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 24 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 -2134 Apr 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0854 May 14. The total duration of Saros series 24 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2134 Apr 06 22:57:40 TD
Last Eclipse = -0854 May 14 11:55:47 TD
Duration of Saros 24 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 24 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 24 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.8% |
| Annular | A | 26 | 36.1% |
| Total | T | 15 | 20.8% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 16 | 22.2% |
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 24 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 24 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 57 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 56 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 24: 8P 15T 16H 26A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 24 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 24 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1089 Dec 25 | 10m34s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1431 Jun 02 | 00m22s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1954 Jul 24 | 04m51s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1738 Dec 01 | 01m01s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1557 Mar 19 | 01m13s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1449 May 23 | 00m05s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2008 Jun 21 | - | 0.97213 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2134 Apr 06 | - | 0.01587 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 24. 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 24.
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
----- -38 -2134 Apr 06 22:57:40 49786 -51128 Pb -1.5196 0.0159 71.4S 137.5E 0
----- -37 -2116 Apr 17 06:26:08 49333 -50905 P -1.4522 0.1459 71.4S 9.6E 0
----- -36 -2098 Apr 28 13:51:05 48882 -50682 P -1.3815 0.2830 71.1S 117.2W 0
----- -35 -2080 May 08 21:15:05 48433 -50459 P -1.3099 0.4224 70.7S 116.5E 0
----- -34 -2062 May 20 04:37:14 47986 -50236 P -1.2367 0.5650 70.0S 8.9W 0
----- -33 -2044 May 30 12:01:48 47541 -50013 P -1.1652 0.7042 69.2S 134.4W 0
----- -32 -2026 Jun 10 19:27:24 47098 -49790 P -1.0943 0.8417 68.3S 100.5E 0
----- -31 -2008 Jun 21 02:56:54 46657 -49567 P -1.0267 0.9721 67.3S 25.1W 0
00023 -30 -1990 Jul 02 10:30:06 46218 -49344 T -0.9623 1.0609 51.2S 149.5W 15 756 04m30s
00066 -29 -1972 Jul 12 18:09:32 45781 -49121 T -0.9033 1.0603 40.7S 89.6E 25 464 04m50s
00109 -28 -1954 Jul 24 01:54:42 45347 -48898 T -0.8494 1.0580 34.1S 31.5W 32 361 04m51s
00152 -27 -1936 Aug 03 09:46:19 44914 -48675 T -0.8011 1.0548 29.8S 153.4W 37 300 04m40s
00195 -26 -1918 Aug 14 17:45:39 44484 -48452 T -0.7596 1.0510 27.3S 83.1E 40 256 04m21s
00239 -25 -1900 Aug 25 01:52:52 44055 -48229 T -0.7250 1.0467 26.4S 42.2W 43 222 03m56s
00283 -24 -1882 Sep 05 10:07:48 43629 -48006 T -0.6972 1.0423 26.8S 169.2W 46 193 03m30s
00329 -23 -1864 Sep 15 18:30:18 43205 -47783 T -0.6763 1.0377 28.4S 61.8E 47 168 03m03s
00375 -22 -1846 Sep 27 02:59:55 42782 -47560 T -0.6615 1.0333 31.0S 68.9W 48 147 02m38s
00421 -21 -1828 Oct 07 11:36:07 42362 -47337 T -0.6527 1.0290 34.4S 158.7E 49 127 02m15s
00466 -20 -1810 Oct 18 20:16:20 41944 -47114 T -0.6476 1.0251 38.4S 25.5E 49 110 01m54s
00513 -19 -1792 Oct 29 05:01:32 41528 -46891 T -0.6471 1.0216 42.9S 108.8W 49 95 01m36s
00559 -18 -1774 Nov 09 13:48:09 41114 -46668 T -0.6486 1.0186 47.5S 117.2E 49 83 01m22s
00604 -17 -1756 Nov 19 22:36:12 40703 -46445 T -0.6516 1.0162 52.1S 16.4W 49 73 01m10s
00649 -16 -1738 Dec 01 07:21:07 40293 -46222 T -0.6526 1.0142 56.4S 147.5W 49 64 01m01s
00695 -15 -1720 Dec 11 16:04:48 39885 -45999 H3 -0.6533 1.0129 60.1S 83.5E 49 58 00m55s
00741 -14 -1702 Dec 23 00:42:38 39479 -45776 H -0.6502 1.0120 62.7S 41.6W 49 54 00m51s
00785 -13 -1683 Jan 02 09:14:40 39076 -45553 H -0.6429 1.0116 63.7S 163.3W 50 52 00m50s
