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 124 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 1049 Mar 06. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2347 May 11. The total duration of Saros series 124 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1049 Mar 06 16:00:57 TD Last Eclipse = 2347 May 11 12:07:08 TD Duration of Saros 124 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 124 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 124 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 39.7% |
| Annular | A | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | T | 43 | 58.9% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 1 | 1.4% |
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 124 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 124 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 124: 9P 43T 1H 20P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 124 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 124 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1734 May 03 | 05m46s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1968 Sep 22 | 00m40s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1986 Oct 03 | 00m00s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1986 Oct 03 | 00m00s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1193 Jun 01 | - | 0.93315 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1049 Mar 06 | - | 0.01379 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 124. 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 124.
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
07239 -37 1049 Mar 06 16:00:57 1307 -11760 Pb -1.5374 0.0138 71.9S 47.7E 0
07283 -36 1067 Mar 17 23:50:58 1222 -11537 P -1.4938 0.0904 71.9S 84.3W 0
07327 -35 1085 Mar 28 07:34:42 1142 -11314 P -1.4444 0.1790 71.8S 145.3E 0
07372 -34 1103 Apr 08 15:12:10 1066 -11091 P -1.3890 0.2797 71.4S 16.9E 0
07417 -33 1121 Apr 18 22:43:16 994 -10868 P -1.3276 0.3929 70.7S 109.5W 0
07462 -32 1139 Apr 30 06:10:02 927 -10645 P -1.2616 0.5159 70.0S 125.8E 0
07507 -31 1157 May 10 13:32:54 864 -10422 P -1.1912 0.6486 69.1S 2.6E 0
07552 -30 1175 May 21 20:53:01 804 -10199 P -1.1176 0.7882 68.1S 119.3W 0
07598 -29 1193 Jun 01 04:11:37 748 -9976 P -1.0418 0.9331 67.1S 119.8E 0
07643 -28 1211 Jun 12 11:30:10 696 -9753 T -0.9649 1.0434 51.7S 3.4E 15 569 03m20s
07689 -27 1229 Jun 22 18:50:32 648 -9530 T -0.8886 1.0496 39.0S 109.7W 27 360 04m10s
07734 -26 1247 Jul 04 02:11:47 602 -9307 T -0.8122 1.0539 30.9S 137.9E 35 304 04m42s
07778 -25 1265 Jul 14 09:37:31 560 -9084 T -0.7388 1.0568 25.3S 25.1E 42 275 04m59s
07821 -24 1283 Jul 25 17:06:40 520 -8861 T -0.6677 1.0587 21.4S 88.1W 48 256 05m07s
07864 -23 1301 Aug 05 00:42:42 483 -8638 T -0.6019 1.0597 19.1S 157.3E 53 242 05m07s
07906 -22 1319 Aug 16 08:23:22 448 -8415 T -0.5396 1.0600 18.0S 41.9E 57 231 05m01s
07947 -21 1337 Aug 26 16:12:58 416 -8192 T -0.4842 1.0596 18.1S 75.7W 61 221 04m53s
07988 -20 1355 Sep 07 00:09:07 385 -7969 T -0.4340 1.0586 19.2S 165.3E 64 212 04m43s
08029 -19 1373 Sep 17 08:14:16 357 -7746 T -0.3912 1.0573 21.0S 44.0E 67 204 04m33s
08071 -18 1391 Sep 28 16:26:31 330 -7523 T -0.3541 1.0557 23.4S 78.9W 69 195 04m23s
08111 -17 1409 Oct 09 00:48:09 304 -7300 T -0.3249 1.0539 26.2S 156.1E 71 188 04m15s
08151 -16 1427 Oct 20 09:16:36 280 -7077 T -0.3009 1.0521 29.1S 29.6E 72 180 04m07s
08191 -15 1445 Oct 30 17:52:12 257 -6854 T -0.2828 1.0505 32.0S 98.2W 73 174 04m01s
08231 -14 1463 Nov 11 02:33:46 235 -6631 T -0.2696 1.0490 34.5S 133.0E 74 169 03m56s
08271 -13 1481 Nov 21 11:21:13 215 -6408 T -0.2617 1.0479 36.6S 3.3E 75 165 03m53s
08311 -12 1499 Dec 02 20:11:32 196 -6185 T -0.2557 1.0471 37.9S 126.7W 75 162 03m51s
