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 142 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 1624 Apr 17. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2904 Jun 05. The total duration of Saros series 142 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1624 Apr 17 17:16:18 TD Last Eclipse = 2904 Jun 05 07:24:49 TD Duration of Saros 142 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 142 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 142 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 28 | 38.9% |
| Annular | A | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | T | 43 | 59.7% |
| 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 142 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 142 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 97.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 142: 8P 1H 43T 20P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 142 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 142 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 2291 May 28 | 06m34s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1786 Jul 25 | 00m59s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1768 Jul 14 | 00m29s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1768 Jul 14 | 00m29s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1750 Jul 03 | - | 0.99559 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2904 Jun 05 | - | 0.00403 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 142. 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 142.
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
08597 -35 1624 Apr 17 17:16:18 88 -4647 Pb -1.5208 0.0582 71.2S 23.1W 0
08642 -34 1642 Apr 29 00:29:43 60 -4424 P -1.4585 0.1660 70.6S 144.7W 0
08687 -33 1660 May 09 07:36:45 35 -4201 P -1.3897 0.2868 69.7S 95.9E 0
08733 -32 1678 May 20 14:40:42 16 -3978 P -1.3172 0.4158 68.8S 22.1W 0
08778 -31 1696 May 30 21:41:23 8 -3755 P -1.2406 0.5534 67.8S 138.7W 0
08823 -30 1714 Jun 12 04:40:01 10 -3532 P -1.1610 0.6976 66.8S 105.8E 0
08868 -29 1732 Jun 22 11:38:48 11 -3309 P -1.0800 0.8457 65.8S 9.3W 0
08914 -28 1750 Jul 03 18:38:52 13 -3086 P -0.9985 0.9956 64.8S 124.3W 0
08959 -27 1768 Jul 14 01:40:57 16 -2863 H -0.9176 1.0055 43.0S 137.4E 23 48 00m29s
09005 -26 1786 Jul 25 08:46:33 17 -2640 T -0.8384 1.0106 34.6S 30.8E 33 66 00m59s
09050 -25 1804 Aug 05 15:57:13 12 -2417 T -0.7622 1.0144 29.3S 77.1W 40 75 01m20s
09095 -24 1822 Aug 16 23:14:34 11 -2194 T -0.6904 1.0173 26.1S 173.5E 46 80 01m35s
09139 -23 1840 Aug 27 06:37:32 5 -1971 T -0.6223 1.0195 24.3S 62.9E 51 83 01m45s
09182 -22 1858 Sep 07 14:09:29 7 -1748 T -0.5609 1.0210 23.9S 49.8W 56 85 01m50s
09225 -21 1876 Sep 17 21:49:15 -4 -1525 T -0.5054 1.0220 24.6S 164.5W 60 86 01m53s
09267 -20 1894 Sep 29 05:39:02 -6 -1302 T -0.4573 1.0226 26.1S 78.5E 63 85 01m55s
09309 -19 1912 Oct 10 13:36:14 14 -1079 T -0.4149 1.0229 28.1S 40.1W 65 85 01m55s
09352 -18 1930 Oct 21 21:43:53 24 -856 T -0.3804 1.0230 30.5S 161.1W 67 84 01m55s
09395 -17 1948 Nov 01 05:59:18 29 -633 T -0.3517 1.0231 33.1S 76.2E 69 84 01m56s
09435 -16 1966 Nov 12 14:23:28 37 -410 T -0.3300 1.0234 35.6S 48.2W 71 84 01m57s
09475 -15 1984 Nov 22 22:54:17 54 -187 T -0.3132 1.0237 37.8S 173.6W 72 85 02m00s
09514 -14 2002 Dec 04 07:32:16 64 36 T -0.3020 1.0244 39.5S 59.6E 72 87 02m04s
09554 -13 2020 Dec 14 16:14:39 72 259 T -0.2939 1.0254 40.3S 67.9W 73 90 02m10s
09594 -12 2038 Dec 26 01:00:10 84 482 T -0.2881 1.0268 40.3S 164.0E 73 95 02m18s
09634 -11 2057 Jan 05 09:47:52 107 705 T -0.2837 1.0287 39.2S 35.2E 73 102 02m29s
09675 -10 2075 Jan 16 18:36:04 146 928 T -0.2799 1.0311 37.2S 94.1W 74 110 02m42s
