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 3001 to 4000 ( 3001 CE to 4000 CE[2]), Earth will experience 2365 solar eclipses. The following table shows the number of eclipses of each type over this period.
Solar Eclipses: 3001 - 4000 | |||
Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
All Eclipses | - | 2365 | 100.0% |
Partial | P | 829 | 35.1% |
Annular | A | 741 | 31.3% |
Total | T | 625 | 26.4% |
Hybrid | H | 170 | 7.2% |
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 40th 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 | 1366 | 100.0% |
Central (two limits) | 1324 | 96.9% |
Central (one limit) | 20 | 1.5% |
Non-Central (one limit) | 22 | 1.6% |
Annular Eclipses | ||
Classification | Number | Percent |
All Annular Eclipses | 741 | 100.0% |
Central (two limits) | 710 | 95.8% |
Central (one limit) | 15 | 2.0% |
Non-Central (one limit) | 16 | 2.2% |
Total Eclipses | ||
Classification | Number | Percent |
All Total Eclipses | 625 | 100.0% |
Central (two limits) | 614 | 98.2% |
Central (one limit) | 5 | 0.8% |
Non-Central (one limit) | 6 | 1.0% |
The longest central[3] solar eclipses of this period are:
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 3991 Jul 25 Duration = 07m18s Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 3080 Jan 14 Duration = 12m09s Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 3667 Jan 07 Duration = 01m45s
Long Hybrid Solar Eclipses are relatively rare. The following catalog lists concise details and local circumstances for all Hybrid Solar Eclipses with durations exceeding 01m 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 ----- 3004 Feb 12 17:01:39 4312 12419 166 H 0.1724 1.0110 4.2S 56.6W 80 167 38 01m09s ----- 3022 Feb 23 01:36:38 4445 12642 166 H 0.1817 1.0150 0.0N 174.5E 80 165 52 01m32s ----- 3051 Feb 03 15:09:48 4663 13000 167 H3 -0.1910 1.0172 26.8S 20.5W 79 336 60 01m32s ----- 3069 Feb 13 23:50:23 4801 13223 167 H -0.1990 1.0157 23.5S 149.3W 78 333 55 01m23s ----- 3087 Feb 25 08:28:22 4941 13446 167 H -0.2091 1.0145 19.9S 82.2E 78 332 51 01m17s ----- 3105 Mar 08 16:59:16 5083 13669 167 H -0.2245 1.0137 16.4S 44.9W 77 331 48 01m13s ----- 3108 Jul 01 11:07:05 5110 13710 164 H 0.5108 1.0132 53.2N 44.7E 59 195 53 01m05s ----- 3123 Mar 20 01:25:14 5227 13892 167 H -0.2436 1.0131 13.0S 170.9W 76 330 46 01m11s ----- 3123 Sep 12 05:05:12 5231 13898 172 H 0.2593 1.0119 17.5N 132.5E 75 210 42 01m06s ----- 3141 Mar 30 09:42:12 5373 14115 167 H -0.2695 1.0127 10.0S 65.4E 74 331 45 01m10s ----- 3141 Sep 22 12:29:56 5377 14121 172 H 0.3222 1.0127 16.6N 22.8E 71 210 46 01m10s ----- 3159 Apr 10 17:52:34 5522 14338 167 H -0.3004 1.0124 7.6S 56.7W 72 332 44 01m10s ----- 3159 Oct 03 20:01:00 5526 14344 172 H 0.3806 1.0131 15.6N 88.8W 68 210 48 01m12s ----- 3163 Jan 26 19:31:05 5553 14385 169 H -0.3923 1.0129 40.3S 77.1W 67 335 48 01m04s ----- 3171 Aug 23 16:59:52 5624 14491 183 H3 0.5520 1.0144 43.4N 39.0W 56 200 59 01m15s ----- 3177 Apr 21 01:51:45 5672 14561 167 H -0.3400 1.0120 6.1S 175.9W 70 335 44 01m09s ----- 3177 Oct 14 03:42:10 5676 14567 172 H 0.4314 1.0131 14.6N 156.6E 64 208 49 01m13s ----- 3181 Feb 06 04:13:46 5704 14608 169 H2 -0.3968 1.0158 37.0S 154.5E 66 332 59 01m18s ----- 3192 Jan 07 08:58:32 5796 14743 170 H 0.4142 1.0149 2.2N 69.9E 66 179 56 01m36s ----- 3195 May 02 09:44:13 5824 14784 167 H -0.3846 1.0115 5.5S 66.5E 67 337 42 01m09s ----- 3195 Oct 25 11:30:55 5828 14790 172 H 0.4766 1.0130 13.7N 39.9E 61 206 50 01m14s ----- 3210 Jan 17 17:39:31 