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 96 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 0094 Jul 01. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 1374 Aug 08. The total duration of Saros series 96 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0094 Jul 01 10:27:36 TD Last Eclipse = 1374 Aug 08 16:20:08 TD Duration of Saros 96 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 96 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 96 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 17 | 23.6% |
| Annular | A | 14 | 19.4% |
| Total | T | 39 | 54.2% |
| 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 96 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 96 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 52 | 94.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 2 | 3.6% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 96: 10P 14A 2H 39T 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 96 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 96 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0292 Oct 27 | 03m50s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0509 Mar 06 | 00m32s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 0707 Jul 04 | 04m57s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 0563 Apr 08 | 01m25s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0545 Mar 28 | 00m42s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0527 Mar 18 | 00m03s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1266 Jun 04 | - | 0.91557 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0094 Jul 01 | - | 0.00705 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 96. 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 96.
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
05008 -35 0094 Jul 01 10:27:36 9605 -23568 Pb -1.5566 0.0070 65.1S 42.5E 0
05053 -34 0112 Jul 11 17:00:26 9432 -23345 P -1.4751 0.1475 64.2S 66.3W 0
05097 -33 0130 Jul 22 23:40:13 9260 -23122 P -1.3977 0.2808 63.3S 176.5W 0
05141 -32 0148 Aug 02 06:27:42 9089 -22899 P -1.3252 0.4058 62.5S 71.7E 0
05183 -31 0166 Aug 13 13:24:10 8917 -22676 P -1.2589 0.5199 61.9S 42.2W 0
05223 -30 0184 Aug 23 20:29:42 8746 -22453 P -1.1989 0.6231 61.3S 158.2W 0
05264 -29 0202 Sep 04 03:46:22 8575 -22230 P -1.1469 0.7123 61.0S 83.2E 0
05305 -28 0220 Sep 14 11:13:10 8404 -22007 P -1.1022 0.7890 60.7S 37.9W 0
05346 -27 0238 Sep 25 18:49:44 8233 -21784 P -1.0645 0.8534 60.7S 161.3W 0
05387 -26 0256 Oct 06 02:36:21 8061 -21561 P -1.0342 0.9052 60.8S 72.7E 0
05428 -25 0274 Oct 17 10:32:32 7888 -21338 A- -1.0113 0.9444 61.1S 55.7W 0
05468 -24 0292 Oct 27 18:36:49 7715 -21115 As -0.9939 0.9382 63.6S 177.0W 5 - 03m50s
05507 -23 0310 Nov 08 02:47:32 7541 -20892 As -0.9810 0.9405 67.3S 62.6E 10 - 03m43s
05546 -22 0328 Nov 18 11:04:09 7366 -20669 A -0.9722 0.9426 70.6S 66.0W 13 951 03m33s
05586 -21 0346 Nov 29 19:25:12 7190 -20446 A -0.9664 0.9449 74.1S 160.6E 14 825 03m23s
05626 -20 0364 Dec 10 03:47:33 7013 -20223 A -0.9609 0.9479 77.7S 24.3E 15 721 03m11s
05667 -19 0382 Dec 21 12:10:55 6836 -20000 A -0.9555 0.9513 81.4S 117.6W 17 628 02m58s
05708 -18 0400 Dec 31 20:32:08 6658 -19777 A -0.9475 0.9556 85.0S 86.8E 18 523 02m44s
05750 -17 0419 Jan 12 04:51:32 6480 -19554 A -0.9373 0.9605 85.8S 108.7W 20 423 02m29s
05791 -16 0437 Jan 22 13:04:52 6301 -19331 A -0.9216 0.9662 81.8S 80.8E 22 321 02m11s
05831 -15 0455 Feb 02 21:14:29 6123 -19108 A -0.9020 0.9723 76.1S 59.9W 25 233 01m52s
05874 -14 0473 Feb 13 05:16:16 5945 -18885 A -0.8754 0.9790 69.5S 168.0E 29 156 01m29s
05917 -13 0491 Feb 24 13:11:57 5769 -18662 A -0.8429 0.9860 62.3S 40.3E 32 92 01m02s
05961 -12 0509 Mar 06 20:59:05 5592 -18439 A -0.8024 0.9933 54.6S 83.9W 36 39 00m32s
06005 -11 0527 Mar 18 04:40:28 5415 -18216 H -0.7564 1.0006 46.8S 154.4E 41 3 00m03s
06050 -10 0545 Mar 28 12:14:40 5240 -17993 H -0.7036 1.0079 38.7S 35.1E 45 38 00m42s
