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 53 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 -1277 Sep 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0220 Feb 21. The total duration of Saros series 53 is 1496.50 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1277 Sep 06 14:49:01 TD Last Eclipse = 0220 Feb 21 17:30:46 TD Duration of Saros 53 = 1496.50 Years
Saros 53 is composed of 84 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 53 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 84 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 41 | 48.8% |
| Annular | A | 22 | 26.2% |
| Total | T | 17 | 20.2% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 4.8% |
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 53 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 53 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 43 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 42 | 97.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 84 eclipses in Saros 53: 20P 22A 4H 17T 21P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 53 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 53 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0916 Apr 09 | 03m26s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0538 Nov 23 | 00m06s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -0231 May 26 | 06m01s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -0447 Jan 16 | 01m46s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0465 Jan 05 | 01m20s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0520 Dec 03 | 00m11s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0141 Jul 19 | - | 0.88053 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0220 Feb 21 | - | 0.03376 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 53. 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 53.
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
01719 -33 -1277 Sep 06 14:49:01 30524 -40523 Pb 1.5325 0.0604 70.8N 149.9W 0
01763 -32 -1259 Sep 16 22:15:38 30169 -40300 P 1.5024 0.1122 71.4N 83.4E 0
01809 -31 -1241 Sep 28 05:50:36 29817 -40077 P 1.4788 0.1527 71.7N 45.9W 0
01854 -30 -1223 Oct 08 13:33:39 29466 -39854 P 1.4614 0.1825 71.7N 177.3W 0
01898 -29 -1205 Oct 19 21:23:26 29117 -39631 P 1.4493 0.2033 71.5N 49.6E 0
01943 -28 -1187 Oct 30 05:19:26 28771 -39408 P 1.4418 0.2161 71.0N 84.7W 0
01989 -27 -1169 Nov 10 13:18:03 28427 -39185 P 1.4363 0.2256 70.3N 140.9E 0
02035 -26 -1151 Nov 20 21:20:09 28084 -38962 P 1.4332 0.2307 69.5N 6.3E 0
02081 -25 -1133 Dec 02 05:21:10 27744 -38739 P 1.4287 0.2379 68.5N 127.4W 0
02126 -24 -1115 Dec 12 13:21:48 27406 -38516 P 1.4240 0.2455 67.4N 99.6E 0
02170 -23 -1097 Dec 23 21:17:02 27070 -38293 P 1.4143 0.2611 66.3N 31.4W 0
02213 -22 -1078 Jan 03 05:09:27 26736 -38070 P 1.4020 0.2809 65.2N 161.3W 0
02256 -21 -1060 Jan 14 12:54:16 26404 -37847 P 1.3827 0.3124 64.2N 71.3E 0
02299 -20 -1042 Jan 24 20:32:30 26074 -37624 P 1.3578 0.3535 63.3N 54.2W 0