5950 14966 170 H 0.4213 1.0117 4.3N 60.5W 65 175 45 01m15s ----- 3213 May 12 17:25:49 5978 15007 167 H -0.4372 1.0106 6.1S 48.3W 64 341 40 01m06s ----- 3213 Nov 04 19:29:34 5982 15013 172 H 0.5140 1.0128 13.1N 79.7W 59 203 51 01m15s ----- 3228 Jul 23 12:17:27 6110 15195 175 Hm -0.1493 1.0106 11.1N 22.3E 81 7 37 01m11s ----- 3231 May 24 01:00:02 6134 15230 167 H -0.4952 1.0095 7.9S 161.6W 60 344 37 01m01s ----- 3231 Nov 16 03:35:54 6138 15236 172 H 0.5457 1.0125 12.8N 158.6E 57 199 51 01m15s ----- 3246 Aug 03 19:21:42 6267 15418 175 H -0.2267 1.0136 4.0N 84.5W 77 10 48 01m31s ----- 3249 Nov 26 11:52:09 6297 15459 172 H 0.5697 1.0124 12.7N 34.0E 55 195 52 01m16s ----- 3264 Aug 14 02:28:00 6427 15641 175 H2 -0.3029 1.0161 3.5S 167.5E 72 13 58 01m45s ----- 3267 Dec 07 20:15:14 6457 15682 172 H 0.5886 1.0126 13.0N 92.4W 54 191 53 01m18s ----- 3285 Dec 18 04:45:16 6619 15905 172 H 0.6025 1.0131 13.7N 139.2E 53 187 56 01m22s ----- 3303 Dec 30 13:20:44 6783 16128 172 H2 0.6124 1.0139 14.8N 9.4E 52 182 60 01m27s ----- 3330 Aug 06 21:45:09 7029 16457 186 H -0.4507 1.0135 8.8S 124.9W 63 22 51 01m22s ----- 3387 Jul 07 17:03:52 7570 17161 178 H 0.2498 1.0126 36.5N 38.4W 75 194 45 01m11s ----- 3405 Jul 19 00:10:40 7746 17384 178 H2 0.3259 1.0165 38.8N 141.0W 71 200 60 01m28s ----- 3453 Jun 29 12:17:41 8223 17977 189 H3 0.4923 1.0147 52.7N 30.1E 60 177 58 01m13s ----- 3471 Jul 10 19:27:26 8406 18200 189 H 0.4186 1.0130 46.8N 73.1W 65 183 49 01m09s ----- 3489 Jul 21 02:33:52 8591 18423 189 H 0.3428 1.0108 40.1N 177.3W 70 188 40 01m01s ----- 3522 Oct 13 04:33:28 8937 18834 197 H 0.5532 1.0116 24.7N 155.6E 56 198 48 01m08s ----- 3526 Feb 05 04:20:41 8971 18875 194 H -0.5287 1.0126 47.4S 163.7E 58 344 51 01m02s ----- 3540 Oct 23 12:17:12 9127 19057 197 H 0.5018 1.0126 17.7N 37.6E 60 195 50 01m17s ----- 3546 Jun 21 21:42:43 9187 19127 181 H -0.3676 1.0129 1.8N 104.2W 68 355 48 01m27s ----- 3555 Jan 16 17:48:26 9279 19233 195 H 0.5141 1.0132 9.0N 55.2W 59 165 53 01m20s ----- 3558 May 11 18:14:03 9315 19274 192 H -0.5477 1.0098 14.9S 49.9W 57 351 40 01m03s ----- 3558 Nov 03 20:09:27 9320 19280 197 H 0.4570 1.0132 11.6N 82.0W 63 192 51 01m23s ----- 3573 Jan 27 02:30:05 9473 19456 195 H 0.5091 1.0102 10.5N 174.1E 59 161 41 01m01s ----- 3576 May 22 01:54:49 9509 19497 192 H -0.4982 1.0098 9.4S 166.4W 60 355 39 01m05s ----- 3576 Nov 14 04:10:04 9514 19503 197 H 0.4183 1.0137 6.3N 156.8E 65 189 52 01m28s ----- 3594 Jun 02 09:25:23 9706 19720 192 H -0.4408 1.0096 4.0S 80.0E 64 359 37 01m05s
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 ----- 3594 Nov 25 12:20:00 9711 19726 197 H 0.3866 1.0140 2.1N 33.9E 67 185 52 01m31s ----- 3612 Jun 12 16:49:48 9904 19943 192 H -0.3788 1.0090 0.8N 31.4W 68 3 33 01m01s ----- 3612 Dec 05 20:38:08 9910 19949 197 H 0.3608 1.0145 1.2S 90.6W 69 181 53 01m34s ----- 3627 Aug 24 10:52:23 10073 20131 200 H2 -0.6316 1.0136 24.6S 42.2E 51 29 59 01m15s ----- 3630 Dec 17 05:04:24 10110 20172 197 H 0.3413 1.0151 3.2S 143.2E 70 177 55 01m37s ----- 3648 Dec 27 13:35:41 10313 20395 197 H2 0.3253 1.0159 4.3S 15.9E 71 172 58 01m41s ----- 3667 Jan 07 22:13:32 10518 20618 197 H2 0.3144 1.0171 4.2S 112.8W 72 168 62 01m45s ----- 3713 Dec 30 20:28:38 11060 21199 198 H -0.2907 1.0132 40.0S 81.9W 73 2 48 01m11s ----- 3872 Dec 13 23:20:57 12998 23165 201 Hm 0.0842 1.0137 18.3S 118.3W 85 178 47 01m26s ----- 3909 Jul 01 06:10:45 13465 23617 206 H -0.5654 1.0121 11.2S 139.7E 55 9 51 01m20s
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)"