Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 27

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 27

Solar eclipses of Saros 27 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 -1993 Mar 09. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0713 Apr 16. The total duration of Saros series 27 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -1993 Mar 09   19:48:09 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  -0713 Apr 16   08:59:26 TD

                      Duration of Saros  27  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 27 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 27
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 23 31.9%
AnnularA 20 27.8%
TotalT 14 19.4%
Hybrid[3]H 15 20.8%

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 27 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 27
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 49100.0%
Central (two limits) 45 91.8%
Central (one limit) 1 2.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 3 6.1%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 27: 8P 14T 15H 20A 15P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 27 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 27
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -1074 Sep 1206m19s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -1326 Apr 1400m02s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -1777 Jul 1703m53s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -1615 Oct 2201m40s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1597 Nov 0301m22s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1344 Apr 0200m06s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -1867 May 24 - 0.98444
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -1993 Mar 09 - 0.07542

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 27

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 27. 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 27.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 27

                         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

00016 -38 -1993 Mar 09  19:48:09  46299 -49385   Pb   1.4907  0.0754  61.2N  11.4E   0             
00059 -37 -1975 Mar 20  03:32:45  45862 -49162   P    1.4354  0.1811  60.9N 115.5W   0             
00101 -36 -1957 Mar 31  11:10:33  45426 -48939   P    1.3744  0.2986  60.7N 119.5E   0             
00144 -35 -1939 Apr 10  18:42:36  44994 -48716   P    1.3086  0.4259  60.6N   4.1W   0             
00187 -34 -1921 Apr 22  02:10:29  44563 -48493   P    1.2395  0.5603  60.7N 126.7W   0             
00231 -33 -1903 May 02  09:35:23  44134 -48270   P    1.1681  0.6993  61.0N 111.5E   0             
00275 -32 -1885 May 13  16:58:46  43707 -48047   P    1.0951  0.8412  61.4N  10.0W   0             
00321 -31 -1867 May 24  00:20:47  43283 -47824   P    1.0213  0.9844  61.9N 131.3W   0             
00367 -30 -1849 Jun 04  07:44:24  42860 -47601   T    0.9488  1.0660  71.4N 148.2E  18  698  03m25s
00413 -29 -1831 Jun 14  15:09:59  42439 -47378   T    0.8784  1.0667  74.3N  64.4E  28  459  03m40s

00458 -28 -1813 Jun 25  22:38:32  42021 -47155   T    0.8105  1.0656  74.1N  23.1W  36  369  03m49s
00504 -27 -1795 Jul 06  06:11:22  41605 -46932   T    0.7465  1.0633  71.5N 117.7W  41  313  03m53s
00550 -26 -1777 Jul 17  13:49:57  41190 -46709   T    0.6876  1.0601  67.3N 139.2E  46  273  03m53s
00595 -25 -1759 Jul 27  21:35:14  40778 -46486   T    0.6349  1.0561  62.3N  29.0E  50  240  03m49s
00640 -24 -1741 Aug 08  05:26:17  40368 -46263   T    0.5875  1.0516  56.7N  86.0W  54  212  03m41s
00686 -23 -1723 Aug 18  13:25:56  39960 -46040   T    0.5480  1.0467  51.0N 154.6E  57  186  03m30s
00732 -22 -1705 Aug 29  21:32:37  39554 -45817   T    0.5150  1.0416  45.2N  32.0E  59  162  03m16s
00776 -21 -1687 Sep 09  05:47:51  39150 -45594   T    0.4896  1.0364  39.5N  93.5W  60  140  02m59s
00820 -20 -1669 Sep 20  14:08:41  38748 -45371   T    0.4697  1.0313  33.9N 138.9E  62  119  02m40s
00861 -19 -1651 Sep 30  22:37:42  38348 -45148   T    0.4574  1.0264  28.6N   9.0E  63  100  02m20s

00902 -18 -1633 Oct 12  07:11:21  37951 -44925   T    0.4495  1.0217  23.7N 122.2W  63   83  02m00s
00943 -17 -1615 Oct 22  15:50:19  37555 -44702   T    0.4467  1.0176  19.2N 105.2E  63   67  01m40s
00984 -16 -1597 Nov 03  00:31:48  37161 -44479   H    0.4466  1.0138  15.1N  28.1W  63   53  01m22s
01025 -15 -1579 Nov 13  09:16:15  36770 -44256   H    0.4492  1.0107  11.6N 162.0W  63   41  01m05s
01066 -14 -1561 Nov 24  17:59:42  36380 -44033   H    0.4519  1.0080   8.6N  64.4E  63   31  00m51s
01106 -13 -1543 Dec 05  02:41:32  35993 -43810   H    0.4537  1.0060   6.2N  68.7W  63   23  00m39s
01146 -12 -1525 Dec 16  11:19:44  35608 -43587   H    0.4531  1.0044   4.4N 159.2E  63   17  00m29s
01186 -11 -1507 Dec 26  19:53:46  35225 -43364   H    0.4493  1.0034   3.0N  28.1E  63   13  00m22s
01226 -10 -1488 Jan 07  04:19:45  34843 -43141   H    0.4395  1.0028   2.1N 100.8W  64   11  00m18s
01266 -09 -1470 Jan 17  12:38:40  34464 -42918   H    0.4246  1.0025   1.6N 132.2E  65    9  00m16s

