Eclipses of the Sun can only occur during the New Moon phase. It is then possible for the Moon's penumbral, umbral or antumbral shadows to sweep across Earth's surface thereby producing an eclipse. Not all New Moons result in a solar eclipse because the Moon's orbit is tilted about 5 degrees to Earth's about the Sun. Consequently, the Moon's shadows miss Earth at most New Moon's. Nevertheless, there are 2 to 5 solar eclipses every calendar year. There are four types of solar eclipses: partial, annular, total and hybrid[1]. For more information, see Basic Solar Eclipse Geometry.
During the 10 century period 0001 to 1000 ( 1 CE to 1000 CE[2]), Earth experienced 2351 solar eclipses. The following table shows the number of eclipses of each type over this period.
| Solar Eclipses: 0001 - 1000 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 2351 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 816 | 34.7% |
| Annular | A | 809 | 34.4% |
| Total | T | 652 | 27.7% |
| Hybrid | H | 74 | 3.1% |
Annular and total eclipses 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 during the 10th century CE appears in the following three tables (no Hybrids are included since all are central with two limits).
| Annular and Total Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All | 1461 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 1420 | 97.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 19 | 1.3% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 22 | 1.5% |
| Annular Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Annular Eclipses | 809 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 777 | 96.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 15 | 1.9% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 17 | 2.1% |
| Total Eclipses | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Total Eclipses | 652 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 643 | 98.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 4 | 0.6% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 5 | 0.8% |
The longest central[3] solar eclipses of this period are:
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0363 Jun 27 Duration = 07m24s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 0150 Dec 07 Duration = 12m23s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 0508 Sep 11 Duration = 01m45s
Long Total Solar Eclipses are relatively rare. The following catalog lists concise details and local circumstances for all Total Solar Eclipses with durations exceeding 06m 00s. The Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipses contains a detailed description and explanation of each item listed in the catalog. For eclipses from -1999 to +3000, the Catalog Number in the first column serves as a link to a global map of Earth showing the geographic visibility of each eclipse. The date and time of the eclipse are given at the instant of greatest eclipse[4] in Terrestrial Dynamical Time. The Saros Number in the sixth column links to a table listing all eclipses in the Saros series. The Key to Solar Eclipse Maps explains the features plotted on each map.
The data presented here are based in part on the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000.
TD of
Catalog Calendar Greatest Luna Saros Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Number Date Eclipse ΔT Num Num Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
04795 0009 Jul 10 20:53:09 10355 -24619 75 T 0.1261 1.0750 30.2N 89.8W 83 181 245 06m25s
04841 0027 Jul 22 04:29:07 10174 -24396 75 T 0.0603 1.0741 24.8N 156.1E 86 185 241 06m31s
04887 0045 Aug 01 12:10:30 9994 -24173 75 Tm -0.0011 1.0724 18.9N 39.8E 90 169 235 06m30s
04931 0063 Aug 12 19:59:34 9815 -23950 75 T -0.0563 1.0702 12.8N 79.0W 87 12 229 06m22s
04967 0078 Apr 30 12:39:31 9670 -23768 78 T -0.4136 1.0685 9.7S 34.8E 66 347 244 06m19s
04975 0081 Aug 23 03:55:59 9637 -23727 75 T -0.1052 1.0675 6.6N 160.0E 84 15 221 06m08s
05012 0096 May 10 20:07:02 9493 -23545 78 T -0.3421 1.0723 2.3S 80.2W 70 350 250 06m47s
05057 0114 May 22 03:32:43 9318 -23322 78 T -0.2684 1.0753 4.6N 165.8E 74 353 253 07m06s
05101 0132 Jun 01 10:57:16 9143 -23099 78 T -0.1932 1.0775 10.9N 52.8E 79 357 255 07m14s
05145 0150 Jun 12 18:23:03 8970 -22876 78 T -0.1187 1.0787 16.5N 59.7W 83 1 256 07m13s
05187 0168 Jun 23 01:48:53 8797 -22653 78 T -0.0441 1.0792 21.3N 171.4W 88 6 256 07m03s
