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 2001 to 3000 ( 2001 CE to 3000 CE[2]), Earth will experience 2388 solar eclipses. The following table shows the number of eclipses of each type over this period.
| Solar Eclipses: 2001 - 3000 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 2388 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 847 | 35.5% |
| Annular | A | 834 | 34.9% |
| Total | T | 650 | 27.2% |
| Hybrid | H | 57 | 2.4% |
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 30th century CE 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 | 1484 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 1442 | 97.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 23 | 1.5% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 19 | 1.3% |
| Annular Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Annular Eclipses | 834 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 803 | 96.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 15 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 16 | 1.9% |
| Total Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Total Eclipses | 650 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 639 | 98.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 8 | 1.2% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 3 | 0.5% |
The longest central[3] solar eclipses of this period are:
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 2186 Jul 16 Duration = 07m29s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2010 Jan 15 Duration = 11m08s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2013 Nov 03 Duration = 01m40s
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
09528 2009 Jul 22 02:36:25 66 118 136 T 0.0698 1.0799 24.2N 144.1E 86 198 258 06m39s
09568 2027 Aug 02 10:07:50 81 341 136 T 0.1421 1.0790 25.5N 33.2E 82 202 258 06m23s
09608 2045 Aug 12 17:42:39 102 564 136 T 0.2116 1.0774 25.9N 78.5W 78 206 256 06m06s
09724 2096 May 22 01:37:14 177 1192 139 T 0.1196 1.0737 27.3N 153.4E 83 162 241 06m07s
09765 2114 Jun 03 09:14:09 210 1415 139 T 0.0525 1.0766 25.4N 41.2E 87 167 248 06m32s
09805 2132 Jun 13 16:46:24 246 1638 139 Tm -0.0186 1.0788 22.3N 70.3W 89 350 255 06m55s
09847 2150 Jun 25 00:17:25 287 1861 139 T -0.0910 1.0802 18.3N 178.0E 85 356 260 07m14s
09889 2168 Jul 05 07:45:23 330 2084 139 T -0.1660 1.0807 13.2N 66.2E 81 0 264 07m26s
09933 2186 Jul 16 15:14:54 377 2307 139 T -0.2396 1.0805 7.4N 46.6W 76 4 267 07m29s
09978 2204 Jul 27 22:44:32 425 2530 139 T -0.3129 1.0793 1.0N 160.2W 72 8 269 07m22s
10022 2222 Aug 08 06:17:05 476 2753 139 T -0.3837 1.0774 6.0S 84.8E 67 11 270 07m06s
10058 2237 Apr 25 22:25:04 517 2935 142 T -0.0606 1.0668 10.1N 153.8W 87 346 219 06m05s
10066 2240 Aug 18 13:52:25 526 2976 139 T -0.4522 1.0746 13.3S 31.4W 63 14 270 06m40s
10102 2255 May 07 06:18:06 566 3158 142 T -0.0076 1.0706 16.4N 87.1E 90 346 230 06m22s
