The periodicity and recurrence of solar 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. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.
Solar eclipses of Saros 0 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 -2955 May 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1675 Jun 29. The total duration of Saros series 0 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2955 May 23 01:44:25 TD
Last Eclipse = -1675 Jun 29 03:37:03 TD
Duration of Saros 0 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 0 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 0 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 21 | 29.2% |
| Annular | A | 49 | 68.1% |
| Total | T | 1 | 1.4% |
| 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 0 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 0 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 51 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 48 | 94.1% |
| Central (one limit) | 2 | 3.9% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 0: 11P 1T 1H 4A 3P 45A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 0 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 0 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1982 Dec 28 | 11m38s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -2721 Oct 11 | 00m09s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -2757 Sep 19 | 00m21s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -2757 Sep 19 | 00m21s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -2739 Sep 30 | 00m07s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -2739 Sep 30 | 00m07s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2775 Sep 08 | - | 0.98422 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1675 Jun 29 | - | 0.04933 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 0. A description or explanation of each parameter listed in the catalog can be found in Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.
Several fields in the catalog link to web pages or files containing additional information for each eclipse (for the years -1999 through +3000). The following gives a brief explanation of each link.
For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Animation of Saros 0.
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat Long Alt Width Dur.
s ° ° ° km
----- -37 -2955 May 23 01:44:25 72618 -61281 Pb -1.4703 0.1118 70.1S 141.7E 0
----- -36 -2937 Jun 03 09:07:56 72071 -61058 P -1.4035 0.2421 69.4S 15.9E 0
----- -35 -2919 Jun 13 16:32:41 71525 -60835 P -1.3378 0.3695 68.5S 109.7W 0
----- -34 -2901 Jun 25 00:03:05 70982 -60612 P -1.2770 0.4869 67.6S 123.9E 0
----- -33 -2883 Jul 05 07:37:34 70440 -60389 P -1.2196 0.5967 66.6S 3.1W 0
----- -32 -2865 Jul 16 15:19:07 69901 -60166 P -1.1685 0.6936 65.6S 131.3W 0
----- -31 -2847 Jul 26 23:06:29 69364 -59943 P -1.1225 0.7795 64.6S 99.4E 0
