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 103 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 0387 Apr 04. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1667 May 22. The total duration of Saros series 103 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0387 Apr 04 21:52:16 TD Last Eclipse = 1667 May 22 22:57:60 TD Duration of Saros 103 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 103 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 103 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 22 | 30.6% |
| Annular | A | 13 | 18.1% |
| Total | T | 34 | 47.2% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.2% |
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 103 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 103 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 50 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 46 | 92.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 3 | 6.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 103: 8P 34T 3H 13A 14P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 103 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 103 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1360 Nov 09 | 03m53s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1198 Aug 04 | 00m21s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 0639 Sep 03 | 04m42s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1126 Jun 22 | 02m09s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1144 Jul 02 | 01m39s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1180 Jul 24 | 00m21s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0513 Jun 19 | - | 0.99077 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1667 May 22 | - | 0.01019 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 103. 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 103.
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
05678 -37 0387 Apr 04 21:52:16 6794 -19947 Pb 1.5046 0.0533 61.1N 140.0E 0
05719 -36 0405 Apr 15 05:32:35 6616 -19724 P 1.4444 0.1668 61.3N 15.4E 0
05760 -35 0423 Apr 26 13:07:50 6437 -19501 P 1.3796 0.2901 61.8N 108.0W 0
05801 -34 0441 May 06 20:39:42 6259 -19278 P 1.3114 0.4208 62.3N 129.2E 0
05842 -33 0459 May 18 04:07:08 6081 -19055 P 1.2392 0.5603 63.0N 7.4E 0
05885 -32 0477 May 28 11:33:37 5903 -18832 P 1.1660 0.7023 63.8N 114.4W 0
05928 -31 0495 Jun 08 18:58:41 5727 -18609 P 1.0914 0.8472 64.7N 124.0E 0
05972 -30 0513 Jun 19 02:25:05 5550 -18386 P 1.0176 0.9908 65.6N 1.6E 0
06016 -29 0531 Jun 30 09:51:59 5374 -18163 T 0.9440 1.0666 85.2N 106.3W 19 680 03m23s
06061 -28 0549 Jul 10 17:23:12 5199 -17940 T 0.8739 1.0688 83.1N 38.7W 29 468 03m48s
06107 -27 0567 Jul 22 00:57:59 5025 -17717 T 0.8068 1.0692 73.4N 153.4W 36 385 04m07s
06153 -26 0585 Aug 01 08:37:54 4852 -17494 T 0.7441 1.0687 64.6N 89.6E 42 336 04m22s
06198 -25 0603 Aug 12 16:23:34 4681 -17271 T 0.6860 1.0671 56.4N 29.3W 46 301 04m33s
06243 -24 0621 Aug 23 00:16:24 4512 -17048 T 0.6340 1.0648 48.6N 150.4W 50 274 04m40s
06288 -23 0639 Sep 03 08:17:01 4343 -16825 T 0.5887 1.0620 41.3N 86.5E 54 250 04m42s
06334 -22 0657 Sep 13 16:24:06 4177 -16602 T 0.5490 1.0588 34.4N 38.3W 56 230 04m42s
06380 -21 0675 Sep 25 00:40:11 4012 -16379 T 0.5170 1.0553 28.0N 165.2W 59 212 04m37s
06425 -20 0693 Oct 05 09:03:11 3849 -16156 T 0.4910 1.0517 22.2N 66.3E 60 196 04m30s
06469 -19 0711 Oct 16 17:34:15 3688 -15933 T 0.4719 1.0482 17.1N 64.0W 62 181 04m21s
06512 -18 0729 Oct 27 02:10:21 3529 -15710 T 0.4574 1.0448 12.6N 164.7E 63 167 04m11s
06554 -17 0747 Nov 07 10:53:06 3373 -15487 T 0.4487 1.0416 8.9N 32.0E 63 155 04m00s
06596 -16 0765 Nov 17 19:39:02 3220 -15264 T 0.4430 1.0389 6.0N 101.2W 64 145 03m49s
06637 -15 0783 Nov 29 04:28:09 3070 -15041 T 0.4403 1.0365 3.9N 124.9E 64 137 03m39s
06678 -14 0801 Dec 09 13:18:07 2923 -14818 T 0.4386 1.0346 2.7N 9.0W 64 130 03m29s
