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 11 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 -2492 Jan 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -1140 Mar 28. The total duration of Saros series 11 is 1352.26 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2492 Jan 06 16:40:38 TD
Last Eclipse = -1140 Mar 28 09:18:50 TD
Duration of Saros 11 = 1352.26 Years
Saros 11 is composed of 76 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 11 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 76 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 32 | 42.1% |
| Annular | A | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | T | 44 | 57.9% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 0 | 0.0% |
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 11 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 11 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 76 eclipses in Saros 11: 10P 44T 22P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 11 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 11 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1699 Apr 27 | 05m50s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -2312 Apr 23 | 01m20s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1519 Aug 13 | - | 0.96364 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1140 Mar 28 | - | 0.00928 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 11. 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 11.
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
----- -39 -2492 Jan 06 16:40:38 59223 -55559 Pb 1.5379 0.0296 65.8N 169.1E 0
----- -38 -2474 Jan 17 00:38:03 58728 -55336 P 1.5113 0.0738 64.8N 37.5E 0
----- -37 -2456 Jan 28 08:28:02 58236 -55113 P 1.4779 0.1305 63.8N 91.9W 0
----- -36 -2438 Feb 07 16:11:16 57745 -54890 P 1.4378 0.2001 62.9N 140.8E 0
----- -35 -2420 Feb 18 23:45:32 57257 -54667 P 1.3894 0.2854 62.2N 15.9E 0
----- -34 -2402 Mar 01 07:14:11 56771 -54444 P 1.3352 0.3825 61.5N 107.3W 0
----- -33 -2384 Mar 11 14:35:20 56287 -54221 P 1.2739 0.4939 61.0N 131.5E 0
----- -32 -2366 Mar 22 21:52:15 55805 -53998 P 1.2077 0.6154 60.7N 11.4E 0
----- -31 -2348 Apr 02 05:03:09 55325 -53775 P 1.1353 0.7500 60.5N 107.0W 0
----- -30 -2330 Apr 13 12:12:37 54847 -53552 P 1.0604 0.8906 60.4N 134.9E 0
----- -29 -2312 Apr 23 19:19:19 54371 -53329 T 0.9820 1.0227 61.0N 38.1E 10 432 01m20s
----- -28 -2294 May 05 02:25:46 53898 -53106 T 0.9022 1.0313 59.3N 48.3W 25 243 01m58s
----- -27 -2276 May 15 09:32:55 53426 -52883 T 0.8220 1.0373 58.4N 145.7W 34 218 02m25s
----- -26 -2258 May 26 16:42:45 52956 -52660 T 0.7432 1.0419 57.8N 113.9E 42 208 02m48s
----- -25 -2240 Jun 05 23:56:09 52489 -52437 T 0.6663 1.0455 57.1N 11.9E 48 203 03m08s
----- -24 -2222 Jun 17 07:13:21 52023 -52214 T 0.5918 1.0481 55.8N 91.5W 53 198 03m25s
----- -23 -2204 Jun 27 14:37:05 51560 -51991 T 0.5221 1.0499 53.8N 162.7E 58 194 03m39s
----- -22 -2186 Jul 08 22:07:34 51099 -51768 T 0.4577 1.0508 51.1N 54.0E 63 190 03m52s
----- -21 -2168 Jul 19 05:45:41 50639 -51545 T 0.3991 1.0512 47.5N 57.9W 66 185 04m02s
----- -20 -2150 Jul 30 13:32:10 50182 -51322 T 0.3470 1.0509 43.3N 173.1W 69 180 04m08s
----- -19 -2132 Aug 09 21:28:08 49727 -51099 T 0.3022 1.0502 38.7N 68.1E 72 175 04m12s
----- -18 -2114 Aug 21 05:33:36 49274 -50876 T 0.2652 1.0491 33.7N 54.1W 74 169 04m12s
----- -17 -2096 Aug 31 13:46:57 48823 -50653 T 0.2344 1.0480 28.5N 178.9W 76 164 04m11s
----- -16 -2078 Sep 11 22:10:14 48374 -50430 T 0.2116 1.0467 23.3N 53.2E 78 159 04m08s
----- -15 -2060 Sep 22 06:41:12 47928 -50207 T 0.1947 1.0455 18.1N 76.9W 79 154 04m04s
----- -14 -2042 Oct 03 15:20:29 47483 -49984 T 0.1846 1.0445 13.0N 150.7E 79 151 04m01s
----- -13 -2024 Oct 14 00:04:14 47040 -49761 T 0.1780 1.0438 8.1N 17.2E 80 148 04m00s
----- -12 -2006 Oct 25 08:54:25 46600 -49538 T 0.1766 1.0434 3.6N 118.0W 80 147 04m00s
00028 -11 -1988 Nov 04 17:46:47 46161 -49315 T 0.1768 1.0435 0.6S 106.5E 80 148 04m04s
