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 12 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 -2662 Aug 20. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1129 Feb 25. The total duration of Saros series 12 is 1532.56 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2662 Aug 20 02:49:08 TD
Last Eclipse = -1129 Feb 25 08:00:19 TD
Duration of Saros 12 = 1532.56 Years
Saros 12 is composed of 86 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 12 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 86 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 45 | 52.3% |
| Annular | A | 30 | 34.9% |
| Total | T | 8 | 9.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 3.5% |
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 12 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 12 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 86 eclipses in Saros 12: 23P 8T 3H 30A 22P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 12 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 12 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1760 Feb 12 | 05m54s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -2049 Aug 23 | 00m32s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -2193 May 28 | 03m32s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -2121 Jul 11 | 02m11s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -2103 Jul 21 | 01m32s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -2067 Aug 12 | 00m08s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2265 Apr 15 | - | 0.99493 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1129 Feb 25 | - | 0.01767 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 12. 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 12.
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
----- -51 -2662 Aug 20 02:49:08 63969 -57654 Pb -1.5022 0.0581 62.6S 0.8W 0
----- -50 -2644 Aug 30 11:08:22 63455 -57431 P -1.4745 0.1121 61.9S 137.0W 0
----- -49 -2626 Sep 10 19:36:49 62943 -57208 P -1.4542 0.1516 61.4S 84.8E 0
----- -48 -2608 Sep 21 04:12:30 62433 -56985 P -1.4396 0.1799 60.9S 55.1W 0
----- -47 -2590 Oct 02 12:54:21 61926 -56762 P -1.4301 0.1986 60.7S 163.6E 0
----- -46 -2572 Oct 12 21:42:08 61420 -56539 P -1.4256 0.2076 60.6S 20.8E 0
----- -45 -2554 Oct 24 06:33:55 60916 -56316 P -1.4248 0.2096 60.7S 122.9W 0
----- -44 -2536 Nov 03 15:27:52 60415 -56093 P -1.4258 0.2079 60.9S 92.7E 0
----- -43 -2518 Nov 15 00:21:55 59915 -55870 P -1.4274 0.2049 61.3S 51.7W 0
----- -42 -2500 Nov 25 09:15:04 59418 -55647 P -1.4287 0.2023 61.9S 164.0E 0
----- -41 -2482 Dec 06 18:05:29 58923 -55424 P -1.4284 0.2028 62.6S 20.1E 0
----- -40 -2464 Dec 17 02:50:46 58430 -55201 P -1.4247 0.2094 63.4S 122.7W 0
----- -39 -2446 Dec 28 11:30:43 57939 -54978 P -1.4172 0.2231 64.3S 95.6E 0
----- -38 -2427 Jan 07 20:03:24 57450 -54755 P -1.4046 0.2464 65.3S 44.7W 0
----- -37 -2409 Jan 19 04:28:05 56963 -54532 P -1.3859 0.2811 66.4S 176.6E 0
