9S 2.9E 0
08423 -35 1548 May 07 21:46:52 151 -5586 P -1.4121 0.2250 69.0S 124.2W 0
08464 -34 1566 May 19 05:21:00 138 -5363 P -1.3472 0.3507 68.1S 110.7E 0
08505 -33 1584 Jun 08 12:52:25 126 -5140 P -1.2802 0.4805 67.1S 13.3W 0
08546 -32 1602 Jun 19 20:19:21 116 -4917 P -1.2097 0.6174 66.1S 135.7W 0
08588 -31 1620 Jun 30 03:46:25 93 -4694 P -1.1393 0.7535 65.1S 102.3E 0
08632 -30 1638 Jul 11 11:11:52 66 -4471 P -1.0676 0.8917 64.2S 19.0W 0
08677 -29 1656 Jul 21 18:39:48 40 -4248 T- -0.9983 1.0244 63.4S 140.7W 0
08723 -28 1674 Aug 02 02:07:57 19 -4025 T -0.9295 1.0560 45.9S 120.8E 21 498 04m08s
08768 -27 1692 Aug 12 09:41:06 8 -3802 T -0.8649 1.0546 39.8S 8.6E 30 353 04m10s
08813 -26 1710 Aug 24 17:17:16 9 -3579 T -0.8031 1.0519 36.5S 105.1W 36 282 04m00s
08858 -25 1728 Sep 04 00:59:22 10 -3356 T -0.7466 1.0484 35.0S 139.6E 41 236 03m44s
08904 -24 1746 Sep 15 08:46:37 12 -3133 T -0.6948 1.0441 34.9S 23.0E 46 200 03m23s
08949 -23 1764 Sep 25 16:41:43 15 -2910 T -0.6502 1.0394 36.0S 95.5W 49 171 03m01s
08995 -22 1782 Oct 07 00:43:19 17 -2687 T -0.6113 1.0344 37.9S 144.6E 52 144 02m37s
09040 -21 1800 Oct 18 08:51:53 13 -2464 T -0.5787 1.0293 40.3S 23.2E 54 120 02m14s
09085 -20 1818 Oct 29 17:07:10 12 -2241 T -0.5524 1.0241 43.1S 99.4W 56 98 01m51s
09130 -19 1836 Nov 09 01:29:26 5 -2018 T -0.5327 1.0191 46.1S 136.8E 58 77 01m28s
09174 -18 1854 Nov 20 09:56:58 7 -1795 H3 -0.5179 1.0144 48.9S 12.7E 59 57 01m07s
09217 -17 1872 Nov 30 18:29:33 -2 -1572 H -0.5081 1.0099 51.2S 111.8W 59 40 00m47s
09259 -16 1890 Dec 12 03:05:28 -6 -1349 H -0.5016 1.0059 52.8S 123.9E 60 24 00m28s
09301 -15 1908 Dec 23 11:44:28 9 -1126 H -0.4985 1.0024 53.4S 0.5W 60 10 00m12s
09343 -14 1927 Jan 03 20:22:53 24 -903 A -0.4956 0.9995 52.8S 124.8W 60 2 00m03s
09386 -13 1945 Jan 14 05:01:43 27 -680 A -0.4937 0.9970 51.1S 110.3E 60 12 00m15s
09426 -12 1963 Jan 25 13:37:12 35 -457 A -0.4898 0.9951 48.2S 15.0W 60 20 00m25s
09466 -11 1981 Feb 04 22:09:24 51 -234 A -0.4838 0.9937 44.4S 140.8W 61 25 00m33s
09505 -10 1999 Feb 16 06:34:38 63 -11 A -0.4726 0.9928 39.8S 93.9E 62 29 00m40s
09545 -09 2017 Feb 26 14:54:33 70 212 A -0.4578 0.9922 34.7S 31.2W 63 31 00m44s
09585 -08 2035 Mar 09 23:05:54 81 435 A -0.4368 0.9919 29.0S 154.9W 64 31 00m48s
09625 -07 2053 Mar 20 07:08:19 99 658 A -0.4089 0.9919 23.0S 83.0E 66 31 00m50s
09667 -06 2071 Mar 31 15:01:06 138 881 A -0.3739 0.9919 16.7S 37.0W 68 31 00m52s
09708 -05 2089 Apr 10 22:44:42 178 1104 A -0.3319 0.9919 10.2S 154.8W 71 30 00m53s
09749 -04 2107 Apr 23 06:18:41 220 1327 A -0.2829 0.9918 3.6S 89.9E 74 30 00m56s
09790 -03 2125 May 03 13:42:33 264 1550 A -0.2263 0.9915 3.0N 22.6W 77 31 00m59s
09831 -02 2143 May 14 20:58:14 310 1773 Am -0.1638 0.9908 9.4N 132.7W 81 33 01m05s
09873 -01 2161 May 25 04:05:43 352 1996 A -0.0950 0.9898 15.7N 119.8E 85 36 01m12s
