Eclipses of the Sun can only occur during the New Moon phase. It is then possible for the Moon's penumbral, umbral or antumbral shadows to sweep across Earth's surface thereby producing an eclipse. Not all New Moons result in a solar eclipse because the Moon's orbit is tilted about 5 degrees to Earth's about the Sun. Consequently, the Moon's shadows miss Earth at most New Moon's. Nevertheless, there are 2 to 5 solar eclipses every calendar year. There are four types of solar eclipses: partial, annular, total and hybrid[1]. For more information, see Basic Solar Eclipse Geometry.
During the 10 century period -3999 to -3000 ( 4000 BCE to 3001 BCE[2]), Earth experienced 2387 solar eclipses. The following table shows the number of eclipses of each type over this period.
| Solar Eclipses: -3999 - -3000 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 2387 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 846 | 35.4% |
| Annular | A | 803 | 33.6% |
| Total | T | 634 | 26.6% |
| Hybrid | H | 104 | 4.4% |
Annular and total eclipses 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 during the 31st century BCE appears in the following three tables (no Hybrids are included since all are central with two limits).
| Annular and Total Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All | 1437 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 1411 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 16 | 1.1% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 10 | 0.7% |
| Annular Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Annular Eclipses | 803 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 787 | 98.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 11 | 1.4% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 5 | 0.6% |
| Total Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Total Eclipses | 634 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 624 | 98.4% |
| Central (one limit) | 5 | 0.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 5 | 0.8% |
The longest central[3] solar eclipses of this period are:
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -3735 Apr 07 Duration = 07m12s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -3124 Nov 24 Duration = 11m36s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -3011 May 11 Duration = 01m47s
Long Total Solar Eclipses are relatively rare. The following catalog lists concise details and local circumstances for all Total Solar Eclipses with durations exceeding 06m 00s. The Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipses contains a detailed description and explanation of each item listed in the catalog. For eclipses from -1999 to +3000, the Catalog Number in the first column serves as a link to a global map of Earth showing the geographic visibility of each eclipse. The date and time of the eclipse are given at the instant of greatest eclipse[4] in Terrestrial Dynamical Time. The Saros Number in the sixth column links to a table listing all eclipses in the Saros series. The Key to Solar Eclipse Maps explains the features plotted on each map.
The data presented here are based in part on the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000.