01306 -08 -1452 Jan 28  20:47:42  34087 -42695   H    0.4021  1.0025   1.5N   7.8E  66    9  00m16s
01348 -07 -1434 Feb 08  04:48:24  33713 -42472   H    0.3736  1.0026   1.8N 114.4W  68   10  00m16s
01389 -06 -1416 Feb 19  12:36:46  33340 -42249   H    0.3355  1.0027   2.2N 126.8E  70   10  00m16s
01430 -05 -1398 Mar 01  20:16:49  32969 -42026   H    0.2913  1.0027   3.0N  10.3E  73   10  00m16s
01471 -04 -1380 Mar 12  03:44:58  32600 -41803   H    0.2381  1.0025   3.9N 103.1W  76    9  00m14s
01513 -03 -1362 Mar 23  11:05:00  32234 -41580   H    0.1792  1.0020   4.9N 145.9E  80    7  00m12s
01555 -02 -1344 Apr 02  18:14:26  31869 -41357   Hm   0.1122  1.0010   5.8N  37.7E  84    4  00m06s
01598 -01 -1326 Apr 14  01:17:31  31506 -41134   A    0.0409  0.9996   6.4N  68.7W  88    1  00m02s
01641  00 -1308 Apr 24  08:12:33  31146 -40911   A   -0.0361  0.9976   6.6N 172.9W  88    8  00m14s
01684  01 -1290 May 05  15:02:06  30788 -40688   A   -0.1168  0.9951   6.3N  84.3E  83   17  00m30s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 27

                         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

01729  02 -1272 May 15  21:47:18  30431 -40465   A   -0.2000  0.9919   5.2N  17.5W  78   29  00m52s
01774  03 -1254 May 27  04:30:06  30077 -40242   A   -0.2840  0.9882   3.2N 118.8W  74   43  01m19s
01820  04 -1236 Jun 06  11:11:54  29725 -40019   A   -0.3680  0.9838   0.4N 139.7E  68   61  01m54s
01865  05 -1218 Jun 17  17:53:15  29375 -39796   A   -0.4513  0.9790   3.5S  37.8E  63   83  02m34s
01910  06 -1200 Jun 28  00:37:20  29027 -39573   A   -0.5311  0.9736   8.1S  65.4W  58  111  03m19s
01955  07 -1182 Jul 09  07:23:58  28681 -39350   A   -0.6074  0.9678  13.7S 169.9W  53  146  04m04s
02001  08 -1164 Jul 19  14:15:09  28337 -39127   A   -0.6788  0.9617  19.9S  83.6E  47  189  04m46s
02047  09 -1146 Jul 30  21:11:33  27996 -38904   A   -0.7450  0.9554  26.8S  25.0W  42  244  05m22s
02093  10 -1128 Aug 10  04:15:31  27656 -38681   A   -0.8039  0.9490  34.1S 136.5W  36  314  05m49s
02138  11 -1110 Aug 21  11:26:42  27318 -38458   A   -0.8556  0.9425  41.7S 109.0E  31  409  06m07s

02181  12 -1092 Aug 31  18:45:26  26983 -38235   A   -0.9002  0.9361  49.5S   9.0W  25  544  06m17s
02224  13 -1074 Sep 12  02:12:47  26649 -38012   A   -0.9368  0.9299  57.2S 131.7W  20  754  06m19s
02267  14 -1056 Sep 22  09:48:30  26318 -37789   A   -0.9661  0.9240  64.5S  98.8E  14 1140  06m16s
02310  15 -1038 Oct 03  17:31:41  25989 -37566   As  -0.9885  0.9182  70.6S  43.4W   7   -   06m07s
02355  16 -1020 Oct 14  01:21:23  25661 -37343   A-  -1.0050  0.9429  71.7S 160.5E   0             
02397  17 -1002 Oct 25  09:16:56  25336 -37120   A-  -1.0163  0.9227  71.3S  26.2E   0             
02438  18 -0984 Nov 04  17:17:19  25013 -36897   A-  -1.0234  0.9099  70.7S 108.8W   0             
02479  19 -0966 Nov 16  01:19:18  24692 -36674   P   -1.0288  0.9002  69.9S 116.4E   0             
02520  20 -0948 Nov 26  09:23:16  24373 -36451   P   -1.0323  0.8940  68.9S  18.3W   0             
02561  21 -0930 Dec 07  17:25:13  24056 -36228   P   -1.0375  0.8855  67.8S 151.7W   0             

02601  22 -0912 Dec 18  01:25:26  23741 -36005   P   -1.0434  0.8758  66.7S  75.9E   0             
02640  23 -0894 Dec 29  09:19:00  23428 -35782   P   -1.0548  0.8575  65.6S  54.3W   0             
02681  24 -0875 Jan 08  17:08:29  23118 -35559   P   -1.0690  0.8345  64.6S 177.0E   0             
02722  25 -0857 Jan 20  00:49:06  22809 -35336   P   -1.0907  0.7993  63.6S  50.9E   0             
02762  26 -0839 Jan 30  08:22:00  22503 -35113   P   -1.1181  0.7545  62.7S  72.9W   0             
02802  27 -0821 Feb 10  15:44:20  22198 -34890   P   -1.1538  0.6955  62.0S 166.2E   0             
02843  28 -0803 Feb 20  22:58:47  21896 -34667   P   -1.1957  0.6259  61.4S  47.4E   0             
02884  29 -0785 Mar 04  06:03:10  21595 -34444   P   -1.2457  0.5420  61.0S  68.8W   0             
02925  30 -0767 Mar 14  12:58:32  21297 -34221   P   -1.3028  0.4454  60.8S 177.5E   0             
02966  31 -0749 Mar 25  19:45:38  21001 -33998   P   -1.3664  0.3371  60.6S  65.8E   0             

03008  32 -0731 Apr 05  02:25:46  20707 -33775   P   -1.4353  0.2191  60.7S  44.2W   0             
03052  33 -0713 Apr 16  08:59:26  20415 -33552   Pe  -1.5091  0.0917  60.9S 152.5W   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