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 3 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -2814 Apr 24. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -1534 Jun 01. The total duration of Saros series 3 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2814 Apr 24 23:14:58 TD
Last Eclipse = -1534 Jun 01 00:38:21 TD
Duration of Saros 3 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 3 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 3 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.8% |
| Annular | A | 50 | 69.4% |
| Total | T | 5 | 6.9% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.8% |
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 3 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 3 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 57 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 56 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 3: 8P 5T 2H 50A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 3 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 3 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1967 Sep 14 | 09m27s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -2544 Oct 03 | 00m08s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -2670 Jul 20 | 01m42s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -2598 Sep 01 | 00m56s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -2580 Sep 12 | 00m36s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -2562 Sep 23 | 00m14s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2688 Jul 09 | - | 0.98349 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1534 Jun 01 | - | 0.02788 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 3. 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 3.
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 -2814 Apr 24 23:14:58 68393 -59538 Pb 1.4794 0.0951 60.7N 19.5E 0
----- -36 -2796 May 05 06:35:13 67862 -59315 P 1.4091 0.2316 60.9N 101.6W 0
----- -35 -2778 May 16 13:54:01 67333 -59092 P 1.3379 0.3696 61.2N 137.6E 0
----- -34 -2760 May 26 21:13:27 66805 -58869 P 1.2679 0.5049 61.7N 16.5E 0
----- -33 -2742 Jun 07 04:34:31 66280 -58646 P 1.1994 0.6363 62.3N 105.0W 0
----- -32 -2724 Jun 17 11:57:44 65757 -58423 P 1.1333 0.7622 63.0N 132.7E 0
----- -31 -2706 Jun 28 19:25:41 65236 -58200 P 1.0717 0.8780 63.8N 9.0E 0
----- -30 -2688 Jul 09 02:58:29 64717 -57977 P 1.0150 0.9835 64.8N 116.2W 0
----- -29 -2670 Jul 20 10:37:48 64200 -57754 T 0.9641 1.0329 80.1N 129.6E 15 439 01m42s
----- -28 -2652 Jul 30 18:23:30 63685 -57531 T 0.9191 1.0293 89.2N 65.6W 23 258 01m38s
----- -27 -2634 Aug 11 02:17:25 63172 -57308 T 0.8815 1.0246 82.3N 85.1E 28 180 01m28s
----- -26 -2616 Aug 21 10:18:30 62662 -57085 T 0.8508 1.0194 75.4N 40.5W 31 127 01m13s
----- -25 -2598 Sep 01 18:27:03 62153 -56862 T 0.8270 1.0140 69.1N 166.9W 34 86 00m56s
----- -24 -2580 Sep 12 02:42:55 61646 -56639 H 0.8099 1.0085 63.3N 65.0E 36 50 00m36s
----- -23 -2562 Sep 23 11:06:06 61142 -56416 H 0.7995 1.0033 57.9N 65.1W 37 19 00m14s
----- -22 -2544 Oct 03 19:34:44 60640 -56193 A 0.7945 0.9983 53.1N 163.3E 37 10 00m08s
----- -21 -2526 Oct 15 04:07:40 60139 -55970 A 0.7938 0.9937 48.7N 30.4E 37 36 00m31s
----- -20 -2508 Oct 25 12:43:30 59641 -55747 A 0.7965 0.9897 44.9N 103.3W 37 60 00m53s
----- -19 -2490 Nov 05 21:21:21 59145 -55524 A 0.8015 0.9861 41.6N 122.4E 36 82 01m15s
----- -18 -2472 Nov 16 05:57:32 58651 -55301 A 0.8060 0.9832 38.7N 11.7W 36 100 01m34s
----- -17 -2454 Nov 27 14:32:27 58159 -55078 A 0.8102 0.9808 36.3N 145.6W 36 116 01m52s
----- -16 -2436 Dec 07 23:02:15 57669 -54855 A 0.8108 0.9792 33.9N 81.6E 36 126 02m06s
----- -15 -2418 Dec 19 07:27:38 57181 -54632 A 0.8088 0.9780 31.9N 50.2W 36 133 02m17s
----- -14 -2400 Dec 29 15:43:49 56695 -54409 A 0.7998 0.9775 29.8N 179.5W 37 134 02m24s
----- -13 -2381 Jan 09 23:53:26 56211 -54186 A 0.7862 0.9774 27.8N 53.0E 38 131 02m27s
----- -12 -2363 Jan 20 07:52:07 55729 -53963 A 0.7641 0.9776 25.8N 71.4W 40 123 02m26s
