Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 7

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 7

Solar eclipses of Saros 7 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 -2590 Apr 08. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -1310 May 16. The total duration of Saros series 7 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -2590 Apr 08   18:27:08 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  -1310 May 16   03:52:19 TD

                      Duration of Saros   7  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 7 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 7
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 15 20.8%
AnnularA 30 41.7%
TotalT 21 29.2%
Hybrid[3]H 6 8.3%

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 7 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 7
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 57100.0%
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 7: 6P 30A 6H 21T 9P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 7 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 7
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -2212 Nov 2009m57s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -1959 Apr 2100m14s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -1472 Feb 0802m01s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -1671 Oct 1100m43s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1851 Jun 2501m34s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1941 May 0200m12s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -1454 Feb 18 - 0.98450
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -1310 May 16 - 0.06128

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 7

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 7. 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 7.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 7

                         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

----- -34 -2590 Apr 08  18:27:08  61939 -56768   Pb   1.5207  0.0694  60.5N  76.2E   0             
----- -33 -2572 Apr 19  00:49:25  61433 -56545   P    1.4395  0.2092  60.5N  30.2W   0             
----- -32 -2554 Apr 30  07:08:29  60930 -56322   P    1.3557  0.3536  60.7N 135.8W   0             
----- -31 -2536 May 10  13:24:39  60428 -56099   P    1.2695  0.5018  60.9N 119.3E   0             
----- -30 -2518 May 21  19:40:47  59929 -55876   P    1.1830  0.6501  61.4N  14.3E   0             
----- -29 -2500 Jun 01  01:56:56  59431 -55653   P    1.0962  0.7985  61.9N  90.8W   0             
----- -28 -2482 Jun 12  08:17:20  58936 -55430   A+   1.0127  0.9405  62.6N 162.9E   0             
----- -27 -2464 Jun 22  14:41:39  58443 -55207   A    0.9322  0.9363  76.2N 106.9E  21  667  04m19s
----- -26 -2446 Jul 03  21:11:51  57952 -54984   A    0.8564  0.9361  78.3N  51.6E  31  465  04m42s
----- -25 -2428 Jul 14  03:49:13  57463 -54761   A    0.7861  0.9350  75.3N  17.5W  38  395  05m08s

----- -24 -2410 Jul 25  10:35:27  56976 -54538   A    0.7229  0.9334  70.1N 104.5W  43  362  05m38s
----- -23 -2392 Aug 04  17:31:15  56491 -54315   A    0.6671  0.9315  64.3N 157.9E  48  346  06m09s
----- -22 -2374 Aug 16  00:36:22  56008 -54092   A    0.6186  0.9294  58.1N  53.7E  52  337  06m42s
----- -21 -2356 Aug 26  07:52:27  55527 -53869   A    0.5789  0.9275  52.1N  55.4W  54  334  07m16s
----- -20 -2338 Sep 06  15:18:42  55048 -53646   A    0.5471  0.9256  46.1N 168.4W  57  334  07m48s
----- -19 -2320 Sep 16  22:54:31  54572 -53423   A    0.5227  0.9241  40.3N  75.4E  58  334  08m18s
----- -18 -2302 Sep 28  06:39:25  54097 -53200   A    0.5054  0.9229  34.7N  43.6W  59  335  08m46s
----- -17 -2284 Oct 08  14:31:48  53624 -52977   A    0.4936  0.9222  29.5N 164.8W  60  335  09m09s
----- -16 -2266 Oct 19  22:31:09  53154 -52754   A    0.4874  0.9220  24.6N  72.2E  61  335  09m30s
----- -15 -2248 Oct 30  06:33:32  52686 -52531   A    0.4831  0.9226  20.1N  51.7W  61  331  09m45s

----- -14 -2230 Nov 10  14:40:19  52219 -52308   A    0.4819  0.9237  16.1N 176.7W  61  326  09m55s
----- -13 -2212 Nov 20  22:46:45  51755 -52085   A    0.4796  0.9256  12.5N  58.4E  61  318  09m57s
----- -12 -2194 Dec 02  06:53:13  51293 -51862   A    0.4771  0.9282   9.4N  66.5W  61  306  09m49s
----- -11 -2176 Dec 12  14:54:59  50833 -51639   A    0.4699  0.9315   6.6N 170.0E  62  290  09m29s
----- -10 -2158 Dec 23  22:54:02  50375 -51416   A    0.4600  0.9355   4.3N  47.2E  63  270  08m56s
----- -09 -2139 Jan 03  06:46:33  49919 -51193   A    0.4435  0.9401   2.4N  73.7W  64  248  08m12s
----- -08 -2121 Jan 14  14:32:33  49465 -50970   A    0.4210  0.9453   0.9N 167.2E  65  222  07m18s
----- -07 -2103 Jan 24  22:10:31  49013 -50747   A    0.3908  0.9508   0.3S  50.3E  67  195  06m19s
----- -06 -2085 Feb 05  05:41:18  48563 -50524   A    0.3537  0.9568   1.0S  64.5W  69  168  05m19s
----- -05 -2067 Feb 15  13:03:49  48116 -50301   A    0.3089  0.9629   1.4S 177.0W  72  140  04m21s

