Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 127

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 127

Solar eclipses of Saros 127 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 0991 Oct 10. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2452 Mar 21. The total duration of Saros series 127 is 1460.44 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   0991 Oct 10   14:31:21 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   2452 Mar 21   17:01:31 TD

                      Duration of Saros 127  =  1460.44 Years

Saros 127 is composed of 82 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 127
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 82100.0%
PartialP 40 48.8%
AnnularA 0 0.0%
TotalT 42 51.2%
Hybrid[3]H 0 0.0%

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 127 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 127
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 42100.0%
Central (two limits) 42100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 82 eclipses in Saros 127: 20P 42T 20P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 127 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 127
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 1532 Aug 3005m40s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 2091 Aug 1501m38s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 1334 May 04 - 0.98297
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 2452 Mar 21 - 0.02617

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 127

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 127. 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 127.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 127

                         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

07105 -45  0991 Oct 10  14:31:21   1608 -12470   Pb   1.5370  0.0321  71.5N  28.4E   0             
07147 -44  1009 Oct 20  22:36:10   1509 -12247   P    1.5123  0.0753  70.9N 106.7W   0             
07189 -43  1027 Nov 01  06:48:58   1414 -12024   P    1.4930  0.1088  70.1N 116.7E   0             
07231 -42  1045 Nov 11  15:09:04   1323 -11801   P    1.4792  0.1328  69.1N  21.0W   0             
07275 -41  1063 Nov 22  23:33:39   1238 -11578   P    1.4681  0.1517  68.1N 159.2W   0             
07319 -40  1081 Dec 03  08:03:27   1156 -11355   P    1.4607  0.1642  67.0N  62.0E   0             
07364 -39  1099 Dec 14  16:35:04   1080 -11132   P    1.4537  0.1757  65.9N  76.8W   0             
07409 -38  1117 Dec 25  01:07:37   1007 -10909   P    1.4469  0.1867  64.9N 144.7E   0             
07454 -37  1136 Jan 05  09:38:55    939 -10686   P    1.4383  0.2010  63.9N   6.9E   0             
07499 -36  1154 Jan 15  18:08:17    875 -10463   P    1.4274  0.2192  63.1N 130.1W   0             

07544 -35  1172 Jan 27  02:33:05    815 -10240   P    1.4121  0.2453  62.4N  94.3E   0             
07590 -34  1190 Feb 06  10:53:04    758 -10017   P    1.3921  0.2801  61.8N  39.8W   0             
07635 -33  1208 Feb 17  19:06:58    706  -9794   P    1.3664  0.3257  61.3N 172.3W   0             
07681 -32  1226 Feb 28  03:15:05    656  -9571   P    1.3351  0.3818  61.0N  56.8E   0             
07726 -31  1244 Mar 10  11:14:43    610  -9348   P    1.2963  0.4525  60.9N  72.0W   0             
07770 -30  1262 Mar 21  19:08:33    567  -9125   P    1.2522  0.5339  61.0N 160.7E   0             
07814 -29  1280 Apr 01  02:54:21    527  -8902   P    1.2008  0.6298  61.2N  35.4E   0             
07857 -28  1298 Apr 12  10:35:28    490  -8679   P    1.1445  0.7357  61.5N  88.9W   0             
07899 -27  1316 Apr 22  18:08:42    455  -8456   P    1.0812  0.8560  62.0N 148.8E   0             
07940 -26  1334 May 04  01:39:14    422  -8233   P    1.0149  0.9830  62.6N  27.0E   0             