----- -30 -2829 Aug 07 07:02:27 68829 -59720 P -1.0841 0.8503 63.7S 31.7W 0
----- -29 -2811 Aug 17 15:05:47 68295 -59497 P -1.0523 0.9078 62.8S 164.2W 0
----- -28 -2793 Aug 28 23:16:24 67764 -59274 P -1.0270 0.9528 62.1S 61.7E 0
----- -27 -2775 Sep 08 07:34:39 67235 -59051 P -1.0086 0.9842 61.4S 74.1W 0
----- -26 -2757 Sep 19 15:59:44 66709 -58828 Ts -0.9967 1.0054 60.2S 152.6E 2 - 00m21s
----- -25 -2739 Sep 30 00:31:07 66184 -58605 H -0.9905 1.0018 58.6S 22.5E 7 52 00m07s
----- -24 -2721 Oct 11 09:06:18 65661 -58382 A -0.9882 0.9977 59.2S 114.5W 8 58 00m09s
----- -23 -2703 Oct 21 17:45:46 65140 -58159 A -0.9900 0.9935 60.6S 103.6E 7 183 00m24s
----- -22 -2685 Nov 02 02:26:47 64622 -57936 A -0.9939 0.9895 61.7S 41.9W 5 433 00m36s
----- -21 -2667 Nov 12 11:08:00 64105 -57713 A- -0.9987 0.9903 61.1S 167.2E 0
----- -20 -2649 Nov 23 19:47:11 63591 -57490 P -1.0027 0.9821 61.6S 26.3E 0
----- -19 -2631 Dec 04 04:23:27 63078 -57267 P -1.0050 0.9771 62.3S 113.9W 0
----- -18 -2613 Dec 15 12:54:06 62568 -57044 P -1.0034 0.9792 63.1S 107.0E 0
----- -17 -2595 Dec 25 21:17:52 62060 -56821 As -0.9971 0.9799 65.0S 29.5W 1 - 01m02s
----- -16 -2576 Jan 06 05:33:44 61553 -56598 A -0.9852 0.9817 73.3S 157.8W 9 426 01m00s
----- -15 -2558 Jan 16 13:41:02 61049 -56375 A -0.9676 0.9829 79.8S 67.8E 14 254 00m58s
----- -14 -2540 Jan 27 21:36:58 60547 -56152 A -0.9413 0.9843 86.0S 93.4W 19 170 00m56s
----- -13 -2522 Feb 07 05:23:18 60047 -55929 A -0.9082 0.9855 83.5S 53.1E 24 125 00m55s
----- -12 -2504 Feb 18 12:58:12 59550 -55706 A -0.8666 0.9867 75.8S 84.0W 30 95 00m54s
----- -11 -2486 Feb 28 20:24:12 59054 -55483 A -0.8189 0.9876 67.5S 153.7E 35 76 00m54s
----- -10 -2468 Mar 11 03:37:45 58560 -55260 A -0.7619 0.9883 58.6S 36.9E 40 64 00m55s
----- -09 -2450 Mar 22 10:44:07 58068 -55037 A -0.7001 0.9884 49.8S 76.9W 45 57 01m00s
----- -08 -2432 Apr 01 17:40:21 57579 -54814 A -0.6305 0.9881 40.6S 172.2E 51 54 01m06s
----- -07 -2414 Apr 13 00:30:50 57091 -54591 A -0.5572 0.9872 31.6S 63.3E 56 54 01m17s
----- -06 -2396 Apr 23 07:13:22 56606 -54368 A -0.4782 0.9857 22.5S 43.3W 61 57 01m32s
----- -05 -2378 May 04 13:53:19 56122 -54145 A -0.3978 0.9837 13.7S 148.8W 66 63 01m52s
----- -04 -2360 May 14 20:28:58 55641 -53922 A -0.3146 0.9810 5.2S 107.3E 72 71 02m16s
----- -03 -2342 May 26 03:03:49 55162 -53699 A -0.2314 0.9778 3.0N 4.1E 77 81 02m44s
----- -02 -2324 Jun 05 09:38:13 54685 -53476 A -0.1486 0.9740 10.6N 98.2W 82 94 03m15s
----- -01 -2306 Jun 16 16:15:31 54210 -53253 Am -0.0688 0.9698 17.5N 159.5E 86 109 03m46s
----- 00 -2288 Jun 26 22:55:37 53737 -53030 A 0.0078 0.9651 23.6N 57.6E 89 126 04m16s
----- 01 -2270 Jul 08 05:40:04 53266 -52807 A 0.0800 0.9601 28.6N 44.5W 85 145 04m45s
----- 02 -2252 Jul 18 12:30:36 52797 -52584 A 0.1465 0.9550 32.4N 147.2W 81 166 05m12s
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat Long Alt Width Dur.
