Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 0

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 0

Solar eclipses of Saros 0 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 -2955 May 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1675 Jun 29. The total duration of Saros series 0 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -2955 May 23   01:44:25 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  -1675 Jun 29   03:37:03 TD

                      Duration of Saros   0  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 0 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 0
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 21 29.2%
AnnularA 49 68.1%
TotalT 1 1.4%
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 0 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 0
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 51100.0%
Central (two limits) 48 94.1%
Central (one limit) 2 3.9%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 0: 11P 1T 1H 4A 3P 45A 7P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 0 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 0
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -1982 Dec 2811m38s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -2721 Oct 1100m09s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -2757 Sep 1900m21s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -2757 Sep 1900m21s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -2739 Sep 3000m07s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -2739 Sep 3000m07s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -2775 Sep 08 - 0.98422
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -1675 Jun 29 - 0.04933

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 0

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 0. 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 0.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 0

                         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

----- -37 -2955 May 23  01:44:25  72618 -61281   Pb  -1.4703  0.1118  70.1S 141.7E   0             
----- -36 -2937 Jun 03  09:07:56  72071 -61058   P   -1.4035  0.2421  69.4S  15.9E   0             
----- -35 -2919 Jun 13  16:32:41  71525 -60835   P   -1.3378  0.3695  68.5S 109.7W   0             
----- -34 -2901 Jun 25  00:03:05  70982 -60612   P   -1.2770  0.4869  67.6S 123.9E   0             
----- -33 -2883 Jul 05  07:37:34  70440 -60389   P   -1.2196  0.5967  66.6S   3.1W   0             
----- -32 -2865 Jul 16  15:19:07  69901 -60166   P   -1.1685  0.6936  65.6S 131.3W   0             
----- -31 -2847 Jul 26  23:06:29  69364 -59943   P   -1.1225  0.7795  64.6S  99.4E   0             
----- -30 -2829 Aug 07  07:02:27  68829 -59720   P   -1.0841  0.8503  63.7S  31.7W   0             
----- -29 -2811 Aug 17  15:05:47  68295 -59497   P   -1.0523  0.9078  62.8S 164.2W   0             
----- -28 -2793 Aug 28  23:16:24  67764 -59274   P   -1.0270  0.9528  62.1S  61.7E   0             

----- -27 -2775 Sep 08  07:34:39  67235 -59051   P   -1.0086  0.9842  61.4S  74.1W   0             
----- -26 -2757 Sep 19  15:59:44  66709 -58828   Ts  -0.9967  1.0054  60.2S 152.6E   2   -   00m21s
----- -25 -2739 Sep 30  00:31:07  66184 -58605   H   -0.9905  1.0018  58.6S  22.5E   7   52  00m07s
----- -24 -2721 Oct 11  09:06:18  65661 -58382   A   -0.9882  0.9977  59.2S 114.5W   8   58  00m09s
----- -23 -2703 Oct 21  17:45:46  65140 -58159   A   -0.9900  0.9935  60.6S 103.6E   7  183  00m24s
----- -22 -2685 Nov 02  02:26:47  64622 -57936   A   -0.9939  0.9895  61.7S  41.9W   5  433  00m36s
----- -21 -2667 Nov 12  11:08:00  64105 -57713   A-  -0.9987  0.9903  61.1S 167.2E   0             
----- -20 -2649 Nov 23  19:47:11  63591 -57490   P   -1.0027  0.9821  61.6S  26.3E   0             
----- -19 -2631 Dec 04  04:23:27  63078 -57267   P   -1.0050  0.9771  62.3S 113.9W   0             
----- -18 -2613 Dec 15  12:54:06  62568 -57044   P   -1.0034  0.9792  63.1S 107.0E   0             

----- -17 -2595 Dec 25  21:17:52  62060 -56821   As  -0.9971  0.9799  65.0S  29.5W   1   -   01m02s
----- -16 -2576 Jan 06  05:33:44  61553 -56598   A   -0.9852  0.9817  73.3S 157.8W   9  426  01m00s
----- -15 -2558 Jan 16  13:41:02  61049 -56375   A   -0.9676  0.9829  79.8S  67.8E  14  254  00m58s
----- -14 -2540 Jan 27  21:36:58  60547 -56152   A   -0.9413  0.9843  86.0S  93.4W  19  170  00m56s
----- -13 -2522 Feb 07  05:23:18  60047 -55929   A   -0.9082  0.9855  83.5S  53.1E  24  125  00m55s
----- -12 -2504 Feb 18  12:58:12  59550 -55706   A   -0.8666  0.9867  75.8S  84.0W  30   95  00m54s
----- -11 -2486 Feb 28  20:24:12  59054 -55483   A   -0.8189  0.9876  67.5S 153.7E  35   76  00m54s
----- -10 -2468 Mar 11  03:37:45  58560 -55260   A   -0.7619  0.9883  58.6S  36.9E  40   64  00m55s
----- -09 -2450 Mar 22  10:44:07  58068 -55037   A   -0.7001  0.9884  49.8S  76.9W  45   57  01m00s
----- -08 -2432 Apr 01  17:40:21  57579 -54814   A   -0.6305  0.9881  40.6S 172.2E  51   54  01m06s

