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 14 all occur at the Moons descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -2550 Aug 11. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1035 Feb 06. The total duration of Saros series 14 is 1514.53 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2550 Aug 11 16:44:05 TD Last Eclipse = -1035 Feb 06 14:13:01 TD Duration of Saros 14 = 1514.53 Years
Saros 14 is composed of 85 solar eclipses as follows:
Solar Eclipses of Saros 14 | |||
Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
All Eclipses | - | 85 | 100.0% |
Partial | P | 42 | 49.4% |
Annular | A | 0 | 0.0% |
Total | T | 43 | 50.6% |
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 14 appears in the following table.
Umbral Eclipses of Saros 14 | ||
Classification | Number | Percent |
All Umbral Eclipses | 43 | 100.0% |
Central (two limits) | 43 | 100.0% |
Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 85 eclipses in Saros 14: 21P 43T 21P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 14 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 14 | |||
Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -2009 Jul 02 | 05m57s | - |
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -2171 Mar 26 | 01m15s | - |
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1396 Jul 04 | - | 0.98222 |
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1035 Feb 06 | - | 0.04442 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 14. 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 14.
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 -2550 Aug 11 16:44:05 60811 -56269 Pb -1.5142 0.0797 63.1S 143.5E 0 ----- -36 -2532 Aug 22 00:12:58 60309 -56046 P -1.4725 0.1518 62.3S 19.9E 0 ----- -35 -2514 Sep 02 07:52:53 59811 -55823 P -1.4389 0.2100 61.6S 106.3W 0 ----- -34 -2496 Sep 12 15:43:14 59314 -55600 P -1.4125 0.2555 61.1S 125.2E 0 ----- -33 -2478 Sep 23 23:42:31 58819 -55377 P -1.3925 0.2901 60.7S 5.4W 0 ----- -32 -2460 Oct 04 07:50:33 58326 -55154 P -1.3785 0.3140 60.5S 138.2W 0 ----- -31 -2442 Oct 15 16:05:37 57835 -54931 P -1.3694 0.3295 60.4S 87.4E 0 ----- -30 -2424 Oct 26 00:25:29 57347 -54708 P -1.3635 0.3394 60.6S 48.2W 0 ----- -29 -2406 Nov 06 08:49:19 56860 -54485 P -1.3600 0.3451 60.9S 175.1E 0 ----- -28 -2388 Nov 16 17:14:24 56376 -54262 P -1.3567 0.3503 61.3S 38.0E 0 ----- -27 -2370 Nov 28 01:40:06 55893 -54039 P -1.3529 0.3562 61.9S 99.4W 0 ----- -26 -2352 Dec 08 10:02:36 55413 -53816 P -1.3459 0.3679 62.7S 123.8E 0 ----- -25 -2334 Dec 19 18:23:08 54935 -53593 P -1.3363 0.3840 63.6S 12.7W 0 ----- -24 -2316 Dec 30 02:37:44 54459 -53370 P -1.3216 0.4094 64.6S 148.1W 0 ----- -23 -2297 Jan 10 10:46:48 53984 -53147 P -1.3012 0.4449 65.6S 77.5E 0 ----- -22 -2279 Jan 20 18:47:59 53512 -52924 P -1.2737 0.4939 66.7S 55.3W 0 ----- -21 -2261 Feb 01 02:42:54 53042 -52701 P -1.2403 0.5539 67.7S 