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 61 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 -0973 May 10. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0289 Jun 05. The total duration of Saros series 61 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0973 May 10 20:50:26 TD Last Eclipse = 0289 Jun 05 14:20:04 TD Duration of Saros 61 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 61 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 61 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 21.1% |
| Annular | A | 52 | 73.2% |
| Total | T | 3 | 4.2% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 1 | 1.4% |
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 61 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 61 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 54 | 96.4% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 61: 8P 3T 1H 52A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 61 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 61 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0162 Sep 08 | 08m39s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0757 Sep 17 | 00m13s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -0811 Aug 15 | 00m42s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -0793 Aug 26 | 00m29s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0775 Sep 06 | 00m10s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0775 Sep 06 | 00m10s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0847 Jul 25 | - | 0.91147 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0973 May 10 | - | 0.03787 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 61. 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 61.
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
02462 -36 -0973 May 10 20:50:26 24826 -36767 Pb 1.5114 0.0379 61.8N 150.2W 0
02503 -35 -0955 May 21 04:09:23 24506 -36544 P 1.4428 0.1701 62.4N 89.6E 0
02544 -34 -0937 Jun 01 11:26:28 24188 -36321 P 1.3729 0.3043 63.1N 30.2W 0
02584 -33 -0919 Jun 11 18:43:06 23872 -36098 P 1.3032 0.4376 63.9N 150.2W 0
02624 -32 -0901 Jun 23 02:01:09 23559 -35875 P 1.2351 0.5666 64.8N 89.2E 0
02664 -31 -0883 Jul 03 09:21:33 23247 -35652 P 1.1699 0.6894 65.7N 32.3W 0
02705 -30 -0865 Jul 14 16:44:39 22938 -35429 P 1.1075 0.8054 66.7N 154.8W 0
02745 -29 -0847 Jul 25 00:12:34 22630 -35206 P 1.0497 0.9115 67.7N 81.0E 0
02785 -28 -0829 Aug 05 07:46:01 22325 -34983 T+ 0.9972 1.0064 68.7N 45.2W 0
02826 -27 -0811 Aug 15 15:26:27 22022 -34760 T 0.9514 1.0121 79.2N 127.4E 17 140 00m42s
02867 -26 -0793 Aug 26 23:12:24 21720 -34537 T 0.9110 1.0076 73.2N 26.9W 24 65 00m29s
02908 -25 -0775 Sep 06 07:07:03 21421 -34314 H 0.8785 1.0025 66.2N 160.1W 28 18 00m10s
02949 -24 -0757 Sep 17 15:08:17 21124 -34091 A 0.8522 0.9970 59.6N 70.9E 31 20 00m13s
02991 -23 -0739 Sep 27 23:17:35 20829 -33868 A 0.8331 0.9916 53.8N 57.9W 33 53 00m40s
03035 -22 -0721 Oct 09 07:32:07 20536 -33645 A 0.8192 0.9863 48.5N 172.9E 35 84 01m09s
03079 -21 -0703 Oct 19 15:53:39 20245 -33422 A 0.8117 0.9813 44.1N 42.6E 35 113 01m40s
03123 -20 -0685 Oct 31 00:18:57 19957 -33199 A 0.8080 0.9767 40.3N 88.4W 36 140 02m11s
03168 -19 -0667 Nov 10 08:47:36 19670 -32976 A 0.8077 0.9726 37.3N 140.0E 36 166 02m42s
03213 -18 -0649 Nov 21 17:17:39 19385 -32753 A 0.8092 0.9690 34.9N 8.1E 36 189 03m11s
03258 -17 -0631 Dec 02 01:48:06 19103 -32530 A 0.8116 0.9662 33.0N 124.0W 35 209 03m35s
03305 -16 -0613 Dec 13 10:16:03 18822 -32307 A 0.8129 0.9638 31.7N 104.6E 35 225 03m55s
03352 -15 -0595 Dec 23 18:39:43 18544 -32084 A 0.8114 0.9622 30.6N 25.7W 36 235 04m09s
03399 -14 -0576 Jan 04 02:58:21 18268 -31861 A 0.8066 0.9611 29.9N 154.7W 36 238 04m17s
03446 -13 -0558 Jan 14 11:10:14 17993 -31638 A 0.7966 0.9606 29.2N 78.3E 37 234 04m19s
03491 -12 -0540 Jan 25 19:12:59 17721 -31415 A 0.7801 0.9606 28.6N 46.1W 39 225 04m15s
03536 -11 -0522 Feb 05 03:06:44 17451 -31192 A 0.7570 0.9609 28.2N 167.8W 41 212 04m08s