10111 2258 Aug 29 21:33:05 575 3199 139 T -0.5161 1.0712 20.9S 149.3W 59 17 269 06m09s
10147 2273 May 17 14:04:31 616 3381 142 Tm 0.0515 1.0738 22.5N 29.8W 87 173 240 06m31s
10193 2291 May 28 21:45:28 667 3604 142 T 0.1153 1.0764 28.3N 144.6W 83 176 249 06m34s
10238 2309 Jun 09 05:21:55 721 3827 142 T 0.1833 1.0783 33.6N 102.6E 79 181 257 06m30s
10283 2327 Jun 20 12:55:01 777 4050 142 T 0.2542 1.0795 38.3N 8.4W 75 186 265 06m21s
10329 2345 Jun 30 20:26:17 834 4273 142 T 0.3267 1.0797 42.1N 117.8W 71 192 272 06m07s
10583 2450 May 12 02:29:44 1209 5570 145 T -0.2330 1.0722 5.6N 151.6E 77 340 241 06m19s
10626 2468 May 22 10:15:11 1280 5793 145 T -0.2936 1.0744 4.2N 35.8E 73 344 252 06m41s
10669 2486 Jun 02 17:55:28 1353 6016 145 T -0.3587 1.0760 1.8N 78.9W 69 348 263 06m59s
10711 2504 Jun 14 01:31:03 1428 6239 145 T -0.4278 1.0769 1.9S 167.1E 65 352 275 07m10s
10732 2513 Jul 04 08:38:16 1467 6351 164 T -0.7992 1.0729 29.6S 47.8E 37 12 392 06m09s
10752 2522 Jun 25 09:03:45 1506 6462 145 T -0.4991 1.0769 6.6S 53.3E 60 356 287 07m12s
10772 2531 Jul 15 16:07:33 1545 6574 164 T -0.7256 1.0750 23.8S 65.7W 43 15 351 06m25s
10793 2540 Jul 05 16:34:26 1585 6685 145 T -0.5722 1.0760 12.4S 60.8W 55 1 300 07m04s
10812 2549 Jul 25 23:37:26 1625 6797 164 T -0.6522 1.0761 19.5S 178.7W 49 19 322 06m30s
10833 2558 Jul 17 00:03:14 1666 6908 145 T -0.6466 1.0742 19.2S 175.2W 50 5 315 06m43s
10852 2567 Aug 06 07:09:09 1708 7020 164 T -0.5802 1.0762 16.5S 68.3E 54 22 299 06m26s
10873 2576 Jul 27 07:32:31 1749 7131 145 T -0.7203 1.0714 26.9S 69.3E 44 9 334 06m12s
10892 2585 Aug 16 14:42:33 1792 7243 164 T -0.5094 1.0753 14.7S 44.7W 59 25 281 06m16s
10933 2603 Aug 28 22:20:26 1878 7466 164 T -0.4425 1.0737 13.9S 158.7W 64 27 264 06m02s
11301 2762 Aug 12 03:19:41 2726 9432 167 T 0.3366 1.0766 34.2N 148.2E 70 195 263 06m11s
11346 2780 Aug 22 10:53:34 2832 9655 167 T 0.2672 1.0747 26.5N 33.8E 74 196 251 06m16s
11391 2798 Sep 02 18:30:51 2940 9878 167 T 0.2008 1.0719 18.8N 81.8W 78 197 238 06m14s
11427 2813 May 21 10:57:38 3030 10060 170 T -0.6571 1.0688 20.7S 32.0E 49 354 297 06m11s
11436 2816 Sep 13 02:13:14 3050 10101 167 T 0.1390 1.0686 11.1N 161.0E 82 198 226 06m06s
11472 2831 Jun 01 18:42:34 3141 10283 170 T -0.5964 1.0720 14.6S 86.4W 53 358 292 06m39s
11518 2849 Jun 12 02:21:56 3255 10506 170 T -0.5310 1.0747 9.0S 157.3E 58 2 286 07m00s
11564 2867 Jun 23 09:57:35 3371 10729 170 T -0.4622 1.0766 4.1S 42.6E 62 6 279 07m10s
11611 2885 Jul 03 17:29:55 3488 10952 170 T -0.3905 1.0777 0.1N 70.7W 67 10 272 07m11s
11658 2903 Jul 16 01:00:45 3608 11175 170 T -0.3177 1.0780 3.4N 177.0E 71 14 265 07m04s
11704 2921 Jul 26 08:29:29 3730 11398 170 T -0.2434 1.0775 5.8N 65.7E 76 18 258 06m50s
11749 2939 Aug 06 15:59:27 3853 11621 170 T -0.1702 1.0761 7.3N 45.6W 80 22 250 06m33s
11793 2957 Aug 16 23:30:11 3979 11844 170 T -0.0978 1.0739 8.0N 156.9W 84 25 241 06m14s
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)"
