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 16 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 -2456 Jul 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0941 Jan 18. The total duration of Saros series 16 is 1514.53 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2456 Jul 23 23:07:52 TD
Last Eclipse = -0941 Jan 18 17:12:07 TD
Duration of Saros 16 = 1514.53 Years
Saros 16 is composed of 85 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 16 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 85 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 43 | 50.6% |
| Annular | A | 33 | 38.8% |
| Total | T | 7 | 8.2% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.4% |
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 16 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 16 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 40 | 95.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 85 eclipses in Saros 16: 22P 33A 2H 7T 21P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 16 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 16 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1915 Jun 13 | 06m40s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1482 Feb 27 | 00m02s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1374 May 03 | 02m07s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1320 Jun 04 | 01m30s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1446 Mar 21 | 01m09s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1464 Mar 10 | 00m36s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1302 Jun 15 | - | 0.88818 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0941 Jan 18 | - | 0.01647 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 16. 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 16.
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 -2456 Jul 23 23:07:52 58222 -55107 Pb -1.5213 0.0589 64.6S 52.5E 0
----- -33 -2438 Aug 04 06:23:04 57732 -54884 P -1.4753 0.1420 63.7S 68.2W 0
----- -32 -2420 Aug 14 13:46:18 57244 -54661 P -1.4363 0.2121 62.9S 169.4E 0
----- -31 -2402 Aug 25 21:17:15 56758 -54438 P -1.4039 0.2699 62.1S 45.4E 0
----- -30 -2384 Sep 05 04:56:47 56274 -54215 P -1.3788 0.3143 61.5S 80.5W 0
----- -29 -2366 Sep 16 12:43:01 55792 -53992 P -1.3596 0.3481 61.0S 152.1E 0
----- -28 -2348 Sep 26 20:37:05 55312 -53769 P -1.3469 0.3705 60.7S 22.9E 0
----- -27 -2330 Oct 08 04:36:29 54834 -53546 P -1.3388 0.3847 60.5S 107.6W 0
----- -26 -2312 Oct 18 12:40:37 54358 -53323 P -1.3351 0.3914 60.5S 120.7E 0
----- -25 -2294 Oct 29 20:47:33 53885 -53100 P -1.3341 0.3935 60.7S 11.6W 0
----- -24 -2276 Nov 09 04:56:27 53413 -52877 P -1.3353 0.3917 61.1S 144.6W 0
----- -23 -2258 Nov 20 13:04:10 52944 -52654 P -1.3358 0.3909 61.6S 82.7E 0
----- -22 -2240 Nov 30 21:09:15 52476 -52431 P -1.3346 0.3930 62.2S 49.5W 0
----- -21 -2222 Dec 12 05:09:48 52011 -52208 P -1.3303 0.4001 63.1S 179.2E 0