02343 -19 -1024 Feb 05 04:01:24 25746 -37401 P 1.3246 0.4088 62.5N 177.1W 0
02385 -18 -1006 Feb 15 11:23:11 25420 -37178 P 1.2850 0.4754 61.8N 62.1E 0
02427 -17 -0988 Feb 26 18:36:12 25097 -36955 P 1.2372 0.5567 61.3N 56.4W 0
02468 -16 -0970 Mar 09 01:40:51 24775 -36732 P 1.1818 0.6518 60.9N 172.7W 0
02509 -15 -0952 Mar 19 08:38:04 24456 -36509 P 1.1192 0.7602 60.6N 73.0E 0
02550 -14 -0934 Mar 30 15:28:49 24138 -36286 P 1.0506 0.8800 60.5N 39.7W 0
02590 -13 -0916 Apr 09 22:13:31 23823 -36063 A 0.9759 0.9512 60.3N 126.6W 12 841 03m26s
02630 -12 -0898 Apr 21 04:53:45 23510 -35840 A 0.8964 0.9591 58.2N 151.3E 26 330 03m04s
02670 -11 -0880 May 01 11:30:53 23198 -35617 A 0.8132 0.9653 56.9N 61.5E 35 212 02m42s
02711 -10 -0862 May 12 18:07:22 22889 -35394 A 0.7284 0.9706 55.9N 30.1W 43 152 02m21s
02751 -09 -0844 May 23 00:42:20 22582 -35171 A 0.6413 0.9753 54.6N 121.9W 50 114 02m03s
02791 -08 -0826 Jun 03 07:20:24 22277 -34948 A 0.5557 0.9792 52.8N 144.8E 56 89 01m47s
02832 -07 -0808 Jun 13 14:00:41 21974 -34725 A 0.4711 0.9825 50.0N 49.9E 62 70 01m34s
02873 -06 -0790 Jun 24 20:47:17 21673 -34502 A 0.3903 0.9852 46.5N 47.8W 67 57 01m24s
02914 -05 -0772 Jul 05 03:37:59 21374 -34279 A 0.3119 0.9872 42.1N 147.9W 72 47 01m15s
02956 -04 -0754 Jul 16 10:37:53 21078 -34056 A 0.2401 0.9888 37.1N 108.4E 76 41 01m09s
02998 -03 -0736 Jul 26 17:45:01 20783 -33833 A 0.1735 0.9899 31.6N 1.7E 80 36 01m04s
03042 -02 -0718 Aug 07 01:02:14 20491 -33610 A 0.1142 0.9906 25.8N 108.4W 83 33 01m01s
03086 -01 -0700 Aug 17 08:28:33 20200 -33387 A 0.0615 0.9910 19.8N 138.5E 86 32 00m59s
03131 00 -0682 Aug 28 16:06:23 19912 -33164 A 0.0172 0.9913 13.7N 22.0E 89 31 00m57s
03176 01 -0664 Sep 07 23:54:24 19625 -32941 A -0.0191 0.9914 7.7N 97.3W 89 30 00m57s
03221 02 -0646 Sep 19 07:51:54 19341 -32718 A -0.0485 0.9916 1.9N 141.0E 87 30 00m55s
03266 03 -0628 Sep 29 15:59:34 19059 -32495 A -0.0702 0.9919 3.8S 16.7E 86 29 00m52s
03312 04 -0610 Oct 11 00:15:52 18779 -32272 A -0.0856 0.9925 9.1S 109.5W 85 27 00m48s
03359 05 -0592 Oct 21 08:40:14 18500 -32049 A -0.0949 0.9934 14.0S 122.7E 84 23 00m42s
03407 06 -0574 Nov 01 17:09:53 18225 -31826 A -0.1006 0.9947 18.4S 6.1W 84 19 00m33s
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
03454 07 -0556 Nov 12 01:45:24 17951 -31603 A -0.1020 0.9965 22.2S 135.7W 84 12 00m21s
03499 08 -0538 Nov 23 10:23:35 17679 -31380 A -0.1021 0.9989 25.3S 94.4E 84 4 00m06s
03544 09 -0520 Dec 03 19:03:27 17409 -31157 Hm -0.1014 1.0019 27.7S 35.3W 84 7 00m11s
03589 10 -0502 Dec 15 03:42:43 17141 -30934 H -0.1022 1.0054 29.2S 164.5W 84 19 00m32s
03634 11 -0484 Dec 25 12:20:30 16824 -30711 H -0.1049 1.0095 29.9S 66.6E 84 33 00m55s
03677 12 -0465 Jan 05 20:54:17 16513 -30488 H -0.1117 1.0141 29.8S 61.1W 83 49 01m20s
03721 13 -0447 Jan 16 05:23:22 16210 -30265 T -0.1232 1.0191 29.0S 172.2E 83 66 01m46s
03765 14 -0429 Jan 27 13:46:44 15916 -30042 T -0.1404 1.0245 27.6S 46.8E 82 84 02m12s
