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 142 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 1624 Apr 17. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2904 Jun 05. The total duration of Saros series 142 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1624 Apr 17 17:16:18 TD
Last Eclipse = 2904 Jun 05 07:24:49 TD
Duration of Saros 142 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 142 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 142 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 28 | 38.9% |
| Annular | A | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | T | 43 | 59.7% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 1 | 1.4% |
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 142 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 142 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 97.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 142: 8P 1H 43T 20P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 142 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 2291 May 28 Duration = 06m34s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 1786 Jul 25 Duration = 00m59s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1768 Jul 14 Duration = 00m29s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 1768 Jul 14 Duration = 00m29s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1750 Jul 03 Magnitude = 0.9956
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 2904 Jun 05 Magnitude = 0.0040
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 142 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 142 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 -35 1624 Apr 17 17:16:18 88 -4647 Pb -1.5208 0.0582 71.2S 23.1W 0 306
02 -34 1642 Apr 29 00:29:43 57 -4424 P -1.4585 0.1660 70.6S 144.7W 0 318
03 -33 1660 May 09 07:36:45 36 -4201 P -1.3897 0.2868 69.7S 95.9E 0 331
04 -32 1678 May 20 14:40:42 17 -3978 P -1.3172 0.4158 68.8S 22.1W 0 342
05 -31 1696 May 30 21:41:23 8 -3755 P -1.2406 0.5534 67.8S 138.7W 0 353
06 -30 1714 Jun 12 04:40:01 9 -3532 P -1.1610 0.6976 66.8S 105.8E 0 4
07 -29 1732 Jun 22 11:38:48 11 -3309 P -1.0800 0.8457 65.8S 9.3W 0 14
08 -28 1750 Jul 03 18:38:52 13 -3086 P -0.9985 0.9956 64.8S 124.3W 0 23
09 -27 1768 Jul 14 01:40:57 16 -2863 H -0.9176 1.0055 43.0S 137.4E 23 19 48 00m29s
10 -26 1786 Jul 25 08:46:33 17 -2640 T -0.8384 1.0106 34.6S 30.8E 33 21 66 00m59s
11 -25 1804 Aug 05 15:57:13 12 -2417 T -0.7622 1.0144 29.3S 77.1W 40 24 75 01m20s
12 -24 1822 Aug 16 23:14:34 11 -2194 T -0.6904 1.0173 26.1S 173.5E 46 27 80 01m35s
13 -23 1840 Aug 27 06:37:32 6 -1971 T -0.6223 1.0195 24.3S 62.9E 51 29 83 01m45s
14 -22 1858 Sep 07 14:09:29 8 -1748 T -0.5609 1.0210 23.9S 49.8W 56 31 85 01m50s
15 -21 1876 Sep 17 21:49:15 -4 -1525 T -0.5054 1.0220 24.6S 164.5W 60 32 86 01m53s
16 -20 1894 Sep 29 05:39:02 -7 -1302 T -0.4573 1.0226 26.1S 78.5E 63 32 85 01m55s
17 -19 1912 Oct 10 13:36:14 14 -1079 T -0.4149 1.0229 28.1S 40.1W 65 32 85 01m55s
18 -18 1930 Oct 21 21:43:53 24 -856 T -0.3804 1.0230 30.5S 161.1W 67 31 84 01m55s
19 -17 1948 Nov 01 05:59:18 29 -633 T -0.3517 1.0231 33.1S 76.2E 69 28 84 01m56s
20 -16 1966 Nov 12 14:23:28 37 -410 T -0.3300 1.0234 35.6S 48.2W 71 25 84 01m57s
21 -15 1984 Nov 22 22:54:17 54 -187 T -0.3132 1.0237 37.8S 173.6W 72 21 85 02m00s
22 -14 2002 Dec 04 07:32:16 64 36 T -0.3020 1.0244 39.5S 59.6E 72 16 87 02m04s
23 -13 2020 Dec 14 16:14:39 71 259 T -0.2939 1.0254 40.3S 68.0W 73 10 90 02m10s
24 -12 2038 Dec 26 01:00:10 83 482 T -0.2881 1.0268 40.3S 163.9E 73 5 95 02m18s
25 -11 2057 Jan 05 09:47:52 108 705 T -0.2837 1.0287 39.2S 35.2E 73 359 102 02m29s
26 -10 2075 Jan 16 18:36:04 146 928 T -0.2799 1.0311 37.2S 94.1W 74 354 110 02m42s