00827 -12 -1665 Jan 13 17:38:08 38674 -45330 H -0.6296 1.0115 62.8S 77.6E 51 51 00m51s
00868 -11 -1647 Jan 24 01:53:47 38275 -45107 H -0.6104 1.0117 60.1S 41.1W 52 51 00m53s
00909 -10 -1629 Feb 04 09:59:41 37878 -44884 H -0.5842 1.0121 55.8S 159.8W 54 51 00m57s
00950 -09 -1611 Feb 14 17:55:34 37482 -44661 H -0.5506 1.0125 50.2S 81.6E 56 52 01m01s
00991 -08 -1593 Feb 26 01:41:29 37089 -44438 H -0.5096 1.0128 43.8S 36.3W 59 51 01m06s
01033 -07 -1575 Mar 08 09:17:47 36698 -44215 H -0.4614 1.0130 36.7S 153.2W 62 50 01m10s
01074 -06 -1557 Mar 19 16:43:59 36309 -43992 H -0.4056 1.0128 29.2S 91.6E 66 48 01m13s
01114 -05 -1539 Mar 30 00:01:51 35922 -43769 H -0.3438 1.0122 21.2S 21.9W 70 45 01m13s
01154 -04 -1521 Apr 10 07:11:26 35537 -43546 H -0.2758 1.0112 13.1S 133.6W 74 40 01m09s
01194 -03 -1503 Apr 20 14:15:00 35154 -43323 H -0.2038 1.0095 4.9S 116.2E 78 33 01m01s
01234 -02 -1485 May 01 21:11:15 34774 -43100 Hm -0.1265 1.0072 3.4N 8.0E 83 25 00m47s
01274 -01 -1467 May 12 04:04:18 34395 -42877 H -0.0476 1.0043 11.4N 99.0W 87 15 00m29s
01314 00 -1449 May 23 10:52:54 34018 -42654 H 0.0344 1.0008 19.3N 155.7E 88 3 00m05s
01355 01 -1431 Jun 02 17:41:14 33644 -42431 A 0.1153 0.9967 26.7N 51.3E 83 12 00m22s
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
01396 02 -1413 Jun 14 00:27:17 33271 -42208 A 0.1970 0.9919 33.5N 51.5W 78 29 00m51s
01437 03 -1395 Jun 24 07:16:36 32901 -41985 A 0.2749 0.9867 39.5N 153.8W 74 49 01m21s
01479 04 -1377 Jul 05 14:07:10 32533 -41762 A 0.3510 0.9810 44.5N 105.1E 69 72 01m51s
01521 05 -1359 Jul 15 21:02:47 32166 -41539 A 0.4217 0.9751 48.2N 4.0E 65 98 02m20s
01563 06 -1341 Jul 27 04:02:45 31802 -41316 A 0.4878 0.9688 50.5N 97.2W 61 129 02m50s
01606 07 -1323 Aug 06 11:10:03 31440 -41093 A 0.5468 0.9625 51.3N 160.1E 57 162 03m20s
01650 08 -1305 Aug 17 18:24:18 31080 -40870 A 0.5994 0.9561 50.8N 55.0E 53 198 03m51s
01693 09 -1287 Aug 28 01:45:37 30722 -40647 A 0.6455 0.9499 49.4N 53.0W 50 238 04m23s
01738 10 -1269 Sep 08 09:15:41 30366 -40424 A 0.6835 0.9439 47.3N 164.7W 47 279 04m58s
01783 11 -1251 Sep 18 16:53:26 30012 -40201 A 0.7145 0.9384 44.8N 80.3E 44 319 05m34s
01828 12 -1233 Sep 30 00:39:28 29661 -39978 A 0.7381 0.9334 42.0N 38.0W 42 359 06m12s
01873 13 -1215 Oct 10 08:31:20 29311 -39755 A 0.7562 0.9289 39.3N 158.6W 41 395 06m53s
01918 14 -1197 Oct 21 16:29:48 28963 -39532 A 0.7685 0.9251 36.7N 78.3E 40 427 07m35s
01963 15 -1179 Nov 01 00:31:51 28618 -39309 A 0.7772 0.9220 34.2N 46.0W 39 454 08m17s
02010 16 -1161 Nov 12 08:36:42 28274 -39086 A 0.7830 0.9196 32.1N 171.4W 38 476 08m58s
02056 17 -1143 Nov 22 16:42:10 27933 -38863 A 0.7876 0.9179 30.5N 63.0E 38 494 09m36s
02102 18 -1125 Dec 04 00:47:19 27594 -38640 A 0.7917 0.9169 29.4N 62.5W 37 508 10m07s
02147 19 -1107 Dec 14 08:49:04 27256 -38417 A 0.7982 0.9166 29.2N 172.8E 37 522 10m27s
02190 20 -1089 Dec 25 16:46:10 26921 -38194 A 0.8081 0.9168 29.9N 49.2E 36 536 10m34s
02233 21 -1070 Jan 05 00:37:10 26588 -37971 A 0.8224 0.9175 31.8N 73.1W 34 552 10m26s
02276 22 -1052 Jan 16 08:21:39 26257 -37748 A 0.8413 0.9186 34.7N 165.9E 32 573 10m03s
02319 23 -1034 Jan 26 15:55:58 25928 -37525 A 0.8683 0.9199 39.3N 46.8E 29 613 09m25s
02362 24 -1016 Feb 06 23:22:20 25601 -37302 A 0.9013 0.9213 45.3N 71.5W 25 689 08m37s
02404 25 -0998 Feb 17 06:37:53 25276 -37079 A 0.9430 0.9224 53.6N 170.2E 19 889 07m41s
02445 26 -0980 Feb 28 13:45:50 24954 -36856 An 0.9904 0.9221 66.3N 41.7E 7 - 06m33s
02486 27 -0962 Mar 10 20:41:34 24633 -36633 P 1.0474 0.8764 71.4N 90.2W 0
02527 28 -0944 Mar 21 03:30:52 24314 -36410 P 1.1093 0.7726 71.8N 152.3E 0
02568 29 -0926 Apr 01 10:10:07 23998 -36187 P 1.1791 0.6547 71.8N 37.1E 0
02608 30 -0908 Apr 11 16:44:07 23683 -35964 P 1.2526 0.5298 71.6N 76.7W 0
02647 31 -0890 Apr 22 23:10:40 23371 -35741 P 1.3319 0.3944 71.2N 171.6E 0
02688 32 -0872 May 03 05:35:02 23061 -35518 P 1.4124 0.2562 70.6N 61.0E 0
02729 33 -0854 May 14 11:55:47 22753 -35295 Pe 1.4956 0.1129 69.9N 48.1W 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)"