07981 -25  1352 May 14  09:04:24    391  -8010   T    0.9437  1.0427  73.6N  48.5W  19  441  02m18s
08022 -24  1370 May 25  16:28:30    362  -7787   T    0.8708  1.0497  76.2N 124.0W  29  338  02m51s
08063 -23  1388 Jun 04  23:49:27    335  -7564   T    0.7944  1.0552  74.2N 156.6E  37  302  03m20s
08103 -22  1406 Jun 16  07:12:01    309  -7341   T    0.7188  1.0596  69.4N  64.4E  44  283  03m48s
08143 -21  1424 Jun 26  14:34:25    284  -7118   T    0.6425  1.0629  63.1N  36.6W  50  270  04m14s
08183 -20  1442 Jul 07  21:59:40    261  -6895   T    0.5679  1.0654  56.2N 143.3W  55  261  04m39s
08223 -19  1460 Jul 18  05:27:53    239  -6672   T    0.4954  1.0669  48.9N 106.4E  60  252  05m00s
08263 -18  1478 Jul 29  13:01:17    219  -6449   T    0.4269  1.0676  41.4N   6.8W  65  244  05m18s
08303 -17  1496 Aug 08  20:40:14    199  -6226   T    0.3626  1.0675  33.9N 122.4W  69  236  05m30s
08345 -16  1514 Aug 20  04:25:15    181  -6003   T    0.3032  1.0667  26.5N 119.9E  72  228  05m38s

08387 -15  1532 Aug 30  12:17:45    164  -5780   T    0.2500  1.0654  19.3N   0.0E  75  221  05m40s
08428 -14  1550 Sep 10  20:17:38    149  -5557   T    0.2029  1.0636  12.4N 121.8W  78  212  05m37s
08469 -13  1568 Sep 21  04:25:02    136  -5334   T    0.1619  1.0615   5.8N 114.6E  81  204  05m32s
08510 -12  1586 Oct 12  12:40:32    125  -5111   T    0.1278  1.0591   0.3S  10.8W  83  196  05m23s
08551 -11  1604 Oct 22  21:03:48    113  -4888   T    0.1000  1.0567   5.9S 137.8W  84  188  05m12s
08593 -10  1622 Nov 03  05:34:48     90  -4665   T    0.0789  1.0544  10.7S  93.7E  86  180  05m01s
08638 -09  1640 Nov 13  14:11:19     63  -4442   T    0.0623  1.0522  14.8S  35.8W  87  173  04m50s
08683 -08  1658 Nov 24  22:54:42     37  -4219   T    0.0513  1.0502  18.0S 166.4W  87  167  04m40s
08729 -07  1676 Dec 05  07:42:08     17  -3996   T    0.0435  1.0486  20.2S  62.5E  88  162  04m30s
08774 -06  1694 Dec 16  16:33:11      8  -3773   T    0.0388  1.0475  21.3S  69.2W  88  158  04m22s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 127

                         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

08819 -05  1712 Dec 28  01:24:54      9  -3550   T    0.0346  1.0466  21.5S 159.0E  88  155  04m15s
08865 -04  1731 Jan 08  10:17:44     11  -3327   Tm   0.0313  1.0464  20.7S  27.0E  88  155  04m10s
08911 -03  1749 Jan 18  19:08:56     13  -3104   T    0.0264  1.0465  19.1S 104.9W  89  155  04m07s
08956 -02  1767 Jan 30  03:56:55     15  -2881   T    0.0190  1.0471  16.8S 123.9E  89  157  04m06s
09002 -01  1785 Feb 09  12:40:41     17  -2658   T    0.0080  1.0480  14.1S   6.6W  90  159  04m07s
09047  00  1803 Feb 21  21:18:46     13  -2435   T   -0.0075  1.0492  11.1S 135.9W  90  163  04m09s
09092  01  1821 Mar 04  05:50:13     11  -2212   T   -0.0284  1.0506   8.0S  96.3E  88  168  04m14s
09136  02  1839 Mar 15  14:13:42      5  -1989   T   -0.0558  1.0520   5.1S  29.5W  87  172  04m20s
09179  03  1857 Mar 25  22:29:38      7  -1766   T   -0.0892  1.0534   2.4S 153.4W  85  177  04m28s
09222  04  1875 Apr 06  06:37:26     -3  -1543   T   -0.1292  1.0547   0.2S  84.8E  83  182  04m37s

