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 13 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 -2543 Sep 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -1028 Mar 19. The total duration of Saros series 13 is 1514.53 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2543 Sep 23 03:30:50 TD
Last Eclipse = -1028 Mar 19 22:16:58 TD
Duration of Saros 13 = 1514.53 Years
Saros 13 is composed of 85 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 13 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 85 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 44 | 51.8% |
| Annular | A | 30 | 35.3% |
| Total | T | 8 | 9.4% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 3.5% |
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 13 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 13 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 40 | 97.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 85 eclipses in Saros 13: 20P 30A 3H 8T 24P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 13 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 13 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1912 Oct 05 | 07m55s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1659 Mar 06 | 00m34s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1515 May 31 | 02m35s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1587 Apr 18 | 01m29s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1605 Apr 08 | 01m02s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1641 Mar 17 | 00m01s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2200 Apr 16 | - | 0.92669 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1028 Mar 19 | - | 0.00537 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 13. 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 13.
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
----- -41 -2543 Sep 23 03:30:50 60613 -56181 Pb 1.5545 0.0121 71.0N 135.8E 0
----- -40 -2525 Oct 04 11:34:26 60112 -55958 P 1.5490 0.0238 71.4N 1.1W 0
----- -39 -2507 Oct 14 19:41:58 59614 -55735 P 1.5474 0.0286 71.5N 139.2W 0
----- -38 -2489 Oct 26 03:53:13 59118 -55512 P 1.5494 0.0270 71.3N 81.8E 0
----- -37 -2471 Nov 05 12:05:37 58624 -55289 P 1.5526 0.0230 70.9N 57.2W 0
----- -36 -2453 Nov 16 20:17:56 58132 -55066 P 1.5566 0.0174 70.3N 164.3E 0
----- -35 -2435 Nov 27 04:26:44 57642 -54843 P 1.5581 0.0155 69.5N 27.2E 0
----- -34 -2417 Dec 08 12:32:28 57154 -54620 P 1.5578 0.0165 68.5N 108.5W 0
----- -33 -2399 Dec 18 20:32:07 56669 -54397 P 1.5527 0.0250 67.5N 118.0E 0
----- -32 -2381 Dec 30 04:24:07 56185 -54174 P 1.5421 0.0428 66.4N 13.0W 0
----- -31 -2362 Jan 09 12:07:11 55704 -53951 P 1.5245 0.0720 65.4N 141.2W 0
----- -30 -2344 Jan 20 19:41:00 55224 -53728 P 1.4998 0.1131 64.4N 93.3E 0
----- -29 -2326 Jan 31 03:04:47 54747 -53505 P 1.4673 0.1675 63.5N 29.3W 0
----- -28 -2308 Feb 11 10:17:31 54271 -53282 P 1.4259 0.2369 62.6N 148.9W 0
----- -27 -2290 Feb 21 17:20:16 53798 -53059 P 1.3766 0.3201 61.9N 94.3E 0
