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 88 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 -0246 Oct 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 1233 Mar 12. The total duration of Saros series 88 is 1478.47 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0246 Oct 06 21:20:58 TD Last Eclipse = 1233 Mar 12 12:10:19 TD Duration of Saros 88 = 1478.47 Years
Saros 88 is composed of 83 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 88 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 83 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 40 | 48.2% |
| Annular | A | 26 | 31.3% |
| Total | T | 13 | 15.7% |
| 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 88 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 88 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 43 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 95.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 2 | 4.7% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 83 eclipses in Saros 88: 20P 13T 4H 26A 20P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 88 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 88 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0854 Jul 28 | 03m47s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0421 Nov 11 | 00m25s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 0187 Jun 24 | 05m31s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 0331 Sep 18 | 01m58s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0349 Sep 28 | 01m27s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0403 Nov 01 | 00m01s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0097 Apr 30 | - | 0.88180 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1233 Mar 12 | - | 0.01211 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 88. 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 88.
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
04182 -49 -0246 Oct 06 21:20:58 13293 -27770 Pb -1.5237 0.0238 60.9S 176.1E 0
04223 -48 -0228 Oct 17 05:57:25 13066 -27547 P -1.5079 0.0539 61.1S 37.4E 0
04264 -47 -0210 Oct 28 14:39:29 12844 -27324 P -1.4962 0.0761 61.5S 102.9W 0
04305 -46 -0192 Nov 07 23:26:28 12626 -27101 P -1.4885 0.0906 62.1S 115.5E 0
04347 -45 -0174 Nov 19 08:17:16 12412 -26878 P -1.4838 0.0993 62.8S 27.2W 0
04391 -44 -0156 Nov 29 17:10:43 12202 -26655 P -1.4815 0.1033 63.6S 170.8W 0
04433 -43 -0138 Dec 11 02:03:35 11995 -26432 P -1.4787 0.1081 64.5S 45.5E 0
04476 -42 -0120 Dec 21 10:55:43 11793 -26209 P -1.4757 0.1131 65.5S 98.4W 0
04519 -41 -0101 Jan 01 19:44:17 11594 -25986 P -1.4699 0.1233 66.5S 118.1E 0
04562 -40 -0083 Jan 12 04:29:23 11398 -25763 P -1.4617 0.1379 67.6S 24.9W 0
04607 -39 -0065 Jan 23 13:07:21 11205 -25540 P -1.4482 0.1625 68.6S 166.7W 0
04652 -38 -0047 Feb 02 21:40:10 11016 -25317 P -1.4308 0.1946 69.6S 52.2E 0
04697 -37 -0029 Feb 14 06:04:21 10829 -25094 P -1.4069 0.2392 70.4S 87.3W 0
