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 2 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 -2861 May 04. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1563 Jun 21. The total duration of Saros series 2 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2861 May 04 02:33:20 TD
Last Eclipse = -1563 Jun 21 17:57:26 TD
Duration of Saros 2 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 2 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 2 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.5% |
| Annular | A | 3 | 4.1% |
| Total | T | 43 | 58.9% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 12 | 16.4% |
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 2 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 2 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 2: 8P 43T 12H 3A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 2 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 2 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1689 Apr 07 | 00m30s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1725 Mar 17 | 00m01s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -2230 May 17 | 07m21s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -2717 Jul 29 | 00m40s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1942 Nov 07 | 01m17s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1743 Mar 05 | 00m09s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2735 Jul 18 | - | 0.96265 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2861 May 04 | - | 0.02022 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 2. 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 2.
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
----- -36 -2861 May 04 02:33:20 69788 -60119 Pb -1.5347 0.0202 71.2S 140.1E 0
----- -35 -2843 May 14 09:23:21 69251 -59896 P -1.4519 0.1692 70.7S 21.9E 0
----- -34 -2825 May 25 16:16:46 68716 -59673 P -1.3704 0.3170 70.0S 96.7W 0
----- -33 -2807 Jun 04 23:14:03 68183 -59450 P -1.2908 0.4623 69.2S 144.3E 0
----- -32 -2789 Jun 16 06:18:03 67653 -59227 P -1.2152 0.6008 68.3S 24.1E 0
----- -31 -2771 Jun 26 13:29:09 67124 -59004 P -1.1440 0.7316 67.3S 97.3W 0
----- -30 -2753 Jul 07 20:47:56 66598 -58781 P -1.0780 0.8531 66.3S 139.9E 0
----- -29 -2735 Jul 18 04:15:55 66073 -58558 P -1.0185 0.9626 65.3S 15.3E 0
----- -28 -2717 Jul 29 11:53:59 65551 -58335 T -0.9665 1.0080 50.8S 102.5W 14 111 00m40s
----- -27 -2699 Aug 08 19:42:20 65031 -58112 T -0.9219 1.0103 43.1S 136.2E 22 92 00m53s
----- -26 -2681 Aug 20 03:39:47 64513 -57889 T -0.8840 1.0116 39.0S 12.6E 28 84 01m00s
----- -25 -2663 Aug 30 11:47:56 63997 -57666 T -0.8540 1.0123 37.2S 113.8W 31 80 01m03s
----- -24 -2645 Sep 10 20:05:24 63483 -57443 T -0.8310 1.0128 37.1S 117.4E 34 78 01m04s
----- -23 -2627 Sep 21 04:31:40 62971 -57220 T -0.8145 1.0134 38.3S 13.7W 35 77 01m04s
----- -22 -2609 Oct 02 13:05:16 62461 -56997 T -0.8035 1.0140 40.6S 146.7W 36 79 01m05s
----- -21 -2591 Oct 12 21:45:28 61953 -56774 T -0.7973 1.0150 43.7S 78.5E 37 83 01m06s
----- -20 -2573 Oct 24 06:30:44 61447 -56551 T -0.7947 1.0162 47.5S 57.6W 37 90 01m09s
----- -19 -2555 Nov 03 15:17:58 60944 -56328 T -0.7935 1.0180 51.6S 166.0E 37 100 01m14s
----- -18 -2537 Nov 15 00:07:36 60442 -56105 T -0.7937 1.0202 56.1S 29.5E 37 112 01m21s
----- -17 -2519 Nov 25 08:55:52 59942 -55882 T -0.7929 1.0230 60.6S 105.6W 37 128 01m29s
----- -16 -2501 Dec 06 17:42:26 59445 -55659 T -0.7902 1.0264 65.0S 121.5E 37 146 01m40s
----- -15 -2483 Dec 17 02:23:43 58950 -55436 T -0.7830 1.0304 68.7S 6.6W 38 165 01m54s
----- -14 -2465 Dec 28 11:01:16 58456 -55213 T -0.7726 1.0348 71.6S 129.4W 39 185 02m10s
----- -13 -2446 Jan 07 19:31:37 57965 -54990 T -0.7562 1.0396 72.5S 114.3E 41 204 02m29s
----- -12 -2428 Jan 19 03:55:02 57476 -54767 T -0.7337 1.0448 71.1S 0.4E 42 221 02m50s
----- -11 -2410 Jan 29 12:10:05 56989 -54544 T -0.7042 1.0501 67.4S 115.2W 45 235 03m15s
----- -10 -2392 Feb 09 20:17:54 56504 -54321 T -0.6682 1.0555 62.0S 126.1E 48 247 03m43s