TD of
Catalog Calendar Greatest Luna Saros Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Number Date Eclipse ΔT Num Num Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
----- -3999 Jun 14 01:59:34 86400 -74193 -56 T 0.2492 1.0765 32.1N 143.3E 75 168 256 06m17s
----- -3984 Mar 01 19:15:19 86400 -74011 -53 T 0.2535 1.0706 4.7S 109.3W 75 160 237 06m12s
----- -3966 Mar 13 02:47:48 86400 -73788 -53 T 0.1884 1.0747 5.4S 138.2E 79 156 246 06m21s
----- -3948 Mar 23 10:16:59 86400 -73565 -53 T 0.1201 1.0781 5.5S 26.6E 83 153 254 06m27s
----- -3930 Apr 03 17:41:24 86400 -73342 -53 T 0.0475 1.0806 5.4S 83.7W 87 151 260 06m31s
----- -3912 Apr 14 01:04:14 86400 -73119 -53 T -0.0268 1.0823 4.9S 166.5E 88 331 265 06m34s
----- -3894 Apr 25 08:24:10 86400 -72896 -53 T -0.1037 1.0830 4.5S 57.4E 84 330 268 06m36s
----- -3876 May 05 15:45:30 86400 -72673 -53 T -0.1796 1.0828 4.2S 52.0W 80 331 270 06m38s
----- -3858 May 16 23:07:07 86400 -72450 -53 T -0.2549 1.0815 4.1S 161.7W 75 332 271 06m38s
----- -3840 May 27 06:31:26 86400 -72227 -53 T -0.3279 1.0795 4.5S 87.7E 71 334 270 06m37s
----- -3822 Jun 07 13:59:08 86400 -72004 -53 T -0.3979 1.0765 5.4S 23.9W 67 337 268 06m33s
----- -3807 Feb 23 07:04:06 86400 -71822 -50 T -0.0969 1.0718 25.4S 79.8E 84 351 235 06m15s
----- -3804 Jun 17 21:32:16 86400 -71781 -53 T -0.4628 1.0729 6.8S 137.2W 62 341 265 06m26s
----- -3789 Mar 06 14:43:54 86400 -71599 -50 T -0.0382 1.0754 19.1S 35.6W 88 349 244 06m39s
----- -3786 Jun 29 05:11:13 86400 -71558 -53 T -0.5227 1.0685 8.8S 107.5E 58 344 260 06m12s
----- -3771 Mar 16 22:16:55 86400 -71376 -50 T 0.0265 1.0784 12.1S 150.2W 89 165 253 06m58s
----- -3753 Mar 28 05:45:29 86400 -71153 -50 T 0.0950 1.0805 4.5S 95.7E 85 164 261 07m09s
----- -3735 Apr 07 13:09:55 86400 -70930 -50 T 0.1674 1.0819 3.6N 17.9W 80 162 267 07m12s
----- -3717 Apr 18 20:32:36 86400 -70707 -50 T 0.2412 1.0823 11.9N 131.3W 76 161 272 07m06s
----- -3699 Apr 29 03:52:45 86400 -70484 -50 T 0.3170 1.0817 20.5N 115.7E 71 161 277 06m51s
----- -3681 May 10 11:14:17 86400 -70261 -50 T 0.3917 1.0802 29.1N 2.5E 67 160 280 06m29s
----- -3663 May 20 18:36:29 86400 -70038 -50 T 0.4658 1.0777 37.7N 110.6W 62 160 283 06m01s
----- -3612 Feb 28 02:38:09 86400 -69410 -47 T -0.1086 1.0739 24.3S 148.0E 84 338 241 06m01s
----- -3594 Mar 10 10:17:25 86400 -69187 -47 T -0.1695 1.0765 24.1S 34.9E 80 334 251 06m04s
----- -3576 Mar 20 17:50:14 86400 -68964 -47 T -0.2358 1.0783 23.7S 76.7W 76 331 260 06m05s
----- -3558 Apr 01 01:17:55 86400 -68741 -47 T -0.3063 1.0792 23.2S 172.9E 72 329 267 06m05s
----- -3540 Apr 11 08:41:51 86400 -68518 -47 T -0.3797 1.0793 22.8S 63.3E 68 328 275 06m03s
----- -3522 Apr 22 16:03:26 86400 -68295 -47 T -0.4551 1.0784 22.7S 45.9W 63 328 281 06m01s
----- -3495 May 23 06:18:20 86400 -67960 -28 T -0.6869 1.0759 29.7S 95.0E 46 343 336 06m15s
----- -3477 Jun 03 13:42:52 86400 -67737 -28 T -0.6158 1.0749 21.4S 20.3W 52 347 307 06m33s
----- -3471 Jan 29 22:33:46 86380 -67667 -44 T 0.1767 1.0646 13.3S 154.5W 80 180 215 06m03s
----- -3459 Jun 13 21:12:47 85977 -67514 -28 T -0.5493 1.0728 14.1S 137.8W 57 351 282 06m40s
----- -3453 Feb 10 06:34:17 85792 -67444 -44 T 0.2193 1.0677 9.4S 82.6E 77 176 226 06m22s
