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 8 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 -2579 Mar 07. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1281 Apr 26. The total duration of Saros series 8 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2579 Mar 07 20:26:02 TD
Last Eclipse = -1281 Apr 26 12:27:53 TD
Duration of Saros 8 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 8 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 8 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 17 | 23.3% |
| Annular | A | 10 | 13.7% |
| Total | T | 45 | 61.6% |
| 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 8 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 8 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 55 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 8: 7P 45T 1H 10A 10P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 8 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 8 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1480 Dec 28 | 02m20s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1624 Oct 02 | 00m02s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1912 Apr 12 | 06m48s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1660 Sep 10 | 00m47s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1642 Sep 21 | 00m22s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1642 Sep 21 | 00m22s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1443 Jan 18 | - | 0.94252 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1281 Apr 26 | - | 0.04709 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 8. 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 8.
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 -2579 Mar 07 20:26:02 61633 -56633 Pb -1.5074 0.0719 70.3S 93.7W 0
----- -35 -2561 Mar 19 03:38:00 61128 -56410 P -1.4420 0.1880 71.0S 142.9E 0
----- -34 -2543 Mar 29 10:44:21 60626 -56187 P -1.3708 0.3162 71.4S 20.6E 0
----- -33 -2525 Apr 09 17:48:18 60126 -55964 P -1.2962 0.4520 71.6S 101.4W 0
----- -32 -2507 Apr 20 00:49:40 59628 -55741 P -1.2183 0.5954 71.5S 137.3E 0
----- -31 -2489 May 01 07:49:49 59131 -55518 P -1.1382 0.7442 71.3S 16.3E 0
----- -30 -2471 May 11 14:50:59 58637 -55295 P -1.0577 0.8949 70.8S 104.5W 0
----- -29 -2453 May 22 21:54:09 58145 -55072 T -0.9775 1.0220 60.7S 119.1E 11 375 01m35s
----- -28 -2435 Jun 02 05:01:28 57655 -54849 T -0.8996 1.0286 45.4S 4.4W 26 223 02m23s
----- -27 -2417 Jun 13 12:12:21 57168 -54626 T -0.8238 1.0330 34.8S 120.8W 34 196 03m00s
----- -26 -2399 Jun 23 19:30:49 56682 -54403 T -0.7530 1.0359 26.5S 123.3E 41 184 03m27s
----- -25 -2381 Jul 05 02:55:16 56198 -54180 T -0.6861 1.0380 19.8S 7.2E 47 175 03m46s
----- -24 -2363 Jul 15 10:28:24 55717 -53957 T -0.6255 1.0392 14.7S 110.2W 51 168 03m55s
----- -23 -2345 Jul 26 18:09:16 55237 -53734 T -0.5706 1.0398 10.9S 131.1E 55 162 03m57s
----- -22 -2327 Aug 06 02:00:49 54759 -53511 T -0.5238 1.0399 8.6S 10.2E 58 156 03m53s
----- -21 -2309 Aug 17 10:01:08 54284 -53288 T -0.4836 1.0396 7.7S 112.7W 61 151 03m45s
----- -20 -2291 Aug 27 18:10:54 53811 -53065 T -0.4505 1.0391 8.0S 122.3E 63 146 03m35s
----- -19 -2273 Sep 08 02:29:55 53339 -52842 T -0.4247 1.0384 9.4S 5.1W 65 141 03m25s
----- -18 -2255 Sep 18 10:58:02 52870 -52619 T -0.4062 1.0378 11.9S 134.8W 66 138 03m16s
----- -17 -2237 Sep 29 19:33:10 52403 -52396 T -0.3930 1.0373 15.2S 93.7E 67 135 03m08s
----- -16 -2219 Oct 10 04:14:52 51938 -52173 T -0.3852 1.0371 19.1S 39.5W 67 134 03m02s
----- -15 -2201 Oct 21 13:01:25 51475 -51950 T -0.3810 1.0372 23.4S 173.8W 67 134 03m00s
----- -14 -2183 Oct 31 21:52:24 51014 -51727 T -0.3803 1.0377 28.0S 51.1E 67 136 02m59s
----- -13 -2165 Nov 12 06:43:55 50555 -51504 T -0.3800 1.0388 32.4S 83.7W 67 140 03m02s
----- -12 -2147 Nov 22 15:37:11 50099 -51281 T -0.3809 1.0403 36.6S 141.8E 67 146 03m08s
----- -11 -2129 Dec 04 00:27:43 49644 -51058 T -0.3796 1.0424 40.2S 8.8E 67 153 03m16s
----- -10 -2111 Dec 14 09:16:25 49191 -50835 T -0.3764 1.0449 43.0S 122.7W 68 162 03m28s