----- -04 -2049 Feb 26  20:18:44  47670 -50078   A    0.2565  0.9692   1.4S  72.7E  75  114  03m27s
----- -03 -2031 Mar 09  03:26:36  47227 -49855   A    0.1971  0.9754   1.2S  35.6W  79   89  02m38s
----- -02 -2013 Mar 20  10:28:58  46785 -49632   A    0.1322  0.9815   0.7S 142.4W  82   66  01m55s
00011 -01 -1995 Mar 30  17:24:52  46346 -49409   A    0.0609  0.9873   0.2S 112.7E  87   45  01m17s
00054  00 -1977 Apr 11  00:17:50  45908 -49186   A   -0.0139  0.9927   0.4N   8.5E  89   26  00m44s
00096  01 -1959 Apr 21  07:07:29  45473 -48963   A   -0.0923  0.9977   0.6N  94.7W  85    8  00m14s
00139  02 -1941 May 02  13:57:20  45040 -48740   Hm  -0.1717  1.0021   0.5N 161.9E  80    7  00m12s
00182  03 -1923 May 12  20:45:04  44609 -48517   H   -0.2538  1.0059   0.2S  59.1E  75   21  00m36s
00226  04 -1905 May 24  03:36:37  44180 -48294   H   -0.3336  1.0090   1.6S  45.0W  71   33  00m56s
00270  05 -1887 Jun 03  10:29:53  43753 -48071   H   -0.4126  1.0115   3.7S 149.8W  66   43  01m13s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 7

                         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

00316  06 -1869 Jun 14  17:29:24  43328 -47848   H   -0.4875  1.0133   6.6S 103.4E  61   52  01m26s
00363  07 -1851 Jun 25  00:33:02  42905 -47625   H2  -0.5598  1.0145  10.4S   5.0W  56   60  01m34s
00409  08 -1833 Jul 06  07:46:09  42485 -47402   T   -0.6253  1.0151  14.7S 116.4W  51   66  01m37s
00454  09 -1815 Jul 16  15:06:20  42066 -47179   T   -0.6856  1.0151  19.6S 129.8E  47   71  01m35s
00500  10 -1797 Jul 27  22:35:52  41649 -46956   T   -0.7391  1.0147  25.0S  12.9E  42   75  01m30s
00546  11 -1779 Aug 07  06:14:34  41235 -46733   T   -0.7859  1.0139  30.8S 107.0W  38   77  01m21s
00591  12 -1761 Aug 18  14:04:01  40822 -46510   T   -0.8246  1.0130  36.6S 129.7E  34   79  01m12s
00636  13 -1743 Aug 28  22:03:23  40412 -46287   T   -0.8559  1.0120  42.3S   3.2E  31   80  01m02s
00682  14 -1725 Sep 09  06:11:45  40004 -46064   T   -0.8805  1.0111  47.8S 126.2W  28   81  00m54s
00728  15 -1707 Sep 19  14:30:13  39598 -45841   T   -0.8974  1.0105  52.9S 101.4E  26   82  00m48s

00772  16 -1689 Sep 30  22:56:52  39193 -45618   T   -0.9084  1.0102  57.6S  33.2W  24   84  00m44s
00816  17 -1671 Oct 11  07:30:53  38791 -45395   T   -0.9140  1.0104  61.8S 169.6W  23   89  00m43s
00857  18 -1653 Oct 22  16:10:27  38391 -45172   T   -0.9157  1.0111  65.9S  53.0E  23   96  00m44s
00898  19 -1635 Nov 02  00:55:01  37993 -44949   T   -0.9140  1.0124  69.8S  84.7W  23  106  00m47s
00939  20 -1617 Nov 13  09:42:09  37597 -44726   T   -0.9108  1.0143  73.8S 137.8E  24  120  00m52s
00980  21 -1599 Nov 23  18:30:08  37204 -44503   T   -0.9075  1.0167  78.0S   1.3E  24  138  00m59s
01021  22 -1581 Dec 05  03:18:02  36812 -44280   T   -0.9051  1.0196  82.3S 132.7W  25  160  01m08s
01062  23 -1563 Dec 15  12:03:55  36422 -44057   T   -0.9053  1.0228  86.7S 103.4E  25  186  01m18s
01102  24 -1545 Dec 26  20:45:32  36035 -43834   T   -0.9094  1.0265  88.0S  94.2E  24  220  01m28s
01142  25 -1526 Jan 06  05:22:05  35649 -43611   T   -0.9184  1.0302  83.6S  12.6W  23  263  01m39s

01182  26 -1508 Jan 17  13:52:29  35266 -43388   T   -0.9330  1.0340  78.9S 137.2W  21  326  01m49s
01222  27 -1490 Jan 27  22:16:48  34884 -43165   T   -0.9536  1.0375  74.1S  99.0E  17  431  01m58s
01262  28 -1472 Feb 08  06:32:03  34505 -42942   T   -0.9820  1.0401  68.6S  17.3W  10  771  02m01s
01302  29 -1454 Feb 18  14:40:46  34128 -42719   P   -1.0164  0.9845  61.9S 130.7W   0             
01343  30 -1436 Feb 29  22:40:19  33753 -42496   P   -1.0586  0.9059  61.3S  98.9E   0             
01384  31 -1418 Mar 12  06:33:44  33380 -42273   P   -1.1062  0.8159  61.0S  29.9W   0             
01425  32 -1400 Mar 22  14:18:16  33009 -42050   P   -1.1615  0.7103  60.7S 156.3W   0             
01466  33 -1382 Apr 02  21:58:15  32640 -41827   P   -1.2208  0.5962  60.7S  78.4E   0             
01508  34 -1364 Apr 13  05:31:40  32273 -41604   P   -1.2855  0.4709  60.8S  45.3W   0             
01550  35 -1346 Apr 24  13:01:27  31908 -41381   P   -1.3532  0.3390  61.0S 168.0W   0             

01593  36 -1328 May 04  20:27:22  31545 -41158   P   -1.4242  0.2007  61.4S  70.1E   0             
01636  37 -1310 May 16  03:52:19  31185 -40935   Pe  -1.4957  0.0613  61.9S  51.7W   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