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 78 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 -0463 Jun 09. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0817 Jul 18. The total duration of Saros series 78 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0463 Jun 09 14:14:46 TD Last Eclipse = 0817 Jul 18 01:39:41 TD Duration of Saros 78 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 78 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 78 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 22.2% |
| Annular | A | 9 | 12.5% |
| Total | T | 45 | 62.5% |
| 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 78 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 78 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 78: 9P 9A 2H 45T 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 78 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 78 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0301 Sep 15 | 01m16s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0157 Dec 11 | 00m09s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 0132 Jun 01 | 07m14s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -0102 Jan 12 | 00m39s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0120 Jan 01 | 00m21s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0139 Dec 21 | 00m05s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0319 Sep 03 | - | 0.97582 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0463 Jun 09 | - | 0.01741 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 78. 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 78.
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
03684 -36 -0463 Jun 09 14:14:46 16471 -30458 Pb -1.5420 0.0174 67.4S 39.2E 0
03728 -35 -0445 Jun 20 20:59:47 16170 -30235 P -1.4589 0.1643 66.4S 74.1W 0
03772 -34 -0427 Jul 01 03:49:51 15877 -30012 P -1.3784 0.3073 65.4S 171.8E 0
03814 -33 -0409 Jul 12 10:46:02 15591 -29789 P -1.3014 0.4445 64.4S 56.6E 0
03856 -32 -0391 Jul 22 17:50:17 15313 -29566 P -1.2296 0.5730 63.5S 60.3W 0
03898 -31 -0373 Aug 03 01:03:18 15041 -29343 P -1.1635 0.6914 62.7S 179.1W 0
03937 -30 -0355 Aug 13 08:24:46 14776 -29120 P -1.1031 0.7997 62.0S 60.3E 0
03976 -29 -0337 Aug 24 15:56:49 14517 -28897 P -1.0503 0.8944 61.5S 62.7W 0
04017 -28 -0319 Sep 03 23:38:48 14264 -28674 P -1.0048 0.9758 61.0S 172.0E 0
04058 -27 -0301 Sep 15 07:31:43 14016 -28451 A -0.9674 0.9823 55.7S 69.1E 14 248 01m16s
04099 -26 -0283 Sep 25 15:33:09 13774 -28228 A -0.9361 0.9842 54.6S 49.6W 20 157 01m08s
04139 -25 -0265 Oct 06 23:44:55 13537 -28005 A -0.9125 0.9855 55.6S 173.7W 24 123 01m01s
04179 -24 -0247 Oct 17 08:04:31 13305 -27782 A -0.8945 0.9867 57.8S 59.4E 26 103 00m55s
04220 -23 -0229 Oct 28 16:31:34 13078 -27559 A -0.8822 0.9882 61.0S 70.0W 28 88 00m47s
04260 -22 -0211 Nov 08 01:04:24 12856 -27336 A -0.8739 0.9898 64.8S 159.3E 29 74 00m40s
04301 -21 -0193 Nov 19 09:41:51 12637 -27113 A -0.8689 0.9919 68.9S 27.9E 29 58 00m31s
04343 -20 -0175 Nov 29 18:22:07 12423 -26890 A -0.8654 0.9944 73.3S 102.5W 30 39 00m21s
04387 -19 -0157 Dec 11 03:02:37 12213 -26667 A -0.8616 0.9976 77.4S 131.6E 30 17 00m09s
04430 -18 -0139 Dec 21 11:43:23 12006 -26444 H -0.8574 1.0012 80.8S 15.2E 31 8 00m05s
04473 -17 -0120 Jan 01 20:21:20 11804 -26221 H -0.8509 1.0056 81.9S 86.0W 31 37 00m21s
04516 -16 -0102 Jan 12 04:55:26 11604 -25998 T -0.8403 1.0104 79.5S 170.3E 32 67 00m39s
04559 -15 -0084 Jan 23 13:23:46 11409 -25775 T -0.8246 1.0158 74.8S 53.0E 34 97 01m01s
04604 -14 -0066 Feb 02 21:46:36 11216 -25552 T -0.8039 1.0217 69.1S 71.0W 36 125 01m26s
04649 -13 -0048 Feb 14 06:02:38 11026 -25329 T -0.7773 1.0279 62.7S 163.1E 39 150 01m54s
04694 -12 -0030 Feb 24 14:10:39 10839 -25106 T -0.7435 1.0343 55.7S 37.6E 42 172 02m27s
04741 -11 -0012 Mar 06 22:11:44 10654 -24883 T -0.7036 1.0407 48.4S 86.9W 45 191 03m03s