----- -09 -2374 Feb 20 04:17:39 56021 -54098 T -0.6254 1.0607 55.6S 6.1E 51 256 04m14s
----- -08 -2356 Mar 02 12:09:40 55540 -53875 T -0.5760 1.0657 48.4S 114.3W 55 262 04m47s
----- -07 -2338 Mar 13 19:54:57 55061 -53652 T -0.5205 1.0702 40.7S 125.8E 58 267 05m21s
----- -06 -2320 Mar 24 03:34:04 54584 -53429 T -0.4596 1.0741 32.7S 6.7E 62 270 05m53s
----- -05 -2302 Apr 04 11:07:07 54110 -53206 T -0.3933 1.0774 24.5S 111.4W 67 271 06m24s
----- -04 -2284 Apr 14 18:36:13 53637 -52983 T -0.3237 1.0799 16.2S 131.5E 71 272 06m50s
----- -03 -2266 Apr 26 02:01:36 53167 -52760 T -0.2507 1.0816 7.9S 15.3E 75 271 07m09s
----- -02 -2248 May 06 09:26:04 52698 -52537 T -0.1771 1.0823 0.2N 100.4W 80 269 07m20s
----- -01 -2230 May 17 16:47:47 52232 -52314 T -0.1011 1.0821 8.2N 145.0E 84 266 07m21s
----- 00 -2212 May 28 00:11:44 51767 -52091 Tm -0.0272 1.0809 15.6N 30.4E 89 261 07m13s
----- 01 -2194 Jun 08 07:35:59 51305 -51868 T 0.0465 1.0789 22.6N 83.5W 87 255 06m56s
----- 02 -2176 Jun 18 15:04:32 50845 -51645 T 0.1161 1.0761 28.8N 162.5E 83 248 06m33s
----- 03 -2158 Jun 29 22:35:05 50387 -51422 T 0.1837 1.0724 34.1N 49.0E 79 239 06m04s
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
----- 04 -2140 Jul 10 06:12:47 49931 -51199 T 0.2451 1.0681 38.3N 65.1W 76 229 05m33s
----- 05 -2122 Jul 21 13:55:13 49477 -50976 T 0.3023 1.0632 41.2N 179.5W 72 218 05m01s
----- 06 -2104 Jul 31 21:45:23 49025 -50753 T 0.3527 1.0580 42.6N 64.7E 69 204 04m30s
----- 07 -2086 Aug 12 05:42:06 48575 -50530 T 0.3973 1.0524 42.7N 52.8W 66 189 04m01s
----- 08 -2068 Aug 22 13:48:09 48128 -50307 T 0.4336 1.0468 41.4N 173.2W 64 172 03m34s
----- 09 -2050 Sep 02 22:01:13 47682 -50084 T 0.4639 1.0412 39.2N 63.9E 62 155 03m08s
----- 10 -2032 Sep 13 06:21:44 47238 -49861 T 0.4877 1.0357 36.2N 62.0W 61 136 02m45s
----- 11 -2014 Sep 24 14:49:17 46797 -49638 T 0.5052 1.0305 32.6N 169.5E 59 118 02m24s
00010 12 -1996 Oct 04 23:23:37 46358 -49415 T 0.5166 1.0257 28.8N 38.6E 59 101 02m04s
00053 13 -1978 Oct 16 08:02:30 45920 -49192 T 0.5237 1.0214 24.8N 94.0W 58 84 01m47s
00095 14 -1960 Oct 26 16:45:10 45485 -48969 T 0.5271 1.0175 21.0N 132.2E 58 70 01m31s
00138 15 -1942 Nov 07 01:29:55 45052 -48746 H3 0.5284 1.0143 17.4N 2.2W 58 57 01m17s
00181 16 -1924 Nov 17 10:15:36 44620 -48523 H 0.5283 1.0116 14.2N 137.0W 58 47 01m06s
00225 17 -1906 Nov 28 18:58:47 44191 -48300 H 0.5296 1.0095 11.6N 89.1E 58 38 00m56s
00269 18 -1888 Dec 09 03:39:58 43764 -48077 H 0.5320 1.0079 9.8N 44.3W 58 32 00m48s
00315 19 -1870 Dec 20 12:15:47 43340 -47854 H 0.5379 1.0066 9.0N 176.3W 57 27 00m42s
00362 20 -1852 Dec 30 20:45:47 42917 -47631 H 0.5483 1.0059 9.2N 53.2E 57 24 00m38s
00408 21 -1833 Jan 11 05:07:17 42496 -47408 H 0.5652 1.0052 10.7N 75.3W 56 22 00m34s
00453 22 -1815 Jan 21 13:21:20 42077 -47185 H 0.5875 1.0048 13.2N 157.8E 54 21 00m31s
00499 23 -1797 Feb 01 21:25:34 41661 -46962 H 0.6170 1.0043 17.0N 32.9E 52 19 00m28s
00545 24 -1779 Feb 12 05:19:31 41246 -46739 H 0.6544 1.0038 22.0N 90.0W 49 17 00m24s
00590 25 -1761 Feb 23 13:03:27 40833 -46516 H 0.6992 1.0028 28.1N 149.0E 45 14 00m17s
00635 26 -1743 Mar 05 20:37:21 40423 -46293 H 0.7516 1.0016 35.4N 29.4E 41 8 00m09s
00681 27 -1725 Mar 17 04:02:01 40015 -46070 A 0.8105 0.9997 43.9N 89.3W 36 2 00m01s
00727 28 -1707 Mar 27 11:16:25 39608 -45847 A 0.8766 0.9970 53.7N 151.4E 28 22 00m14s
00771 29 -1689 Apr 07 18:23:32 39204 -45624 A 0.9476 0.9929 65.1N 24.3E 18 80 00m30s
00815 30 -1671 Apr 18 01:22:18 38802 -45401 P 1.0243 0.9436 71.6N 143.4W 0
00855 31 -1653 Apr 29 08:15:17 38402 -45178 P 1.1044 0.7984 71.2N 97.9E 0
00896 32 -1635 May 09 15:02:53 38004 -44955 P 1.1875 0.6484 70.6N 18.9W 0
00937 33 -1617 May 20 21:47:47 37608 -44732 P 1.2714 0.4977 69.8N 134.6W 0
00978 34 -1599 May 31 04:30:55 37214 -44509 P 1.3554 0.3481 69.0N 110.8E 0
01019 35 -1581 Jun 11 11:13:09 36822 -44286 P 1.4387 0.2008 68.0N 3.0W 0
01060 36 -1563 Jun 21 17:57:26 36433 -44063 Pe 1.5190 0.0603 67.0N 116.8W 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)"