09916 00 2179 Jun 05 11:05:36 393 2219 A -0.0209 0.9884 21.5N 15.0E 89 41 01m21s
09960 01 2197 Jun 15 17:59:33 435 2442 A 0.0574 0.9864 26.8N 87.6W 87 48 01m32s
10004 02 2215 Jun 28 00:48:45 480 2665 A 0.1388 0.9839 31.4N 172.0E 82 58 01m44s
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
10048 03 2233 Jul 08 07:35:24 526 2888 A 0.2215 0.9809 35.1N 73.1E 77 70 01m59s
10093 04 2251 Jul 19 14:18:46 575 3111 A 0.3062 0.9773 38.0N 24.2W 72 85 02m16s
10138 05 2269 Jul 29 21:03:04 625 3334 A 0.3893 0.9732 39.9N 121.3W 67 104 02m35s
10184 06 2287 Aug 10 03:47:42 678 3557 A 0.4714 0.9686 41.0N 141.8E 62 127 02m56s
10229 07 2305 Aug 21 10:35:44 733 3780 A 0.5497 0.9637 41.5N 43.7E 56 155 03m21s
10274 08 2323 Sep 01 17:26:09 790 4003 A 0.6253 0.9584 41.7N 55.3W 51 191 03m48s
10319 09 2341 Sep 12 00:22:47 849 4226 A 0.6950 0.9529 41.7N 156.4W 46 234 04m19s
10365 10 2359 Sep 23 07:24:42 910 4449 A 0.7595 0.9471 41.9N 100.6E 40 291 04m53s
10409 11 2377 Oct 03 14:33:17 973 4672 A 0.8178 0.9413 42.6N 4.7W 35 366 05m29s
10453 12 2395 Oct 14 21:49:16 1038 4895 A 0.8691 0.9354 44.0N 112.4W 29 471 06m07s
10496 13 2413 Oct 25 05:13:20 1106 5118 A 0.9129 0.9298 46.2N 137.3E 24 628 06m43s
10539 14 2431 Nov 05 12:45:40 1175 5341 A 0.9496 0.9242 49.5N 24.5E 18 902 07m15s
10582 15 2449 Nov 15 20:23:56 1246 5564 An 0.9810 0.9186 54.9N 89.1W 10 - 07m35s
10625 16 2467 Nov 27 04:10:21 1320 5787 A+ 1.0051 0.9434 63.7N 158.3E 0
10668 17 2485 Dec 07 12:02:00 1395 6010 A+ 1.0242 0.9100 64.7N 31.2E 0
10710 18 2503 Dec 19 19:59:21 1473 6233 P 1.0385 0.8851 65.7N 97.7W 0
10751 19 2521 Dec 30 03:58:50 1553 6456 P 1.0507 0.8642 66.8N 132.5E 0
10792 20 2540 Jan 10 12:01:35 1635 6679 P 1.0600 0.8483 67.9N 1.3E 0
10832 21 2558 Jan 20 20:03:53 1718 6902 P 1.0693 0.8326 69.0N 130.4W 0
10872 22 2576 Feb 01 04:04:59 1804 7125 P 1.0793 0.8161 70.0N 97.6E 0
10912 23 2594 Feb 11 12:02:17 1892 7348 P 1.0921 0.7951 70.9N 34.1W 0
10953 24 2612 Feb 23 19:55:50 1982 7571 P 1.1076 0.7697 71.6N 165.6W 0
10994 25 2630 Mar 06 03:42:09 2075 7794 P 1.1288 0.7350 72.1N 64.3E 0
11034 26 2648 Mar 16 11:21:54 2169 8017 P 1.1552 0.6917 72.3N 64.5W 0
11074 27 2666 Mar 27 18:53:07 2265 8240 P 1.1881 0.6371 72.2N 168.8E 0
11115 28 2684 Apr 07 02:17:17 2363 8463 P 1.2265 0.5732 71.9N 44.0E 0
11157 29 2702 Apr 19 09:30:34 2464 8686 P 1.2736 0.4942 71.4N 77.6W 0
11199 30 2720 Apr 29 16:37:17 2566 8909 P 1.3257 0.4061 70.7N 163.1E 0
11241 31 2738 May 10 23:34:31 2671 9132 P 1.3856 0.3042 69.8N 46.7E 0
11284 32 2756 May 21 06:26:50 2778 9355 P 1.4490 0.1955 68.8N 67.7W 0
11329 33 2774 Jun 01 13:10:10 2886 9578 Pe 1.5196 0.0738 67.8N 179.3W 0
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.
[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.
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)"