----- -26 -2272 Mar 04 00:12:52 53327 -52836 P 1.3192 0.4173 61.3N 19.8W 0
----- -25 -2254 Mar 15 06:55:35 52858 -52613 P 1.2539 0.5284 60.9N 131.3W 0
----- -24 -2236 Mar 25 13:30:00 52390 -52390 P 1.1816 0.6518 60.6N 119.4E 0
----- -23 -2218 Apr 05 19:57:20 51926 -52167 P 1.1035 0.7853 60.4N 12.0E 0
----- -22 -2200 Apr 16 02:19:38 51463 -51944 P 1.0210 0.9267 60.4N 94.2W 0
----- -21 -2182 Apr 27 08:36:06 51002 -51721 A 0.9335 0.9399 59.1N 157.5W 21 614 04m36s
----- -20 -2164 May 07 14:51:50 50543 -51498 A 0.8451 0.9429 57.2N 120.8E 32 387 04m37s
----- -19 -2146 May 18 21:05:28 50086 -51275 A 0.7548 0.9449 55.8N 35.4E 41 305 04m39s
----- -18 -2128 May 29 03:21:43 49632 -51052 A 0.6659 0.9461 54.6N 52.1W 48 264 04m45s
----- -17 -2110 Jun 09 09:38:36 49179 -50829 A 0.5770 0.9467 52.9N 140.5W 55 239 04m55s
----- -16 -2092 Jun 19 16:02:27 48729 -50606 A 0.4932 0.9466 50.6N 128.3E 60 225 05m11s
----- -15 -2074 Jun 30 22:30:51 48280 -50383 A 0.4128 0.9462 47.6N 35.0E 65 218 05m31s
----- -14 -2056 Jul 11 05:07:40 47834 -50160 A 0.3389 0.9454 43.8N 61.7W 70 214 05m54s
----- -13 -2038 Jul 22 11:52:20 47389 -49937 A 0.2708 0.9442 39.4N 161.6W 74 214 06m20s
----- -12 -2020 Aug 01 18:48:10 46947 -49714 A 0.2113 0.9429 34.6N 94.5E 78 216 06m45s
----- -11 -2002 Aug 13 01:53:21 46507 -49491 A 0.1591 0.9415 29.4N 12.6W 81 219 07m08s
00037 -10 -1984 Aug 23 09:09:06 46069 -49268 A 0.1151 0.9402 24.0N 123.1W 83 223 07m27s
00080 -09 -1966 Sep 03 16:35:18 45633 -49045 A 0.0794 0.9390 18.5N 123.3E 85 227 07m41s
00123 -08 -1948 Sep 14 00:12:27 45199 -48822 A 0.0521 0.9380 13.1N 6.6E 87 231 07m50s
00166 -07 -1930 Sep 25 07:58:25 44767 -48599 A 0.0317 0.9374 7.7N 112.5W 88 233 07m55s
00209 -06 -1912 Oct 05 15:53:35 44337 -48376 A 0.0182 0.9371 2.4N 126.0E 89 234 07m55s
00253 -05 -1894 Oct 16 23:55:45 43910 -48153 A 0.0099 0.9375 2.5S 2.9E 89 232 07m51s
00298 -04 -1876 Oct 27 08:04:34 43484 -47930 A 0.0064 0.9384 7.2S 121.6W 90 229 07m43s
00345 -03 -1858 Nov 07 16:16:01 43061 -47707 A 0.0044 0.9400 11.5S 113.4E 90 222 07m30s
00391 -02 -1840 Nov 18 00:31:24 42639 -47484 A 0.0048 0.9422 15.3S 12.2W 90 214 07m13s
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
00437 -01 -1822 Nov 29 08:46:06 42220 -47261 A 0.0036 0.9451 18.6S 137.2W 90 202 06m49s
00483 00 -1804 Dec 09 17:00:35 41802 -47038 A 0.0015 0.9487 21.3S 98.2E 90 188 06m18s
00530 01 -1786 Dec 21 01:10:23 41387 -46815 Am -0.0054 0.9529 23.5S 25.0W 90 172 05m41s
00575 02 -1768 Dec 31 09:17:22 40974 -46592 A -0.0155 0.9578 24.9S 147.1W 89 154 04m59s
00620 03 -1749 Jan 11 17:17:46 40563 -46369 A -0.0323 0.9631 25.7S 92.6E 88 133 04m13s
00665 04 -1731 Jan 22 01:11:38 40154 -46146 A -0.0552 0.9690 25.9S 26.0W 87 112 03m25s
00712 05 -1713 Feb 02 08:57:33 39747 -45923 A -0.0858 0.9750 25.6S 142.5W 85 90 02m39s
00756 06 -1695 Feb 12 16:36:30 39342 -45700 A -0.1229 0.9814 24.9S 102.6E 83 67 01m54s
00800 07 -1677 Feb 24 00:07:48 38939 -45477 A -0.1674 0.9877 23.8S 10.5W 80 44 01m12s
