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 150 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 1729 Aug 24. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2991 Sep 29. The total duration of Saros series 150 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1729 Aug 24 13:48:31 TD Last Eclipse = 2991 Sep 29 06:52:19 TD Duration of Saros 150 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 150 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 150 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 31 | 43.7% |
| Annular | A | 40 | 56.3% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| 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 150 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 150 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 40 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 39 | 97.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.5% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 150: 22P 40A 9P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 150 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 150 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2522 Dec 19 | 09m58s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2829 Jun 22 | 00m35s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2847 Jul 03 | - | 0.97752 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1729 Aug 24 | - | 0.00667 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 150. 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 150.
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
08862 -35 1729 Aug 24 13:48:31 11 -3344 Pb -1.5430 0.0067 61.7S 95.2W 0
08908 -34 1747 Sep 04 21:07:57 12 -3121 P -1.4880 0.1086 61.4S 146.1E 0
08953 -33 1765 Sep 15 04:32:34 15 -2898 P -1.4378 0.2009 61.1S 26.2E 0
08999 -32 1783 Sep 26 12:04:17 17 -2675 P -1.3935 0.2814 61.1S 95.4W 0
09044 -31 1801 Oct 07 19:42:34 13 -2452 P -1.3552 0.3505 61.2S 141.3E 0
09089 -30 1819 Oct 19 03:27:17 12 -2229 P -1.3226 0.4085 61.5S 16.4E 0
09133 -29 1837 Oct 29 11:19:24 5 -2006 P -1.2967 0.4542 61.9S 110.5W 0
09176 -28 1855 Nov 09 19:17:51 7 -1783 P -1.2767 0.4892 62.5S 121.0E 0
09219 -27 1873 Nov 20 03:22:52 -2 -1560 P -1.2625 0.5138 63.2S 9.5W 0
09261 -26 1891 Dec 01 11:31:08 -6 -1337 P -1.2515 0.5326 64.1S 140.9W 0
09303 -25 1909 Dec 12 19:44:48 10 -1114 P -1.2456 0.5424 65.0S 86.0E 0
09345 -24 1927 Dec 24 03:59:41 24 -891 P -1.2416 0.5490 66.1S 47.7W 0
09388 -23 1946 Jan 03 12:16:11 27 -668 P -1.2392 0.5529 67.1S 177.6E 0
09428 -22 1964 Jan 14 20:30:08 35 -445 P -1.2354 0.5591 68.2S 43.1E 0
09468 -21 1982 Jan 25 04:42:53 52 -222 P -1.2311 0.5663 69.3S 91.7W 0
09507 -20 2000 Feb 05 12:50:27 64 1 P -1.2233 0.5795 70.2S 134.1E 0
09547 -19 2018 Feb 15 20:52:33 71 224 P -1.2116 0.5991 71.0S 0.6E 0
09587 -18 2036 Feb 27 04:46:49 82 447 P -1.1942 0.6286 71.6S 131.4W 0
09627 -17 2054 Mar 09 12:33:40 101 670 P -1.1711 0.6678 72.0S 97.9E 0
09669 -16 2072 Mar 19 20:10:31 140 893 P -1.1405 0.7199 72.2S 30.4W 0
09710 -15 2090 Mar 31 03:38:08 180 1116 P -1.1028 0.7843 72.1S 156.3W 0
09751 -14 2108 Apr 11 10:55:37 222 1339 P -1.0573 0.8620 71.7S 80.5E 0
09792 -13 2126 Apr 22 18:04:22 267 1562 A- -1.0051 0.9514 71.1S 40.0W 0
09833 -12 2144 May 03 01:02:06 313 1785 A -0.9441 0.9363 53.6S 175.9W 19 727 06m09s
09875 -11 2162 May 14 07:52:46 355 2008 A -0.8775 0.9396 42.3S 72.8E 28 468 06m37s
09918 -10 2180 May 24 14:34:28 395 2231 A -0.8035 0.9422 32.6S 32.9W 36 359 06m59s
09962 -09 2198 Jun 04 21:11:35 437 2454 A -0.7260 0.9442 24.2S 135.7W 43 299 07m13s
