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 151 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 1776 Aug 14. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3056 Oct 01. The total duration of Saros series 151 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1776 Aug 14 05:22:56 TD
Last Eclipse = 3056 Oct 01 13:33:09 TD
Duration of Saros 151 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 151 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 151 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 26 | 36.1% |
| Annular | A | 6 | 8.3% |
| Total | T | 39 | 54.2% |
| 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 151 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 151 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 46 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 44 | 95.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 2 | 4.3% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 151: 18P 6A 1H 39T 8P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 151 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 2840 May 22 Duration = 05m41s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 2227 May 16 Duration = 00m59s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2101 Feb 28 Duration = 02m44s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2191 Apr 23 Duration = 00m03s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2209 May 05 Duration = 00m28s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2209 May 05 Duration = 00m28s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 2083 Feb 16 Magnitude = 0.9433
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 3056 Oct 01 Magnitude = 0.0021
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 151 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 151 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 -34 1776 Aug 14 05:22:56 17 -2763 Pb 1.5357 0.0435 70.6N 123.5W 0 318
02 -33 1794 Aug 25 12:08:56 16 -2540 P 1.4616 0.1709 71.3N 121.9E 0 305
03 -32 1812 Sep 05 19:04:10 12 -2317 P 1.3939 0.2874 71.8N 4.5E 0 292
04 -31 1830 Sep 17 02:08:12 7 -2094 P 1.3325 0.3930 72.1N 115.6W 0 278
05 -30 1848 Sep 27 09:21:19 7 -1871 P 1.2774 0.4875 72.2N 121.9E 0 264
06 -29 1866 Oct 08 16:44:22 4 -1648 P 1.2296 0.5693 71.9N 3.0W 0 250
07 -28 1884 Oct 19 00:17:42 -6 -1425 P 1.1892 0.6385 71.5N 130.2W 0 237
08 -27 1902 Oct 31 08:00:18 1 -1202 P 1.1556 0.6960 70.8N 100.8E 0 223
09 -26 1920 Nov 10 15:52:15 22 -979 P 1.1287 0.7420 69.9N 29.8W 0 211
10 -25 1938 Nov 21 23:52:25 24 -756 P 1.1077 0.7781 68.9N 162.0W 0 198
11 -24 1956 Dec 02 08:00:35 32 -533 P 1.0923 0.8047 67.9N 64.6E 0 187
12 -23 1974 Dec 13 16:13:13 45 -310 P 1.0797 0.8266 66.8N 69.4W 0 176
13 -22 1992 Dec 24 00:31:41 59 -87 P 1.0711 0.8422 65.7N 155.7E 0 165
14 -21 2011 Jan 04 08:51:42 66 136 P 1.0627 0.8576 64.7N 20.8E 0 155
15 -20 2029 Jan 14 17:13:48 76 359 P 1.0553 0.8714 63.7N 114.2W 0 145
16 -19 2047 Jan 26 01:33:18 89 582 P 1.0450 0.8907 62.9N 111.7E 0 135
17 -18 2065 Feb 05 09:52:26 125 805 P 1.0336 0.9123 62.2N 21.9W 0 125
18 -17 2083 Feb 16 18:06:36 164 1028 P 1.0170 0.9433 61.6N 154.1W 0 116
19 -16 2101 Feb 28 02:16:26 206 1251 An 0.9964 0.9609 60.5N 80.0E 3 111 - 02m44s
20 -15 2119 Mar 11 10:19:19 249 1474 A 0.9693 0.9694 56.7N 29.2W 14 120 451 02m13s
21 -14 2137 Mar 21 18:16:38 294 1697 A 0.9369 0.9769 55.6N 144.8W 20 121 233 01m40s
22 -13 2155 Apr 02 02:06:34 339 1920 A 0.8975 0.9844 55.6N 101.3E 26 123 123 01m07s
23 -12 2173 Apr 12 09:49:40 379 2143 A 0.8515 0.9919 56.2N 10.3W 31 126 53 00m35s
24 -11 2191 Apr 23 17:26:06 420 2366 A 0.7991 0.9993 57.0N 119.2W 37 130 4 00m03s
25 -10 2209 May 05 00:56:53 464 2589 H 0.7413 1.0065 57.7N 134.4E 42 136 34 00m28s
26 -09 2227 May 16 08:21:31 510 2812 T 0.6774 1.0135 57.7N 30.8E 47 144 63 00m59s
