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 34 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 -1917 Aug 04. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0384 Feb 09. The total duration of Saros series 34 is 1532.56 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1917 Aug 04 07:51:37 TD Last Eclipse = -0384 Feb 09 05:21:47 TD Duration of Saros 34 = 1532.56 Years
Saros 34 is composed of 86 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 34 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 86 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 46 | 53.5% |
| Annular | A | 40 | 46.5% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| 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 34 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 34 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 40 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 39 | 97.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.5% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 86 eclipses in Saros 34: 23P 40A 23P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 34 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 34 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1106 Dec 03 | 09m54s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0799 Jun 04 | 00m38s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0781 Jun 15 | - | 0.98147 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0384 Feb 09 | - | 0.03320 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 34. 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 34.
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
00198 -37 -1917 Aug 04 07:51:37 44461 -48440 Pb -1.5248 0.0346 63.5S 148.9W 0
00242 -36 -1899 Aug 14 15:31:53 44032 -48217 P -1.4863 0.1079 62.7S 84.8E 0
00287 -35 -1881 Aug 25 23:20:13 43606 -47994 P -1.4549 0.1672 62.0S 43.2W 0
00333 -34 -1863 Sep 05 07:16:15 43182 -47771 P -1.4302 0.2136 61.4S 173.0W 0
00379 -33 -1845 Sep 16 15:18:31 42760 -47548 P -1.4111 0.2495 61.0S 55.8E 0
00425 -32 -1827 Sep 26 23:28:24 42340 -47325 P -1.3988 0.2727 60.7S 77.2W 0
00470 -31 -1809 Oct 08 07:43:56 41922 -47102 P -1.3919 0.2862 60.6S 148.5E 0
00517 -30 -1791 Oct 18 16:05:01 41506 -46879 P -1.3898 0.2908 60.7S 12.8E 0
00562 -29 -1773 Oct 30 00:28:20 41092 -46656 P -1.3904 0.2907 61.0S 123.4W 0
00607 -28 -1755 Nov 09 08:54:37 40680 -46433 P -1.3940 0.2852 61.4S 99.5E 0
00652 -27 -1737 Nov 20 17:20:19 40271 -46210 P -1.3979 0.2791 61.9S 37.6W 0
00698 -26 -1719 Dec 01 01:44:30 39863 -45987 P -1.4014 0.2734 62.6S 174.4W 0
00743 -25 -1701 Dec 12 10:04:20 39458 -45764 P -1.4024 0.2720 63.5S 49.6E 0
00787 -24 -1683 Dec 22 18:19:28 39054 -45541 P -1.4005 0.2754 64.4S 85.5W 0
00829 -23 -1664 Jan 03 02:26:41 38653 -45318 P -1.3932 0.2881 65.4S 141.0E 0
00870 -22 -1646 Jan 13 10:25:39 38254 -45095 P -1.3800 0.3109 66.4S 9.1E 0
00911 -21 -1628 Jan 24 18:14:58 37856 -44872 P -1.3600 0.3452 67.5S 120.8W 0