----- -07 -2414 Apr 13  00:30:50  57091 -54591   A   -0.5572  0.9872  31.6S  63.3E  56   54  01m17s
----- -06 -2396 Apr 23  07:13:22  56606 -54368   A   -0.4782  0.9857  22.5S  43.3W  61   57  01m32s
----- -05 -2378 May 04  13:53:19  56122 -54145   A   -0.3978  0.9837  13.7S 148.8W  66   63  01m52s
----- -04 -2360 May 14  20:28:58  55641 -53922   A   -0.3146  0.9810   5.2S 107.3E  72   71  02m16s
----- -03 -2342 May 26  03:03:49  55162 -53699   A   -0.2314  0.9778   3.0N   4.1E  77   81  02m44s
----- -02 -2324 Jun 05  09:38:13  54685 -53476   A   -0.1486  0.9740  10.6N  98.2W  82   94  03m15s
----- -01 -2306 Jun 16  16:15:31  54210 -53253   Am  -0.0688  0.9698  17.5N 159.5E  86  109  03m46s
-----  00 -2288 Jun 26  22:55:37  53737 -53030   A    0.0078  0.9651  23.6N  57.6E  89  126  04m16s
-----  01 -2270 Jul 08  05:40:04  53266 -52807   A    0.0800  0.9601  28.6N  44.5W  85  145  04m45s
-----  02 -2252 Jul 18  12:30:36  52797 -52584   A    0.1465  0.9550  32.4N 147.2W  81  166  05m12s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 0

                         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

-----  03 -2234 Jul 29  19:28:11  52330 -52361   A    0.2067  0.9497  34.8N 109.0E  78  189  05m38s
-----  04 -2216 Aug 09  02:33:09  51865 -52138   A    0.2599  0.9445  35.8N   3.7E  75  212  06m03s
-----  05 -2198 Aug 20  09:46:37  51403 -51915   A    0.3055  0.9393  35.4N 103.9W  72  236  06m29s
-----  06 -2180 Aug 30  17:08:50  50942 -51692   A    0.3432  0.9345  33.9N 145.7E  70  259  06m56s
-----  07 -2162 Sep 11  00:40:12  50483 -51469   A    0.3730  0.9300  31.4N  32.4E  68  281  07m24s
-----  08 -2144 Sep 21  08:18:06  50027 -51246   A    0.3971  0.9260  28.3N  83.3W  66  301  07m54s
-----  09 -2126 Oct 02  16:04:33  49573 -51023   A    0.4137  0.9225  24.7N 158.1E  65  318  08m26s
-----  10 -2108 Oct 12  23:56:31  49120 -50800   A    0.4253  0.9196  20.8N  37.7E  65  332  08m58s
-----  11 -2090 Oct 24  07:54:12  48670 -50577   A    0.4322  0.9175  16.9N  84.5W  64  342  09m31s
-----  12 -2072 Nov 03  15:53:32  48222 -50354   A    0.4375  0.9160  13.3N 152.8E  64  350  10m04s

-----  13 -2054 Nov 14  23:55:36  47776 -50131   A    0.4403  0.9153   9.9N  29.3E  64  354  10m34s
-----  14 -2036 Nov 25  07:56:41  47332 -49908   A    0.4438  0.9152   7.2N  93.8W  64  356  11m02s
-----  15 -2018 Dec 06  15:55:26  46890 -49685   A    0.4490  0.9159   5.2N 143.8E  63  355  11m23s
-----  16 -2000 Dec 16  23:49:28  46450 -49462   A    0.4578  0.9172   4.2N  22.6E  63  352  11m36s
00043  17 -1982 Dec 28  07:38:06  46012 -49239   A    0.4710  0.9191   4.2N  97.2W  62  346  11m38s
00086  18 -1963 Jan 07  15:19:18  45577 -49016   A    0.4901  0.9215   5.4N 144.8E  61  340  11m26s
00129  19 -1945 Jan 18  22:51:51  45143 -48793   A    0.5161  0.9243   7.8N  28.7E  59  333  10m58s
00172  20 -1927 Jan 29  06:15:48  44711 -48570   A    0.5491  0.9274  11.5N  85.7W  57  326  10m18s
00216  21 -1909 Feb 09  13:30:39  44282 -48347   A    0.5892  0.9307  16.3N 161.6E  54  320  09m28s
00260  22 -1891 Feb 19  20:35:10  43854 -48124   A    0.6381  0.9340  22.4N  50.9E  50  318  08m31s

00305  23 -1873 Mar 03  03:31:18  43429 -47901   A    0.6938  0.9372  29.6N  58.7W  46  321  07m32s
00352  24 -1855 Mar 13  10:18:56  43006 -47678   A    0.7566  0.9402  37.9N 167.3W  41  335  06m34s
00398  25 -1837 Mar 24  17:00:38  42584 -47455   A    0.8244  0.9428  47.3N  83.7E  34  369  05m39s
00443  26 -1819 Apr 03  23:34:14  42165 -47232   A    0.8990  0.9446  58.2N  28.1W  26  465  04m48s
00489  27 -1801 Apr 15  06:05:13  41748 -47009   A    0.9760  0.9447  70.3N 160.1W  12  988  04m02s
00536  28 -1783 Apr 25  12:31:39  41333 -46786   P    1.0571  0.8684  71.3N  51.5E   0             
00581  29 -1765 May 06  18:57:36  40920 -46563   P    1.1387  0.7279  70.8N  60.2W   0             
00626  30 -1747 May 17  01:22:07  40509 -46340   P    1.2218  0.5842  70.1N 170.9W   0             
00671  31 -1729 May 28  07:49:57  40101 -46117   P    1.3024  0.4438  69.3N  78.1E   0             
00718  32 -1711 Jun 07  14:20:18  39694 -45894   P    1.3815  0.3056  68.4N  33.0W   0             

00762  33 -1693 Jun 18  20:55:31  39289 -45671   P    1.4570  0.1734  67.4N 144.8W   0             
00806  34 -1675 Jun 29  03:37:03  38887 -45448   Pe   1.5277  0.0493  66.4N 102.4E   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)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26