06719 -13 0819 Dec 20 22:08:51 2779 -14595 T 0.4377 1.0332 2.2N 143.0W 64 124 03m19s
06759 -12 0837 Dec 31 06:56:29 2639 -14372 T 0.4348 1.0323 2.5N 83.7E 64 121 03m12s
06799 -11 0856 Jan 11 15:41:03 2502 -14149 T 0.4296 1.0318 3.4N 48.7W 65 118 03m05s
06839 -10 0874 Jan 22 00:20:14 2370 -13926 T 0.4203 1.0318 4.8N 179.8W 65 117 03m01s
06879 -09 0892 Feb 02 08:54:33 2241 -13703 T 0.4071 1.0320 6.6N 50.3E 66 117 02m57s
06919 -08 0910 Feb 12 17:19:42 2117 -13480 T 0.3867 1.0325 8.6N 77.1W 67 118 02m56s
06959 -07 0928 Feb 24 01:38:26 1996 -13257 T 0.3615 1.0331 10.9N 157.3E 69 119 02m55s
07001 -06 0946 Mar 06 09:46:58 1881 -13034 T 0.3283 1.0338 13.1N 34.4E 71 120 02m56s
07042 -05 0964 Mar 16 17:48:19 1770 -12811 T 0.2895 1.0344 15.3N 86.3W 73 120 02m57s
07082 -04 0982 Mar 28 01:38:12 1663 -12588 T 0.2418 1.0347 17.2N 156.3E 76 120 02m59s
07124 -03 1000 Apr 07 09:21:38 1561 -12365 T 0.1892 1.0348 18.7N 40.8E 79 119 03m01s
07166 -02 1018 Apr 18 16:54:52 1464 -12142 T 0.1290 1.0344 19.5N 71.7W 82 117 03m03s
07208 -01 1036 Apr 29 00:21:45 1371 -11919 Tm 0.0642 1.0335 19.6N 177.6E 86 113 03m04s
07251 00 1054 May 10 07:40:25 1283 -11696 T -0.0066 1.0319 18.8N 69.0E 90 108 03m02s
07294 01 1072 May 20 14:54:52 1199 -11473 T -0.0801 1.0299 16.9N 38.6W 86 101 02m58s
07338 02 1090 May 31 22:03:44 1120 -11250 T -0.1573 1.0270 14.0N 145.2W 81 93 02m48s
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
07384 03 1108 Jun 11 05:09:17 1045 -11027 T -0.2364 1.0235 10.0N 108.5E 76 82 02m32s
07430 04 1126 Jun 22 12:12:40 975 -10804 T -0.3161 1.0193 5.0N 2.1E 72 69 02m09s
07475 05 1144 Jul 02 19:15:50 908 -10581 H -0.3949 1.0145 0.8S 105.0W 67 54 01m39s
07520 06 1162 Jul 14 02:19:38 846 -10358 H -0.4722 1.0091 7.3S 147.1E 62 35 01m02s
07566 07 1180 Jul 24 09:25:08 788 -10135 H -0.5471 1.0031 14.4S 38.0E 57 13 00m21s
07611 08 1198 Aug 04 16:34:46 733 -9912 A -0.6176 0.9967 22.0S 72.8W 52 15 00m21s
07656 09 1216 Aug 14 23:48:35 682 -9689 A -0.6832 0.9899 29.9S 174.6E 47 48 01m02s
07702 10 1234 Aug 26 07:07:19 634 -9466 A -0.7438 0.9829 38.0S 60.0E 42 90 01m39s
07747 11 1252 Sep 05 14:32:18 590 -9243 A -0.7982 0.9757 46.2S 57.0W 37 143 02m11s
07791 12 1270 Sep 16 22:04:26 548 -9020 A -0.8459 0.9686 54.3S 177.2W 32 211 02m38s
07834 13 1288 Sep 27 05:43:53 509 -8797 A -0.8863 0.9616 62.1S 58.9E 27 301 03m00s
07876 14 1306 Oct 08 13:29:27 473 -8574 A -0.9208 0.9547 69.4S 70.7W 22 428 03m18s
07918 15 1324 Oct 18 21:22:40 439 -8351 A -0.9481 0.9483 75.4S 149.9E 18 613 03m33s
07959 16 1342 Oct 30 05:22:14 407 -8128 A -0.9696 0.9422 78.6S 5.8W 13 920 03m44s
08001 17 1360 Nov 09 13:27:09 377 -7905 As -0.9858 0.9366 76.8S 166.6W 9 - 03m53s
08042 18 1378 Nov 20 21:36:04 349 -7682 A- -0.9981 0.9635 68.1S 45.5E 0
08083 19 1396 Dec 01 05:48:03 322 -7459 A- -1.0074 0.9463 67.0S 88.6W 0
08123 20 1414 Dec 12 14:01:50 297 -7236 A- -1.0145 0.9330 65.9S 137.3E 0
08163 21 1432 Dec 22 22:14:13 273 -7013 P -1.0224 0.9188 64.9S 4.1E 0
08203 22 1451 Jan 03 06:25:40 251 -6790 P -1.0306 0.9045 63.9S 128.6W 0
08242 23 1469 Jan 13 14:32:44 229 -6567 P -1.0420 0.8851 63.0S 100.3E 0
08282 24 1487 Jan 24 22:35:03 209 -6344 P -1.0566 0.8604 62.3S 29.5W 0
08323 25 1505 Feb 04 06:29:08 190 -6121 P -1.0775 0.8255 61.7S 156.9W 0
08365 26 1523 Feb 15 14:16:44 173 -5898 P -1.1030 0.7827 61.2S 77.4E 0
08406 27 1541 Feb 25 21:54:42 157 -5675 P -1.1360 0.7272 61.0S 45.8W 0
08447 28 1559 Mar 09 05:23:01 143 -5452 P -1.1761 0.6598 60.8S 166.6W 0
08488 29 1577 Mar 19 12:41:15 131 -5229 P -1.2235 0.5798 60.9S 75.2E 0
08529 30 1595 Apr 09 19:50:05 121 -5006 P -1.2777 0.4879 61.1S 40.7W 0
08569 31 1613 Apr 20 02:49:29 103 -4783 P -1.3389 0.3839 61.5S 154.4W 0
08613 32 1631 May 01 09:39:23 77 -4560 P -1.4070 0.2677 62.0S 94.2E 0
08658 33 1649 May 11 16:22:04 50 -4337 P -1.4801 0.1427 62.7S 15.7W 0
08704 34 1667 May 22 22:58:00 26 -4114 Pe -1.5574 0.0102 63.5S 124.0W 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)"