09716 -09 2093 Jan 27 03:22:16 186 1151 T -0.2737 1.0340 34.1S 136.4E 74 119 02m58s
09757 -08 2111 Feb 08 12:05:33 229 1374 T -0.2650 1.0374 30.2S 6.8E 74 130 03m17s
09798 -07 2129 Feb 18 20:44:37 274 1597 T -0.2526 1.0411 25.6S 122.5W 75 142 03m38s
09840 -06 2147 Mar 02 05:18:54 320 1820 T -0.2360 1.0452 20.5S 108.8E 76 155 04m02s
09882 -05 2165 Mar 12 13:45:50 361 2043 T -0.2130 1.0495 14.9S 18.8W 78 168 04m27s
09926 -04 2183 Mar 23 22:06:49 402 2266 T -0.1848 1.0540 8.9S 145.2W 79 181 04m54s
09970 -03 2201 Apr 04 06:19:57 444 2489 T -0.1495 1.0584 2.7S 90.2E 81 194 05m20s
10014 -02 2219 Apr 15 14:26:33 489 2712 T -0.1086 1.0628 3.7N 32.8W 84 207 05m45s
10058 -01 2237 Apr 25 22:25:04 536 2935 T -0.0606 1.0668 10.1N 153.7W 87 219 06m05s
10102 00 2255 May 07 06:18:06 585 3158 T -0.0076 1.0706 16.4N 87.2E 90 230 06m22s
10147 01 2273 May 17 14:04:31 636 3381 Tm 0.0515 1.0738 22.5N 29.7W 87 240 06m31s
10193 02 2291 May 28 21:45:28 690 3604 T 0.1153 1.0764 28.3N 144.5W 83 249 06m34s
10238 03 2309 Jun 09 05:21:55 745 3827 T 0.1833 1.0783 33.6N 102.7E 79 257 06m30s
10283 04 2327 Jun 20 12:55:01 802 4050 T 0.2542 1.0795 38.3N 8.3W 75 265 06m21s
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
10329 05 2345 Jun 30 20:26:17 862 4273 T 0.3267 1.0797 42.1N 117.7W 71 272 06m07s
10375 06 2363 Jul 12 03:55:03 923 4496 T 0.4012 1.0792 45.0N 134.5E 66 279 05m51s
10419 07 2381 Jul 22 11:25:02 987 4719 T 0.4748 1.0777 46.9N 26.9E 61 285 05m32s
10463 08 2399 Aug 02 18:55:14 1052 4942 T 0.5482 1.0754 48.0N 80.4W 57 291 05m14s
10506 09 2417 Aug 13 02:28:06 1120 5165 T 0.6189 1.0723 48.3N 171.4E 52 297 04m55s
10549 10 2435 Aug 24 10:03:12 1190 5388 T 0.6875 1.0684 48.2N 62.2E 46 304 04m35s
10592 11 2453 Sep 03 17:43:48 1262 5611 T 0.7513 1.0638 48.0N 49.1W 41 312 04m15s
10634 12 2471 Sep 15 01:29:11 1336 5834 T 0.8109 1.0585 48.0N 162.2W 36 323 03m54s
10676 13 2489 Sep 25 09:20:22 1412 6057 T 0.8654 1.0527 48.6N 82.9E 30 341 03m32s
10718 14 2507 Oct 07 17:18:18 1490 6280 T 0.9141 1.0464 50.0N 34.0W 24 374 03m07s
10759 15 2525 Oct 18 01:23:55 1570 6503 T 0.9558 1.0396 52.7N 152.5W 17 450 02m39s
10800 16 2543 Oct 29 09:36:30 1652 6726 Tn 0.9919 1.0316 58.7N 91.9E 6 - 02m02s
10840 17 2561 Nov 08 17:55:40 1736 6949 P 1.0221 0.9660 62.5N 31.3W 0
10880 18 2579 Nov 20 02:21:42 1823 7172 P 1.0466 0.9182 63.3N 166.5W 0
10921 19 2597 Nov 30 10:54:08 1911 7395 P 1.0654 0.8814 64.1N 56.4E 0
10962 20 2615 Dec 12 19:30:54 2002 7618 P 1.0802 0.8524 65.1N 82.1W 0
11003 21 2633 Dec 23 04:12:15 2094 7841 P 1.0909 0.8313 66.1N 137.9E 0
11042 22 2652 Jan 03 12:55:42 2189 8064 P 1.0995 0.8144 67.2N 3.1W 0
11083 23 2670 Jan 13 21:41:08 2286 8287 P 1.1061 0.8013 68.3N 145.2W 0
11124 24 2688 Jan 25 06:24:18 2384 8510 P 1.1141 0.7860 69.3N 72.8E 0
11166 25 2706 Feb 05 15:07:13 2485 8733 P 1.1218 0.7713 70.3N 69.9W 0
11208 26 2724 Feb 16 23:45:25 2588 8956 P 1.1327 0.7511 71.1N 148.0E 0
11251 27 2742 Feb 27 08:19:28 2693 9179 P 1.1468 0.7250 71.7N 6.3E 0
11294 28 2760 Mar 09 16:45:54 2800 9402 P 1.1667 0.6887 72.1N 133.9W 0
11339 29 2778 Mar 21 01:06:37 2909 9625 P 1.1908 0.6446 72.3N 87.0E 0
11384 30 2796 Mar 31 09:18:22 3021 9848 P 1.2216 0.5883 72.1N 49.7W 0
11429 31 2814 Apr 11 17:21:36 3134 10071 P 1.2589 0.5204 71.7N 176.0E 0
11474 32 2832 Apr 22 01:15:31 3249 10294 P 1.3031 0.4397 71.1N 44.5E 0
11520 33 2850 May 03 09:01:02 3367 10517 P 1.3537 0.3475 70.3N 84.3W 0
11566 34 2868 May 13 16:37:07 3486 10740 P 1.4111 0.2430 69.4N 149.9E 0
11613 35 2886 May 25 00:04:54 3608 10963 P 1.4742 0.1283 68.5N 26.8E 0
11660 36 2904 Jun 05 07:24:49 3732 11186 Pe 1.5428 0.0040 67.5N 93.8W 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)"