----- -20 -2204 Dec 22 13:05:11 51547 -51985 P -1.3226 0.4129 64.0S 48.9E 0
----- -19 -2185 Jan 02 20:51:23 51086 -51762 P -1.3078 0.4374 65.0S 79.4W 0
----- -18 -2167 Jan 13 04:29:58 50627 -51539 P -1.2873 0.4715 66.0S 153.7E 0
----- -17 -2149 Jan 24 11:57:47 50170 -51316 P -1.2584 0.5200 67.1S 29.2E 0
----- -16 -2131 Feb 03 19:17:32 49715 -51093 P -1.2231 0.5793 68.1S 93.9W 0
----- -15 -2113 Feb 15 02:24:22 49262 -50870 P -1.1776 0.6561 69.1S 145.7E 0
----- -14 -2095 Feb 25 09:23:35 48811 -50647 P -1.1260 0.7437 70.0S 26.6E 0
----- -13 -2077 Mar 08 16:11:23 48362 -50424 P -1.0650 0.8478 70.8S 90.2W 0
----- -12 -2059 Mar 18 22:52:10 47916 -50201 A- -0.9981 0.9622 71.3S 154.3E 0
----- -11 -2041 Mar 30 05:23:36 47471 -49978 A -0.9232 0.9360 64.7S 18.8W 22 623 05m14s
----- -10 -2023 Apr 09 11:50:45 47028 -49755 A -0.8445 0.9402 53.2S 134.2W 32 410 05m34s
----- -09 -2005 Apr 20 18:11:54 46588 -49532 A -0.7604 0.9436 42.2S 119.6E 40 317 05m53s
00029 -08 -1987 May 01 00:29:51 46149 -49309 A -0.6733 0.9464 31.9S 17.1E 47 264 06m10s
00072 -07 -1969 May 12 06:45:38 45713 -49086 A -0.5839 0.9485 22.1S 83.5W 54 231 06m24s
00115 -06 -1951 May 22 13:02:16 45279 -48863 A -0.4945 0.9502 13.1S 176.9E 60 209 06m34s
00158 -05 -1933 Jun 02 19:20:26 44847 -48640 A -0.4060 0.9512 4.8S 77.7E 66 195 06m39s
00202 -04 -1915 Jun 13 01:41:44 44416 -48417 A -0.3194 0.9518 2.8N 21.3W 71 186 06m40s
00246 -03 -1897 Jun 24 08:08:49 43988 -48194 A -0.2370 0.9519 9.3N 121.0W 76 181 06m36s
00291 -02 -1879 Jul 04 14:42:43 43562 -47971 A -0.1592 0.9516 14.7N 138.6E 81 179 06m28s
00337 -01 -1861 Jul 15 21:24:00 43138 -47748 A -0.0870 0.9510 19.0N 37.1E 85 180 06m18s
00383 00 -1843 Jul 26 04:14:32 42716 -47525 A -0.0216 0.9502 21.9N 66.1W 89 183 06m09s
00429 01 -1825 Aug 06 11:15:15 42297 -47302 A 0.0361 0.9491 23.4N 171.5W 88 187 06m01s
00474 02 -1807 Aug 16 18:27:18 41879 -47079 A 0.0854 0.9481 23.6N 80.3E 85 192 05m55s
00521 03 -1789 Aug 28 01:48:41 41463 -46856 A 0.1279 0.9470 22.6N 30.3W 83 196 05m52s
00566 04 -1771 Sep 07 09:22:22 41050 -46633 A 0.1610 0.9462 20.5N 144.5W 81 201 05m50s
00611 05 -1753 Sep 18 17:05:43 40638 -46410 A 0.1868 0.9456 17.6N 98.4E 79 204 05m50s
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
00656 06 -1735 Sep 29 00:59:34 40229 -46187 A 0.2048 0.9454 14.1N 21.8W 78 205 05m50s
00703 07 -1717 Oct 10 09:00:26 39821 -45964 A 0.2176 0.9456 10.2N 144.0W 77 205 05m51s
00748 08 -1699 Oct 20 17:09:38 39416 -45741 Am 0.2245 0.9464 6.1N 91.4E 77 202 05m50s
00792 09 -1681 Nov 01 01:23:34 39013 -45518 A 0.2281 0.9477 2.2N 34.3W 77 197 05m47s
00834 10 -1663 Nov 11 09:41:25 38612 -45295 A 0.2290 0.9497 1.6S 161.0W 77 189 05m40s
00875 11 -1645 Nov 22 18:00:57 38213 -45072 A 0.2292 0.9523 4.9S 72.0E 77 179 05m30s
00916 12 -1627 Dec 03 02:20:57 37816 -44849 A 0.2295 0.9557 7.5S 54.8W 77 166 05m13s
00957 13 -1609 Dec 14 10:38:54 37421 -44626 A 0.2324 0.9596 9.2S 179.1E 77 151 04m50s
00998 14 -1591 Dec 24 18:53:12 37028 -44403 A 0.2392 0.9642 9.9S 54.1E 76 133 04m20s