172.9E 0 ----- -20 -2243 Feb 11 10:30:04 52575 -52478 P -1.1998 0.6277 68.7S 42.5E 0 ----- -19 -2225 Feb 22 18:09:26 52109 -52255 P -1.1522 0.7155 69.6S 86.4W 0 ----- -18 -2207 Mar 05 01:41:44 51645 -52032 P -1.0979 0.8168 70.4S 145.8E 0 ----- -17 -2189 Mar 16 09:07:56 51183 -51809 P -1.0375 0.9304 71.1S 19.0E 0 ----- -16 -2171 Mar 26 16:28:48 50724 -51586 T -0.9718 1.0206 71.0S 147.6W 13 312 01m15s ----- -15 -2153 Apr 06 23:44:57 50266 -51363 T -0.9014 1.0296 60.1S 69.6E 25 232 02m03s ----- -14 -2135 Apr 17 06:58:36 49811 -51140 T -0.8277 1.0370 49.3S 53.3W 34 220 02m49s ----- -13 -2117 Apr 28 14:10:41 49357 -50917 T -0.7516 1.0431 39.2S 170.9W 41 216 03m33s ----- -12 -2099 May 08 21:21:47 48906 -50694 T -0.6736 1.0483 29.7S 73.8E 47 216 04m16s ----- -11 -2081 May 20 04:34:08 48457 -50471 T -0.5957 1.0525 20.9S 40.5W 53 215 04m53s ----- -10 -2063 May 30 11:48:26 48010 -50248 T -0.5184 1.0559 12.9S 154.3W 59 215 05m23s ----- -09 -2045 Jun 10 19:07:24 47565 -50025 T -0.4442 1.0583 5.7S 91.6E 64 214 05m44s ----- -08 -2027 Jun 21 02:29:23 47122 -49802 T -0.3718 1.0599 0.7N 22.5W 68 212 05m55s ----- -07 -2009 Jul 02 09:59:02 46681 -49579 T -0.3050 1.0606 5.9N 137.7W 72 209 05m57s 00021 -06 -1991 Jul 12 17:34:12 46242 -49356 T -0.2421 1.0606 10.0N 106.3E 76 205 05m50s 00064 -05 -1973 Jul 24 01:18:22 45805 -49133 T -0.1865 1.0601 12.9N 11.3W 79 201 05m38s 00107 -04 -1955 Aug 03 09:08:54 45370 -48910 T -0.1359 1.0589 14.5N 130.1W 82 196 05m22s 00150 -03 -1937 Aug 14 17:09:41 44937 -48687 T -0.0934 1.0574 14.8N 108.7E 85 190 05m05s 00193 -02 -1919 Aug 25 01:18:07 44507 -48464 T -0.0570 1.0556 13.9N 14.5W 87 184 04m49s 00237 -01 -1901 Sep 05 09:35:37 44078 -48241 T -0.0279 1.0537 12.0N 140.2W 88 178 04m33s 00281 00 -1883 Sep 15 18:00:59 43652 -48018 T -0.0050 1.0518 9.2N 91.9E 90 172 04m20s 00327 01 -1865 Sep 27 02:35:16 43227 -47795 T 0.0102 1.0500 5.6N 38.6W 89 166 04m09s 00373 02 -1847 Oct 07 11:15:47 42805 -47572 T 0.0209 1.0485 1.7N 170.8W 89 161 04m01s
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 00419 03 -1829 Oct 18 20:01:55 42385 -47349 T 0.0269 1.0472 2.6S 55.4E 88 157 03m56s 00464 04 -1811 Oct 29 04:52:15 41967 -47126 T 0.0298 1.0464 6.8S 79.3W 88 155 03m53s 00511 05 -1793 Nov 09 13:46:13 41551 -46903 Tm 0.0296 1.0461 11.0S 145.2E 88 153 03m54s 00557 06 -1775 Nov 19 22:40:15 41137 -46680 T 0.0296 1.0462 14.7S 10.0E 88 154 03m58s 00602 07 -1757 Dec 01 07:34:28 40725 -46457 T 0.0292 1.0468 17.8S 124.9W 88 156 04m05s 00647 08 -1739 Dec 11 16:25:31 40315 -46234 T 0.0317 1.0479 20.1S 101.4E 88 159 04m15s 00693 09 -1721 Dec 23 01:13:39 39907 -46011 T 0.0364 1.0494 21.3S 31.3W 88 164 04m27s 00739 10 -1702 Jan 02 09:54:44 39501 -45788 T 0.0469 1.0512 21.3S 162.1W 87 170 04m40s 00783 11 -1684 Jan 13 18:30:49 39098 -45565 T 0.0613 1.0533 20.2S 68.2E 87 177 04m55s 00825 12 -1666 Jan 24 02:58:13 38696 -45342 T 0.0825 1.0554 17.7S 59.6W 