04744 -36 -0011 Feb 24 14:21:12 10644 -24871 P -1.3773 0.2949 71.0S 134.5E 0
04789 -35 0007 Mar 07 22:28:54 10462 -24648 P -1.3406 0.3647 71.5S 1.9W 0
04835 -34 0025 Mar 18 06:29:39 10282 -24425 P -1.2985 0.4452 71.7S 136.8W 0
04881 -33 0043 Mar 29 14:22:23 10104 -24202 P -1.2502 0.5381 71.7S 90.2E 0
04926 -32 0061 Apr 08 22:07:32 9927 -23979 P -1.1958 0.6431 71.5S 40.7W 0
04970 -31 0079 Apr 20 05:46:38 9752 -23756 P -1.1365 0.7577 71.0S 169.8W 0
05015 -30 0097 Apr 30 13:19:49 9578 -23533 P -1.0723 0.8818 70.4S 63.1E 0
05059 -29 0115 May 11 20:48:54 9405 -23310 T- -1.0051 1.0117 69.6S 62.5W 0
05103 -28 0133 May 22 04:13:35 9233 -23087 T -0.9345 1.0601 48.9S 163.6E 20 562 04m32s
05147 -27 0151 Jun 02 11:36:59 9062 -22864 T -0.8630 1.0613 37.8S 45.5E 30 400 05m06s
05189 -26 0169 Jun 12 18:58:55 8891 -22641 T -0.7904 1.0610 29.2S 69.8W 38 328 05m25s
05229 -25 0187 Jun 24 02:20:57 8720 -22418 T -0.7183 1.0595 22.2S 176.2E 44 281 05m31s
05270 -24 0205 Jul 04 09:44:16 8549 -22195 T -0.6478 1.0570 16.7S 62.7E 50 246 05m23s
05311 -23 0223 Jul 15 17:10:13 8377 -21972 T -0.5800 1.0536 12.5S 50.7W 54 216 05m05s
05352 -22 0241 Jul 26 00:40:00 8206 -21749 T -0.5160 1.0495 9.7S 164.5W 59 190 04m40s
05393 -21 0259 Aug 06 08:13:39 8034 -21526 T -0.4558 1.0447 8.0S 81.0E 63 166 04m09s
05434 -20 0277 Aug 16 15:53:34 7861 -21303 T -0.4014 1.0395 7.6S 34.9W 66 143 03m37s
05474 -19 0295 Aug 27 23:39:35 7688 -21080 T -0.3527 1.0338 8.2S 152.1W 69 121 03m03s
05513 -18 0313 Sep 07 07:32:57 7513 -20857 T -0.3108 1.0280 9.8S 88.7E 72 99 02m30s
05553 -17 0331 Sep 18 15:33:09 7338 -20634 T -0.2754 1.0221 12.1S 32.1W 74 78 01m58s
05593 -16 0349 Sep 28 23:41:03 7162 -20411 H3 -0.2467 1.0163 15.0S 154.9W 76 57 01m27s
05633 -15 0367 Oct 10 07:55:49 6986 -20188 H -0.2245 1.0105 18.3S 80.7E 77 37 00m57s
05674 -14 0385 Oct 20 16:16:17 6808 -19965 H -0.2077 1.0052 21.7S 44.9W 78 18 00m28s
05715 -13 0403 Nov 01 00:43:05 6630 -19742 H -0.1968 1.0001 25.1S 171.8W 79 1 00m01s
05756 -12 0421 Nov 11 09:13:49 6452 -19519 A -0.1901 0.9956 28.3S 60.7E 79 16 00m25s
05797 -11 0439 Nov 22 17:48:16 6273 -19296 A -0.1870 0.9916 31.1S 67.3W 79 30 00m48s
05838 -10 0457 Dec 03 02:22:23 6095 -19073 A -0.1844 0.9882 33.0S 165.4E 79 42 01m09s
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
05881 -09 0475 Dec 14 10:57:44 5918 -18850 A -0.1835 0.9854 34.1S 38.2E 79 53 01m27s
05924 -08 0493 Dec 24 19:30:00 5741 -18627 Am -0.1813 0.9831 34.1S 88.2W 79 61 01m43s
05968 -07 0512 Jan 05 03:59:03 5564 -18404 A -0.1769 0.9815 33.0S 146.1E 80 67 01m55s
06013 -06 0530 Jan 15 12:21:32 5388 -18181 A -0.1682 0.9802 30.6S 21.6E 80 71 02m05s
06058 -05 0548 Jan 26 20:38:16 5213 -17958 A -0.1553 0.9794 27.2S 102.2W 81 74 02m12s
06104 -04 0566 Feb 06 04:46:17 5039 -17735 A -0.1361 0.9790 22.8S 135.5E 82 75 02m17s
06150 -03 0584 Feb 17 12:45:26 4866 -17512 A -0.1105 0.9788 17.5S 14.7E 84 76 02m21s