04786 -10 0006 Mar 18 06:05:10 10472 -24660 T -0.6566 1.0470 40.8S 150.3E 49 206 03m42s
04832 -09 0024 Mar 28 13:52:19 10291 -24437 T -0.6039 1.0531 33.0S 29.0E 53 219 04m24s
04878 -08 0042 Apr 08 21:32:29 10113 -24214 T -0.5449 1.0588 25.1S 90.4W 57 229 05m05s
04923 -07 0060 Apr 19 05:08:12 9936 -23991 T -0.4815 1.0640 17.3S 151.7E 61 238 05m45s
04967 -06 0078 Apr 30 12:39:31 9761 -23768 T -0.4136 1.0685 9.7S 35.2E 66 244 06m19s
05012 -05 0096 May 10 20:07:02 9587 -23545 T -0.3421 1.0723 2.3S 79.8W 70 250 06m47s
05057 -04 0114 May 22 03:32:43 9414 -23322 T -0.2684 1.0753 4.6N 166.2E 74 253 07m06s
05101 -03 0132 Jun 01 10:57:16 9242 -23099 T -0.1932 1.0775 10.9N 53.3E 79 255 07m14s
05145 -02 0150 Jun 12 18:23:03 9071 -22876 T -0.1187 1.0787 16.5N 59.3W 83 256 07m13s
05187 -01 0168 Jun 23 01:48:53 8900 -22653 T -0.0441 1.0792 21.3N 171.0W 88 256 07m03s
05227 00 0186 Jul 04 09:18:54 8729 -22430 Tm 0.0275 1.0787 25.0N 77.0E 88 254 06m47s
05268 01 0204 Jul 14 16:51:47 8558 -22207 T 0.0968 1.0774 27.6N 35.2W 84 252 06m27s
05309 02 0222 Jul 26 00:30:26 8387 -21984 T 0.1612 1.0754 29.0N 148.5W 81 248 06m06s
05350 03 0240 Aug 05 08:13:15 8215 -21761 T 0.2221 1.0728 29.4N 97.2E 77 242 05m45s
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
05391 04 0258 Aug 16 16:04:16 8043 -21538 T 0.2761 1.0696 28.7N 19.4W 74 235 05m25s
05432 05 0276 Aug 27 00:01:24 7870 -21315 T 0.3249 1.0660 27.3N 137.9W 71 227 05m06s
05472 06 0294 Sep 07 08:06:29 7697 -21092 T 0.3671 1.0621 25.2N 101.0E 68 218 04m48s
05511 07 0312 Sep 17 16:18:56 7523 -20869 T 0.4032 1.0581 22.8N 22.5W 66 207 04m33s
05551 08 0330 Sep 29 00:40:17 7348 -20646 T 0.4313 1.0540 20.0N 148.8W 64 196 04m19s
05591 09 0348 Oct 09 09:08:38 7172 -20423 T 0.4540 1.0501 17.2N 82.8E 63 185 04m07s
05631 10 0366 Oct 20 17:43:30 6995 -20200 T 0.4710 1.0464 14.4N 47.5W 62 173 03m56s
05672 11 0384 Oct 31 02:24:17 6818 -19977 T 0.4831 1.0431 11.9N 179.4W 61 163 03m47s
05713 12 0402 Nov 11 11:10:32 6640 -19754 T 0.4904 1.0401 9.6N 47.2E 61 153 03m39s
05754 13 0420 Nov 21 19:59:16 6461 -19531 T 0.4956 1.0377 7.9N 86.8W 60 145 03m33s
05795 14 0438 Dec 03 04:50:38 6283 -19308 T 0.4982 1.0357 6.7N 138.5E 60 138 03m27s
05836 15 0456 Dec 13 13:41:28 6105 -19085 T 0.5010 1.0342 6.3N 4.0E 60 133 03m23s
05879 16 0474 Dec 24 22:31:52 5927 -18862 T 0.5039 1.0332 6.7N 130.4W 60 129 03m20s
05922 17 0493 Jan 04 07:17:22 5751 -18639 T 0.5104 1.0326 8.1N 96.3E 59 128 03m16s
05966 18 0511 Jan 15 16:00:05 5574 -18416 T 0.5189 1.0323 10.3N 36.4W 59 128 03m14s
06011 19 0529 Jan 26 00:35:32 5397 -18193 T 0.5327 1.0323 13.6N 167.6W 58 129 03m10s
06056 20 0547 Feb 06 09:04:44 5222 -17970 T 0.5516 1.0325 17.7N 62.5E 56 131 03m07s
06102 21 0565 Feb 16 17:24:37 5048 -17747 T 0.5777 1.0327 22.8N 65.5W 55 134 03m02s
06148 22 0583 Feb 28 01:37:28 4876 -17524 T 0.6092 1.0329 28.7N 167.8E 52 139 02m55s
06193 23 0601 Mar 10 09:40:34 4704 -17301 T 0.6483 1.0327 35.3N 43.1E 49 144 02m47s
06238 24 0619 Mar 21 17:34:36 4534 -17078 T 0.6944 1.0323 42.8N 80.0W 46 150 02m36s
06283 25 0637 Apr 01 01:19:52 4366 -16855 T 0.7473 1.0312 50.9N 158.3E 41 158 02m21s
06329 26 0655 Apr 12 08:56:58 4199 -16632 T 0.8065 1.0296 59.8N 36.8E 36 169 02m05s
06375 27 0673 Apr 22 16:26:17 4034 -16409 T 0.8714 1.0270 69.6N 88.0W 29 188 01m44s
06420 28 0691 May 03 23:48:12 3870 -16186 T 0.9415 1.0229 78.9N 123.0E 19 238 01m20s
06464 29 0709 May 14 07:04:35 3709 -15963 P 1.0154 0.9736 69.1N 68.7W 0
06506 30 0727 May 25 14:15:57 3551 -15740 P 1.0925 0.8295 68.1N 171.2E 0
06548 31 0745 Jun 04 21:22:42 3394 -15517 P 1.1724 0.6809 67.1N 52.9E 0
06590 32 0763 Jun 16 04:27:29 3241 -15294 P 1.2526 0.5326 66.1N 64.5W 0
06631 33 0781 Jun 26 11:30:45 3090 -15071 P 1.3330 0.3849 65.1N 178.9E 0
06672 34 0799 Jul 07 18:35:08 2942 -14848 P 1.4112 0.2426 64.2N 62.4E 0
06713 35 0817 Jul 18 01:39:41 2798 -14625 Pe 1.4880 0.1042 63.4N 53.8W 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)"