27 -09 2093 Jan 27 03:22:16 187 1151 T -0.2737 1.0340 34.1S 136.4E 74 350 119 02m58s
28 -08 2111 Feb 08 12:05:33 229 1374 T -0.2650 1.0374 30.2S 6.8E 74 346 130 03m17s
29 -07 2129 Feb 18 20:44:37 274 1597 T -0.2526 1.0411 25.6S 122.5W 75 344 142 03m38s
30 -06 2147 Mar 02 05:18:54 320 1820 T -0.2360 1.0452 20.5S 108.8E 76 343 155 04m02s
31 -05 2165 Mar 12 13:45:50 361 2043 T -0.2130 1.0495 14.9S 18.8W 78 342 168 04m27s
32 -04 2183 Mar 23 22:06:49 402 2266 T -0.1848 1.0540 8.9S 145.2W 79 342 181 04m54s
33 -03 2201 Apr 04 06:19:57 444 2489 T -0.1495 1.0584 2.7S 90.2E 81 343 194 05m20s
34 -02 2219 Apr 15 14:26:33 489 2712 T -0.1086 1.0628 3.7N 32.8W 84 344 207 05m45s
35 -01 2237 Apr 25 22:25:04 536 2935 T -0.0606 1.0668 10.1N 153.7W 87 346 219 06m05s
36 00 2255 May 07 06:18:06 585 3158 T -0.0076 1.0706 16.4N 87.2E 90 346 230 06m22s
37 01 2273 May 17 14:04:31 636 3381 Tm 0.0515 1.0738 22.5N 29.7W 87 173 240 06m31s
38 02 2291 May 28 21:45:28 690 3604 T 0.1153 1.0764 28.3N 144.5W 83 176 249 06m34s
39 03 2309 Jun 09 05:21:55 745 3827 T 0.1833 1.0783 33.6N 102.7E 79 181 257 06m30s
40 04 2327 Jun 20 12:55:01 802 4050 T 0.2542 1.0795 38.3N 8.3W 75 186 265 06m21s
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 05 2345 Jun 30 20:26:17 862 4273 T 0.3267 1.0797 42.1N 117.7W 71 192 272 06m07s
42 06 2363 Jul 12 03:55:03 923 4496 T 0.4012 1.0792 45.0N 134.5E 66 198 279 05m51s
43 07 2381 Jul 22 11:25:02 987 4719 T 0.4748 1.0777 46.9N 26.9E 61 205 285 05m32s
44 08 2399 Aug 02 18:55:14 1052 4942 T 0.5482 1.0754 48.0N 80.4W 57 211 291 05m14s
45 09 2417 Aug 13 02:28:06 1120 5165 T 0.6189 1.0723 48.3N 171.4E 52 216 297 04m55s
46 10 2435 Aug 24 10:03:12 1190 5388 T 0.6875 1.0684 48.2N 62.2E 46 221 304 04m35s
47 11 2453 Sep 03 17:43:48 1262 5611 T 0.7513 1.0638 48.0N 49.1W 41 224 312 04m15s
48 12 2471 Sep 15 01:29:11 1336 5834 T 0.8109 1.0585 48.0N 162.2W 36 226 323 03m54s
49 13 2489 Sep 25 09:20:22 1412 6057 T 0.8654 1.0527 48.6N 82.9E 30 227 341 03m32s
50 14 2507 Oct 07 17:18:18 1490 6280 T 0.9141 1.0464 50.0N 34.0W 24 227 374 03m07s
51 15 2525 Oct 18 01:23:55 1570 6503 T 0.9558 1.0396 52.7N 152.5W 17 227 450 02m39s
52 16 2543 Oct 29 09:36:30 1652 6726 Tn 0.9919 1.0316 58.7N 91.9E 6 232 - 02m02s
53 17 2561 Nov 08 17:55:40 1736 6949 P 1.0221 0.9660 62.5N 31.3W 0 231
54 18 2579 Nov 20 02:21:42 1823 7172 P 1.0466 0.9182 63.3N 166.5W 0 222
55 19 2597 Nov 30 10:54:08 1911 7395 P 1.0654 0.8814 64.1N 56.4E 0 212
56 20 2615 Dec 12 19:30:54 2002 7618 P 1.0802 0.8524 65.1N 82.1W 0 202
57 21 2633 Dec 23 04:12:15 2094 7841 P 1.0909 0.8313 66.1N 137.9E 0 192
58 22 2652 Jan 03 12:55:42 2189 8064 P 1.0995 0.8144 67.2N 3.1W 0 181
59 23 2670 Jan 13 21:41:08 2286 8287 P 1.1061 0.8013 68.3N 145.2W 0 170
60 24 2688 Jan 25 06:24:18 2384 8510 P 1.1141 0.7860 69.3N 72.8E 0 158
61 25 2706 Feb 05 15:07:13 2485 8733 P 1.1218 0.7713 70.3N 69.9W 0 145
62 26 2724 Feb 16 23:45:25 2588 8956 P 1.1327 0.7511 71.1N 148.0E 0 132
63 27 2742 Feb 27 08:19:28 2693 9179 P 1.1468 0.7250 71.7N 6.3E 0 118
64 28 2760 Mar 09 16:45:54 2800 9402 P 1.1667 0.6887 72.1N 133.9W 0 104
65 29 2778 Mar 21 01:06:37 2909 9625 P 1.1908 0.6446 72.3N 87.0E 0 90
66 30 2796 Mar 31 09:18:22 3021 9848 P 1.2216 0.5883 72.1N 49.7W 0 76
67 31 2814 Apr 11 17:21:36 3134 10071 P 1.2589 0.5204 71.7N 176.0E 0 62
68 32 2832 Apr 22 01:15:31 3249 10294 P 1.3031 0.4397 71.1N 44.5E 0 48
69 33 2850 May 03 09:01:02 3367 10517 P 1.3537 0.3475 70.3N 84.3W 0 36
70 34 2868 May 13 16:37:07 3486 10740 P 1.4111 0.2430 69.4N 149.9E 0 24
71 35 2886 May 25 00:04:54 3608 10963 P 1.4742 0.1283 68.5N 26.8E 0 12
72 36 2904 Jun 05 07:24:49 3732 11186 Pe 1.5428 0.0040 67.5N 93.8W 0 2
[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)"
