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 121 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 0944 Apr 25. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2206 Jun 07. The total duration of Saros series 121 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0944 Apr 25 10:56:13 TD Last Eclipse = 2206 Jun 07 15:05:59 TD Duration of Saros 121 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 121 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 121 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 22.5% |
| Annular | A | 11 | 15.5% |
| Total | T | 42 | 59.2% |
| 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 121 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 121 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 54 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 121: 7P 42T 2H 11A 9P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 121 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 121 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2044 Feb 28 | 02m27s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1863 Nov 11 | 00m22s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1629 Jun 21 | 06m20s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1809 Oct 09 | 01m02s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1827 Oct 20 | 00m30s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1845 Oct 30 | 00m02s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2062 Mar 11 | - | 0.93308 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0944 Apr 25 | - | 0.06662 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 121. 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 121.
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
06997 -36 0944 Apr 25 10:56:13 1893 -13057 Pb 1.5044 0.0666 62.0N 97.1W 0
07038 -35 0962 May 06 18:15:23 1781 -12834 P 1.4334 0.1965 62.6N 143.6E 0
07078 -34 0980 May 17 01:32:03 1674 -12611 P 1.3592 0.3338 63.3N 24.8E 0
07120 -33 0998 May 28 08:46:18 1571 -12388 P 1.2820 0.4782 64.2N 93.7W 0
07162 -32 1016 Jun 07 16:00:58 1473 -12165 P 1.2042 0.6246 65.1N 147.4E 0
07204 -31 1034 Jun 18 23:16:23 1380 -11942 P 1.1262 0.7724 66.0N 28.1E 0
07247 -30 1052 Jun 29 06:33:32 1291 -11719 P 1.0488 0.9196 67.0N 92.1W 0
07290 -29 1070 Jul 10 13:54:30 1207 -11496 T 0.9739 1.0404 80.0N 133.7E 12 636 02m05s
07334 -28 1088 Jul 20 21:20:06 1128 -11273 T 0.9023 1.0453 80.7N 83.3W 25 356 02m36s
07380 -27 1106 Aug 01 04:51:33 1052 -11050 T 0.8348 1.0481 70.8N 142.2E 33 292 03m00s
07425 -26 1124 Aug 11 12:28:49 982 -10827 T 0.7716 1.0497 61.4N 20.4E 39 259 03m19s
07470 -25 1142 Aug 22 20:14:13 915 -10604 T 0.7147 1.0504 52.9N 100.7W 44 238 03m36s
07515 -24 1160 Sep 02 04:07:30 852 -10381 T 0.6640 1.0504 44.9N 137.1E 48 222 03m49s
07560 -23 1178 Sep 13 12:08:37 794 -10158 T 0.6196 1.0500 37.6N 13.3E 51 210 03m59s
07605 -22 1196 Sep 23 20:18:46 739 -9935 T 0.5821 1.0491 30.9N 112.3W 54 199 04m06s
07650 -21 1214 Oct 05 04:37:19 687 -9712 T 0.5513 1.0480 24.8N 120.3E 56 190 04m11s
07696 -20 1232 Oct 15 13:04:38 639 -9489 T 0.5277 1.0469 19.5N 8.9W 58 183 04m14s
07742 -19 1250 Oct 26 21:37:26 594 -9266 T 0.5085 1.0458 14.9N 139.2W 59 177 04m16s
07786 -18 1268 Nov 06 06:18:16 552 -9043 T 0.4959 1.0448 11.2N 88.8E 60 172 04m16s
07829 -17 1286 Nov 17 15:03:22 513 -8820 T 0.4865 1.0441 8.2N 43.9W 61 168 04m17s
07872 -16 1304 Nov 27 23:53:25 477 -8597 T 0.4812 1.0438 6.2N 177.7W 61 167 04m17s
07914 -15 1322 Dec 09 08:44:26 442 -8374 T 0.4767 1.0439 5.0N 48.4E 61 167 04m17s
07955 -14 1340 Dec 19 17:37:50 410 -8151 T 0.4741 1.0444 4.7N 86.0W 62 168 04m17s
07996 -13 1358 Dec 31 02:29:35 380 -7928 T 0.4701 1.0454 5.1N 140.0E 62 171 04m18s
08037 -12 1377 Jan 10 11:19:31 352 -7705 T 0.4646 1.0469 6.1N 6.5E 62 175 04m19s