----- -3441 Jun 25 04:47:05 85390 -67291 -28 T -0.4864 1.0699 7.7S 103.7E 61 355 260 06m36s
----- -3435 Feb 20 14:26:34 85206 -67221 -44 T 0.2687 1.0703 4.3S 38.8W 74 172 237 06m35s
----- -3423 Jul 05 12:28:24 84806 -67068 -28 T -0.4297 1.0664 2.4S 15.8W 65 359 240 06m23s
----- -3417 Mar 03 22:11:27 84622 -66998 -44 T 0.3244 1.0724 1.8N 159.0W 71 169 248 06m42s
----- -3405 Jul 16 20:15:10 84223 -66845 -28 T -0.3780 1.0621 1.8N 135.9W 68 3 220 06m00s
----- -3399 Mar 14 05:49:56 84041 -66775 -44 T 0.3853 1.0737 8.7N 81.7E 67 166 258 06m40s
----- -3381 Mar 25 13:21:07 83461 -66552 -44 T 0.4523 1.0743 16.4N 36.5W 63 163 269 06m30s
----- -3363 Apr 04 20:48:25 82883 -66329 -44 T 0.5222 1.0739 24.6N 154.2W 58 161 280 06m12s
----- -3301 Jun 07 08:36:08 80905 -65560 -35 T -0.2682 1.0696 2.9N 30.8E 74 338 235 06m08s
----- -3283 Jun 17 16:05:17 80337 -65337 -35 T -0.3350 1.0690 1.5N 83.5W 70 342 238 06m14s
----- -3265 Jun 28 23:40:13 79770 -65114 -35 T -0.3970 1.0676 0.5S 160.3E 67 346 239 06m15s
----- -3247 Jul 09 07:22:06 79205 -64891 -35 T -0.4534 1.0656 3.0S 42.0E 63 350 240 06m11s
----- -3229 Jul 20 15:12:03 78642 -64668 -35 T -0.5033 1.0631 6.1S 78.8W 60 355 239 06m01s
----- -3214 Apr 07 08:01:31 78184 -64486 -32 Tm 0.0363 1.0662 2.2S 27.1E 88 162 217 06m03s
----- -3196 Apr 17 15:20:28 77625 -64263 -32 T 0.1094 1.0696 6.1N 87.5W 84 162 228 06m16s
----- -3178 Apr 28 22:37:26 77067 -64040 -32 T 0.1849 1.0722 14.5N 158.2E 79 162 239 06m21s
----- -3177 Apr 18 15:55:06 77037 -64028 -22 T -0.5588 1.0758 32.0S 84.7W 56 338 294 06m02s
TD of
Catalog Calendar Greatest Luna Saros Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Number Date Eclipse ΔT Num Num Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
----- -3160 May 09 05:56:01 76512 -63817 -32 T 0.2597 1.0738 22.9N 43.8E 75 162 248 06m18s
----- -3159 Apr 28 23:16:26 76482 -63805 -22 T -0.4853 1.0759 23.2S 158.8E 61 340 279 06m23s
----- -3142 May 20 13:15:34 75959 -63594 -32 T 0.3344 1.0746 31.2N 70.5W 70 163 256 06m07s
----- -3141 May 10 06:35:50 75929 -63582 -22 T -0.4105 1.0750 14.7S 43.2E 66 343 265 06m37s
----- -3123 May 20 13:56:09 75378 -63359 -22 T -0.3367 1.0731 6.7S 72.2W 70 345 252 06m41s
----- -3105 May 31 21:17:33 74829 -63136 -22 T -0.2642 1.0704 0.9N 172.8E 75 348 237 06m35s
----- -3087 Jun 11 04:41:11 74282 -62913 -22 T -0.1940 1.0668 7.9N 57.9E 79 351 222 06m21s
----- -3001 Apr 22 10:45:29 71704 -61851 -29 T -0.3246 1.0757 14.3S 32.5W 71 330 258 06m02s
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] Hybrid eclipses are also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is both total and annular along different sections of its umbral path. (See: Five Millennium Catalog of Hybrid Solar Eclipses)
[2] The terms BCE and CE are abbreviations for "Before Common Era" and "Common Era," respectively. They are the secular equivalents to the BC and AD dating conventions. (See: Year Dating Conventions )
[3] 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).
[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.
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.
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)"
