Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 118

Introduction

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.


Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 118

Solar eclipses of Saros 118 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 0803 May 24. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2083 Jul 15. The total duration of Saros series 118 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   0803 May 24   13:35:52 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   2083 Jul 15   00:14:23 TD

                      Duration of Saros 118  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 118 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 118
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 15 20.8%
AnnularA 15 20.8%
TotalT 40 55.6%
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 118 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 118
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 57100.0%
Central (two limits) 56 98.2%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 1.8%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 118: 8P 40T 2H 15A 7P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 118 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 118
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 1849 Feb 2301m58s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 1704 Nov 2700m01s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 1398 May 1606m59s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 1650 Oct 2501m26s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1668 Nov 0400m57s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1686 Nov 1500m28s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 0929 Aug 07 - 0.98805
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 0803 May 24 - 0.01225

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 118

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 118. 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 118.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 118

                         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

06682 -36  0803 May 24  13:35:52   2911 -14800   Pb  -1.5325  0.0122  68.1S   0.7W   0             
06723 -35  0821 Jun 03  20:45:44   2768 -14577   P   -1.4545  0.1561  67.1S 119.9W   0             
06763 -34  0839 Jun 15  03:56:24   2628 -14354   P   -1.3758  0.3023  66.1S 121.2E   0             
06803 -33  0857 Jun 25  11:08:23   2491 -14131   P   -1.2972  0.4494  65.1S   2.5E   0             
06843 -32  0875 Jul 06  18:24:50   2359 -13908   P   -1.2210  0.5929  64.2S 117.0W   0             
06883 -31  0893 Jul 17  01:45:18   2231 -13685   P   -1.1469  0.7327  63.4S 122.8E   0             
06923 -30  0911 Jul 28  09:12:23   2107 -13462   P   -1.0774  0.8640  62.6S   1.2E   0             
06963 -29  0929 Aug 07  16:45:08   1987 -13239   P   -1.0118  0.9880  62.0S 121.6W   0             
07004 -28  0947 Aug 19  00:26:53   1872 -13016   T   -0.9527  1.0357  51.3S 139.1E  17  393  02m29s
07045 -27  0965 Aug 29  08:15:51   1761 -12793   T   -0.8990  1.0377  47.1S  24.8E  26  283  02m41s

07085 -26  0983 Sep 09  16:13:17   1655 -12570   T   -0.8518  1.0386  45.7S  93.8W  31  242  02m44s
07127 -25  1001 Sep 20  00:19:08   1553 -12347   T   -0.8111  1.0388  46.1S 144.9E  36  218  02m43s
07169 -24  1019 Oct 01  08:34:20   1456 -12124   T   -0.7781  1.0386  47.8S  20.9E  39  202  02m40s
07211 -23  1037 Oct 11  16:57:23   1363 -11901   T   -0.7512  1.0382  50.3S 104.8W  41  191  02m36s
07254 -22  1055 Oct 23  01:27:47   1276 -11678   T   -0.7301  1.0377  53.4S 128.1E  43  183  02m32s
07297 -21  1073 Nov 02  10:05:13   1192 -11455   T   -0.7148  1.0373  56.8S   0.1E  44  178  02m29s
07341 -20  1091 Nov 13  18:48:57   1114 -11232   T   -0.7047  1.0371  60.3S 128.2W  45  175  02m26s
07387 -19  1109 Nov 24  03:36:12   1039 -11009   T   -0.6974  1.0372  63.5S 104.6E  46  175  02m26s
07433 -18  1127 Dec 05  12:27:08    969 -10786   T   -0.6930  1.0377  65.9S  21.2W  46  176  02m28s
07478 -17  1145 Dec 15  21:18:46    903 -10563   T   -0.6892  1.0387  67.0S 145.0W  46  180  02m32s

07523 -16  1163 Dec 27  06:11:27    841 -10340   T   -0.6860  1.0400  66.6S  91.5E  46  185  02m38s
07569 -15  1182 Jan 06  15:00:32    783 -10117   T   -0.6802  1.0419  64.4S  32.7W  47  192  02m48s
07614 -14  1200 Jan 17  23:48:29    729  -9894   T   -0.6731  1.0443  61.0S 159.1W  47  200  03m01s
07659 -13  1218 Jan 28  08:30:17    678  -9671   T   -0.6613  1.0470  56.5S  73.1E  48  209  03m17s
07705 -12  1236 Feb 08  17:07:28    631  -9448   T   -0.6454  1.0501  51.3S  55.5W  50  217  03m36s
07750 -11  1254 Feb 19  01:36:18    586  -9225   T   -0.6227  1.0534  45.4S 176.3E  51  225  03m59s
07794 -10  1272 Mar 01  09:59:32    545  -9002   T   -0.5954  1.0569  39.2S  48.6E  53  232  04m24s
07837 -09  1290 Mar 12  18:13:59    506  -8779   T   -0.5611  1.0604  32.7S  77.6W  56  238  04m52s
07879 -08  1308 Mar 23  02:21:00    470  -8556   T   -0.5205  1.0638  25.9S 157.8E  58  243  05m21s
07921 -07  1326 Apr 03  10:19:38    436  -8333   T   -0.4731  1.0668  19.0S  35.3E  62  246  05m49s

