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 122 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 0991 Apr 17. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2235 May 17. The total duration of Saros series 122 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0991 Apr 17 10:00:06 TD Last Eclipse = 2235 May 17 21:36:41 TD Duration of Saros 122 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 122 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 122 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 28 | 40.0% |
| Annular | A | 37 | 52.9% |
| Total | T | 3 | 4.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.9% |
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 122 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 122 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 97.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 122: 8P 3T 2H 37A 20P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 122 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 122 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1874 Oct 10 | 06m28s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1225 Sep 04 | 00m12s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1135 Jul 12 | 01m25s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1171 Aug 03 | 01m06s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1189 Aug 13 | 00m43s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1207 Aug 25 | 00m16s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1117 Jul 01 | - | 0.93373 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0991 Apr 17 | - | 0.06241 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 122. 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 122.
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
07103 -36 0991 Apr 17 10:00:06 1611 -12476 Pb -1.5013 0.0624 70.8S 87.9E 0
07145 -35 1009 Apr 27 17:33:05 1511 -12253 P -1.4445 0.1700 70.1S 38.6W 0
07187 -34 1027 May 09 01:00:48 1416 -12030 P -1.3840 0.2848 69.3S 163.3W 0
07229 -33 1045 May 19 08:21:52 1326 -11807 P -1.3184 0.4089 68.3S 74.3E 0
07273 -32 1063 May 30 15:39:34 1240 -11584 P -1.2508 0.5365 67.4S 46.7W 0
07317 -31 1081 Jun 09 22:52:36 1159 -11361 P -1.1800 0.6695 66.4S 166.1W 0
07362 -30 1099 Jun 21 06:05:15 1082 -11138 P -1.1092 0.8015 65.4S 75.1E 0
07407 -29 1117 Jul 01 13:16:27 1009 -10915 P -1.0377 0.9337 64.5S 43.0W 0
07452 -28 1135 Jul 12 20:28:48 941 -10692 T -0.9676 1.0179 51.5S 147.8W 14 248 01m25s
07497 -27 1153 Jul 23 03:42:38 877 -10469 T -0.8994 1.0161 41.6S 105.0E 26 125 01m22s
07542 -26 1171 Aug 03 11:00:18 816 -10246 T -0.8350 1.0126 36.2S 4.6W 33 77 01m06s
07588 -25 1189 Aug 13 18:22:08 760 -10023 H -0.7744 1.0082 33.2S 115.4W 39 43 00m43s
07633 -24 1207 Aug 25 01:48:51 707 -9800 H -0.7186 1.0031 31.9S 132.6E 44 15 00m16s
07679 -23 1225 Sep 04 09:21:58 658 -9577 A -0.6686 0.9977 31.9S 19.0E 48 11 00m12s
07724 -22 1243 Sep 15 17:01:45 612 -9354 A -0.6249 0.9920 33.0S 96.0W 51 35 00m42s
07768 -21 1261 Sep 26 00:48:31 569 -9131 A -0.5878 0.9863 35.0S 147.3E 54 59 01m12s
07812 -20 1279 Oct 07 08:42:21 528 -8908 A -0.5573 0.9805 37.6S 29.1E 56 82 01m42s
07855 -19 1297 Oct 17 16:42:50 491 -8685 A -0.5330 0.9751 40.6S 90.4W 58 104 02m11s
07897 -18 1315 Oct 29 00:49:59 456 -8462 A -0.5150 0.9698 43.8S 149.1E 59 126 02m40s
07939 -17 1333 Nov 08 09:01:11 423 -8239 A -0.5012 0.9651 46.8S 28.4E 60 145 03m06s
07980 -16 1351 Nov 19 17:18:04 392 -8016 A -0.4929 0.9608 49.4S 92.7W 60 163 03m32s
08021 -15 1369 Nov 30 01:36:58 363 -7793 A -0.4873 0.9570 51.4S 146.6E 61 179 03m55s
08062 -14 1387 Dec 11 09:58:30 335 -7570 A -0.4843 0.9539 52.4S 26.1E 61 193 04m16s
