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 5001 to 6000 ( 5001 CE to 6000 CE[2]), Earth will experience 2368 solar eclipses. The following table shows the number of eclipses of each type over this period.
| Solar Eclipses: 5001 - 6000 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 2368 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 839 | 35.4% |
| Annular | A | 754 | 31.8% |
| Total | T | 595 | 25.1% |
| Hybrid | H | 180 | 7.6% |
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 60th 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 | 1349 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 1317 | 97.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 16 | 1.2% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 16 | 1.2% |
| Annular Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Annular Eclipses | 754 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 728 | 96.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 12 | 1.6% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 14 | 1.9% |
| Total Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Total Eclipses | 595 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 589 | 99.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 4 | 0.7% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 2 | 0.3% |
The longest central[3] solar eclipses of this period are:
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 5239 Jul 07 Duration = 06m35s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 5797 Jan 24 Duration = 11m18s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 5963 Aug 16 Duration = 01m52s
Long Hybrid Solar Eclipses are relatively rare. The following catalog lists concise details and local circumstances for all Hybrid Solar Eclipses with durations exceeding 01m 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
----- 5048 Oct 13 11:22:20 32174 37708 241 Hm 0.1252 1.0136 1.6S 142.8E 83 196 47 01m27s
----- 5069 Feb 27 05:29:16 32581 37960 228 H3 0.7228 1.0123 36.3N 138.9W 43 160 61 01m05s
----- 5085 Apr 29 18:53:52 32907 38160 246 H -0.6261 1.0115 23.3S 41.4E 51 347 50 01m08s
----- 5207 Sep 27 16:04:42 35421 39674 244 H 0.0041 1.0138 2.4S 85.5E 90 211 47 01m19s
----- 5244 Apr 12 22:04:32 36190 40126 249 H 0.4151 1.0130 31.0N 13.2W 65 149 49 01m06s
----- 5348 Aug 30 13:50:22 38431 41417 247 H3 -0.0486 1.0162 4.8N 133.5E 87 16 56 01m43s
----- 5366 Sep 10 20:59:49 38824 41640 247 H -0.1257 1.0125 3.4S 25.4E 83 17 43 01m20s
----- 5385 Mar 16 16:24:57 39231 41869 252 H -0.2032 1.0111 12.6S 101.8E 78 342 39 01m06s
----- 5403 Mar 29 01:01:41 39629 42092 252 H -0.1919 1.0147 7.6S 26.6W 79 343 51 01m28s
----- 5450 Mar 19 23:19:04 40675 42673 253 H3 0.1682 1.0167 8.2N 4.1W 80 151 58 01m30s
----- 5468 Mar 30 07:56:34 41080 42896 253 H 0.1564 1.0153 12.0N 132.0W 81 151 53 01m22s
----- 5471 Jul 24 04:13:56 41155 42937 250 H3 0.0197 1.0169 20.1N 67.9W 89 197 58 01m40s
----- 5486 Apr 10 16:30:20 41488 43119 253 H 0.1420 1.0142 15.5N 101.3E 82 152 49 01m17s
----- 5489 Aug 03 11:32:16 41563 43160 250 H 0.0914 1.0150 21.1N 174.2W 85 202 52 01m26s
----- 5504 Apr 22 00:59:08 41897 43342 253 H 0.1238 1.0135 18.6N 23.9W 83 154 47 01m14s
----- 5504 Oct 15 05:45:04 41908 43348 258 H -0.1695 1.0114 17.8S 98.7W 80 28 40 01m04s
