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 125 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 1060 Feb 04. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2358 Apr 09. The total duration of Saros series 125 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1060 Feb 04 21:21:56 TD Last Eclipse = 2358 Apr 09 10:37:39 TD Duration of Saros 125 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 125 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 125 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 33 | 45.2% |
| Annular | A | 34 | 46.6% |
| Total | T | 4 | 5.5% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.7% |
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 125 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 125 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 40 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 40 | 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 125: 12P 4T 2H 34A 21P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 125 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 125 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1907 Jul 10 | 07m23s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1384 Aug 17 | 00m01s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1294 Jun 25 | 01m11s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1330 Jul 16 | 01m00s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1348 Jul 26 | 00m46s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1366 Aug 07 | 00m26s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1258 Jun 03 | - | 0.96278 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1060 Feb 04 | - | 0.00805 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 125. 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 125.
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
07265 -39 1060 Feb 04 21:21:56 1255 -11625 Pb 1.5334 0.0080 62.1N 167.8E 0
07309 -38 1078 Feb 15 05:47:57 1173 -11402 P 1.5158 0.0407 61.6N 32.0E 0
07353 -37 1096 Feb 26 14:07:35 1095 -11179 P 1.4936 0.0820 61.3N 102.0W 0
07399 -36 1114 Mar 08 22:17:27 1022 -10956 P 1.4643 0.1367 61.1N 126.5E 0
07444 -35 1132 Mar 19 06:19:27 953 -10733 P 1.4291 0.2024 61.1N 3.1W 0
07489 -34 1150 Mar 30 14:11:34 888 -10510 P 1.3867 0.2819 61.2N 130.1W 0
07534 -33 1168 Apr 09 21:56:35 827 -10287 P 1.3390 0.3713 61.5N 104.6E 0
07580 -32 1186 Apr 21 05:32:46 770 -10064 P 1.2847 0.4732 62.0N 18.6W 0
07625 -31 1204 May 01 13:01:38 717 -9841 P 1.2250 0.5852 62.5N 140.1W 0
07671 -30 1222 May 12 20:24:03 667 -9618 P 1.1607 0.7054 63.2N 99.9E 0
07716 -29 1240 May 23 03:41:19 620 -9395 P 1.0929 0.8316 64.0N 19.0W 0
07761 -28 1258 Jun 03 10:54:19 576 -9172 P 1.0220 0.9628 64.9N 137.1W 0
07805 -27 1276 Jun 13 18:03:40 536 -8949 T 0.9490 1.0202 82.2N 135.2E 18 226 01m07s
07848 -26 1294 Jun 25 01:11:53 498 -8726 T 0.8757 1.0195 84.5N 153.7E 28 140 01m11s
07890 -25 1312 Jul 05 08:19:23 462 -8503 T 0.8028 1.0171 75.4N 68.1E 36 99 01m08s
07931 -24 1330 Jul 16 15:26:57 429 -8280 T 0.7307 1.0139 66.5N 35.7W 43 70 01m00s
07972 -23 1348 Jul 26 22:37:09 397 -8057 H 0.6616 1.0098 58.0N 143.3W 48 45 00m46s
08013 -22 1366 Aug 07 05:50:23 368 -7834 H 0.5958 1.0051 49.7N 107.0E 53 22 00m26s
08054 -21 1384 Aug 17 13:09:06 340 -7611 A 0.5354 0.9999 41.7N 4.5W 57 1 00m01s
08095 -20 1402 Aug 28 20:31:39 314 -7388 A 0.4790 0.9943 34.0N 117.4W 61 23 00m33s
08135 -19 1420 Sep 08 04:02:09 289 -7165 A 0.4301 0.9885 26.7N 127.7E 64 45 01m10s
08175 -18 1438 Sep 19 11:38:08 266 -6942 A 0.3864 0.9826 19.8N 11.4E 67 66 01m51s
08215 -17 1456 Sep 29 19:22:26 244 -6719 A 0.3503 0.9768 13.5N 106.7W 69 88 02m36s
08255 -16 1474 Oct 11 03:12:17 223 -6496 A 0.3195 0.9711 7.8N 134.1E 71 109 03m22s
08295 -15 1492 Oct 21 11:10:36 203 -6273 A 0.2964 0.9657 2.8N 13.1E 73 129 04m08s