85 184 05m10s 00866 13 -1648 Feb 04 11:17:57 38296 -45119 T 0.1102 1.0577 14.1S 173.9E 84 191 05m24s 00907 14 -1630 Feb 14 19:28:09 37899 -44896 T 0.1455 1.0597 9.4S 49.2E 82 198 05m35s 00948 15 -1612 Feb 26 03:30:45 37504 -44673 T 0.1870 1.0616 3.7S 74.2W 79 206 05m44s 00989 16 -1594 Mar 08 11:24:32 37110 -44450 T 0.2355 1.0630 2.7N 164.0E 76 212 05m48s 01031 17 -1576 Mar 18 19:09:49 36719 -44227 T 0.2909 1.0640 9.8N 43.8E 73 218 05m47s 01072 18 -1558 Mar 30 02:47:55 36330 -44004 T 0.3520 1.0642 17.5N 74.9W 69 224 05m39s 01112 19 -1540 Apr 09 10:19:32 35943 -43781 T 0.4183 1.0638 25.7N 167.7E 65 229 05m25s 01152 20 -1522 Apr 20 17:45:50 35558 -43558 T 0.4886 1.0625 34.2N 51.5E 61 234 05m05s 01192 21 -1504 May 01 01:06:51 35175 -43335 T 0.5627 1.0604 43.0N 63.5W 56 239 04m40s 01232 22 -1486 May 12 08:25:29 34794 -43112 T 0.6384 1.0573 52.2N 177.8W 50 245 04m10s 01272 23 -1468 May 22 15:41:36 34415 -42889 T 0.7155 1.0533 61.6N 68.7E 44 253 03m37s 01312 24 -1450 Jun 02 22:56:37 34039 -42666 T 0.7928 1.0482 71.4N 44.6W 37 265 03m03s 01353 25 -1432 Jun 13 06:11:50 33664 -42443 T 0.8691 1.0420 81.9N 159.8W 29 288 02m28s 01394 26 -1414 Jun 24 13:28:59 33291 -42220 T 0.9429 1.0344 85.6N 71.0W 19 358 01m52s 01435 27 -1396 Jul 04 20:49:24 32921 -41997 P 1.0130 0.9822 65.7N 171.2E 0 01476 28 -1378 Jul 16 04:12:53 32552 -41774 P 1.0796 0.8554 64.7N 48.7E 0 01518 29 -1360 Jul 26 11:42:29 32186 -41551 P 1.1403 0.7409 63.7N 75.0W 0 01560 30 -1342 Aug 06 19:17:49 31822 -41328 P 1.1956 0.6377 62.9N 160.2E 0 01603 31 -1324 Aug 17 03:00:16 31459 -41105 P 1.2441 0.5482 62.2N 33.9E 0 01647 32 -1306 Aug 28 10:49:16 31099 -40882 P 1.2864 0.4711 61.6N 93.9W 0 01690 33 -1288 Sep 07 18:46:24 30741 -40659 P 1.3215 0.4079 61.1N 136.5E 0 01735 34 -1270 Sep 19 02:50:50 30385 -40436 P 1.3499 0.3575 60.8N 5.1E 0 01780 35 -1252 Sep 29 11:01:28 30031 -40213 P 1.3727 0.3176 60.6N 127.7W 0 01825 36 -1234 Oct 10 19:19:02 29680 -39990 P 1.3892 0.2894 60.6N 97.8E 0 01870 37 -1216 Oct 21 03:41:34 29330 -39767 P 1.4006 0.2702 60.8N 37.9W 0 01915 38 -1198 Nov 01 12:08:31 28982 -39544 P 1.4082 0.2579 61.1N 174.8W 0 01960 39 -1180 Nov 11 20:35:55 28636 -39321 P 1.4146 0.2475 61.7N 48.1E 0 02006 40 -1162 Nov 23 05:05:13 28293 -39098 P 1.4187 0.2411 62.3N 89.7W 0 02052 41 -1144 Dec 03 13:32:19 27951 -38875 P 1.4236 0.2332 63.1N 132.9E 0 02098 42 -1126 Dec 14 21:56:41 27612 -38652 P 1.4299 0.2226 64.0N 4.1W 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 02143 43 -1108 Dec 25 06:15:08 27274 -38429 P 1.4400 0.2055 65.0N 139.9W 0 02186 44 -1089 Jan 05 14:28:00 26939 -38206 P 1.4539 0.1815 66.1N 85.2E 0 02229 45 -1071 Jan 15 22:32:21 26606 -37983 P 1.4737 0.1473 67.2N 48.0W 0 02272 46 -1053 Jan 27 06:27:42 26275 -37760 P 1.4997 0.1020 68.2N 179.5W 0 02315 47 -1035 Feb 06 14:13:01 25946 -37537 Pe 1.5329 0.0444 69.2N 50.9E 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)"