Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 23

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 23

Solar eclipses of Saros 23 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 -2145 May 07. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0865 Jun 15. The total duration of Saros series 23 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -2145 May 07   23:07:09 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  -0865 Jun 15   07:36:22 TD

                      Duration of Saros  23  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 23 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 23
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 13 18.1%
AnnularA 14 19.4%
TotalT 42 58.3%
Hybrid[3]H 3 4.2%

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 23 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 23
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 59100.0%
Central (two limits) 58 98.3%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 1.7%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 23: 6P 14A 3H 42T 7P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 23 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 23
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -2019 Jul 2101m20s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -1803 Nov 2900m13s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -1442 Jul 0307m05s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -0991 Mar 3101m34s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1748 Jan 0101m12s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1785 Dec 1000m12s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -0973 Apr 11 - 0.93236
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0865 Jun 15 - 0.06060

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 23

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 23. 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 23.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 23

                         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

----- -35 -2145 May 07  23:07:09  50062 -51263   Pb   1.4861  0.1208  61.0N  69.3W   0             
----- -34 -2127 May 18  05:40:35  49607 -51040   P    1.3995  0.2724  61.4N 178.4W   0             
----- -33 -2109 May 29  12:16:30  49155 -50817   P    1.3134  0.4241  62.0N  71.7E   0             
----- -32 -2091 Jun 08  18:56:30  48704 -50594   P    1.2291  0.5733  62.7N  39.3W   0             
----- -31 -2073 Jun 20  01:42:48  48256 -50371   P    1.1486  0.7164  63.5N 152.2W   0             
----- -30 -2055 Jun 30  08:36:18  47810 -50148   P    1.0728  0.8514  64.4N  92.9E   0             
----- -29 -2037 Jul 11  15:38:52  47366 -49925   A+   1.0028  0.9762  65.4N  24.6W   0             
----- -28 -2019 Jul 21  22:49:39  46924 -49702   A    0.9385  0.9781  86.0N 131.6W  20  232  01m20s
----- -27 -2001 Aug 02  06:11:20  46483 -49479   A    0.8821  0.9805  83.8N  50.9W  28  149  01m16s
00039 -26 -1983 Aug 12  13:43:07  46046 -49256   A    0.8332  0.9820  75.4N 168.1W  33  116  01m15s

00082 -25 -1965 Aug 23  21:25:13  45610 -49033   A    0.7919  0.9831  67.9N  73.2E  37   98  01m14s
00125 -24 -1947 Sep 03  05:17:59  45176 -48810   A    0.7585  0.9839  61.0N  48.4W  40   88  01m15s
00168 -23 -1929 Sep 14  13:20:52  44744 -48587   A    0.7326  0.9846  54.7N 172.8W  43   80  01m14s
00211 -22 -1911 Sep 24  21:33:45  44314 -48364   A    0.7144  0.9854  48.8N  60.2E  44   73  01m14s
00255 -21 -1893 Oct 06  05:53:28  43887 -48141   A    0.7011  0.9865  43.4N  68.7W  45   67  01m11s
00300 -20 -1875 Oct 16  14:21:40  43461 -47918   A    0.6941  0.9877  38.6N 160.3E  46   60  01m07s
00347 -19 -1857 Oct 27  22:54:36  43038 -47695   A    0.6901  0.9895  34.3N  28.1E  46   51  00m59s
00393 -18 -1839 Nov 07  07:32:22  42616 -47472   A    0.6895  0.9917  30.5N 105.4W  46   40  00m48s
00439 -17 -1821 Nov 18  16:10:47  42197 -47249   A    0.6886  0.9945  27.2N 120.9E  46   26  00m33s
00485 -16 -1803 Nov 29  00:51:05  41780 -47026   A    0.6885  0.9979  24.4N  13.2W  46   10  00m13s

00532 -15 -1785 Dec 10  09:29:08  41365 -46803   H    0.6857  1.0019  22.0N 146.8W  47    9  00m12s
00577 -14 -1767 Dec 20  18:04:43  40952 -46580   H    0.6801  1.0065  20.0N  80.3E  47   31  00m41s
00622 -13 -1748 Jan 01  02:35:12  40541 -46357   H    0.6695  1.0117  18.2N  51.2W  48   54  01m12s
00667 -12 -1730 Jan 11  11:00:39  40132 -46134   T    0.6541  1.0173  16.8N 178.8E  49   78  01m46s
00714 -11 -1712 Jan 22  19:18:39  39725 -45911   T    0.6319  1.0233  15.7N  50.9E  51  102  02m19s
00758 -10 -1694 Feb 02  03:29:44  39320 -45688   T    0.6032  1.0296  14.8N  75.0W  53  125  02m51s
00802 -09 -1676 Feb 13  11:32:52  38917 -45465   T    0.5673  1.0361  14.3N 161.5E  55  146  03m21s
00843 -08 -1658 Feb 23  19:29:26  38517 -45242   T    0.5250  1.0425  14.1N  40.0E  58  165  03m48s
00884 -07 -1640 Mar 06  03:16:50  38118 -45019   T    0.4746  1.0488  14.2N  78.8W  62  182  04m13s
00925 -06 -1622 Mar 17  10:58:47  37722 -44796   T    0.4190  1.0548  14.7N 164.1E  65  197  04m35s

