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 150 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 1729 Aug 24. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2991 Sep 29. The total duration of Saros series 150 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1729 Aug 24 13:48:31 TD
Last Eclipse = 2991 Sep 29 06:52:19 TD
Duration of Saros 150 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 150 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 150 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 31 | 43.7% |
| Annular | A | 40 | 56.3% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 0 | 0.0% |
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 150 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 150 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 40 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 39 | 97.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.5% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 150: 22P 40A 9P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 150 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2522 Dec 19 Duration = 09m58s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2829 Jun 22 Duration = 00m35s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 2847 Jul 03 Magnitude = 0.9775
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 1729 Aug 24 Magnitude = 0.0067
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 150 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 150 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 1729 Aug 24 13:48:31 10 -3344 Pb -1.5430 0.0067 61.7S 95.2W 0 66
02 -34 1747 Sep 04 21:07:57 12 -3121 P -1.4880 0.1086 61.4S 146.1E 0 75
03 -33 1765 Sep 15 04:32:34 16 -2898 P -1.4378 0.2009 61.1S 26.2E 0 84
04 -32 1783 Sep 26 12:04:17 17 -2675 P -1.3935 0.2814 61.1S 95.4W 0 93
05 -31 1801 Oct 07 19:42:34 13 -2452 P -1.3552 0.3505 61.2S 141.3E 0 102
06 -30 1819 Oct 19 03:27:17 12 -2229 P -1.3226 0.4085 61.5S 16.4E 0 111
07 -29 1837 Oct 29 11:19:24 5 -2006 P -1.2967 0.4542 61.9S 110.5W 0 120
08 -28 1855 Nov 09 19:17:51 8 -1783 P -1.2767 0.4892 62.5S 121.0E 0 129
09 -27 1873 Nov 20 03:22:52 -3 -1560 P -1.2625 0.5138 63.2S 9.5W 0 138
10 -26 1891 Dec 01 11:31:08 -6 -1337 P -1.2515 0.5326 64.1S 140.9W 0 148
11 -25 1909 Dec 12 19:44:48 10 -1114 P -1.2456 0.5424 65.0S 86.0E 0 158
12 -24 1927 Dec 24 03:59:41 24 -891 P -1.2416 0.5490 66.1S 47.7W 0 169
13 -23 1946 Jan 03 12:16:11 27 -668 P -1.2392 0.5529 67.1S 177.6E 0 180
14 -22 1964 Jan 14 20:30:08 35 -445 P -1.2354 0.5591 68.2S 43.1E 0 191
15 -21 1982 Jan 25 04:42:53 52 -222 P -1.2311 0.5663 69.3S 91.7W 0 203
16 -20 2000 Feb 05 12:50:27 64 1 P -1.2233 0.5795 70.2S 134.1E 0 215
17 -19 2018 Feb 15 20:52:33 70 224 P -1.2116 0.5991 71.0S 0.6E 0 228
18 -18 2036 Feb 27 04:46:49 81 447 P -1.1942 0.6286 71.6S 131.4W 0 242
19 -17 2054 Mar 09 12:33:40 102 670 P -1.1711 0.6678 72.0S 97.9E 0 256
20 -16 2072 Mar 19 20:10:31 140 893 P -1.1405 0.7199 72.2S 30.4W 0 270
21 -15 2090 Mar 31 03:38:08 180 1116 P -1.1028 0.7843 72.1S 156.3W 0 284
22 -14 2108 Apr 11 10:55:37 223 1339 P -1.0573 0.8620 71.7S 80.5E 0 298
23 -13 2126 Apr 22 18:04:22 267 1562 A- -1.0051 0.9514 71.1S 40.0W 0 311 - -
24 -12 2144 May 03 01:02:06 313 1785 A -0.9441 0.9363 53.6S 175.9W 19 341 727 06m09s
25 -11 2162 May 14 07:52:46 355 2008 A -0.8775 0.9396 42.3S 72.8E 28 349 468 06m37s
26 -10 2180 May 24 14:34:28 395 2231 A -0.8035 0.9422 32.6S 32.9W 36 354 359 06m59s
27 -09 2198 Jun 04 21:11:35 437 2454 A -0.7260 0.9442 24.2S 135.7W 43 359 299 07m13s
28 -08 2216 Jun 16 03:41:04 482 2677 A -0.6420 0.9458 16.7S 124.6E 50 3 260 07m20s