08102 -13 1405 Dec 21 18:17:58 309 -7347 A -0.4803 0.9514 52.2S 93.7W 61 204 04m35s
08142 -12 1424 Jan 02 02:37:16 285 -7124 A -0.4768 0.9495 50.7S 146.2E 61 211 04m52s
08182 -11 1442 Jan 12 10:51:53 262 -6901 A -0.4704 0.9481 48.0S 26.1E 62 216 05m06s
08222 -10 1460 Jan 23 19:01:52 240 -6678 A -0.4607 0.9474 44.2S 94.0W 62 218 05m19s
08262 -09 1478 Feb 03 03:04:10 219 -6455 A -0.4455 0.9472 39.5S 146.4E 63 217 05m31s
08302 -08 1496 Feb 14 10:59:31 200 -6232 A -0.4249 0.9474 34.2S 27.5E 65 213 05m41s
08344 -07 1514 Feb 24 18:45:30 182 -6009 A -0.3974 0.9479 28.2S 90.0W 66 208 05m51s
08386 -06 1532 Mar 07 02:21:39 165 -5786 A -0.3625 0.9488 21.8S 154.3E 69 201 05m59s
08427 -05 1550 Mar 18 09:47:48 150 -5563 A -0.3200 0.9497 15.1S 40.8E 71 194 06m05s
08468 -04 1568 Mar 28 17:04:21 136 -5340 A -0.2701 0.9507 8.1S 70.5W 74 187 06m10s
08509 -03 1586 Apr 19 00:10:09 125 -5117 A -0.2120 0.9517 0.9S 179.1W 78 181 06m12s
08550 -02 1604 Apr 29 07:07:21 114 -4894 A -0.1473 0.9525 6.3N 74.8E 82 176 06m12s
08592 -01 1622 May 10 13:55:35 91 -4671 Am -0.0757 0.9531 13.5N 28.8W 86 172 06m07s
08637 00 1640 May 20 20:37:52 63 -4448 A 0.0002 0.9533 20.4N 130.2W 90 171 06m00s
08682 01 1658 Jun 01 03:11:38 37 -4225 A 0.0828 0.9532 27.0N 131.3E 85 172 05m49s
08728 02 1676 Jun 11 09:42:37 17 -4002 A 0.1673 0.9527 33.0N 34.6E 80 176 05m38s
08773 03 1694 Jun 22 16:08:45 8 -3779 A 0.2556 0.9517 38.4N 59.7W 75 183 05m27s
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
08818 04 1712 Jul 03 22:34:57 9 -3556 A 0.3434 0.9503 42.8N 152.7W 70 194 05m18s
08864 05 1730 Jul 15 04:59:09 11 -3333 A 0.4325 0.9484 46.3N 115.9E 64 210 05m13s
08910 06 1748 Jul 25 11:27:02 13 -3110 A 0.5183 0.9461 48.7N 24.5E 59 231 05m12s
08955 07 1766 Aug 05 17:56:58 15 -2887 A 0.6023 0.9433 50.2N 67.0W 53 260 05m15s
09001 08 1784 Aug 16 00:31:53 17 -2664 A 0.6819 0.9402 50.9N 159.8W 47 299 05m23s
09046 09 1802 Aug 28 07:12:00 13 -2441 A 0.7569 0.9367 51.3N 105.7E 41 354 05m35s
09091 10 1820 Sep 07 13:59:58 11 -2218 A 0.8251 0.9329 51.6N 8.7E 34 432 05m49s
09135 11 1838 Sep 18 20:55:56 5 -1995 A 0.8868 0.9289 52.4N 90.6W 27 562 06m06s
09178 12 1856 Sep 29 03:59:44 7 -1772 A 0.9420 0.9246 54.3N 169.1E 19 831 06m21s
09221 13 1874 Oct 10 11:13:33 -3 -1549 An 0.9889 0.9193 58.6N 72.0E 7 - 06m28s
09263 14 1892 Oct 20 18:36:06 -6 -1326 P 1.0286 0.9054 61.4N 33.3W 0
09305 15 1910 Nov 02 02:08:32 12 -1103 P 1.0603 0.8515 61.9N 155.1W 0
09348 16 1928 Nov 12 09:48:24 24 -880 P 1.0861 0.8078 62.6N 81.1E 0
09391 17 1946 Nov 23 17:37:12 28 -657 P 1.1050 0.7758 63.4N 45.3W 0
09431 18 1964 Dec 04 01:31:54 36 -434 P 1.1193 0.7518 64.3N 173.3W 0
09471 19 1982 Dec 15 09:32:09 53 -211 P 1.1293 0.7350 65.3N 56.9E 0
09510 20 2000 Dec 25 17:35:57 64 12 P 1.1367 0.7228 66.3N 74.1W 0
09550 21 2019 Jan 06 01:42:38 71 235 P 1.1417 0.7145 67.4N 153.6E 0
09590 22 2037 Jan 16 09:48:55 82 458 P 1.1477 0.7049 68.5N 20.8E 0
09630 23 2055 Jan 27 17:54:05 103 681 P 1.1550 0.6932 69.5N 112.2W 0
09671 24 2073 Feb 07 01:55:59 142 904 P 1.1651 0.6768 70.5N 114.9E 0
09712 25 2091 Feb 18 09:54:40 182 1127 P 1.1779 0.6558 71.2N 17.8W 0
09753 26 2109 Mar 01 17:45:53 224 1350 P 1.1972 0.6238 71.8N 149.1W 0
09794 27 2127 Mar 13 01:32:03 269 1573 P 1.2208 0.5841 72.1N 80.4E 0
09835 28 2145 Mar 23 09:09:38 315 1796 P 1.2519 0.5311 72.1N 48.0W 0
09877 29 2163 Apr 03 16:41:51 356 2019 P 1.2876 0.4698 71.9N 175.0W 0
09920 30 2181 Apr 14 00:04:05 397 2242 P 1.3318 0.3931 71.5N 60.8E 0
09964 31 2199 Apr 25 07:21:51 440 2465 P 1.3799 0.3085 70.8N 61.7W 0
10008 32 2217 May 06 14:31:15 484 2688 P 1.4355 0.2100 70.0N 178.5E 0
10052 33 2235 May 17 21:36:41 531 2911 Pe 1.4946 0.1044 69.1N 60.3E 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)"