----- -09 -2093 Dec 25 17:58:40 48741 -50612 T -0.3678 1.0479 44.6S 108.2E 68 171 03m43s
----- -08 -2074 Jan 05 02:37:15 48292 -50389 T -0.3559 1.0512 44.8S 19.4W 69 182 04m00s
----- -07 -2056 Jan 16 11:07:36 47846 -50166 T -0.3375 1.0548 43.5S 145.2W 70 192 04m20s
----- -06 -2038 Jan 26 19:31:17 47401 -49943 T -0.3130 1.0585 40.8S 90.1E 72 203 04m42s
----- -05 -2020 Feb 07 03:45:43 46959 -49720 T -0.2809 1.0621 36.7S 33.5W 73 213 05m05s
----- -04 -2002 Feb 17 11:53:01 46519 -49497 T -0.2427 1.0658 31.5S 156.3W 76 222 05m29s
00036 -03 -1984 Feb 28 19:51:38 46081 -49274 T -0.1975 1.0690 25.5S 81.9E 78 229 05m53s
00079 -02 -1966 Mar 11 03:42:14 45645 -49051 T -0.1456 1.0719 18.7S 38.7W 82 236 06m14s
00122 -01 -1948 Mar 21 11:25:32 45211 -48828 T -0.0878 1.0742 11.4S 158.1W 85 242 06m31s
00165 00 -1930 Apr 01 19:02:33 44779 -48605 Tm -0.0247 1.0760 3.7S 83.6E 89 246 06m43s
00208 01 -1912 Apr 12 02:33:41 44349 -48382 T 0.0431 1.0769 4.3N 33.4W 88 249 06m48s
00252 02 -1894 Apr 23 10:00:21 43921 -48159 T 0.1144 1.0770 12.5N 149.2W 83 251 06m45s
00297 03 -1876 May 03 17:23:23 43496 -47936 T 0.1886 1.0763 20.7N 96.0E 79 251 06m34s
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
00344 04 -1858 May 15 00:44:54 43072 -47713 T 0.2636 1.0746 28.8N 18.0W 75 251 06m15s
00390 05 -1840 May 25 08:04:26 42650 -47490 T 0.3401 1.0720 36.8N 130.7W 70 249 05m50s
00436 06 -1822 Jun 05 15:25:30 42231 -47267 T 0.4148 1.0686 44.3N 117.3E 65 246 05m20s
00482 07 -1804 Jun 15 22:47:41 41814 -47044 T 0.4884 1.0643 51.4N 6.6E 61 242 04m47s
00529 08 -1786 Jun 27 06:14:07 41398 -46821 T 0.5578 1.0592 57.5N 102.8W 56 235 04m13s
00574 09 -1768 Jul 07 13:43:11 40985 -46598 T 0.6244 1.0535 62.5N 150.3E 51 227 03m39s
00619 10 -1750 Jul 18 21:18:48 40574 -46375 T 0.6850 1.0472 65.9N 44.9E 46 216 03m07s
00664 11 -1732 Jul 29 04:59:19 40165 -46152 T 0.7411 1.0404 67.3N 59.6W 42 202 02m36s
00711 12 -1714 Aug 09 12:47:18 39758 -45929 T 0.7902 1.0335 66.8N 166.8W 37 184 02m07s
00755 13 -1696 Aug 19 20:41:34 39353 -45706 T 0.8335 1.0263 65.1N 81.8E 33 161 01m39s
00799 14 -1678 Aug 31 04:44:18 38950 -45483 T 0.8690 1.0192 62.7N 35.2W 29 132 01m13s
00840 15 -1660 Sep 10 12:54:09 38549 -45260 T 0.8980 1.0123 60.3N 156.8W 26 95 00m47s
00881 16 -1642 Sep 21 21:10:34 38150 -45037 H 0.9211 1.0057 58.1N 77.9E 23 50 00m22s
00922 17 -1624 Oct 02 05:33:58 37753 -44814 A 0.9377 0.9995 56.3N 51.0W 20 5 00m02s
00963 18 -1606 Oct 13 14:02:49 37359 -44591 A 0.9490 0.9940 54.7N 177.1E 18 66 00m25s
01005 19 -1588 Oct 23 22:36:30 36966 -44368 A 0.9560 0.9892 53.4N 42.8E 17 129 00m47s
01046 20 -1570 Nov 04 07:12:05 36576 -44145 A 0.9608 0.9850 52.4N 92.6W 16 191 01m08s
01087 21 -1552 Nov 14 15:50:05 36187 -43922 A 0.9631 0.9815 51.5N 130.7E 15 245 01m27s
01127 22 -1534 Nov 26 00:27:19 35801 -43699 A 0.9654 0.9786 51.1N 5.9W 15 295 01m44s
01166 23 -1516 Dec 06 09:02:31 35417 -43476 A 0.9687 0.9762 51.4N 141.8W 14 348 01m59s
01206 24 -1498 Dec 17 17:33:27 35035 -43253 A 0.9748 0.9742 52.8N 83.4E 12 429 02m11s
01246 25 -1480 Dec 28 01:59:17 34655 -43030 A 0.9844 0.9722 56.1N 50.0W 9 611 02m20s
01286 26 -1461 Jan 08 10:17:29 34277 -42807 A+ 0.9994 0.9805 66.1N 178.6E 0
01327 27 -1443 Jan 18 18:27:07 33901 -42584 P 1.0207 0.9425 67.1N 43.9E 0
01368 28 -1425 Jan 30 02:27:26 33527 -42361 P 1.0486 0.8929 68.2N 89.0W 0
01409 29 -1407 Feb 09 10:18:04 33155 -42138 P 1.0831 0.8315 69.2N 139.9E 0
01450 30 -1389 Feb 20 17:56:51 32785 -41915 P 1.1266 0.7544 70.1N 11.2E 0
01491 31 -1371 Mar 03 01:25:53 32417 -41692 P 1.1769 0.6651 70.8N 115.6W 0
01533 32 -1353 Mar 14 08:43:42 32052 -41469 P 1.2353 0.5616 71.4N 119.9E 0
01575 33 -1335 Mar 24 15:53:17 31688 -41246 P 1.2990 0.4487 71.7N 2.9W 0
01618 34 -1317 Apr 04 22:51:30 31327 -41023 P 1.3708 0.3218 71.7N 123.0W 0
01662 35 -1299 Apr 15 05:43:56 30967 -40800 P 1.4458 0.1893 71.5N 118.4E 0
01706 36 -1281 Apr 26 12:27:53 30610 -40577 Pe 1.5267 0.0471 71.1N 2.3E 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)"