03807 15 -0411 Feb 06 22:04:04 15629 -29819 T -0.1635 1.0300 25.8S 77.3W 80 103 02m38s
03849 16 -0393 Feb 18 06:12:56 15350 -29596 T -0.1944 1.0358 23.8S 160.4E 79 123 03m03s
03891 17 -0375 Feb 28 14:15:18 15077 -29373 T -0.2312 1.0415 21.7S 39.6E 77 142 03m28s
03932 18 -0357 Mar 11 22:09:30 14811 -29150 T -0.2756 1.0471 19.7S 79.3W 74 162 03m53s
03971 19 -0339 Mar 22 05:58:20 14551 -28927 T -0.3252 1.0523 17.9S 163.0E 71 182 04m17s
04012 20 -0321 Apr 02 13:38:29 14298 -28704 T -0.3826 1.0571 16.8S 47.4E 67 202 04m41s
04053 21 -0303 Apr 12 21:15:09 14049 -28481 T -0.4435 1.0613 16.2S 67.4W 64 222 05m04s
04094 22 -0285 Apr 24 04:45:23 13807 -28258 T -0.5100 1.0649 16.5S 179.3E 59 244 05m25s
04134 23 -0267 May 04 12:13:28 13569 -28035 T -0.5788 1.0677 17.8S 66.3E 55 267 05m43s
04174 24 -0249 May 15 19:37:08 13336 -27812 T -0.6518 1.0695 20.4S 45.8W 49 295 05m56s
04215 25 -0231 May 26 03:01:25 13109 -27589 T -0.7246 1.0704 24.2S 158.4W 43 329 06m01s
04255 26 -0213 Jun 06 10:24:42 12885 -27366 T -0.7985 1.0702 29.5S 88.6E 37 377 05m55s
04296 27 -0195 Jun 16 17:49:40 12666 -27143 T -0.8712 1.0687 36.7S 25.4W 29 457 05m36s
04338 28 -0177 Jun 28 01:16:50 12452 -26920 T -0.9423 1.0656 46.9S 141.0W 19 650 04m59s
04381 29 -0159 Jul 08 08:48:26 12241 -26697 T- -1.0096 1.0051 66.8S 100.1E 0
04424 30 -0141 Jul 19 16:24:37 12034 -26474 P -1.0736 0.8805 67.8S 25.8W 0
04467 31 -0123 Jul 30 00:06:03 11831 -26251 P -1.1331 0.7648 68.8S 153.5W 0
04510 32 -0105 Aug 10 07:54:22 11631 -26028 P -1.1869 0.6604 69.7S 76.5E 0
04553 33 -0087 Aug 20 15:49:58 11435 -25805 P -1.2346 0.5682 70.5S 55.9W 0
04598 34 -0069 Aug 31 23:52:47 11241 -25582 P -1.2764 0.4878 71.1S 169.3E 0
04643 35 -0051 Sep 11 08:03:38 11051 -25359 P -1.3117 0.4204 71.6S 32.0E 0
04688 36 -0033 Sep 22 16:22:35 10864 -25136 P -1.3406 0.3658 71.8S 107.5W 0
04735 37 -0015 Oct 03 00:49:29 10679 -24913 P -1.3627 0.3242 71.7S 110.8E 0
04780 38 0003 Oct 14 09:21:59 10496 -24690 P -1.3804 0.2914 71.4S 32.1W 0
04826 39 0021 Oct 24 18:01:51 10316 -24467 P -1.3922 0.2698 70.9S 176.5W 0
04872 40 0039 Nov 05 02:46:19 10137 -24244 P -1.4007 0.2547 70.2S 38.5E 0
04917 41 0057 Nov 15 11:35:19 9960 -24021 P -1.4055 0.2463 69.3S 107.1W 0
04961 42 0075 Nov 26 20:25:25 9785 -23798 P -1.4094 0.2394 68.3S 107.8E 0
05005 43 0093 Dec 07 05:17:33 9611 -23575 P -1.4120 0.2352 67.2S 37.3W 0
05050 44 0111 Dec 18 14:08:22 9438 -23352 P -1.4157 0.2285 66.1S 178.5E 0
05094 45 0129 Dec 28 22:56:40 9266 -23129 P -1.4215 0.2179 65.1S 35.5E 0
05138 46 0148 Jan 09 07:40:46 9094 -22906 P -1.4308 0.2007 64.1S 106.1W 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
05180 47 0166 Jan 19 16:19:33 8923 -22683 P -1.4443 0.1756 63.3S 114.0E 0
05221 48 0184 Jan 31 00:51:23 8752 -22460 P -1.4631 0.1402 62.5S 23.9W 0
05262 49 0202 Feb 10 09:15:07 8581 -22237 P -1.4884 0.0928 61.9S 159.6W 0
05303 50 0220 Feb 21 17:30:46 8410 -22014 Pe -1.5199 0.0338 61.4S 66.9E 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)"