00071 -10 -1970 Nov 16 02:41:09 45725 -49092 T 0.1785 1.0442 4.4S 29.3W 80 150 04m10s
00114 -09 -1952 Nov 26 11:34:24 45290 -48869 T 0.1792 1.0452 7.7S 164.7W 80 153 04m18s
00157 -08 -1934 Dec 07 20:26:30 44858 -48646 T 0.1788 1.0468 10.4S 60.5E 80 158 04m28s
00201 -07 -1916 Dec 18 05:14:10 44428 -48423 T 0.1747 1.0488 12.6S 73.1W 80 165 04m39s
00245 -06 -1898 Dec 29 13:56:59 44000 -48200 T 0.1665 1.0512 14.2S 154.8E 81 172 04m51s
00290 -05 -1879 Jan 08 22:33:28 43574 -47977 T 0.1528 1.0539 15.2S 24.5E 81 180 05m01s
00336 -04 -1861 Jan 20 07:03:23 43150 -47754 T 0.1335 1.0568 15.7S 104.1W 82 189 05m11s
00382 -03 -1843 Jan 30 15:24:14 42728 -47531 T 0.1064 1.0598 15.7S 129.6E 84 198 05m19s
00428 -02 -1825 Feb 10 23:37:36 42308 -47308 T 0.0732 1.0627 15.2S 5.3E 86 206 05m25s
00473 -01 -1807 Feb 21 07:42:02 41890 -47085 Tm 0.0323 1.0654 14.4S 116.8W 88 214 05m31s
00520 00 -1789 Mar 04 15:39:33 41474 -46862 T -0.0146 1.0677 13.2S 122.9E 89 221 05m36s
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
00565 01 -1771 Mar 14 23:27:17 41061 -46639 T -0.0696 1.0696 12.1S 5.0E 86 227 05m39s
00610 02 -1753 Mar 26 07:09:38 40649 -46416 T -0.1289 1.0709 10.9S 111.5W 83 232 05m43s
00655 03 -1735 Apr 05 14:43:41 40240 -46193 T -0.1950 1.0715 9.9S 134.0E 79 236 05m46s
00702 04 -1717 Apr 16 22:13:43 39832 -45970 T -0.2642 1.0714 9.3S 20.5E 75 240 05m49s
00747 05 -1699 Apr 27 05:37:08 39427 -45747 T -0.3386 1.0703 9.3S 91.3W 70 242 05m50s
00791 06 -1681 May 08 12:59:02 39024 -45524 T -0.4138 1.0685 10.0S 157.0E 65 243 05m49s
00833 07 -1663 May 18 20:17:26 38622 -45301 T -0.4912 1.0656 11.5S 46.1E 61 244 05m44s
00874 08 -1645 May 30 03:35:26 38223 -45078 T -0.5683 1.0619 14.0S 65.1W 55 244 05m33s
00915 09 -1627 Jun 09 10:53:30 37826 -44855 T -0.6445 1.0573 17.6S 176.8W 50 244 05m14s
00956 10 -1609 Jun 20 18:13:40 37431 -44632 T -0.7181 1.0518 22.2S 70.4E 44 245 04m47s
00997 11 -1591 Jul 01 01:36:49 37038 -44409 T -0.7886 1.0455 28.0S 43.9W 38 246 04m10s
01038 12 -1573 Jul 12 09:03:23 36647 -44186 T -0.8554 1.0385 35.1S 160.0W 31 250 03m26s
01079 13 -1555 Jul 22 16:35:55 36259 -43963 T -0.9162 1.0306 43.7S 81.0E 23 260 02m35s
01119 14 -1537 Aug 03 00:14:13 35872 -43740 T -0.9713 1.0216 55.1S 42.3W 13 322 01m40s
01159 15 -1519 Aug 13 07:59:47 35487 -43517 P -1.0198 0.9636 68.9S 176.9W 0
01199 16 -1501 Aug 24 15:52:09 35105 -43294 P -1.0619 0.8833 69.9S 51.1E 0
01239 17 -1483 Sep 03 23:53:00 34724 -43071 P -1.0963 0.8179 70.6S 83.7W 0
01279 18 -1465 Sep 15 08:00:34 34346 -42848 P -1.1241 0.7653 71.2S 139.4E 0
01320 19 -1447 Sep 25 16:14:53 33970 -42625 P -1.1457 0.7247 71.6S 0.2E 0
01361 20 -1429 Oct 07 00:35:25 33595 -42402 P -1.1614 0.6953 71.7S 140.7W 0
01402 21 -1411 Oct 17 09:01:51 33223 -42179 P -1.1718 0.6758 71.6S 76.9E 0
01443 22 -1393 Oct 28 17:31:46 32853 -41956 P -1.1784 0.6633 71.2S 66.2W 0
01484 23 -1375 Nov 08 02:03:59 32485 -41733 P -1.1825 0.6554 70.6S 150.7E 0
01526 24 -1357 Nov 19 10:37:00 32119 -41510 P -1.1851 0.6502 69.7S 8.0E 0
01568 25 -1339 Nov 29 19:09:57 31755 -41287 P -1.1873 0.6460 68.8S 134.1W 0
01611 26 -1321 Dec 11 03:38:45 31393 -41064 P -1.1923 0.6371 67.7S 85.6E 0
01655 27 -1303 Dec 21 12:04:22 31033 -40841 P -1.1992 0.6248 66.6S 53.4W 0
01698 28 -1284 Jan 01 20:22:42 30676 -40618 P -1.2116 0.6030 65.5S 170.0E 0
01743 29 -1266 Jan 12 04:35:06 30320 -40395 P -1.2280 0.5743 64.5S 35.4E 0
01788 30 -1248 Jan 23 12:36:42 29966 -40172 P -1.2527 0.5310 63.6S 96.1W 0
01833 31 -1230 Feb 02 20:30:49 29615 -39949 P -1.2827 0.4785 62.7S 134.5E 0
01878 32 -1212 Feb 14 04:12:55 29266 -39726 P -1.3218 0.4101 62.0S 8.4E 0
01923 33 -1194 Feb 24 11:45:31 28918 -39503 P -1.3676 0.3297 61.4S 115.2W 0
01968 34 -1176 Mar 06 19:05:57 28573 -39280 P -1.4222 0.2341 61.0S 124.5E 0
02015 35 -1158 Mar 18 02:17:44 28230 -39057 P -1.4826 0.1282 60.7S 6.4E 0
02061 36 -1140 Mar 28 09:18:50 27889 -38834 Pe -1.5505 0.0093 60.6S 109.0W 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)"