05227 0186 Jul 04 09:18:54 8625 -22430 78 Tm 0.0275 1.0787 25.0N 76.5E 88 189 254 06m47s
05268 0204 Jul 14 16:51:47 8453 -22207 78 T 0.0968 1.0774 27.6N 35.6W 84 195 252 06m27s
05309 0222 Jul 26 00:30:26 8283 -21984 78 T 0.1612 1.0754 29.0N 148.9W 81 200 248 06m06s
05425 0273 May 04 08:30:52 7804 -21356 81 T 0.1800 1.0753 25.5N 78.8E 79 155 248 06m02s
05465 0291 May 15 16:00:04 7634 -21133 81 T 0.1081 1.0781 24.7N 32.2W 84 159 254 06m24s
05504 0309 May 25 23:26:08 7465 -20910 81 T 0.0334 1.0799 23.1N 142.7W 88 164 258 06m45s
05543 0327 Jun 06 06:52:21 7295 -20687 81 Tm -0.0413 1.0810 20.5N 106.6E 88 347 261 07m03s
05583 0345 Jun 16 14:18:48 7126 -20464 81 T -0.1162 1.0811 17.0N 4.8W 83 352 263 07m17s
05623 0363 Jun 27 21:46:29 6956 -20241 81 T -0.1899 1.0804 12.7N 117.1W 79 357 264 07m24s
05664 0381 Jul 08 05:17:09 6787 -20018 81 T -0.2612 1.0788 7.6N 129.1E 75 1 264 07m22s
05705 0399 Jul 19 12:51:41 6617 -19795 81 T -0.3290 1.0764 2.0N 13.7E 71 5 262 07m11s
05739 0414 Apr 06 05:35:10 6478 -19613 84 T -0.1457 1.0696 1.4S 126.1E 82 343 229 06m16s
05747 0417 Jul 29 20:31:08 6446 -19572 81 T -0.3928 1.0734 4.1S 103.5W 67 9 259 06m50s
05780 0432 Apr 16 13:17:57 6307 -19390 84 T -0.0858 1.0734 5.9N 7.7E 85 344 239 06m37s
05788 0435 Aug 10 04:16:06 6275 -19349 81 T -0.4516 1.0697 10.6S 137.3E 63 12 254 06m22s
05820 0450 Apr 27 20:55:28 6136 -19167 84 T -0.0211 1.0765 13.2N 109.1W 89 346 248 06m50s
05862 0468 May 08 04:28:58 5964 -18944 84 Tm 0.0474 1.0789 20.2N 135.6E 87 170 255 06m56s
05905 0486 May 19 11:58:26 5791 -18721 84 T 0.1193 1.0806 27.0N 22.0E 83 173 262 06m54s
05949 0504 May 29 19:26:16 5617 -18498 84 T 0.1927 1.0813 33.3N 90.3W 79 177 267 06m44s
05993 0522 Jun 10 02:52:34 5443 -18275 84 T 0.2675 1.0812 38.9N 159.0E 74 181 272 06m28s
06038 0540 Jun 20 10:19:58 5268 -18052 84 T 0.3414 1.0801 43.7N 49.3E 70 187 275 06m07s
06258 0627 Apr 21 09:16:52 4459 -16978 87 T -0.1462 1.0758 5.0N 62.3E 82 335 248 06m19s
06303 0645 May 01 16:55:24 4315 -16755 87 T -0.2115 1.0779 4.7N 52.3W 78 338 257 06m38s
06350 0663 May 13 00:27:42 4145 -16532 87 T -0.2818 1.0792 3.4N 165.6W 74 341 266 06m56s
06396 0681 May 23 07:58:17 3965 -16309 87 T -0.3538 1.0797 1.2N 81.3E 69 345 274 07m10s
06440 0699 Jun 03 15:24:55 3785 -16086 87 T -0.4291 1.0792 2.2S 31.3W 65 349 282 07m17s
06462 0708 Jun 22 22:25:31 3712 -15974 106 T -0.7933 1.0737 28.8S 147.5W 37 8 393 06m18s
06483 0717 Jun 13 22:52:28 3641 -15863 87 T -0.5035 1.0779 6.5S 144.6W 60 353 291 07m15s
06504 0726 Jul 04 05:53:59 3568 -15751 106 T -0.7206 1.0745 22.6S 97.7E 44 12 347 06m31s
06526 0735 Jun 25 06:19:09 3497 -15640 87 T -0.5781 1.0756 11.9S 101.7E 55 357 300 07m02s
06546 0744 Jul 14 13:26:41 3425 -15528 106 T -0.6512 1.0741 18.0S 17.4W 49 16 314 06m30s
06568 0753 Jul 05 13:47:40 3353 -15417 87 T -0.6509 1.0725 18.1S 13.2W 49 1 310 06m38s
06588 0762 Jul 25 21:02:22 3281 -15305 106 T -0.5842 1.0729 14.8S 132.7W 54 19 289 06m20s
06609 0771 Jul 16 21:18:26 3210 -15194 87 T -0.7214 1.0684 25.2S 129.6W 44 6 322 06m04s
06629 0780 Aug 05 04:43:27 3137 -15082 106 T -0.5220 1.0708 13.0S 111.0E 58 23 267 06m03s
06642 0786 Apr 03 13:51:28 3092 -15012 90 T 0.2552 1.0709 21.0N 19.1W 75 162 238 06m02s
06684 0804 Apr 13 21:39:23 2949 -14789 90 T 0.3118 1.0732 28.3N 138.3W 72 163 250 06m03s
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] Hybrid eclipses are also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is both total and annular along different sections of its umbral path. (See: Five Millennium Catalog of Hybrid Solar Eclipses)
[2] The terms BCE and CE are abbreviations for "Before Common Era" and "Common Era," respectively. They are the secular equivalents to the BC and AD dating conventions. (See: Year Dating Conventions )
[3] 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).
[4] Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to the Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is virtually identical 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.
Special thanks to Dan McGlaun for extracting the individual eclipse maps from the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 for use in this catalog.
The Besselian elements used in the predictions were kindly provided by Jean Meeus. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Some of the information presented on this web site is based on data originally published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)"