09264  05  1893 Apr 16  14:36:11     -6  -1320   T   -0.1764  1.0556   1.3N  34.6W  80  186  04m47s
09306  06  1911 Apr 28  22:27:22     12  -1097   T   -0.2294  1.0562   1.9N 151.9W  77  190  04m57s
09349  07  1929 May 09  06:10:34     24   -874   T   -0.2887  1.0562   1.6N  92.7E  73  193  05m07s
09392  08  1947 May 20  13:47:47     28   -651   T   -0.3528  1.0557   0.2N  21.4W  69  196  05m13s
09432  09  1965 May 30  21:17:31     36   -428   T   -0.4225  1.0544   2.5S 133.8W  65  198  05m15s
09472  10  1983 Jun 11  04:43:33     53   -205   T   -0.4947  1.0524   6.2S 114.2E  60  199  05m11s
09511  11  2001 Jun 21  12:04:46     64     18   T   -0.5701  1.0495  11.3S   2.7E  55  200  04m57s
09551  12  2019 Jul 02  19:24:07     71    241   T   -0.6466  1.0459  17.4S 109.0W  50  201  04m33s
09591  13  2037 Jul 13  02:40:36     83    464   T   -0.7246  1.0413  24.8S 139.1E  43  201  03m58s
09631  14  2055 Jul 24  09:57:50    104    687   T   -0.8012  1.0359  33.3S  25.8E  37  202  03m17s

09672  15  2073 Aug 03  17:15:23    143    910   T   -0.8763  1.0294  43.2S  89.4W  28  206  02m29s
09713  16  2091 Aug 15  00:34:43    183   1133   T   -0.9490  1.0216  55.6S 150.5E  18  236  01m38s
09754  17  2109 Aug 26  07:57:26    225   1356   P   -1.0178  0.9670  71.4S   5.1E   0             
09795  18  2127 Sep 06  15:24:17    270   1579   P   -1.0822  0.8458  71.9S 120.1W   0             
09836  19  2145 Sep 16  22:57:10    317   1802   P   -1.1406  0.7368  72.1S 112.8E   0             
09878  20  2163 Sep 28  06:34:34    358   2025   P   -1.1943  0.6377  72.1S  15.6W   0             
09922  21  2181 Oct 08  14:19:36    398   2248   P   -1.2408  0.5529  71.9S 145.8W   0             
09966  22  2199 Oct 19  22:10:26    441   2471   P   -1.2817  0.4790  71.4S  82.9E   0             
10010  23  2217 Oct 31  06:08:54    486   2694   P   -1.3157  0.4185  70.7S  49.8W   0             
10054  24  2235 Nov 11  14:13:08    532   2917   P   -1.3444  0.3682  69.9S 176.6E   0             

10098  25  2253 Nov 21  22:24:38    581   3140   P   -1.3666  0.3297  68.9S  41.9E   0             
10143  26  2271 Dec 03  06:40:47    632   3363   P   -1.3843  0.2996  67.8S  93.4W   0             
10189  27  2289 Dec 13  15:01:18    685   3586   P   -1.3979  0.2767  66.8S 130.8E   0             
10234  28  2307 Dec 25  23:24:23    740   3809   P   -1.4089  0.2585  65.7S   5.1W   0             
10279  29  2326 Jan 05  07:49:43    798   4032   P   -1.4177  0.2440  64.7S 141.2W   0             
10324  30  2344 Jan 16  16:13:41    857   4255   P   -1.4270  0.2288  63.8S  83.5E   0             
10370  31  2362 Jan 27  00:36:00    918   4478   P   -1.4368  0.2125  62.9S  51.1W   0             
10414  32  2380 Feb 07  08:54:01    982   4701   P   -1.4496  0.1909  62.2S 175.7E   0             
10458  33  2398 Feb 17  17:08:14   1047   4924   P   -1.4648  0.1650  61.7S  43.5E   0             
10501  34  2416 Feb 29  01:13:31   1115   5147   P   -1.4865  0.1279  61.3S  86.2W   0             


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 127

                         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

10544  35  2434 Mar 11  09:12:47   1184   5370   P   -1.5121  0.0837  61.1S 145.6E   0             
10587  36  2452 Mar 21  17:01:31   1256   5593   Pe  -1.5455  0.0262  61.1S  20.1E   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)"


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Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26