01039 15 -1572 Jan 05 03:03:16 36637 -44180 A 0.2502 0.9693 9.5S 69.9W 76 114 03m45s
01080 16 -1554 Jan 15 11:07:55 36248 -43957 A 0.2661 0.9749 7.9S 167.3E 75 93 03m03s
01120 17 -1536 Jan 26 19:04:59 35862 -43734 A 0.2895 0.9809 5.1S 46.1E 73 71 02m18s
01160 18 -1518 Feb 06 02:55:29 35477 -43511 A 0.3191 0.9871 1.1S 73.9W 71 48 01m31s
01200 19 -1500 Feb 17 10:38:07 35095 -43288 A 0.3562 0.9934 3.9N 167.5E 69 25 00m45s
01240 20 -1482 Feb 27 18:14:42 34714 -43065 A 0.3992 0.9997 9.7N 49.8E 66 1 00m02s
01280 21 -1464 Mar 10 01:42:32 34336 -42842 H 0.4502 1.0058 16.5N 66.2W 63 22 00m36s
01321 22 -1446 Mar 21 09:05:39 33959 -42619 H 0.5060 1.0117 23.9N 178.5E 59 46 01m09s
01362 23 -1428 Mar 31 16:22:18 33585 -42396 T 0.5682 1.0171 31.9N 64.3E 55 70 01m34s
01403 24 -1410 Apr 11 23:35:20 33213 -42173 T 0.6340 1.0220 40.5N 49.6W 50 96 01m52s
01444 25 -1392 Apr 22 06:44:14 32843 -41950 T 0.7040 1.0261 49.6N 163.2W 45 124 02m03s
01485 26 -1374 May 03 13:52:19 32475 -41727 T 0.7755 1.0295 59.2N 82.0E 39 158 02m07s
01527 27 -1356 May 13 20:59:28 32109 -41504 T 0.8487 1.0317 69.4N 36.7W 32 203 02m03s
01569 28 -1338 May 25 04:06:56 31745 -41281 T 0.9222 1.0327 79.4N 176.3W 22 291 01m54s
01612 29 -1320 Jun 04 11:17:01 31383 -41058 Tn 0.9944 1.0300 72.4N 18.0W 4 - 01m30s
01656 30 -1302 Jun 15 18:30:34 31024 -40835 P 1.0646 0.8882 67.4N 143.3W 0
01699 31 -1284 Jun 26 01:49:39 30666 -40612 P 1.1309 0.7633 66.4N 94.6E 0
01744 32 -1266 Jul 07 09:13:30 30311 -40389 P 1.1940 0.6444 65.4N 28.2W 0
01790 33 -1248 Jul 17 16:45:58 29957 -40166 P 1.2510 0.5366 64.5N 152.8W 0
01835 34 -1230 Jul 29 00:25:10 29606 -39943 P 1.3033 0.4377 63.6N 81.2E 0
01880 35 -1212 Aug 08 08:13:20 29256 -39720 P 1.3489 0.3516 62.8N 46.7W 0
01925 36 -1194 Aug 19 16:09:22 28909 -39497 P 1.3888 0.2764 62.1N 176.3W 0
01970 37 -1176 Aug 30 00:15:43 28564 -39274 P 1.4210 0.2159 61.6N 51.6E 0
02017 38 -1158 Sep 10 08:30:13 28221 -39051 P 1.4473 0.1666 61.2N 82.3W 0
02063 39 -1140 Sep 20 16:53:11 27880 -38828 P 1.4675 0.1290 60.9N 141.7E 0
02108 40 -1122 Oct 02 01:24:08 27541 -38605 P 1.4819 0.1024 60.8N 3.8E 0
02153 41 -1104 Oct 12 10:03:00 27204 -38382 P 1.4903 0.0870 60.8N 136.0W 0
02196 42 -1086 Oct 23 18:46:56 26869 -38159 P 1.4954 0.0776 61.1N 82.9E 0
02239 43 -1068 Nov 03 03:35:44 26536 -37936 P 1.4970 0.0747 61.5N 59.5W 0
02282 44 -1050 Nov 14 12:27:10 26205 -37713 P 1.4971 0.0744 62.0N 157.3E 0
02325 45 -1032 Nov 24 21:21:11 25877 -37490 P 1.4957 0.0767 62.7N 13.3E 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
02368 46 -1014 Dec 06 06:13:27 25550 -37267 P 1.4958 0.0758 63.5N 130.4W 0
02410 47 -0996 Dec 16 15:05:32 25226 -37044 P 1.4968 0.0734 64.4N 85.5E 0
02451 48 -0978 Dec 27 23:52:42 24903 -36821 P 1.5018 0.0629 65.4N 57.6W 0
02492 49 -0959 Jan 07 08:36:28 24583 -36598 P 1.5101 0.0461 66.4N 159.7E 0
02533 50 -0941 Jan 18 17:12:07 24265 -36375 Pe 1.5250 0.0165 67.5N 18.5E 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)"