06096 -09 0563 Apr 08 19:42:28 5066 -17770 T -0.6445 1.0150 30.6S 82.0W 50 67 01m25s
06142 -08 0581 Apr 19 03:05:14 4893 -17547 T -0.5800 1.0218 22.6S 162.8E 54 91 02m09s
06188 -07 0599 Apr 30 10:23:56 4722 -17324 T -0.5110 1.0281 14.8S 49.1E 59 110 02m52s
06233 -06 0617 May 10 17:39:29 4552 -17101 T -0.4384 1.0340 7.4S 63.2W 64 127 03m32s
06278 -05 0635 May 22 00:52:37 4383 -16878 T -0.3629 1.0391 0.4S 174.3W 69 141 04m06s
06324 -04 0653 Jun 01 08:05:39 4216 -16655 T -0.2861 1.0436 5.9N 75.5E 73 152 04m32s
06371 -03 0671 Jun 12 15:19:39 4051 -16432 T -0.2090 1.0473 11.4N 34.3W 78 161 04m48s
06416 -02 0689 Jun 22 22:34:45 3887 -16209 T -0.1319 1.0503 16.1N 143.6W 83 168 04m56s
06460 -01 0707 Jul 04 05:53:44 3726 -15986 T -0.0573 1.0525 19.8N 106.8E 87 174 04m57s
06502 00 0725 Jul 14 13:16:42 3567 -15763 T 0.0146 1.0540 22.3N 3.2W 89 179 04m53s
06544 01 0743 Jul 25 20:46:00 3410 -15540 Tm 0.0819 1.0547 23.7N 114.5W 85 181 04m46s
06586 02 0761 Aug 05 04:19:51 3256 -15317 T 0.1459 1.0548 24.1N 133.1E 81 183 04m38s
06627 03 0779 Aug 16 12:02:26 3105 -15094 T 0.2033 1.0544 23.5N 18.3E 78 183 04m29s
06668 04 0797 Aug 26 19:51:37 2957 -14871 T 0.2556 1.0535 22.2N 98.4W 75 182 04m21s
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
06709 05 0815 Sep 07 03:50:18 2813 -14648 T 0.3003 1.0522 20.3N 142.1E 72 180 04m14s
06750 06 0833 Sep 17 11:56:03 2672 -14425 T 0.3394 1.0507 18.0N 20.3E 70 178 04m08s
06790 07 0851 Sep 28 20:12:09 2534 -14202 T 0.3705 1.0492 15.4N 104.4W 68 174 04m03s
06830 08 0869 Oct 09 04:35:25 2401 -13979 T 0.3960 1.0475 12.8N 128.8E 67 171 04m00s
06870 09 0887 Oct 20 13:06:40 2271 -13756 T 0.4151 1.0461 10.2N 0.2W 65 167 03m59s
06910 10 0905 Oct 30 21:44:30 2146 -13533 T 0.4293 1.0449 7.8N 131.0W 65 164 03m59s
06950 11 0923 Nov 11 06:29:02 2025 -13310 T 0.4377 1.0440 5.8N 96.5E 64 162 04m01s
06991 12 0941 Nov 21 15:17:26 1908 -13087 T 0.4437 1.0436 4.2N 36.9W 64 162 04m05s
07032 13 0959 Dec 03 00:08:45 1796 -12864 T 0.4473 1.0435 3.3N 171.0W 63 162 04m10s
07072 14 0977 Dec 13 09:01:41 1688 -12641 T 0.4499 1.0439 3.0N 54.5E 63 164 04m16s
07114 15 0995 Dec 24 17:55:08 1585 -12418 T 0.4518 1.0448 3.6N 80.1W 63 168 04m23s
07156 16 1014 Jan 04 02:45:41 1486 -12195 T 0.4565 1.0462 5.0N 146.0E 63 173 04m29s
07198 17 1032 Jan 15 11:33:38 1392 -11972 T 0.4632 1.0479 7.4N 12.5E 62 179 04m35s
07241 18 1050 Jan 25 20:16:08 1303 -11749 T 0.4746 1.0499 10.6N 119.8W 62 188 04m41s
07285 19 1068 Feb 06 04:53:52 1218 -11526 T 0.4899 1.0521 14.7N 108.8E 61 197 04m46s
07329 20 1086 Feb 16 13:23:18 1138 -11303 T 0.5120 1.0544 19.7N 20.9W 59 208 04m48s
07375 21 1104 Feb 27 21:46:57 1062 -11080 T 0.5390 1.0568 25.3N 149.3W 57 221 04m49s
07420 22 1122 Mar 10 06:01:29 991 -10857 T 0.5736 1.0588 31.6N 84.2E 55 235 04m47s
07465 23 1140 Mar 20 14:08:51 924 -10634 T 0.6143 1.0607 38.6N 40.8W 52 251 04m42s
07510 24 1158 Mar 31 22:07:25 861 -10411 T 0.6623 1.0621 46.2N 163.9W 48 271 04m33s
07555 25 1176 Apr 11 05:59:31 801 -10188 T 0.7156 1.0629 54.2N 74.2E 44 295 04m20s
07600 26 1194 Apr 22 13:44:30 746 -9965 T 0.7748 1.0629 62.9N 46.7W 39 327 04m03s
07645 27 1212 May 02 21:22:43 694 -9742 T 0.8394 1.0620 72.4N 168.7W 33 377 03m43s
07691 28 1230 May 14 04:56:10 645 -9519 T 0.9078 1.0597 82.5N 52.4E 24 476 03m17s
07736 29 1248 May 24 12:24:47 600 -9296 T 0.9801 1.0549 78.2N 170.9W 11 997 02m42s
07780 30 1266 Jun 04 19:50:32 558 -9073 P 1.0541 0.9156 66.8N 60.4E 0
07823 31 1284 Jun 15 03:13:07 518 -8850 P 1.1301 0.7690 65.8N 60.8W 0
07866 32 1302 Jun 26 10:35:49 481 -8627 P 1.2055 0.6240 64.8N 178.4E 0
07908 33 1320 Jul 06 17:58:24 447 -8404 P 1.2804 0.4807 63.9N 57.9E 0
07949 34 1338 Jul 18 01:22:26 414 -8181 P 1.3535 0.3419 63.2N 62.6W 0
07990 35 1356 Jul 28 08:49:12 384 -7958 P 1.4235 0.2101 62.5N 176.3E 0
08031 36 1374 Aug 08 16:20:08 355 -7735 Pe 1.4893 0.0875 61.9N 54.5E 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)"
