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 41 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 -1588 May 28. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0308 Jul 05. The total duration of Saros series 41 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1588 May 28 19:00:17 TD Last Eclipse = -0308 Jul 05 20:57:08 TD Duration of Saros 41 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 41 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 41 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 19 | 26.4% |
| Total | T | 37 | 51.4% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.8% |
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 41 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 41 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 57 | 98.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.7% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 41: 7P 19A 2H 37T 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 41 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 41 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1318 Nov 07 | 05m36s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1137 Feb 23 | 00m20s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -0903 Jul 13 | 05m21s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1083 Mar 27 | 01m33s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1101 Mar 17 | 00m59s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1119 Mar 06 | 00m21s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0416 May 02 | - | 0.91800 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0308 Jul 05 | - | 0.05856 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 41. 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 41.
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
01004 -34 -1588 May 28 19:00:17 36975 -44373 Pb 1.5121 0.0847 62.4N 83.4W 0
01045 -33 -1570 Jun 09 01:21:29 36585 -44150 P 1.4258 0.2328 63.1N 170.4E 0
01086 -32 -1552 Jun 19 07:45:20 36196 -43927 P 1.3403 0.3798 63.9N 63.4E 0
01126 -31 -1534 Jun 30 14:17:09 35810 -43704 P 1.2601 0.5177 64.9N 46.0W 0
01165 -30 -1516 Jul 10 20:55:20 35425 -43481 P 1.1840 0.6484 65.9N 157.2W 0
01205 -29 -1498 Jul 22 03:42:06 35043 -43258 P 1.1138 0.7687 66.9N 88.9E 0
01245 -28 -1480 Aug 01 10:37:55 34663 -43035 P 1.0501 0.8778 67.9N 27.7W 0
01285 -27 -1462 Aug 12 17:44:37 34285 -42812 An 0.9943 0.9375 72.8N 153.1W 4 - 03m45s
01326 -26 -1444 Aug 23 01:01:34 33909 -42589 A 0.9460 0.9403 78.4N 24.5E 18 701 04m06s
01367 -25 -1426 Sep 03 08:29:04 33535 -42366 A 0.9055 0.9410 71.8N 120.0W 25 519 04m24s
01408 -24 -1408 Sep 13 16:07:15 33163 -42143 A 0.8732 0.9414 64.7N 112.0E 29 445 04m41s
01449 -23 -1390 Sep 24 23:55:59 32793 -41920 A 0.8486 0.9417 58.2N 13.5W 32 405 04m58s
01490 -22 -1372 Oct 05 07:52:53 32426 -41697 A 0.8301 0.9423 52.4N 139.3W 34 380 05m12s
01532 -21 -1354 Oct 16 15:58:40 32060 -41474 A 0.8181 0.9430 47.4N 93.6E 35 362 05m24s
01574 -20 -1336 Oct 27 00:10:24 31696 -41251 A 0.8100 0.9442 42.9N 34.5W 36 347 05m33s
01617 -19 -1318 Nov 07 08:28:14 31335 -41028 A 0.8063 0.9459 39.2N 163.9W 36 334 05m36s
01661 -18 -1300 Nov 17 16:47:32 30976 -40805 A 0.8029 0.9482 36.0N 66.4E 36 317 05m33s
01705 -17 -1282 Nov 29 01:10:19 30618 -40582 A 0.8014 0.9512 33.4N 64.0W 36 299 05m22s
01750 -16 -1264 Dec 09 09:31:31 30263 -40359 A 0.7974 0.9548 31.1N 166.0E 37 274 05m03s
01796 -15 -1246 Dec 20 17:51:39 29910 -40136 A 0.7919 0.9591 29.3N 36.4E 37 244 04m36s
01841 -14 -1228 Dec 31 02:06:33 29558 -39913 A 0.7810 0.9641 27.5N 91.7W 38 208 04m02s
01886 -13 -1209 Jan 11 10:17:51 29209 -39690 A 0.7663 0.9697 26.1N 141.3E 40 169 03m21s
01931 -12 -1191 Jan 21 18:22:28 28862 -39467 A 0.7449 0.9758 24.8N 16.3E 42 128 02m36s
01976 -11 -1173 Feb 02 02:20:12 28517 -39244 A 0.7170 0.9825 23.7N 106.5W 44 88 01m50s
02023 -10 -1155 Feb 12 10:10:21 28175 -39021 A 0.6817 0.9893 22.9N 133.1E 47 50 01m04s
02069 -09 -1137 Feb 23 17:53:24 27834 -38798 A 0.6398 0.9965 22.5N 15.0E 50 16 00m20s