29 -07 2234 Jun 27 10:09:34 529 2900 A -0.5572 0.9468 10.3S 26.1E 56 8 235 07m18s
30 -06 2252 Jul 07 16:34:12 577 3123 A -0.4686 0.9473 4.9S 70.6W 62 12 218 07m10s
31 -05 2270 Jul 18 22:59:54 628 3346 A -0.3811 0.9474 0.7S 166.9W 68 16 208 06m57s
32 -04 2288 Jul 29 05:25:23 681 3569 A -0.2930 0.9469 2.5N 97.4E 73 19 203 06m46s
33 -03 2306 Aug 10 11:55:10 736 3792 A -0.2083 0.9461 4.6N 1.0E 78 23 202 06m37s
34 -02 2324 Aug 20 18:28:22 793 4015 A -0.1261 0.9449 5.7N 96.0W 83 25 205 06m33s
35 -01 2342 Sep 01 01:06:55 852 4238 A -0.0480 0.9434 6.1N 165.7E 87 28 209 06m34s
36 00 2360 Sep 11 07:52:25 913 4461 Am 0.0244 0.9415 5.7N 65.6E 89 208 217 06m41s
37 01 2378 Sep 22 14:45:48 977 4684 A 0.0904 0.9396 4.8N 36.6W 85 209 225 06m54s
38 02 2396 Oct 02 21:48:07 1042 4907 A 0.1493 0.9375 3.5N 141.2W 81 209 234 07m12s
39 03 2414 Oct 14 04:58:50 1109 5130 A 0.2015 0.9355 2.2N 111.8E 78 207 245 07m34s
40 04 2432 Oct 24 12:19:58 1179 5353 A 0.2455 0.9335 0.8N 2.1E 76 205 255 08m01s
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 2450 Nov 04 19:49:31 1250 5576 A 0.2828 0.9318 0.5S 109.9W 74 203 264 08m30s
42 06 2468 Nov 15 03:28:23 1324 5799 A 0.3126 0.9304 1.5S 135.7E 72 199 273 08m59s
43 07 2486 Nov 26 11:15:08 1400 6022 A 0.3363 0.9294 2.1S 19.2E 70 195 280 09m26s
44 08 2504 Dec 07 19:10:09 1477 6245 A 0.3535 0.9289 2.3S 99.5W 69 191 284 09m46s
45 09 2522 Dec 19 03:10:40 1557 6468 A 0.3668 0.9289 2.0S 140.4E 68 187 286 09m58s
46 10 2540 Dec 29 11:15:59 1639 6691 A 0.3765 0.9295 1.0S 19.0E 68 182 285 09m57s
47 11 2559 Jan 09 19:24:29 1723 6914 A 0.3841 0.9308 0.6N 103.4W 67 178 280 09m43s
48 12 2577 Jan 20 03:35:00 1809 7137 A 0.3901 0.9326 2.8N 133.7E 67 174 273 09m18s
49 13 2595 Jan 31 11:44:03 1897 7360 A 0.3981 0.9352 5.9N 10.9E 67 170 263 08m42s
50 14 2613 Feb 11 19:51:44 1987 7583 A 0.4076 0.9382 9.6N 111.8W 66 167 250 08m00s
51 15 2631 Feb 23 03:55:11 2080 7806 A 0.4211 0.9419 14.0N 126.3E 65 164 236 07m13s
52 16 2649 Mar 05 11:55:21 2174 8029 A 0.4378 0.9460 19.0N 5.2E 64 162 220 06m25s
53 17 2667 Mar 16 19:47:40 2270 8252 A 0.4613 0.9506 24.6N 114.3W 62 161 203 05m36s
54 18 2685 Mar 27 03:35:09 2369 8475 A 0.4895 0.9554 30.7N 127.5E 61 160 185 04m48s
55 19 2703 Apr 08 11:13:59 2469 8698 A 0.5256 0.9605 37.2N 11.4E 58 159 167 04m01s
56 20 2721 Apr 18 18:47:26 2572 8921 A 0.5665 0.9657 44.1N 103.1W 55 159 150 03m17s
57 21 2739 Apr 30 02:11:56 2677 9144 A 0.6157 0.9708 51.4N 145.0E 52 160 133 02m37s
58 22 2757 May 10 09:32:11 2783 9367 A 0.6690 0.9758 58.9N 35.1E 48 162 116 02m01s
59 23 2775 May 21 16:45:20 2892 9590 A 0.7292 0.9804 66.7N 71.6W 43 165 102 01m31s
60 24 2793 May 31 23:54:30 3003 9813 A 0.7933 0.9846 74.7N 173.3W 37 172 90 01m06s
61 25 2811 Jun 12 06:58:46 3116 10036 A 0.8623 0.9880 82.8N 102.4E 30 195 84 00m47s
62 26 2829 Jun 22 14:01:25 3231 10259 A 0.9335 0.9904 83.4N 97.9E 21 296 97 00m35s
63 27 2847 Jul 03 21:02:28 3348 10482 P 1.0066 0.9775 64.9N 33.4E 0 336
64 28 2865 Jul 14 04:03:03 3467 10705 P 1.0808 0.8446 64.0N 80.8W 0 326
65 29 2883 Jul 25 11:05:22 3589 10928 P 1.1544 0.7116 63.3N 164.7E 0 317
66 30 2901 Aug 05 18:10:19 3712 11151 P 1.2266 0.5801 62.6N 49.9E 0 308
67 31 2919 Aug 17 01:18:50 3837 11374 P 1.2963 0.4526 62.1N 65.7W 0 300
68 32 2937 Aug 27 08:32:10 3965 11597 P 1.3627 0.3306 61.7N 177.6E 0 291
69 33 2955 Sep 07 15:51:40 4094 11820 P 1.4246 0.2164 61.4N 59.5E 0 282
70 34 2973 Sep 17 23:18:46 4226 12043 P 1.4812 0.1119 61.3N 60.5W 0 273
71 35 2991 Sep 29 06:52:19 4360 12266 Pe 1.5333 0.0156 61.4N 178.0E 0 265
[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)"