00966 -05 -1604 Mar 27  18:33:35  37327 -44573   T    0.3569  1.0603  15.3N  49.2E  69  211  04m56s
01008 -04 -1586 Apr 08  02:05:05  36935 -44350   T    0.2911  1.0653  16.0N  64.6W  73  222  05m16s
01049 -03 -1568 Apr 18  09:30:17  36544 -44127   T    0.2195  1.0696  16.6N 176.5W  77  232  05m35s
01090 -02 -1550 Apr 29  16:54:59  36156 -43904   T    0.1468  1.0731  17.0N  71.9E  81  240  05m54s
01130 -01 -1532 May 10  00:16:30  35770 -43681   T    0.0711  1.0758  17.0N  38.7W  86  246  06m12s
01169  00 -1514 May 21  07:39:13  35386 -43458   T   -0.0042  1.0776  16.5N 149.6W  90  251  06m29s
01209  01 -1496 May 31  15:00:53  35004 -43235   Tm  -0.0807  1.0785  15.2N  99.7E  85  254  06m44s
01249  02 -1478 Jun 11  22:26:44  34624 -43012   T   -0.1541  1.0785  13.2N  12.4W  81  257  06m57s
01289  03 -1460 Jun 22  05:54:44  34246 -42789   T   -0.2256  1.0776  10.4N 125.4W  77  257  07m04s
01330  04 -1442 Jul 03  13:27:32  33870 -42566   T   -0.2933  1.0760   6.9N 119.9E  73  257  07m05s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 23

                         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

01371  05 -1424 Jul 13  21:05:32  33497 -42343   T   -0.3564  1.0736   2.8N   3.4E  69  256  06m58s
01413  06 -1406 Jul 25  04:50:26  33125 -42120   T   -0.4136  1.0707   1.8S 115.5W  66  252  06m42s
01454  07 -1388 Aug 04  12:42:32  32755 -41897   T   -0.4648  1.0672   6.8S 123.4E  62  247  06m19s
01496  08 -1370 Aug 15  20:41:22  32388 -41674   T   -0.5101  1.0633  12.1S   0.2E  59  241  05m51s
01538  09 -1352 Aug 26  04:48:59  32022 -41451   T   -0.5478  1.0592  17.5S 125.6W  57  232  05m20s
01580  10 -1334 Sep 06  13:04:19  31659 -41228   T   -0.5790  1.0551  22.9S 106.6E  54  222  04m48s
01623  11 -1316 Sep 16  21:27:43  31298 -41005   T   -0.6034  1.0510  28.3S  23.3W  53  211  04m18s
01667  12 -1298 Sep 28  05:58:24  30939 -40782   T   -0.6217  1.0471  33.7S 154.9W  51  199  03m50s
01711  13 -1280 Oct 08  14:36:40  30581 -40559   T   -0.6338  1.0435  38.9S  72.1E  50  187  03m26s
01755  14 -1262 Oct 19  23:20:22  30226 -40336   T   -0.6412  1.0404  43.8S  61.7W  50  175  03m05s

01801  15 -1244 Oct 30  08:08:04  29873 -40113   T   -0.6452  1.0377  48.6S 164.5E  50  165  02m48s
01846  16 -1226 Nov 10  16:59:00  29522 -39890   T   -0.6465  1.0355  53.1S  31.0E  49  156  02m34s
01891  17 -1208 Nov 21  01:51:47  29174 -39667   T   -0.6463  1.0337  57.1S 101.3W  49  149  02m24s
01936  18 -1190 Dec 02  10:43:27  28827 -39444   T   -0.6469  1.0326  60.6S 128.7E  49  145  02m17s
01982  19 -1172 Dec 12  19:33:06  28482 -39221   T   -0.6490  1.0317  63.2S   1.3E  49  142  02m12s
02029  20 -1154 Dec 24  04:18:39  28139 -38998   T   -0.6543  1.0314  64.7S 123.2W  49  141  02m09s
02075  21 -1135 Jan 03  12:59:50  27799 -38775   T   -0.6630  1.0314  64.9S 114.2E  48  142  02m08s
02120  22 -1117 Jan 14  21:32:42  27460 -38552   T   -0.6783  1.0316  64.1S   6.7W  47  145  02m08s
02164  23 -1099 Jan 25  05:59:25  27124 -38329   T   -0.6985  1.0318  62.4S 127.4W  45  150  02m08s
02207  24 -1081 Feb 05  14:16:06  26790 -38106   T   -0.7266  1.0320  60.4S 113.0E  43  157  02m08s

02250  25 -1063 Feb 15  22:25:15  26457 -37883   T   -0.7605  1.0320  58.2S   6.0W  40  165  02m07s
02293  26 -1045 Feb 27  06:23:22  26127 -37660   T   -0.8033  1.0315  56.4S 122.7W  36  177  02m05s
02337  27 -1027 Mar 09  14:14:08  25799 -37437   T   -0.8517  1.0305  55.3S 122.4E  31  194  02m00s
02379  28 -1009 Mar 20  21:54:33  25473 -37214   T   -0.9081  1.0286  55.6S  11.6E  24  228  01m52s
02421  29 -0991 Mar 31  05:27:07  25149 -36991   T   -0.9705  1.0250  58.0S  91.2W  13  357  01m34s
02461  30 -0973 Apr 11  12:51:12  24827 -36768   P   -1.0390  0.9324  60.7S 173.4E   0             
02502  31 -0955 Apr 21  20:09:28  24507 -36545   P   -1.1115  0.7966  60.9S  53.8E   0             
02543  32 -0937 May 03  03:21:34  24189 -36322   P   -1.1882  0.6532  61.3S  64.4W   0             
02583  33 -0919 May 13  10:28:46  23874 -36099   P   -1.2677  0.5051  61.8S 178.5E   0             
02623  34 -0901 May 24  17:32:58  23560 -35876   P   -1.3484  0.3556  62.5S  62.0E   0             

02663  35 -0883 Jun 04  00:35:08  23248 -35653   P   -1.4293  0.2069  63.3S  54.2W   0             
02704  36 -0865 Jun 15  07:36:22  22939 -35430   Pe  -1.5097  0.0606  64.1S 170.4W   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