02114 -08 -1119 Mar 06 01:28:48 27495 -38575 H 0.5905 1.0037 22.4N 100.6W 54 16 00m21s
02159 -07 -1101 Mar 17 08:57:26 27159 -38352 H 0.5345 1.0108 22.5N 145.9E 58 43 00m59s
02202 -06 -1083 Mar 27 16:20:02 26824 -38129 T 0.4725 1.0177 23.0N 34.4E 62 68 01m33s
02245 -05 -1065 Apr 07 23:38:13 26491 -37906 T 0.4057 1.0242 23.5N 75.6W 66 89 02m06s
02288 -04 -1047 Apr 18 06:51:18 26161 -37683 T 0.3337 1.0303 24.0N 176.1E 70 108 02m36s
02332 -03 -1029 Apr 29 14:02:41 25833 -37460 T 0.2592 1.0357 24.2N 68.6E 75 124 03m04s
02375 -02 -1011 May 09 21:12:05 25506 -37237 T 0.1822 1.0406 24.1N 38.3W 79 138 03m32s
02417 -01 -0993 May 21 04:22:36 25182 -37014 T 0.1049 1.0447 23.3N 145.4W 84 150 03m58s
02457 00 -0975 May 31 11:32:22 24860 -36791 T 0.0261 1.0480 21.8N 107.6E 88 160 04m22s
02498 01 -0957 Jun 11 18:46:35 24540 -36568 T -0.0498 1.0506 19.6N 0.8W 87 168 04m44s
02539 02 -0939 Jun 22 02:03:20 24222 -36345 Tm -0.1240 1.0523 16.5N 110.3W 83 175 05m02s
02579 03 -0921 Jul 03 09:26:14 23906 -36122 T -0.1939 1.0534 12.8N 138.1E 79 180 05m15s
02619 04 -0903 Jul 13 16:53:45 23592 -35899 T -0.2605 1.0537 8.3N 24.8E 75 184 05m21s
02659 05 -0885 Jul 25 00:29:59 23280 -35676 T -0.3204 1.0535 3.4N 91.4W 71 187 05m20s
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
02700 06 -0867 Aug 04 08:13:12 22971 -35453 T -0.3746 1.0526 1.8S 150.2E 68 188 05m11s
02741 07 -0849 Aug 15 16:04:24 22663 -35230 T -0.4226 1.0515 7.4S 29.4E 65 188 04m58s
02781 08 -0831 Aug 26 00:04:29 22358 -35007 T -0.4635 1.0499 13.1S 94.0W 62 186 04m40s
02822 09 -0813 Sep 06 08:13:35 22054 -34784 T -0.4973 1.0482 18.7S 140.3E 60 184 04m22s
02863 10 -0795 Sep 16 16:31:48 21753 -34561 T -0.5238 1.0465 24.4S 12.2E 58 181 04m03s
02904 11 -0777 Sep 28 00:57:17 21453 -34338 T -0.5447 1.0449 29.9S 117.4W 57 177 03m46s
02945 12 -0759 Oct 08 09:31:44 21156 -34115 T -0.5584 1.0434 35.2S 111.1E 56 174 03m31s
02987 13 -0741 Oct 19 18:12:23 20861 -33892 T -0.5676 1.0423 40.3S 21.3W 55 171 03m19s
03031 14 -0723 Oct 30 02:58:53 20568 -33669 T -0.5722 1.0416 45.0S 154.2W 55 169 03m10s
03075 15 -0705 Nov 10 11:48:56 20277 -33446 T -0.5744 1.0413 49.4S 73.1E 55 169 03m04s
03119 16 -0687 Nov 20 20:42:24 19988 -33223 T -0.5741 1.0414 53.1S 58.9W 55 170 03m01s
03164 17 -0669 Dec 02 05:36:05 19701 -33000 T -0.5739 1.0421 56.2S 170.7E 55 172 03m01s
03209 18 -0651 Dec 12 14:29:02 19416 -32777 T -0.5747 1.0432 58.2S 41.9E 55 177 03m03s
03254 19 -0633 Dec 23 23:19:32 19133 -32554 T -0.5777 1.0448 59.1S 85.2W 54 184 03m08s
03301 20 -0614 Jan 03 08:06:45 18852 -32331 T -0.5839 1.0467 58.9S 148.7E 54 192 03m13s
03348 21 -0596 Jan 14 16:47:19 18574 -32108 T -0.5957 1.0489 57.7S 23.7E 53 202 03m21s
03395 22 -0578 Jan 25 01:22:11 18297 -31885 T -0.6123 1.0512 55.8S 100.9W 52 214 03m28s
03442 23 -0560 Feb 05 09:48:53 18023 -31662 T -0.6358 1.0536 53.5S 135.4E 50 229 03m37s
03487 24 -0542 Feb 15 18:09:16 17750 -31439 T -0.6648 1.0558 51.0S 12.2E 48 245 03m45s
03532 25 -0524 Feb 27 02:19:09 17480 -31216 T -0.7025 1.0578 48.9S 108.9W 45 265 03m52s
03577 26 -0506 Mar 09 10:22:57 17212 -30993 T -0.7454 1.0594 47.3S 130.9E 42 288 03m59s
03622 27 -0488 Mar 19 18:16:39 16908 -30770 T -0.7965 1.0603 46.6S 13.2E 37 321 04m03s
03666 28 -0470 Mar 31 02:04:46 16594 -30547 T -0.8523 1.0604 47.1S 102.9W 31 372 04m03s
03710 29 -0452 Apr 10 09:43:44 16289 -30324 T -0.9156 1.0592 49.7S 145.0E 23 476 03m55s
03753 30 -0434 Apr 21 17:18:50 15993 -30101 T -0.9821 1.0556 56.5S 40.8E 10 1017 03m29s
03796 31 -0416 May 02 00:47:10 15704 -29878 P -1.0535 0.9180 61.6S 64.2W 0
03838 32 -0398 May 13 08:12:32 15423 -29655 P -1.1272 0.7758 62.1S 174.3E 0
03880 33 -0380 May 23 15:33:57 15148 -29432 P -1.2034 0.6288 62.8S 53.6E 0
03921 34 -0362 Jun 03 22:54:45 14881 -29209 P -1.2794 0.4826 63.6S 67.1W 0
03960 35 -0344 Jun 14 06:14:22 14619 -28986 P -1.3557 0.3365 64.5S 172.1E 0
04000 36 -0326 Jun 25 13:34:41 14364 -28763 P -1.4306 0.1943 65.5S 51.0E 0
04041 37 -0308 Jul 05 20:57:08 14115 -28540 Pe -1.5027 0.0586 66.5S 71.1W 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)"