s ° ° ° km
----- 03 -2234 Jul 29 19:28:11 52330 -52361 A 0.2067 0.9497 34.8N 109.0E 78 189 05m38s
----- 04 -2216 Aug 09 02:33:09 51865 -52138 A 0.2599 0.9445 35.8N 3.7E 75 212 06m03s
----- 05 -2198 Aug 20 09:46:37 51403 -51915 A 0.3055 0.9393 35.4N 103.9W 72 236 06m29s
----- 06 -2180 Aug 30 17:08:50 50942 -51692 A 0.3432 0.9345 33.9N 145.7E 70 259 06m56s
----- 07 -2162 Sep 11 00:40:12 50483 -51469 A 0.3730 0.9300 31.4N 32.4E 68 281 07m24s
----- 08 -2144 Sep 21 08:18:06 50027 -51246 A 0.3971 0.9260 28.3N 83.3W 66 301 07m54s
----- 09 -2126 Oct 02 16:04:33 49573 -51023 A 0.4137 0.9225 24.7N 158.1E 65 318 08m26s
----- 10 -2108 Oct 12 23:56:31 49120 -50800 A 0.4253 0.9196 20.8N 37.7E 65 332 08m58s
----- 11 -2090 Oct 24 07:54:12 48670 -50577 A 0.4322 0.9175 16.9N 84.5W 64 342 09m31s
----- 12 -2072 Nov 03 15:53:32 48222 -50354 A 0.4375 0.9160 13.3N 152.8E 64 350 10m04s
----- 13 -2054 Nov 14 23:55:36 47776 -50131 A 0.4403 0.9153 9.9N 29.3E 64 354 10m34s
----- 14 -2036 Nov 25 07:56:41 47332 -49908 A 0.4438 0.9152 7.2N 93.8W 64 356 11m02s
----- 15 -2018 Dec 06 15:55:26 46890 -49685 A 0.4490 0.9159 5.2N 143.8E 63 355 11m23s
----- 16 -2000 Dec 16 23:49:28 46450 -49462 A 0.4578 0.9172 4.2N 22.6E 63 352 11m36s
00043 17 -1982 Dec 28 07:38:06 46012 -49239 A 0.4710 0.9191 4.2N 97.2W 62 346 11m38s
00086 18 -1963 Jan 07 15:19:18 45577 -49016 A 0.4901 0.9215 5.4N 144.8E 61 340 11m26s
00129 19 -1945 Jan 18 22:51:51 45143 -48793 A 0.5161 0.9243 7.8N 28.7E 59 333 10m58s
00172 20 -1927 Jan 29 06:15:48 44711 -48570 A 0.5491 0.9274 11.5N 85.7W 57 326 10m18s
00216 21 -1909 Feb 09 13:30:39 44282 -48347 A 0.5892 0.9307 16.3N 161.6E 54 320 09m28s
00260 22 -1891 Feb 19 20:35:10 43854 -48124 A 0.6381 0.9340 22.4N 50.9E 50 318 08m31s
00305 23 -1873 Mar 03 03:31:18 43429 -47901 A 0.6938 0.9372 29.6N 58.7W 46 321 07m32s
00352 24 -1855 Mar 13 10:18:56 43006 -47678 A 0.7566 0.9402 37.9N 167.3W 41 335 06m34s
00398 25 -1837 Mar 24 17:00:38 42584 -47455 A 0.8244 0.9428 47.3N 83.7E 34 369 05m39s
00443 26 -1819 Apr 03 23:34:14 42165 -47232 A 0.8990 0.9446 58.2N 28.1W 26 465 04m48s
00489 27 -1801 Apr 15 06:05:13 41748 -47009 A 0.9760 0.9447 70.3N 160.1W 12 988 04m02s
00536 28 -1783 Apr 25 12:31:39 41333 -46786 P 1.0571 0.8684 71.3N 51.5E 0
00581 29 -1765 May 06 18:57:36 40920 -46563 P 1.1387 0.7279 70.8N 60.2W 0
00626 30 -1747 May 17 01:22:07 40509 -46340 P 1.2218 0.5842 70.1N 170.9W 0
00671 31 -1729 May 28 07:49:57 40101 -46117 P 1.3024 0.4438 69.3N 78.1E 0
00718 32 -1711 Jun 07 14:20:18 39694 -45894 P 1.3815 0.3056 68.4N 33.0W 0
00762 33 -1693 Jun 18 20:55:31 39289 -45671 P 1.4570 0.1734 67.4N 144.8W 0
00806 34 -1675 Jun 29 03:37:03 38887 -45448 Pe 1.5277 0.0493 66.4N 102.4E 0
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] 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 Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is nearly equal 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 information presented on this web page is based on data published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. The individual global maps appearing in links (both GIF an animation) were extracted from full page plates appearing in Five Millennium Canon by Dan McGlaun. The Besselian elements were provided by Jean Meeus. Fred Espenak assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all eclipse calculations.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)"