00952 -20 -1610 Feb 04 01:55:01 37461 -44649 P -1.3337 0.3905 68.5S 111.1E 0
00993 -19 -1592 Feb 15 09:22:30 37068 -44426 P -1.2977 0.4525 69.5S 14.4W 0
01035 -18 -1574 Feb 25 16:40:43 36677 -44203 P -1.2549 0.5262 70.3S 138.2W 0
01076 -17 -1556 Mar 07 23:47:10 36288 -43980 P -1.2031 0.6157 71.0S 100.4E 0
01116 -16 -1538 Mar 19 06:45:45 35901 -43757 P -1.1456 0.7152 71.4S 19.5W 0
01156 -15 -1520 Mar 29 13:32:25 35517 -43534 P -1.0788 0.8307 71.7S 136.6W 0
01196 -14 -1502 Apr 09 20:13:36 35134 -43311 A- -1.0080 0.9531 71.7S 107.4E 0
01236 -13 -1484 Apr 20 02:45:50 34753 -43088 A -0.9299 0.9493 57.7S 45.3W 21 506 04m24s
01276 -12 -1466 May 01 09:14:05 34375 -42865 A -0.8490 0.9511 45.4S 156.9W 32 336 04m54s
01316 -11 -1448 May 11 15:36:15 33998 -42642 A -0.7633 0.9518 34.5S 98.5E 40 271 05m26s
01357 -10 -1430 May 22 21:58:08 33624 -42419 A -0.6776 0.9517 24.9S 3.5W 47 239 05m58s
01398 -09 -1412 Jun 02 04:17:50 33251 -42196 A -0.5902 0.9509 16.1S 103.7W 54 222 06m30s
01439 -08 -1394 Jun 13 10:39:05 32881 -41973 A -0.5042 0.9497 8.3S 156.8E 60 214 06m58s
01481 -07 -1376 Jun 23 17:02:24 32513 -41750 A -0.4201 0.9478 1.5S 57.7E 65 211 07m22s
01523 -06 -1358 Jul 04 23:30:55 32147 -41527 A -0.3401 0.9456 4.1N 41.8W 70 213 07m38s
01565 -05 -1340 Jul 15 06:04:48 31783 -41304 A -0.2647 0.9430 8.4N 141.9W 75 218 07m50s
01608 -04 -1322 Jul 26 12:45:15 31421 -41081 A -0.1947 0.9402 11.5N 116.9E 79 226 07m57s
01652 -03 -1304 Aug 05 19:34:32 31061 -40858 A -0.1318 0.9373 13.3N 13.9E 83 235 08m02s
01695 -02 -1286 Aug 17 02:32:37 30703 -40635 A -0.0758 0.9343 13.8N 91.1W 86 246 08m08s
01740 -01 -1268 Aug 27 09:40:13 30347 -40412 A -0.0277 0.9313 13.1N 161.4E 88 257 08m15s
01785 00 -1250 Sep 07 16:57:41 29993 -40189 A 0.0126 0.9285 11.4N 51.2E 89 268 08m24s
01830 01 -1232 Sep 18 00:25:27 29642 -39966 A 0.0445 0.9261 8.8N 61.9W 87 278 08m36s
01875 02 -1214 Sep 29 08:02:25 29292 -39743 A 0.0692 0.9239 5.7N 177.5W 86 287 08m49s
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
01920 03 -1196 Oct 09 15:46:43 28945 -39520 A 0.0883 0.9223 2.1N 64.8E 85 295 09m03s
01965 04 -1178 Oct 20 23:38:55 28599 -39297 A 0.1010 0.9212 1.6S 55.0W 84 299 09m18s
02012 05 -1160 Oct 31 07:36:48 28256 -39074 A 0.1089 0.9207 5.4S 176.2W 84 302 09m32s
02058 06 -1142 Nov 11 15:38:43 27915 -38851 Am 0.1140 0.9209 8.9S 61.8E 84 301 09m43s
02104 07 -1124 Nov 21 23:42:19 27575 -38628 A 0.1179 0.9218 11.9S 60.4W 83 298 09m52s
02149 08 -1106 Dec 03 07:46:45 27238 -38405 A 0.1215 0.9234 14.2S 177.4E 83 291 09m54s
02192 09 -1088 Dec 13 15:50:10 26903 -38182 A 0.1263 0.9256 15.7S 55.8E 83 282 09m49s
02235 10 -1070 Dec 24 23:49:37 26570 -37959 A 0.1345 0.9286 16.1S 64.7W 82 270 09m35s
02278 11 -1051 Jan 04 07:45:10 26239 -37736 A 0.1463 0.9321 15.4S 175.7E 82 256 09m13s
02321 12 -1033 Jan 15 15:34:09 25911 -37513 A 0.1641 0.9363 13.5S 57.5E 81 240 08m40s