08078 -11 1395 Jan 21 20:05:24 325 -7482 T 0.4555 1.0487 7.7N 126.0W 63 180 04m21s
08118 -10 1413 Feb 01 04:47:05 300 -7259 T 0.4429 1.0509 9.6N 102.6E 64 187 04m25s
08158 -09 1431 Feb 12 13:21:50 276 -7036 T 0.4245 1.0534 11.9N 26.9W 65 193 04m30s
08198 -08 1449 Feb 22 21:50:09 253 -6813 T 0.4008 1.0561 14.3N 154.6W 66 200 04m36s
08238 -07 1467 Mar 06 06:10:42 231 -6590 T 0.3706 1.0588 16.7N 79.9E 68 207 04m44s
08278 -06 1485 Mar 16 14:24:22 211 -6367 T 0.3345 1.0615 19.1N 43.6W 70 213 04m53s
08319 -05 1503 Mar 27 22:28:20 192 -6144 T 0.2904 1.0640 21.1N 164.1W 73 218 05m04s
08361 -04 1521 Apr 07 06:26:06 175 -5921 T 0.2414 1.0662 22.8N 77.3E 76 222 05m15s
08402 -03 1539 Apr 18 14:15:07 159 -5698 T 0.1853 1.0680 23.7N 38.7W 79 225 05m28s
08443 -02 1557 Apr 28 21:59:05 144 -5475 T 0.1251 1.0692 24.0N 153.1W 83 227 05m42s
08484 -01 1575 May 10 05:34:45 132 -5252 Tm 0.0583 1.0697 23.1N 94.6E 87 227 05m56s
08525 00 1593 May 30 13:07:31 122 -5029 T -0.0106 1.0696 21.4N 17.0W 90 227 06m08s
08565 01 1611 Jun 10 20:34:26 105 -4806 T -0.0836 1.0686 18.4N 127.6W 85 224 06m16s
08609 02 1629 Jun 21 03:59:24 80 -4583 T -0.1580 1.0670 14.5N 121.6E 81 221 06m20s
08654 03 1647 Jul 02 11:21:21 53 -4360 T -0.2344 1.0643 9.6N 11.0E 77 217 06m15s
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
08700 04 1665 Jul 12 18:44:06 28 -4137 T -0.3095 1.0611 3.9N 100.6W 72 211 06m02s
08746 05 1683 Jul 24 02:07:00 12 -3914 T -0.3838 1.0569 2.5S 147.1E 67 203 05m38s
08791 06 1701 Aug 04 09:31:44 8 -3691 T -0.4559 1.0521 9.4S 33.7E 63 193 05m06s
08836 07 1719 Aug 15 16:59:51 10 -3468 T -0.5243 1.0466 16.8S 81.1W 58 181 04m27s
08882 08 1737 Aug 26 00:32:08 11 -3245 T -0.5886 1.0407 24.4S 162.5E 54 167 03m44s
08928 09 1755 Sep 06 08:09:46 14 -3022 T -0.6478 1.0342 32.1S 44.3E 49 150 03m00s
08973 10 1773 Sep 16 15:52:23 16 -2799 T -0.7020 1.0275 39.9S 75.5W 45 130 02m18s
09019 11 1791 Sep 27 23:42:30 16 -2576 T -0.7492 1.0206 47.6S 162.4E 41 106 01m38s
09064 12 1809 Oct 09 07:38:42 12 -2353 T -0.7905 1.0137 55.1S 38.4E 37 77 01m02s
09109 13 1827 Oct 20 15:42:05 8 -2130 H -0.8251 1.0070 62.3S 87.6W 34 43 00m30s
09153 14 1845 Oct 30 23:51:58 6 -1907 H -0.8538 1.0005 69.1S 144.5E 31 3 00m02s
09196 15 1863 Nov 11 08:09:03 7 -1684 A -0.8760 0.9943 75.4S 15.1E 28 42 00m22s
09238 16 1881 Nov 21 16:31:10 -5 -1461 A -0.8931 0.9887 81.2S 114.5W 26 90 00m43s
09280 17 1899 Dec 03 00:57:28 -3 -1238 A -0.9061 0.9836 86.6S 121.5E 25 140 01m01s
09323 18 1917 Dec 14 09:27:20 20 -1015 A -0.9157 0.9791 88.0S 124.7E 23 189 01m17s
09366 19 1935 Dec 25 17:59:52 24 -792 A -0.9228 0.9752 83.5S 9.4E 22 234 01m30s
09407 20 1954 Jan 05 02:32:01 31 -569 A -0.9296 0.9720 79.1S 120.8W 21 278 01m42s
09447 21 1972 Jan 16 11:03:22 42 -346 A -0.9365 0.9692 74.9S 107.7E 20 321 01m53s
09486 22 1990 Jan 26 19:31:24 57 -123 A -0.9457 0.9670 71.0S 22.2W 18 373 02m03s
09525 23 2008 Feb 07 03:56:10 66 100 A -0.9570 0.9650 67.6S 150.5W 16 444 02m12s
09565 24 2026 Feb 17 12:13:06 75 323 A -0.9743 0.9630 64.7S 86.8E 12 616 02m20s
09605 25 2044 Feb 28 20:24:39 88 546 As -0.9954 0.9600 62.2S 25.6W 4 - 02m27s
09646 26 2062 Mar 11 04:26:16 118 769 P -1.0238 0.9331 61.0S 147.1W 0
09687 27 2080 Mar 21 12:20:15 157 992 P -1.0578 0.8734 60.9S 85.9E 0
09728 28 2098 Apr 01 20:02:31 198 1215 P -1.1005 0.7984 61.0S 38.1W 0
09769 29 2116 Apr 13 03:36:55 242 1438 P -1.1487 0.7138 61.3S 160.2W 0
09809 30 2134 Apr 24 10:59:59 287 1661 P -1.2052 0.6147 61.8S 80.5E 0
09851 31 2152 May 04 18:14:02 333 1884 P -1.2679 0.5044 62.3S 36.8W 0
09893 32 2170 May 16 01:18:33 372 2107 P -1.3371 0.3831 63.0S 151.9W 0
09937 33 2188 May 26 08:15:53 414 2330 P -1.4109 0.2538 63.8S 94.6E 0
09982 34 2206 Jun 07 15:05:59 457 2553 Pe -1.4894 0.1166 64.7S 17.3W 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)"