00841 08 -1659 Mar 06 07:31:35 38538 -45254 A -0.2191 0.9941 22.6S 121.8W 77 21 00m34s
00882 09 -1641 Mar 17 14:48:59 38139 -45031 H -0.2772 1.0002 21.5S 128.4E 74 1 00m01s
00923 10 -1623 Mar 27 22:00:44 37743 -44808 H -0.3407 1.0060 20.5S 19.9E 70 22 00m33s
00964 11 -1605 Apr 08 05:07:38 37348 -44585 H -0.4092 1.0114 19.9S 87.5W 66 43 01m02s
01006 12 -1587 Apr 18 12:11:17 36956 -44362 T -0.4816 1.0163 19.9S 165.7E 61 63 01m29s
01047 13 -1569 Apr 29 19:13:12 36565 -44139 T -0.5562 1.0205 20.7S 59.2E 56 83 01m52s
01088 14 -1551 May 10 02:15:08 36177 -43916 T -0.6318 1.0240 22.4S 47.5W 51 103 02m12s
01128 15 -1533 May 21 09:16:51 35791 -43693 T -0.7085 1.0266 25.3S 154.5W 45 125 02m27s
01167 16 -1515 May 31 16:22:02 35407 -43470 T -0.7831 1.0283 29.5S 97.2E 38 152 02m35s
01207 17 -1497 Jun 11 23:29:47 35024 -43247 T -0.8561 1.0290 35.4S 12.2W 31 189 02m35s
01247 18 -1479 Jun 22 06:43:32 34644 -43024 T -0.9253 1.0285 43.6S 123.6W 22 256 02m24s
01287 19 -1461 Jul 03 14:01:38 34266 -42801 Ts -0.9914 1.0252 59.2S 124.8E 6 - 01m52s
01328 20 -1443 Jul 13 21:28:21 33891 -42578 P -1.0510 0.9110 66.2S 4.6E 0
01369 21 -1425 Jul 25 05:02:03 33517 -42355 P -1.1054 0.8092 67.2S 121.2W 0
01410 22 -1407 Aug 04 12:44:32 33145 -42132 P -1.1531 0.7196 68.2S 110.3E 0
01451 23 -1389 Aug 15 20:35:54 32775 -41909 P -1.1942 0.6423 69.2S 21.0W 0
01493 24 -1371 Aug 26 04:36:55 32408 -41686 P -1.2282 0.5786 70.0S 155.2W 0
01535 25 -1353 Sep 06 12:47:14 32042 -41463 P -1.2549 0.5283 70.7S 67.6E 0
01577 26 -1335 Sep 16 21:05:33 31679 -41240 P -1.2758 0.4892 71.2S 72.0W 0
01620 27 -1317 Sep 28 05:33:18 31317 -41017 P -1.2897 0.4632 71.5S 145.6E 0
01664 28 -1299 Oct 08 14:08:14 30958 -40794 P -1.2986 0.4466 71.6S 1.2E 0
01708 29 -1281 Oct 19 22:50:18 30601 -40571 P -1.3024 0.4395 71.4S 145.0W 0
01752 30 -1263 Oct 30 07:36:36 30245 -40348 P -1.3035 0.4376 70.9S 68.2E 0
01798 31 -1245 Nov 10 16:27:38 29892 -40125 P -1.3014 0.4415 70.2S 79.4W 0
01843 32 -1227 Nov 21 01:19:49 29541 -39902 P -1.2990 0.4460 69.4S 133.4E 0
01888 33 -1209 Dec 02 10:12:32 29192 -39679 P -1.2967 0.4503 68.4S 13.4W 0
01933 34 -1191 Dec 12 19:03:24 28845 -39456 P -1.2966 0.4505 67.4S 159.0W 0
01978 35 -1173 Dec 24 03:51:48 28501 -39233 P -1.2990 0.4458 66.3S 56.5E 0
02025 36 -1154 Jan 03 12:34:37 28158 -39010 P -1.3063 0.4320 65.3S 86.0W 0
02071 37 -1136 Jan 14 21:12:03 27817 -38787 P -1.3183 0.4091 64.3S 133.2E 0
02116 38 -1118 Jan 25 05:42:04 27478 -38564 P -1.3367 0.3740 63.4S 5.3W 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
02161 39 -1100 Feb 05 14:05:47 27142 -38341 P -1.3608 0.3277 62.6S 142.0W 0
02204 40 -1082 Feb 15 22:19:32 26808 -38118 P -1.3931 0.2654 62.0S 84.0E 0
02247 41 -1064 Feb 27 06:26:48 26475 -37895 P -1.4309 0.1921 61.5S 48.2W 0
02290 42 -1046 Mar 09 14:24:39 26145 -37672 P -1.4765 0.1036 61.1S 177.9W 0
02334 43 -1028 Mar 19 22:16:58 25817 -37449 Pe -1.5268 0.0054 60.9S 53.9E 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)"