----- -11 -2345 Jan 31 15:41:33 55250 -53740 A 0.7353 0.9781 23.9N 167.0E 42 114 02m23s
----- -10 -2327 Feb 10 23:18:58 54772 -53517 A 0.6973 0.9787 22.2N 49.0E 46 104 02m17s
----- -09 -2309 Feb 22 06:47:23 54297 -53294 A 0.6526 0.9792 20.9N 66.2W 49 96 02m12s
----- -08 -2291 Mar 04 14:04:27 53823 -53071 A 0.5992 0.9796 19.8N 178.0W 53 89 02m07s
----- -07 -2273 Mar 15 21:11:34 53352 -52848 A 0.5384 0.9798 19.2N 73.2E 57 84 02m03s
----- -06 -2255 Mar 26 04:09:07 52883 -52625 A 0.4706 0.9796 18.9N 32.8W 62 81 02m03s
----- -05 -2237 Apr 06 10:58:45 52416 -52402 A 0.3972 0.9790 18.8N 136.3W 66 80 02m05s
----- -04 -2219 Apr 16 17:41:09 51950 -52179 A 0.3187 0.9780 18.9N 122.4E 71 82 02m12s
----- -03 -2201 Apr 28 00:17:33 51487 -51956 A 0.2359 0.9763 18.9N 22.8E 76 87 02m24s
----- -02 -2183 May 08 06:50:02 51026 -51733 A 0.1509 0.9742 18.6N 75.5W 81 93 02m41s
----- -01 -2165 May 19 13:20:15 50568 -51510 Am 0.0650 0.9714 17.9N 173.3W 86 103 03m05s
----- 00 -2147 May 29 19:48:35 50111 -51287 A -0.0216 0.9682 16.6N 89.4E 89 114 03m35s
----- 01 -2129 Jun 10 02:18:25 49656 -51064 A -0.1062 0.9645 14.6N 8.5W 84 129 04m13s
----- 02 -2111 Jun 20 08:49:48 49203 -50841 A -0.1886 0.9604 11.8N 107.2W 79 146 04m58s
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 -2093 Jul 01 15:26:26 48753 -50618 A -0.2660 0.9559 8.4N 152.2E 75 167 05m48s
----- 04 -2075 Jul 11 22:06:33 48304 -50395 A -0.3398 0.9511 4.2N 50.2E 70 190 06m41s
----- 05 -2057 Jul 23 04:55:04 47858 -50172 A -0.4058 0.9462 0.4S 54.5W 66 217 07m31s
----- 06 -2039 Aug 02 11:49:55 47413 -49949 A -0.4658 0.9412 5.5S 161.4W 62 246 08m14s
----- 07 -2021 Aug 13 18:54:33 46971 -49726 A -0.5172 0.9364 10.9S 88.8E 59 276 08m46s
----- 08 -2003 Aug 24 02:06:36 46531 -49503 A -0.5620 0.9316 16.4S 23.3W 56 308 09m09s
00035 09 -1985 Sep 04 09:29:03 46093 -49280 A -0.5977 0.9272 21.9S 138.3W 53 338 09m22s
00078 10 -1967 Sep 14 16:59:19 45656 -49057 A -0.6263 0.9232 27.4S 104.6E 51 368 09m27s
00121 11 -1949 Sep 26 00:37:49 45222 -48834 A -0.6477 0.9197 32.8S 14.4W 49 394 09m25s
00164 12 -1931 Oct 06 08:23:27 44790 -48611 A -0.6630 0.9167 38.0S 135.1W 48 418 09m19s
00207 13 -1913 Oct 17 16:15:51 44361 -48388 A -0.6726 0.9145 43.1S 103.1E 47 436 09m09s
00251 14 -1895 Oct 28 00:12:42 43933 -48165 A -0.6781 0.9130 48.0S 19.1W 47 449 08m57s
00296 15 -1877 Nov 08 08:12:04 43507 -47942 A -0.6816 0.9122 52.8S 141.0W 47 457 08m43s
00343 16 -1859 Nov 18 16:12:53 43083 -47719 A -0.6838 0.9121 57.3S 98.3E 47 460 08m27s
00389 17 -1841 Nov 30 00:13:30 42662 -47496 A -0.6864 0.9127 61.4S 20.6W 46 459 08m08s
00435 18 -1823 Dec 10 08:10:48 42242 -47273 A -0.6918 0.9140 65.0S 136.2W 46 456 07m48s
00481 19 -1805 Dec 21 16:04:21 41825 -47050 A -0.7005 0.9159 67.8S 111.9E 45 451 07m26s
00528 20 -1787 Dec 31 23:51:46 41409 -46827 A -0.7145 0.9183 69.5S 4.2E 44 446 07m03s
00573 21 -1768 Jan 12 07:33:02 40996 -46604 A -0.7337 0.9212 69.8S 100.6W 43 441 06m38s
00618 22 -1750 Jan 22 15:05:02 40585 -46381 A -0.7609 0.9243 69.1S 156.6E 40 440 06m12s
00663 23 -1732 Feb 02 22:29:32 40176 -46158 A -0.7944 0.9278 67.6S 54.0E 37 446 05m46s
00710 24 -1714 Feb 13 05:44:32 39768 -45935 A -0.8361 0.9311 65.8S 47.3W 33 468 05m21s
00754 25 -1696 Feb 24 12:50:43 39363 -45712 A -0.8850 0.9344 64.1S 146.6W 27 522 04m57s
00798 26 -1678 Mar 06 19:47:59 38961 -45489 A -0.9415 0.9369 63.1S 119.2E 19 696 04m34s
00839 27 -1660 Mar 17 02:38:17 38560 -45266 A- -1.0038 0.9574 60.7S 47.7E 0
00880 28 -1642 Mar 28 09:22:04 38161 -45043 P -1.0719 0.8423 60.5S 63.6W 0
00921 29 -1624 Apr 07 15:58:59 37764 -44820 P -1.1456 0.7162 60.5S 173.1W 0
00962 30 -1606 Apr 18 22:32:52 37369 -44597 P -1.2220 0.5843 60.7S 78.0E 0
01003 31 -1588 Apr 29 05:03:27 36977 -44374 P -1.3012 0.4465 61.0S 30.0W 0
01044 32 -1570 May 10 11:34:14 36586 -44151 P -1.3807 0.3072 61.4S 138.2W 0
01085 33 -1552 May 20 18:04:09 36198 -43928 P -1.4612 0.1652 62.0S 113.6E 0
01125 34 -1534 Jun 01 00:38:21 35811 -43705 Pe -1.5387 0.0279 62.7S 4.3E 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)"