03581 -10 -0504 Feb 16 10:50:13 17183 -30969 A 0.7261 0.9616 28.0N 73.6E 43 197 03m59s
03626 -09 -0486 Feb 26 18:24:09 16874 -30746 A 0.6880 0.9624 28.0N 42.2W 46 182 03m48s
03670 -08 -0468 Mar 09 01:46:01 16561 -30523 A 0.6406 0.9633 28.1N 154.3W 50 169 03m39s
03714 -07 -0450 Mar 20 08:59:06 16257 -30300 A 0.5865 0.9641 28.6N 96.5E 54 157 03m31s
03758 -06 -0432 Mar 30 16:01:21 15961 -30077 A 0.5243 0.9646 29.0N 9.4W 58 147 03m27s
03801 -05 -0414 Apr 10 22:55:21 15673 -29854 A 0.4558 0.9650 29.5N 112.7W 63 140 03m25s
03843 -04 -0396 Apr 21 05:40:33 15393 -29631 A 0.3807 0.9649 29.7N 146.8E 67 136 03m29s
03885 -03 -0378 May 02 12:19:43 15119 -29408 A 0.3012 0.9645 29.5N 48.2E 72 134 03m37s
03926 -02 -0360 May 12 18:53:04 14852 -29185 A 0.2177 0.9636 28.6N 48.7W 77 135 03m52s
03965 -01 -0342 May 24 01:21:41 14592 -28962 Am 0.1308 0.9622 26.9N 144.4W 82 138 04m13s
04005 00 -0324 Jun 03 07:48:31 14337 -28739 A 0.0434 0.9603 24.3N 120.0E 87 144 04m41s
04046 01 -0306 Jun 14 14:14:06 14088 -28516 A -0.0442 0.9579 20.8N 24.2E 88 153 05m14s
04087 02 -0288 Jun 24 20:41:21 13844 -28293 A -0.1300 0.9551 16.4N 72.7W 83 165 05m53s
04127 03 -0270 Jul 06 03:09:49 13606 -28070 A -0.2141 0.9519 11.2N 170.6W 78 180 06m34s
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
04167 04 -0252 Jul 16 09:43:49 13373 -27847 A -0.2930 0.9483 5.4N 89.4E 73 199 07m13s
04208 05 -0234 Jul 27 16:21:57 13144 -27624 A -0.3678 0.9445 0.9S 12.4W 68 220 07m46s
04249 06 -0216 Aug 06 23:07:26 12920 -27401 A -0.4360 0.9404 7.6S 116.6W 64 244 08m12s
04290 07 -0198 Aug 18 05:59:42 12700 -27178 A -0.4984 0.9363 14.4S 137.0E 60 272 08m28s
04332 08 -0180 Aug 28 13:02:00 12485 -26955 A -0.5523 0.9323 21.3S 27.7E 56 301 08m37s
04375 09 -0162 Sep 08 20:12:38 12274 -26732 A -0.5988 0.9284 28.2S 83.9W 53 332 08m39s
04418 10 -0144 Sep 19 03:32:37 12066 -26509 A -0.6376 0.9247 34.8S 162.2E 50 364 08m36s
04461 11 -0126 Sep 30 11:01:41 11862 -26286 A -0.6688 0.9214 41.3S 46.2E 48 395 08m30s
04504 12 -0108 Oct 10 18:39:51 11662 -26063 A -0.6925 0.9186 47.3S 71.7W 46 424 08m21s
04547 13 -0090 Oct 22 02:25:08 11465 -25840 A -0.7103 0.9164 53.1S 169.6E 44 450 08m11s
04591 14 -0072 Nov 01 10:17:08 11272 -25617 A -0.7225 0.9147 58.4S 50.6E 43 470 08m01s
04636 15 -0054 Nov 12 18:13:57 11081 -25394 A -0.7309 0.9137 63.2S 67.7W 43 483 07m49s
04681 16 -0036 Nov 23 02:15:09 10893 -25171 A -0.7359 0.9134 67.2S 176.0E 42 490 07m38s
04728 17 -0018 Dec 04 10:16:40 10708 -24948 A -0.7407 0.9139 70.2S 63.3E 42 492 07m25s
04774 18 0000 Dec 14 18:19:36 10525 -24725 A -0.7446 0.9150 71.8S 46.2W 42 488 07m12s
04820 19 0018 Dec 26 02:19:23 10344 -24502 A -0.7515 0.9167 71.7S 153.7W 41 483 06m56s
04866 20 0037 Jan 05 10:17:02 10165 -24279 A -0.7602 0.9191 70.1S 97.6E 40 474 06m40s
04911 21 0055 Jan 16 18:07:44 9988 -24056 A -0.7752 0.9219 67.7S 12.1W 39 467 06m22s
04955 22 0073 Jan 27 01:54:29 9812 -23833 A -0.7938 0.9252 64.7S 123.8W 37 461 06m02s
04999 23 0091 Feb 07 09:32:43 9638 -23610 A -0.8201 0.9288 61.9S 125.2E 35 463 05m42s
05044 24 0109 Feb 17 17:04:01 9465 -23387 A -0.8523 0.9325 59.5S 15.2E 31 475 05m21s
05088 25 0127 Mar 01 00:25:56 9292 -23164 A -0.8926 0.9361 58.1S 92.1W 26 518 05m00s
05132 26 0145 Mar 11 07:41:10 9121 -22941 A -0.9387 0.9395 57.9S 164.2E 20 643 04m38s
05174 27 0163 Mar 22 14:48:14 8950 -22718 As -0.9922 0.9409 60.3S 75.0E 6 - 04m11s
05215 28 0181 Apr 01 21:47:59 8779 -22495 P -1.0519 0.8780 60.8S 27.5W 0
05256 29 0199 Apr 13 04:41:40 8608 -22272 P -1.1170 0.7667 61.1S 140.3W 0
05297 30 0217 Apr 23 11:30:26 8437 -22049 P -1.1862 0.6472 61.5S 108.0E 0
05338 31 0235 May 04 18:14:55 8265 -21826 P -1.2592 0.5197 62.0S 2.8W 0
05379 32 0253 May 15 00:56:59 8093 -21603 P -1.3347 0.3868 62.7S 113.2W 0
05420 33 0271 May 26 07:37:54 7921 -21380 P -1.4113 0.2507 63.5S 136.5E 0
05460 34 0289 Jun 05 14:20:04 7748 -21157 Pe -1.4873 0.1149 64.3S 25.6E 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)"