10006 -08 2216 Jun 16 03:41:04 482 2677 A -0.6420 0.9458 16.7S 124.6E 50 260 07m20s
10050 -07 2234 Jun 27 10:09:34 529 2900 A -0.5572 0.9468 10.3S 26.1E 56 235 07m18s
10095 -06 2252 Jul 07 16:34:12 577 3123 A -0.4686 0.9473 4.9S 70.6W 62 218 07m10s
10140 -05 2270 Jul 18 22:59:54 628 3346 A -0.3811 0.9474 0.7S 166.9W 68 208 06m57s
10186 -04 2288 Jul 29 05:25:23 681 3569 A -0.2930 0.9469 2.5N 97.4E 73 203 06m46s
10231 -03 2306 Aug 10 11:55:10 736 3792 A -0.2083 0.9461 4.6N 1.0E 78 202 06m37s
10276 -02 2324 Aug 20 18:28:22 793 4015 A -0.1261 0.9449 5.7N 96.0W 83 205 06m33s
10321 -01 2342 Sep 01 01:06:55 852 4238 A -0.0480 0.9434 6.1N 165.7E 87 209 06m34s
10367 00 2360 Sep 11 07:52:25 913 4461 Am 0.0244 0.9415 5.7N 65.6E 89 217 06m41s
10411 01 2378 Sep 22 14:45:48 977 4684 A 0.0904 0.9396 4.8N 36.6W 85 225 06m54s
10455 02 2396 Oct 02 21:48:07 1042 4907 A 0.1493 0.9375 3.5N 141.2W 81 234 07m12s
10498 03 2414 Oct 14 04:58:50 1109 5130 A 0.2015 0.9355 2.2N 111.8E 78 245 07m34s
10541 04 2432 Oct 24 12:19:58 1179 5353 A 0.2455 0.9335 0.8N 2.1E 76 255 08m01s
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
10584 05 2450 Nov 04 19:49:31 1250 5576 A 0.2828 0.9318 0.5S 109.9W 74 264 08m30s
10627 06 2468 Nov 15 03:28:23 1324 5799 A 0.3126 0.9304 1.5S 135.7E 72 273 08m59s
10670 07 2486 Nov 26 11:15:08 1400 6022 A 0.3363 0.9294 2.1S 19.2E 70 280 09m26s
10712 08 2504 Dec 07 19:10:09 1477 6245 A 0.3535 0.9289 2.3S 99.5W 69 284 09m46s
10753 09 2522 Dec 19 03:10:40 1557 6468 A 0.3668 0.9289 2.0S 140.4E 68 286 09m58s
10794 10 2540 Dec 29 11:15:59 1639 6691 A 0.3765 0.9295 1.0S 19.0E 68 285 09m57s
10834 11 2559 Jan 09 19:24:29 1723 6914 A 0.3841 0.9308 0.6N 103.4W 67 280 09m43s
10874 12 2577 Jan 20 03:35:00 1809 7137 A 0.3901 0.9326 2.8N 133.7E 67 273 09m18s
10914 13 2595 Jan 31 11:44:03 1897 7360 A 0.3981 0.9352 5.9N 10.9E 67 263 08m42s
10955 14 2613 Feb 11 19:51:44 1987 7583 A 0.4076 0.9382 9.6N 111.8W 66 250 08m00s
10996 15 2631 Feb 23 03:55:11 2080 7806 A 0.4211 0.9419 14.0N 126.3E 65 236 07m13s
11036 16 2649 Mar 05 11:55:21 2174 8029 A 0.4378 0.9460 19.0N 5.2E 64 220 06m25s
11077 17 2667 Mar 16 19:47:40 2270 8252 A 0.4613 0.9506 24.6N 114.3W 62 203 05m36s
11118 18 2685 Mar 27 03:35:09 2369 8475 A 0.4895 0.9554 30.7N 127.5E 61 185 04m48s
11160 19 2703 Apr 08 11:13:59 2469 8698 A 0.5256 0.9605 37.2N 11.4E 58 167 04m01s
11202 20 2721 Apr 18 18:47:26 2572 8921 A 0.5665 0.9657 44.1N 103.1W 55 150 03m17s
11245 21 2739 Apr 30 02:11:56 2677 9144 A 0.6157 0.9708 51.4N 145.0E 52 133 02m37s
11288 22 2757 May 10 09:32:11 2783 9367 A 0.6690 0.9758 58.9N 35.1E 48 116 02m01s
11333 23 2775 May 21 16:45:20 2892 9590 A 0.7292 0.9804 66.7N 71.6W 43 102 01m31s
11378 24 2793 May 31 23:54:30 3003 9813 A 0.7933 0.9846 74.7N 173.3W 37 90 01m06s
11423 25 2811 Jun 12 06:58:46 3116 10036 A 0.8623 0.9880 82.8N 102.4E 30 84 00m47s
11468 26 2829 Jun 22 14:01:25 3231 10259 A 0.9335 0.9904 83.4N 97.9E 21 97 00m35s
11514 27 2847 Jul 03 21:02:28 3348 10482 P 1.0066 0.9775 64.9N 33.4E 0
11560 28 2865 Jul 14 04:03:03 3467 10705 P 1.0808 0.8446 64.0N 80.8W 0
11606 29 2883 Jul 25 11:05:22 3589 10928 P 1.1544 0.7116 63.3N 164.7E 0
11653 30 2901 Aug 05 18:10:19 3712 11151 P 1.2266 0.5801 62.6N 49.9E 0
11699 31 2919 Aug 17 01:18:50 3837 11374 P 1.2963 0.4526 62.1N 65.7W 0
11744 32 2937 Aug 27 08:32:10 3965 11597 P 1.3627 0.3306 61.7N 177.6E 0
11788 33 2955 Sep 07 15:51:40 4094 11820 P 1.4246 0.2164 61.4N 59.5E 0
11832 34 2973 Sep 17 23:18:46 4226 12043 P 1.4812 0.1119 61.3N 60.5W 0
11876 35 2991 Sep 29 06:52:19 4360 12266 Pe 1.5333 0.0156 61.4N 178.0E 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)"