07962 -06  1344 Apr 13  18:11:36    405  -8110   T   -0.4200  1.0695  12.0S  85.4W  65  249  06m15s
08004 -05  1362 Apr 25  01:56:16    375  -7887   T   -0.3611  1.0717   5.2S 155.9E  69  249  06m37s
08045 -04  1380 May 05  09:34:58    347  -7664   T   -0.2973  1.0732   1.5N  39.2E  73  249  06m52s
08086 -03  1398 May 16  17:08:41    320  -7441   T   -0.2294  1.0741   7.7N  75.7W  77  247  06m59s
08126 -02  1416 May 27  00:38:48    295  -7218   T   -0.1584  1.0742  13.5N 171.0E  81  244  06m56s
08166 -01  1434 Jun 07  08:05:20    271  -6995   T   -0.0847  1.0735  18.7N  59.3E  85  239  06m45s
08206  00  1452 Jun 17  15:30:42    249  -6772   Tm  -0.0102  1.0719  23.0N  51.3W  90  234  06m26s
08245  01  1470 Jun 28  22:54:56    228  -6549   T    0.0650  1.0695  26.4N 161.0W  86  227  06m02s
08285  02  1488 Jul 09  06:20:51    208  -6326   T    0.1384  1.0663  28.9N  89.5E  82  219  05m36s
08326  03  1506 Jul 20  13:46:58    189  -6103   T    0.2112  1.0623  30.4N  19.8W  78  209  05m08s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 118

                         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

08368  04  1524 Jul 30  21:17:39    172  -5880   T    0.2797  1.0577  30.8N 130.2W  74  198  04m40s
08410  05  1542 Aug 11  04:51:06    156  -5657   T    0.3454  1.0525  30.6N 118.6E  70  184  04m12s
08451  06  1560 Aug 21  12:30:55    142  -5434   T    0.4050  1.0469  29.7N   5.3E  66  170  03m44s
08492  07  1578 Sep 01  20:15:08    130  -5211   T    0.4602  1.0408  28.4N 109.6W  62  152  03m17s
08533  08  1596 Sep 22  04:07:03    120  -4988   T    0.5085  1.0346  26.8N 133.0E  59  134  02m50s
08574  09  1614 Oct 03  12:04:51    101  -4765   T    0.5511  1.0282  25.2N  13.5E  56  113  02m22s
08618  10  1632 Oct 13  20:09:39     75  -4542   T    0.5873  1.0220  23.7N 108.2W  54   91  01m55s
08663  11  1650 Oct 25  04:21:25     48  -4319   T    0.6170  1.0159  22.3N 127.9E  52   68  01m26s
08709  12  1668 Nov 04  12:40:05     25  -4096   H    0.6401  1.0102  21.1N   1.8E  50   45  00m57s
08754  13  1686 Nov 15  21:05:00     10  -3873   H    0.6578  1.0048  20.2N 126.0W  49   22  00m28s

08799  14  1704 Nov 27  05:33:53      9  -3650   A    0.6716  0.9999  19.7N 104.9E  48    1  00m01s
08844  15  1722 Dec 08  14:07:35     10  -3427   A    0.6808  0.9955  19.5N  25.4W  47   21  00m28s
08890  16  1740 Dec 18  22:43:17     12  -3204   A    0.6876  0.9917  19.9N 156.4W  46   40  00m53s
08936  17  1758 Dec 30  07:20:12     14  -2981   A    0.6929  0.9885  20.8N  72.2E  46   56  01m15s
08982  18  1777 Jan 09  15:55:35     17  -2758   A    0.6988  0.9859  22.4N  58.9W  46   70  01m32s
09028  19  1795 Jan 21  00:29:13     15  -2535   A    0.7055  0.9837  24.8N 170.3E  45   81  01m44s
09073  20  1813 Feb 01  08:58:27     12  -2312   A    0.7152  0.9820  27.9N  40.4E  44   91  01m53s
09118  21  1831 Feb 12  17:21:45      7  -2089   A    0.7288  0.9807  31.9N  88.3W  43  100  01m57s
09162  22  1849 Feb 23  01:38:09      7  -1866   A    0.7475  0.9796  36.7N 144.3E  41  108  01m58s
09204  23  1867 Mar 06  09:46:48      4  -1643   A    0.7716  0.9787  42.3N  18.4E  39  118  01m57s

09246  24  1885 Mar 16  17:45:43     -6  -1420   A    0.8030  0.9778  48.9N 106.1W  36  132  01m55s
09288  25  1903 Mar 29  01:35:23      2  -1197   A    0.8413  0.9767  56.2N 130.3E  32  153  01m53s
09330  26  1921 Apr 08  09:15:01     22   -974   A    0.8869  0.9753  64.5N   5.6E  27  192  01m50s
09373  27  1939 Apr 19  16:45:53     24   -751   A    0.9388  0.9731  73.1N 129.1W  20  285  01m49s
09414  28  1957 Apr 30  00:05:28     32   -528   A+   0.9992  0.9799  70.6N  40.3E   0             
09454  29  1975 May 11  07:17:33     46   -305   P    1.0647  0.8636  69.7N  80.2W   0             
09493  30  1993 May 21  14:20:15     59    -82   P    1.1372  0.7352  68.8N 162.3E   0             
09532  31  2011 Jun 01  21:17:18     67    141   P    1.2130  0.6010  67.8N  46.8E   0             
09572  32  2029 Jun 12  04:06:13     77    364   P    1.2943  0.4576  66.8N  66.2W   0             
09612  33  2047 Jun 23  10:52:31     91    587   P    1.3766  0.3129  65.8N 178.0W   0             

09653  34  2065 Jul 03  17:33:52    125    810   P    1.4619  0.1638  64.8N  71.9E   0             
09694  35  2083 Jul 15  00:14:23    165   1033   Pe   1.5465  0.0168  64.0N  37.7W   0             


Calendar

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..


Predictions

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

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.


Footnotes

[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.


Acknowledgments

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)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26