----- 5507 Aug 15 18:46:16 41972 43383 250 H 0.1662 1.0125 21.7N 80.7E 80 206 44 01m11s
----- 5508 Feb 08 01:52:51 41983 43389 255 H -0.0072 1.0107 15.8S 31.2W 89 341 37 01m01s
----- 5522 May 03 09:21:08 42308 43565 253 H 0.1005 1.0130 21.0N 146.9W 84 157 45 01m13s
----- 5522 Oct 26 13:07:48 42319 43571 258 H -0.1012 1.0129 18.1S 153.6E 84 25 45 01m13s
----- 5526 Feb 18 10:29:44 42395 43612 255 H -0.0188 1.0123 12.8S 158.3W 89 336 42 01m09s
----- 5540 May 13 17:35:56 42721 43788 253 H 0.0718 1.0127 22.5N 92.2E 86 161 44 01m13s
----- 5540 Nov 05 20:38:10 42732 43794 258 H -0.0386 1.0140 18.2S 44.1E 88 22 48 01m21s
----- 5544 Feb 29 19:09:24 42809 43835 255 H -0.0287 1.0143 9.3S 73.5E 88 333 49 01m19s
----- 5558 May 25 01:42:55 43136 44011 253 H 0.0371 1.0125 23.0N 26.4W 88 165 43 01m14s
----- 5558 Nov 17 04:16:20 43148 44017 258 H 0.0185 1.0147 17.9S 67.4W 89 201 50 01m27s
----- 5562 Mar 12 03:50:08 43224 44058 255 H2 -0.0381 1.0169 5.5S 55.1W 88 332 58 01m31s
----- 5576 Jun 04 09:42:18 43554 44234 253 H -0.0035 1.0122 22.2N 143.1W 90 328 42 01m14s
----- 5576 Nov 27 12:01:28 43565 44240 258 H 0.0704 1.0151 17.2S 179.1E 86 195 52 01m32s
----- 5591 Feb 20 17:25:32 43896 44416 256 H 0.0564 1.0162 7.8S 102.6E 87 165 55 01m38s
----- 5594 Jun 15 17:31:55 43973 44457 253 H -0.0515 1.0118 20.2N 102.4E 87 353 41 01m14s
----- 5594 Dec 08 19:55:50 43984 44463 258 H 0.1151 1.0153 16.0S 63.2E 83 191 53 01m35s
----- 5609 Mar 03 02:05:10 44317 44639 256 H 0.0662 1.0133 3.2S 26.1W 86 164 46 01m21s
----- 5612 Jun 26 01:14:25 44394 44680 253 H -0.1046 1.0112 16.9N 10.7W 84 358 39 01m13s
----- 5612 Dec 19 03:58:11 44405 44686 258 H 0.1534 1.0155 14.3S 55.0W 81 186 54 01m38s
----- 5627 Mar 14 10:44:59 44739 44862 256 H 0.0754 1.0108 1.6N 155.0W 86 163 37 01m06s
----- 5627 Sep 06 20:13:26 44751 44868 261 H 0.1954 1.0106 15.9N 67.8E 79 197 37 01m06s
----- 5630 Jul 07 08:47:59 44817 44903 253 H -0.1641 1.0102 12.4N 122.3W 81 2 36 01m08s
----- 5630 Dec 30 12:09:05 44829 44909 258 H 0.1854 1.0156 12.1S 175.6W 79 182 55 01m40s
----- 5645 Sep 17 03:21:37 45176 45091 261 H 0.1170 1.0139 7.4N 39.9W 83 197 48 01m28s
----- 5648 Jul 17 16:15:05 45243 45126 253 H -0.2284 1.0089 6.9N 127.1E 77 6 32 01m00s
----- 5649 Jan 09 20:26:37 45254 45132 258 H 0.2121 1.0158 9.4S 61.9E 78 178 56 01m42s
----- 5663 Sep 28 10:34:52 45603 45314 261 H2 0.0421 1.0166 0.9S 148.9W 88 197 57 01m44s
----- 5667 Jan 21 04:51:58 45681 45355 258 H2 0.2328 1.0163 6.2S 62.9W 77 174 58 01m44s
----- 5685 Jan 31 13:23:03 46111 45578 258 H2 0.2492 1.0170 2.7S 170.6E 76 170 60 01m47s
----- 5750 Feb 03 20:18:20 47675 46382 259 H -0.2824 1.0144 31.4S 83.1E 73 335 52 01m16s
----- 5786 Aug 21 01:08:34 48566 46834 264 H -0.0742 1.0126 6.9N 6.2E 86 26 44 01m14s
----- 5804 Sep 01 08:19:56 49009 47057 264 H2 0.0025 1.0166 7.0N 98.8W 90 201 57 01m35s
----- 5909 Jan 18 23:26:54 51611 48348 262 H 0.5047 1.0131 10.1N 41.6E 60 175 52 01m24s
----- 5945 Aug 05 06:01:40 52538 48800 267 H -0.0570 1.0130 12.6N 48.4W 87 11 45 01m24s
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
----- 5963 Aug 16 13:17:57 52998 49023 267 H2 -0.1291 1.0175 5.2N 157.1W 83 14 60 01m52s
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)"