27 -08 2245 May 26 15:42:04 558 3035 T 0.6089 1.0201 56.7N 71.4W 52 153 86 01m30s
28 -07 2263 Jun 06 22:58:57 608 3258 T 0.5366 1.0261 54.4N 173.1W 57 162 105 02m01s
29 -06 2281 Jun 17 06:14:41 660 3481 T 0.4621 1.0316 50.8N 84.2E 62 170 121 02m32s
30 -05 2299 Jun 28 13:27:43 714 3704 T 0.3846 1.0365 46.0N 19.5W 67 176 133 03m03s
31 -04 2317 Jul 09 20:42:40 770 3927 T 0.3078 1.0406 40.4N 125.3W 72 182 143 03m32s
32 -03 2335 Jul 21 03:57:49 829 4150 T 0.2306 1.0440 34.0N 127.4E 76 186 151 03m58s
33 -02 2353 Jul 31 11:17:06 889 4373 T 0.1559 1.0467 27.2N 17.8E 81 190 158 04m20s
34 -01 2371 Aug 11 18:38:04 951 4596 T 0.0821 1.0487 19.9N 93.0W 85 192 162 04m36s
35 00 2389 Aug 22 02:05:53 1016 4819 T 0.0133 1.0500 12.5N 153.9E 89 193 166 04m45s
36 01 2407 Sep 02 09:38:25 1082 5042 T -0.0517 1.0506 5.1N 39.2E 87 17 168 04m48s
37 02 2425 Sep 12 17:18:07 1151 5265 Tm -0.1113 1.0507 2.3S 77.5W 84 17 169 04m47s
38 03 2443 Sep 24 01:04:47 1222 5488 T -0.1656 1.0502 9.6S 164.1E 80 18 169 04m39s
39 04 2461 Oct 04 09:00:22 1295 5711 T -0.2131 1.0495 16.5S 43.7E 78 18 168 04m30s
40 05 2479 Oct 15 17:04:11 1369 5934 T -0.2538 1.0484 23.0S 78.3W 75 17 166 04m18s
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 06 2497 Oct 26 01:15:23 1446 6157 T -0.2889 1.0472 29.1S 158.5E 73 16 164 04m06s
42 07 2515 Nov 07 09:35:34 1525 6380 T -0.3169 1.0459 34.4S 33.9E 71 13 161 03m53s
43 08 2533 Nov 17 18:03:10 1606 6603 T -0.3394 1.0448 38.9S 91.5W 70 10 159 03m43s
44 09 2551 Nov 29 02:38:19 1690 6826 T -0.3559 1.0438 42.3S 142.3E 69 5 157 03m34s
45 10 2569 Dec 09 11:18:32 1775 7049 T -0.3687 1.0431 44.7S 15.8E 68 360 155 03m27s
46 11 2587 Dec 20 20:04:49 1862 7272 T -0.3767 1.0428 45.6S 111.5W 68 353 154 03m22s
47 12 2606 Jan 01 04:53:56 1951 7495 T -0.3828 1.0428 45.3S 120.5E 67 347 155 03m20s
48 13 2624 Jan 12 13:45:09 2043 7718 T -0.3874 1.0433 43.8S 8.4W 67 341 157 03m21s
49 14 2642 Jan 22 22:36:33 2136 7941 T -0.3923 1.0443 41.4S 138.1W 67 337 160 03m24s
50 15 2660 Feb 03 07:27:31 2232 8164 T -0.3977 1.0457 38.2S 91.5E 66 333 165 03m30s
51 16 2678 Feb 13 16:14:59 2330 8387 T -0.4062 1.0475 34.8S 38.7W 66 330 172 03m38s
52 17 2696 Feb 25 00:58:48 2429 8610 T -0.4179 1.0496 31.1S 168.7W 65 329 180 03m48s
53 18 2714 Mar 08 09:37:13 2531 8833 T -0.4342 1.0520 27.6S 62.3E 64 328 189 04m01s
54 19 2732 Mar 18 18:10:35 2635 9056 T -0.4552 1.0544 24.4S 65.8W 63 328 200 04m15s
55 20 2750 Mar 30 02:35:25 2741 9279 T -0.4832 1.0570 21.8S 168.1E 61 329 212 04m31s
56 21 2768 Apr 09 10:54:27 2849 9502 T -0.5162 1.0595 19.9S 43.4E 59 331 225 04m48s
57 22 2786 Apr 20 19:04:46 2959 9725 T -0.5565 1.0617 18.9S 79.1W 56 333 240 05m05s
58 23 2804 May 01 03:09:24 3071 9948 T -0.6018 1.0636 19.0S 159.6E 53 336 257 05m21s
59 24 2822 May 12 11:04:34 3185 10171 T -0.6549 1.0650 20.4S 40.6E 49 339 278 05m34s
60 25 2840 May 22 18:55:22 3302 10394 T -0.7118 1.0657 23.1S 77.7W 44 343 303 05m41s
61 26 2858 Jun 03 02:37:58 3420 10617 T -0.7750 1.0656 27.6S 165.7E 39 347 338 05m38s
62 27 2876 Jun 13 10:16:45 3541 10840 T -0.8414 1.0645 33.8S 49.4E 32 351 391 05m25s
63 28 2894 Jun 24 17:49:14 3663 11063 T -0.9127 1.0620 42.9S 66.3W 24 355 502 04m55s
64 29 2912 Jul 06 01:20:07 3788 11286 Ts -0.9849 1.0568 58.5S 176.0E 9 1 - 03m59s
65 30 2930 Jul 17 08:47:32 3914 11509 P -1.0593 0.9063 68.5S 53.0E 0 13
66 31 2948 Jul 27 16:14:08 4043 11732 P -1.1339 0.7620 69.5S 69.8W 0 24
67 32 2966 Aug 07 23:40:32 4174 11955 P -1.2079 0.6193 70.3S 166.9E 0 36
68 33 2984 Aug 18 07:08:25 4307 12178 P -1.2800 0.4810 71.1S 42.6E 0 48
69 34 3002 Aug 30 14:38:31 4442 12401 P -1.3497 0.3480 71.6S 82.8W 0 61
70 35 3020 Sep 09 22:11:39 4579 12624 P -1.4162 0.2224 72.0S 150.7E 0 74
71 36 3038 Sep 21 05:49:43 4718 12847 P -1.4781 0.1069 72.2S 22.7E 0 88
72 37 3056 Oct 01 13:33:09 4859 13070 Pe -1.5349 0.0021 72.1S 106.6W 0 102
[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)"