02364 13 -1015 Jan 25 23:17:06 25584 -37290 A 0.1874 0.9408 10.4S 59.6W 79 223 08m00s
02406 14 -0997 Feb 06 06:51:15 25259 -37067 A 0.2187 0.9458 6.1S 174.9W 77 205 07m12s
02447 15 -0979 Feb 16 14:18:54 24936 -36844 A 0.2559 0.9509 0.9S 70.7E 75 186 06m22s
02488 16 -0961 Feb 27 21:37:59 24616 -36621 A 0.3008 0.9562 5.2N 42.0W 72 167 05m29s
02529 17 -0943 Mar 10 04:49:16 24297 -36398 A 0.3529 0.9616 12.0N 153.4W 69 148 04m37s
02570 18 -0925 Mar 21 11:53:19 23981 -36175 A 0.4117 0.9668 19.6N 96.7E 66 131 03m47s
02610 19 -0907 Mar 31 18:51:35 23667 -35952 A 0.4761 0.9718 27.7N 12.2W 61 114 03m01s
02650 20 -0889 Apr 12 01:45:06 23354 -35729 A 0.5451 0.9765 36.2N 120.2W 57 100 02m21s
02691 21 -0871 Apr 22 08:33:40 23044 -35506 A 0.6188 0.9806 45.3N 132.7E 52 87 01m47s
02732 22 -0853 May 03 15:20:43 22736 -35283 A 0.6946 0.9842 54.7N 25.5E 46 78 01m20s
02771 23 -0835 May 13 22:06:10 22430 -35060 A 0.7727 0.9870 64.7N 82.3W 39 72 00m59s
02812 24 -0817 May 25 04:52:07 22126 -34837 A 0.8508 0.9891 75.2N 165.4E 31 74 00m45s
02853 25 -0799 Jun 04 11:39:33 21824 -34614 A 0.9286 0.9897 85.1N 5.0E 21 100 00m38s
02894 26 -0781 Jun 15 18:31:09 21524 -34391 P 1.0037 0.9815 67.1N 173.0E 0
02935 27 -0763 Jun 26 01:27:44 21227 -34168 P 1.0758 0.8521 66.1N 57.0E 0
02977 28 -0745 Jul 07 08:29:47 20931 -33945 P 1.1442 0.7287 65.1N 60.0W 0
03019 29 -0727 Jul 17 15:40:03 20637 -33722 P 1.2069 0.6153 64.2N 178.6W 0
03064 30 -0709 Jul 28 22:58:08 20346 -33499 P 1.2640 0.5116 63.4N 61.1E 0
03108 31 -0691 Aug 08 06:26:10 20056 -33276 P 1.3141 0.4206 62.6N 61.4W 0
03153 32 -0673 Aug 19 14:02:13 19769 -33053 P 1.3585 0.3398 62.0N 174.2E 0
03198 33 -0655 Aug 29 21:50:00 19483 -32830 P 1.3946 0.2742 61.5N 47.1E 0
03243 34 -0637 Sep 10 05:46:18 19200 -32607 P 1.4247 0.2194 61.1N 81.9W 0
03289 35 -0619 Sep 20 13:53:27 18919 -32384 P 1.4468 0.1791 60.9N 146.3E 0
03336 36 -0601 Oct 01 22:08:38 18640 -32161 P 1.4634 0.1489 60.8N 12.7E 0
03383 37 -0583 Oct 12 06:33:42 18363 -31938 P 1.4728 0.1316 61.0N 123.5W 0
03430 38 -0565 Oct 23 15:04:39 18088 -31715 P 1.4784 0.1212 61.2N 98.9E 0
03476 39 -0547 Nov 02 23:41:55 17815 -31492 P 1.4798 0.1182 61.7N 40.4W 0
03521 40 -0529 Nov 14 08:23:11 17544 -31269 P 1.4787 0.1195 62.2N 179.2E 0
03566 41 -0511 Nov 24 17:08:19 17275 -31046 P 1.4749 0.1257 63.0N 37.6E 0
03611 42 -0493 Dec 06 01:53:20 16984 -30823 P 1.4722 0.1296 63.8N 104.3W 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
03655 43 -0475 Dec 16 10:38:23 16668 -30600 P 1.4701 0.1323 64.8N 113.4E 0
03699 44 -0457 Dec 27 19:20:31 16361 -30377 P 1.4710 0.1292 65.8N 28.5W 0
03742 45 -0438 Jan 07 04:00:16 16062 -30154 P 1.4745 0.1211 66.8N 170.3W 0
03786 46 -0420 Jan 18 12:33:13 15772 -29931 P 1.4838 0.1019 67.8N 49.2E 0
03828 47 -0402 Jan 28 21:01:43 15489 -29708 P 1.4974 0.0746 68.8N 90.8W 0
03870 48 -0384 Feb 09 05:21:47 15213 -29485 Pe 1.5182 0.0332 69.7N 130.8E 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)"