----- -36 -2391 Jan 29 12:43:51 56478 -54309 P -1.3607 0.3285 67.4S 39.7E 0
----- -35 -2373 Feb 09 20:51:14 55995 -54086 P -1.3293 0.3878 68.4S 95.6W 0
----- -34 -2355 Feb 20 04:49:55 55514 -53863 P -1.2916 0.4592 69.3S 130.7E 0
----- -33 -2337 Mar 03 12:38:56 55035 -53640 P -1.2463 0.5452 70.1S 1.1W 0
----- -32 -2319 Mar 13 20:20:16 54559 -53417 P -1.1954 0.6421 70.8S 131.5W 0
----- -31 -2301 Mar 25 03:53:15 54084 -53194 P -1.1379 0.7514 71.2S 99.7E 0
----- -30 -2283 Apr 04 11:20:33 53612 -52971 P -1.0766 0.8679 71.5S 27.9W 0
----- -29 -2265 Apr 15 18:40:04 53141 -52748 P -1.0094 0.9949 71.5S 153.7W 0
----- -28 -2247 Apr 26 01:56:37 52673 -52525 T -0.9405 1.0412 59.2S 43.8E 19 410 02m49s
----- -27 -2229 May 07 09:08:09 52207 -52302 T -0.8678 1.0416 47.4S 79.8W 29 279 03m14s
----- -26 -2211 May 17 16:18:37 51743 -52079 T -0.7951 1.0403 37.4S 162.9E 37 221 03m28s
----- -25 -2193 May 28 23:26:42 51280 -51856 T -0.7211 1.0379 28.3S 48.6E 44 183 03m32s
----- -24 -2175 Jun 08 06:36:24 50820 -51633 T -0.6492 1.0345 20.4S 64.7W 49 153 03m27s
----- -23 -2157 Jun 19 13:47:07 50362 -51410 T -0.5789 1.0303 13.4S 177.2W 55 126 03m10s
----- -22 -2139 Jun 29 21:00:53 49907 -51187 T -0.5119 1.0254 7.5S 70.4E 59 100 02m45s
----- -21 -2121 Jul 11 04:18:53 49453 -50964 T -0.4491 1.0199 2.7S 42.4W 63 76 02m11s
----- -20 -2103 Jul 21 11:42:44 49001 -50741 H -0.3919 1.0140 0.8N 156.0W 67 52 01m32s
----- -19 -2085 Aug 01 19:12:55 48551 -50518 H -0.3408 1.0078 3.1N 89.3E 70 28 00m51s
----- -18 -2067 Aug 12 02:49:55 48104 -50295 H -0.2961 1.0013 4.1N 26.8W 73 5 00m08s
----- -17 -2049 Aug 23 10:34:20 47658 -50072 A -0.2583 0.9949 3.8N 144.7W 75 19 00m32s
----- -16 -2031 Sep 02 18:26:36 47215 -49849 A -0.2277 0.9885 2.4N 95.4E 77 42 01m11s
----- -15 -2013 Sep 14 02:25:27 46773 -49626 A -0.2034 0.9824 0.1N 26.2W 78 64 01m48s
00012 -14 -1995 Sep 24 10:31:54 46334 -49403 A -0.1863 0.9766 3.1S 150.0W 79 85 02m22s
00055 -13 -1977 Oct 05 18:43:53 45897 -49180 A -0.1747 0.9713 6.9S 84.7E 80 104 02m53s
00097 -12 -1959 Oct 16 03:01:44 45462 -48957 A -0.1688 0.9665 11.1S 42.0W 80 122 03m23s
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
00140 -11 -1941 Oct 27 11:21:18 45028 -48734 A -0.1649 0.9623 15.5S 169.1W 80 138 03m49s
00183 -10 -1923 Nov 06 19:44:18 44597 -48511 A -0.1649 0.9588 19.8S 63.2E 80 152 04m14s
00227 -09 -1905 Nov 18 04:06:24 44168 -48288 A -0.1653 0.9559 23.9S 63.9W 80 163 04m36s
00271 -08 -1887 Nov 28 12:27:35 43742 -48065 Am -0.1654 0.9537 27.4S 169.8E 80 171 04m54s
00317 -07 -1869 Dec 09 20:43:48 43317 -47842 A -0.1623 0.9521 30.1S 45.4E 80 178 05m11s
00364 -06 -1851 Dec 20 04:56:02 42894 -47619 A -0.1566 0.9511 31.8S 77.5W 81 181 05m24s
00410 -05 -1833 Dec 31 13:00:55 42473 -47396 A -0.1456 0.9506 32.3S 161.7E 81 183 05m35s
00455 -04 -1814 Jan 10 20:57:33 42055 -47173 A -0.1287 0.9506 31.3S 43.0E 82 183 05m43s
00501 -03 -1796 Jan 22 04:44:37 41638 -46950 A -0.1047 0.9509 29.0S 73.7W 84 181 05m49s
00547 -02 -1778 Feb 01 12:22:05 41224 -46727 A -0.0733 0.9516 25.4S 171.3E 86 178 05m53s