06195 -02 0602 Feb 27 20:34:40 4695 -17289 A -0.0774 0.9787 11.6S 104.3W 85 76 02m23s
06240 -01 0620 Mar 10 04:14:30 4525 -17066 A -0.0373 0.9787 5.1S 138.5E 88 76 02m25s
06285 00 0638 Mar 21 11:43:16 4357 -16843 A 0.0112 0.9786 1.9N 23.8E 89 76 02m27s
06331 01 0656 Mar 31 19:02:49 4190 -16620 A 0.0666 0.9783 9.2N 88.7W 86 77 02m29s
06377 02 0674 Apr 12 02:12:24 4025 -16397 A 0.1295 0.9778 16.8N 161.4E 82 80 02m31s
06422 03 0692 Apr 22 09:14:36 3862 -16174 A 0.1975 0.9769 24.5N 53.6E 78 84 02m35s
06466 04 0710 May 03 16:06:47 3701 -15951 A 0.2731 0.9755 32.3N 51.2W 74 91 02m38s
06509 05 0728 May 13 22:54:08 3542 -15728 A 0.3517 0.9737 39.9N 153.9W 69 101 02m43s
06551 06 0746 May 25 05:34:14 3386 -15505 A 0.4356 0.9713 47.5N 106.5E 64 114 02m48s
06593 07 0764 Jun 04 12:12:18 3232 -15282 A 0.5199 0.9685 54.5N 9.5E 58 133 02m55s
06634 08 0782 Jun 15 18:45:24 3082 -15059 A 0.6075 0.9649 61.0N 83.3W 52 160 03m02s
06675 09 0800 Jun 26 01:19:56 2935 -14836 A 0.6928 0.9608 66.4N 171.9W 46 198 03m11s
06716 10 0818 Jul 07 07:53:36 2790 -14613 A 0.7782 0.9561 70.2N 105.9E 39 256 03m22s
06756 11 0836 Jul 17 14:30:27 2650 -14390 A 0.8599 0.9508 71.6N 29.0E 30 354 03m34s
06796 12 0854 Jul 28 21:09:52 2513 -14167 A 0.9386 0.9444 70.2N 43.9W 20 603 03m47s
06836 13 0872 Aug 08 03:55:30 2380 -13944 A+ 1.0114 0.9437 61.9N 108.0W 0
06876 14 0890 Aug 19 10:47:01 2251 -13721 P 1.0789 0.8268 61.4N 139.8E 0
06916 15 0908 Aug 29 17:45:24 2126 -13498 P 1.1402 0.7214 61.0N 25.9E 0
06956 16 0926 Sep 10 00:52:08 2006 -13275 P 1.1941 0.6293 60.8N 89.9W 0
06998 17 0944 Sep 20 08:07:18 1890 -13052 P 1.2406 0.5505 60.8N 152.2E 0
07039 18 0962 Oct 01 15:31:30 1778 -12829 P 1.2793 0.4853 60.9N 32.1E 0
07079 19 0980 Oct 11 23:03:22 1671 -12606 P 1.3115 0.4317 61.2N 90.0W 0
07121 20 0998 Oct 23 06:43:47 1569 -12383 P 1.3365 0.3902 61.6N 145.7E 0
07163 21 1016 Nov 02 14:30:40 1471 -12160 P 1.3559 0.3582 62.3N 19.7E 0
07205 22 1034 Nov 13 22:23:18 1378 -11937 P 1.3704 0.3345 63.0N 107.9W 0
07248 23 1052 Nov 24 06:20:27 1289 -11714 P 1.3809 0.3173 63.9N 123.1E 0
07291 24 1070 Dec 05 14:20:57 1205 -11491 P 1.3881 0.3054 64.8N 7.0W 0
07335 25 1088 Dec 15 22:22:23 1126 -11268 P 1.3947 0.2944 65.9N 137.8W 0
07381 26 1106 Dec 27 06:22:57 1051 -11045 P 1.4019 0.2823 67.0N 91.3E 0
07426 27 1125 Jan 06 14:21:29 980 -10822 P 1.4106 0.2676 68.1N 39.7W 0
07471 28 1143 Jan 17 22:16:50 914 -10599 P 1.4214 0.2491 69.1N 170.4W 0
07516 29 1161 Jan 28 06:05:42 851 -10376 P 1.4375 0.2214 70.1N 59.8E 0
07561 30 1179 Feb 08 13:48:49 792 -10153 P 1.4582 0.1860 70.9N 69.2W 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
07606 31 1197 Feb 18 21:23:51 737 -9930 P 1.4855 0.1390 71.5N 163.4E 0
07651 32 1215 Mar 02 04:52:15 686 -9707 P 1.5180 0.0828 71.8N 37.1E 0
07697 33 1233 Mar 12 12:10:19 638 -9484 Pe 1.5587 0.0121 72.0N 86.7W 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)"