08336 -14 1510 Nov 01 19:13:50 185 -6050 A 0.2781 0.9607 1.5S 108.7W 74 148 04m54s
08378 -13 1528 Nov 12 03:22:58 168 -5827 A 0.2653 0.9562 4.9S 128.4E 75 166 05m36s
08419 -12 1546 Nov 23 11:35:42 152 -5604 A 0.2561 0.9521 7.3S 4.9E 75 181 06m13s
08460 -11 1564 Dec 03 19:52:06 139 -5381 A 0.2504 0.9487 8.8S 119.2W 76 195 06m42s
08501 -10 1582 Dec 25 04:08:39 127 -5158 A 0.2457 0.9459 9.4S 116.8E 76 206 07m02s
08542 -09 1601 Jan 04 12:24:38 117 -4935 A 0.2410 0.9437 9.1S 7.0W 76 214 07m13s
08584 -08 1619 Jan 15 20:38:07 95 -4712 A 0.2349 0.9422 8.1S 130.4W 76 220 07m16s
08628 -07 1637 Jan 26 04:48:32 68 -4489 A 0.2265 0.9412 6.4S 107.0E 77 223 07m12s
08674 -06 1655 Feb 06 12:51:54 42 -4266 A 0.2129 0.9408 4.3S 14.0W 78 224 07m03s
08720 -05 1673 Feb 16 20:49:18 20 -4043 A 0.1950 0.9409 1.8S 133.5W 79 223 06m52s
08765 -04 1691 Feb 28 04:37:41 9 -3820 A 0.1701 0.9414 0.8N 109.3E 80 220 06m40s
08810 -03 1709 Mar 11 12:18:35 9 -3597 Am 0.1394 0.9422 3.4N 5.9W 82 216 06m29s
08855 -02 1727 Mar 22 19:47:55 10 -3374 A 0.0996 0.9432 5.7N 118.0W 84 211 06m20s
08901 -01 1745 Apr 02 03:09:18 12 -3151 A 0.0536 0.9444 7.7N 132.2E 87 205 06m13s
08946 00 1763 Apr 13 10:19:31 15 -2928 A -0.0010 0.9455 9.0N 25.3E 90 201 06m11s
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
08992 01 1781 Apr 23 17:21:26 17 -2705 A -0.0620 0.9467 9.7N 79.2W 87 197 06m13s
09037 02 1799 May 05 00:13:08 14 -2482 A -0.1310 0.9476 9.3N 178.9E 83 194 06m20s
09082 03 1817 May 16 06:58:14 12 -2259 A -0.2049 0.9483 7.9N 78.5E 78 194 06m30s
09127 04 1835 May 27 13:35:42 6 -2036 A -0.2846 0.9486 5.3N 20.2W 73 196 06m44s
09171 05 1853 Jun 06 20:07:21 7 -1813 A -0.3686 0.9486 1.5N 117.9W 68 203 06m59s
09214 06 1871 Jun 18 02:35:02 -1 -1590 A -0.4550 0.9481 3.5S 144.7E 63 214 07m14s
09256 07 1889 Jun 28 09:00:00 -6 -1367 A -0.5431 0.9471 9.6S 47.3E 57 232 07m22s
09298 08 1907 Jul 10 15:24:32 7 -1144 A -0.6313 0.9456 16.9S 50.9W 51 258 07m23s
09340 09 1925 Jul 20 21:48:42 24 -921 A -0.7193 0.9436 25.3S 150.0W 44 300 07m15s
09383 10 1943 Aug 01 04:16:13 26 -698 A -0.8041 0.9409 34.8S 108.6E 36 367 06m59s
09423 11 1961 Aug 11 10:46:47 34 -475 A -0.8859 0.9375 45.8S 4.0E 27 499 06m35s
09463 12 1979 Aug 22 17:22:38 50 -252 A -0.9632 0.9329 59.6S 108.5W 15 953 06m03s
09502 13 1997 Sep 02 00:04:48 63 -29 P -1.0352 0.8988 71.8S 114.3E 0
09542 14 2015 Sep 13 06:55:19 69 194 P -1.1004 0.7875 72.1S 2.3W 0
09582 15 2033 Sep 23 13:54:31 80 417 P -1.1583 0.6890 72.2S 121.2W 0
09622 16 2051 Oct 04 21:02:14 96 640 P -1.2094 0.6024 72.0S 117.7E 0
09664 17 2069 Oct 15 04:19:56 134 863 P -1.2524 0.5298 71.6S 5.5W 0
09705 18 2087 Oct 26 11:46:57 174 1086 P -1.2882 0.4696 71.0S 130.5W 0
09746 19 2105 Nov 06 19:23:02 216 1309 P -1.3168 0.4217 70.2S 102.7E 0
09787 20 2123 Nov 18 03:07:26 260 1532 P -1.3389 0.3848 69.3S 25.5W 0
09828 21 2141 Nov 28 10:59:33 307 1755 P -1.3552 0.3577 68.2S 155.0W 0
09870 22 2159 Dec 09 18:58:33 349 1978 P -1.3663 0.3392 67.2S 74.4E 0
09913 23 2177 Dec 20 03:01:35 389 2201 P -1.3747 0.3251 66.1S 56.8W 0
09957 24 2195 Dec 31 11:09:22 432 2424 P -1.3797 0.3166 65.1S 171.4E 0
10001 25 2214 Jan 11 19:17:52 476 2647 P -1.3848 0.3078 64.1S 39.7E 0
10045 26 2232 Jan 23 03:27:39 522 2870 P -1.3891 0.3001 63.3S 91.9W 0
10089 27 2250 Feb 02 11:34:07 571 3093 P -1.3969 0.2864 62.5S 137.6E 0
10134 28 2268 Feb 13 19:39:32 621 3316 P -1.4059 0.2703 61.9S 7.5E 0
10179 29 2286 Feb 24 03:39:23 674 3539 P -1.4203 0.2448 61.5S 121.0W 0
10224 30 2304 Mar 07 11:34:24 729 3762 P -1.4389 0.2118 61.2S 111.8E 0
10269 31 2322 Mar 18 19:21:51 785 3985 P -1.4640 0.1671 61.1S 13.5W 0
10314 32 2340 Mar 29 03:03:37 844 4208 P -1.4941 0.1131 61.2S 137.3W 0
10360 33 2358 Apr 09 10:37:39 905 4431 Pe -1.5309 0.0468 61.4S 100.7E 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)"