00592 -01 -1760 Feb 12 19:48:27 40811 -46504 A -0.0336 0.9523 20.5S 58.2E 88 175 05m54s
00637 00 -1742 Feb 23 03:04:13 40401 -46281 A 0.0142 0.9531 14.6S 53.0W 89 171 05m53s
00683 01 -1724 Mar 05 10:09:29 39993 -46058 A 0.0698 0.9538 7.9S 162.3W 86 169 05m50s
00729 02 -1706 Mar 16 17:05:16 39587 -45835 A 0.1323 0.9544 0.5S 90.1E 82 168 05m44s
00773 03 -1688 Mar 26 23:50:07 39183 -45612 A 0.2032 0.9547 7.6N 15.2W 78 169 05m37s
00817 04 -1670 Apr 07 06:27:44 38780 -45389 A 0.2792 0.9546 16.1N 119.0W 74 172 05m29s
00858 05 -1652 Apr 17 12:57:24 38381 -45166 A 0.3613 0.9542 25.1N 138.9E 69 179 05m19s
00899 06 -1634 Apr 28 19:23:02 37983 -44943 A 0.4456 0.9533 34.3N 37.9E 63 190 05m08s
00940 07 -1616 May 09 01:42:23 37587 -44720 A 0.5345 0.9518 43.9N 61.5W 57 208 04m57s
00981 08 -1598 May 20 08:01:43 37193 -44497 A 0.6228 0.9498 53.6N 160.5W 51 235 04m46s
01022 09 -1580 May 30 14:19:02 36801 -44274 A 0.7124 0.9472 63.7N 101.5E 44 278 04m35s
01063 10 -1562 Jun 10 20:38:45 36412 -44051 A 0.7993 0.9440 74.1N 4.0E 37 347 04m26s
01103 11 -1544 Jun 21 02:59:53 36024 -43828 A 0.8846 0.9399 85.4N 89.2W 27 485 04m19s
01143 12 -1526 Jul 02 09:27:03 35639 -43605 A 0.9646 0.9346 80.3N 14.8W 15 971 04m11s
01183 13 -1508 Jul 12 15:59:43 35256 -43382 P 1.0399 0.8917 65.0N 113.2W 0
01223 14 -1490 Jul 23 22:39:19 34874 -43159 P 1.1094 0.7729 64.0N 135.5E 0
01263 15 -1472 Aug 03 05:27:42 34495 -42936 P 1.1715 0.6673 63.2N 22.3E 0
01303 16 -1454 Aug 14 12:25:20 34118 -42713 P 1.2259 0.5752 62.4N 93.0W 0
01345 17 -1436 Aug 24 19:33:14 33743 -42490 P 1.2719 0.4976 61.7N 149.5E 0
01386 18 -1418 Sep 05 02:49:50 33370 -42267 P 1.3109 0.4323 61.2N 29.9E 0
01427 19 -1400 Sep 15 10:17:19 32999 -42044 P 1.3414 0.3816 60.8N 92.3W 0
01468 20 -1382 Sep 26 17:53:21 32630 -41821 P 1.3651 0.3422 60.6N 143.5E 0
01510 21 -1364 Oct 07 01:38:20 32263 -41598 P 1.3816 0.3149 60.6N 17.1E 0
01552 22 -1346 Oct 18 09:30:13 31898 -41375 P 1.3929 0.2963 60.7N 111.0W 0
01595 23 -1328 Oct 28 17:29:06 31536 -41152 P 1.3987 0.2867 61.0N 119.1E 0
01638 24 -1310 Nov 09 01:31:57 31175 -40929 P 1.4018 0.2815 61.4N 11.9W 0
01681 25 -1292 Nov 19 09:37:28 30817 -40706 P 1.4032 0.2788 62.0N 143.7W 0
01726 26 -1274 Nov 30 17:43:47 30460 -40483 P 1.4043 0.2764 62.8N 84.2E 0
01770 27 -1256 Dec 11 01:50:04 30106 -40260 P 1.4054 0.2739 63.7N 48.3W 0
01816 28 -1238 Dec 22 09:52:16 29754 -40037 P 1.4105 0.2645 64.6N 180.0E 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
01861 29 -1219 Jan 01 17:50:57 29403 -39814 P 1.4187 0.2496 65.7N 48.8E 0
01905 30 -1201 Jan 13 01:42:58 29055 -39591 P 1.4327 0.2247 66.7N 81.3W 0
01950 31 -1183 Jan 23 09:30:09 28709 -39368 P 1.4509 0.1921 67.8N 149.4E 0
01996 32 -1165 Feb 03 17:07:22 28365 -39145 P 1.4773 0.1451 68.8N 22.1E 0
02042 33 -1147 Feb 14 00:38:45 28023 -38922 P 1.5086 0.0890 69.7N 104.4W 0
02088 34 -1129 Feb 25 08:00:19 27683 -38699 Pe 1.5482 0.0177 70.4N 131.0E 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)"