08353 -11 1517 Dec 13 05:04:13 178 -5962 T -0.2520 1.0468 38.2S 103.0E 75 161 03m52s
08394 -10 1535 Dec 24 13:56:57 161 -5739 T -0.2482 1.0469 37.5S 27.4W 75 161 03m55s
08435 -09 1554 Jan 03 22:49:38 147 -5516 T -0.2447 1.0474 35.8S 158.1W 76 163 04m00s
08476 -08 1572 Jan 15 07:38:12 134 -5293 T -0.2380 1.0485 33.0S 71.6E 76 166 04m07s
08517 -07 1590 Feb 04 16:24:05 123 -5070 T -0.2293 1.0498 29.3S 58.8W 77 170 04m17s
08558 -06 1608 Feb 16 01:03:28 110 -4847 T -0.2154 1.0515 24.8S 171.7E 77 175 04m29s
08602 -05 1626 Feb 26 09:37:27 85 -4624 T -0.1971 1.0535 19.7S 42.7E 79 180 04m42s
08647 -04 1644 Mar 08 18:02:43 58 -4401 T -0.1717 1.0555 14.0S 84.7W 80 186 04m57s
08692 -03 1662 Mar 20 02:21:49 32 -4178 T -0.1414 1.0576 7.9S 149.1E 82 191 05m11s
08738 -02 1680 Mar 30 10:32:01 14 -3955 T -0.1039 1.0595 1.5S 24.9E 84 197 05m25s
08783 -01 1698 Apr 10 18:34:26 8 -3732 Tm -0.0599 1.0613 5.1N 97.3W 87 201 05m36s
08828 00 1716 Apr 22 02:28:33 10 -3509 T -0.0091 1.0625 11.8N 142.6E 90 205 05m43s
08873 01 1734 May 03 10:15:56 11 -3286 T 0.0472 1.0635 18.4N 24.6E 87 208 05m46s
08919 02 1752 May 13 17:56:29 13 -3063 T 0.1090 1.0637 24.9N 91.1W 84 210 05m42s
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
08964 03 1770 May 25 01:30:12 16 -2840 T 0.1760 1.0634 31.2N 155.6E 80 211 05m31s
09010 04 1788 Jun 04 08:59:31 16 -2617 T 0.2465 1.0623 37.0N 44.4E 76 211 05m15s
09056 05 1806 Jun 16 16:24:27 12 -2394 T 0.3204 1.0604 42.2N 64.6W 71 210 04m55s
09101 06 1824 Jun 26 23:46:33 10 -2171 T 0.3960 1.0578 46.6N 171.4W 66 207 04m31s
09145 07 1842 Jul 08 07:06:27 6 -1948 T 0.4727 1.0543 50.1N 83.6E 62 204 04m05s
09188 08 1860 Jul 18 14:26:24 8 -1725 T 0.5487 1.0500 52.5N 20.3W 56 198 03m39s
09230 09 1878 Jul 29 21:47:18 -5 -1502 T 0.6232 1.0450 53.8N 124.0W 51 191 03m11s
09272 10 1896 Aug 09 05:09:00 -6 -1279 T 0.6964 1.0392 54.4N 132.2E 46 182 02m43s
09314 11 1914 Aug 21 12:34:27 17 -1056 T 0.7655 1.0328 54.5N 27.1E 40 170 02m14s
09357 12 1932 Aug 31 20:03:41 24 -833 T 0.8307 1.0257 54.5N 79.5W 34 155 01m45s
09399 13 1950 Sep 12 03:38:47 29 -610 T 0.8903 1.0182 54.8N 172.3E 27 134 01m14s
09439 14 1968 Sep 22 11:18:46 39 -387 T 0.9451 1.0099 56.2N 64.0E 19 104 00m40s
09479 15 1986 Oct 03 19:06:15 55 -164 H 0.9931 1.0000 59.9N 37.1W 5 1 00m00s
09518 16 2004 Oct 14 03:00:23 65 59 P 1.0348 0.9282 61.2N 153.7W 0
09558 17 2022 Oct 25 11:01:20 73 282 P 1.0701 0.8619 61.6N 77.4E 0
09598 18 2040 Nov 04 19:09:02 85 505 P 1.0993 0.8074 62.2N 53.4W 0
09639 19 2058 Nov 16 03:23:07 111 728 P 1.1224 0.7644 62.9N 174.2E 0
09680 20 2076 Nov 26 11:43:01 150 951 P 1.1401 0.7315 63.7N 40.1E 0
09721 21 2094 Dec 07 20:05:56 191 1174 P 1.1547 0.7046 64.7N 95.0W 0
09762 22 2112 Dec 19 04:33:16 233 1397 P 1.1648 0.6858 65.7N 128.4E 0
09802 23 2130 Dec 30 13:01:34 278 1620 P 1.1730 0.6708 66.8N 8.8W 0
09844 24 2149 Jan 09 21:30:38 325 1843 P 1.1802 0.6575 67.9N 146.7W 0
09886 25 2167 Jan 21 05:56:25 365 2066 P 1.1892 0.6413 68.9N 75.5E 0
09930 26 2185 Jan 31 14:20:20 406 2289 P 1.1991 0.6238 69.9N 62.4W 0
09974 27 2203 Feb 12 22:38:35 449 2512 P 1.2128 0.5998 70.8N 160.4E 0
10018 28 2221 Feb 23 06:50:48 494 2735 P 1.2305 0.5688 71.5N 24.2E 0
10062 29 2239 Mar 06 14:54:58 541 2958 P 1.2541 0.5278 72.0N 110.6W 0
10106 30 2257 Mar 16 22:51:29 590 3181 P 1.2833 0.4770 72.2N 116.2E 0
10151 31 2275 Mar 28 06:37:50 642 3404 P 1.3199 0.4133 72.2N 14.4W 0
10197 32 2293 Apr 07 14:14:55 695 3627 P 1.3632 0.3380 71.8N 142.5W 0
10242 33 2311 Apr 19 21:41:49 751 3850 P 1.4139 0.2499 71.3N 92.3E 0
10287 34 2329 Apr 30 04:59:58 808 4073 P 1.4705 0.1514 70.6N 30.1W 0
10333 35 2347 May 11 12:07:08 868 4296 Pe 1.5351 0.0391 69.7N 149.1W 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)"
