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 28 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 -1910 Mar 22. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0630 Apr 28. The total duration of Saros series 28 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1910 Mar 22 03:40:50 TD Last Eclipse = -0630 Apr 28 04:23:58 TD Duration of Saros 28 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 28 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 28 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 30 | 41.7% |
| Annular | A | 42 | 58.3% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 0 | 0.0% |
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 28 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 28 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 97.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 28: 7P 42A 23P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 28 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 28 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1514 Nov 14 | 09m12s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1081 Jul 31 | 01m25s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1027 Sep 01 | - | 0.96145 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1910 Mar 22 | - | 0.02646 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 28. 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 28.
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
00213 -34 -1910 Mar 22 03:40:50 44303 -48358 Pb -1.5388 0.0265 71.2S 61.6E 0
00257 -33 -1892 Apr 01 10:34:53 43875 -48135 P -1.4763 0.1369 71.5S 57.4W 0
00302 -32 -1874 Apr 12 17:19:20 43450 -47912 P -1.4066 0.2599 71.5S 174.2W 0
00349 -31 -1856 Apr 22 23:58:22 43026 -47689 P -1.3330 0.3895 71.3S 70.4E 0
00395 -30 -1838 May 04 06:31:11 42605 -47466 P -1.2547 0.5269 70.9S 43.1W 0
00440 -29 -1820 May 14 13:01:43 42186 -47243 P -1.1748 0.6667 70.3S 155.6W 0
00486 -28 -1802 May 25 19:29:58 41769 -47020 P -1.0933 0.8083 69.5S 93.0E 0
00533 -27 -1784 Jun 05 01:57:48 41354 -46797 A- -1.0116 0.9493 68.6S 17.8W 0
00578 -26 -1766 Jun 16 08:27:00 40941 -46574 A -0.9312 0.9509 46.9S 133.4W 21 499 05m03s
00623 -25 -1748 Jun 26 14:59:14 40530 -46351 A -0.8533 0.9496 35.5S 121.5E 31 356 05m50s
00668 -24 -1730 Jul 07 21:35:47 40121 -46128 A -0.7792 0.9472 27.3S 17.4E 39 310 06m33s
00715 -23 -1712 Jul 18 04:17:46 39714 -45905 A -0.7099 0.9441 21.2S 87.0W 45 291 07m11s
00759 -22 -1694 Jul 29 11:07:04 39309 -45682 A -0.6466 0.9407 16.9S 167.5E 50 285 07m41s
00803 -21 -1676 Aug 08 18:04:23 38906 -45459 A -0.5900 0.9371 14.1S 60.5E 54 286 08m04s
00844 -20 -1658 Aug 20 01:09:31 38506 -45236 A -0.5401 0.9334 12.8S 48.1W 57 291 08m21s
00885 -19 -1640 Aug 30 08:24:11 38107 -45013 A -0.4982 0.9298 12.9S 159.0W 60 299 08m34s
00926 -18 -1622 Sep 10 15:47:27 37711 -44790 A -0.4637 0.9263 14.1S 88.0E 62 308 08m44s
00967 -17 -1604 Sep 20 23:20:23 37317 -44567 A -0.4370 0.9232 16.3S 27.4W 64 318 08m52s
01009 -16 -1586 Oct 02 06:59:43 36924 -44344 A -0.4154 0.9204 19.3S 144.4W 65 327 08m59s
01050 -15 -1568 Oct 12 14:47:54 36534 -44121 A -0.4012 0.9181 22.9S 96.4E 66 335 09m05s
01091 -14 -1550 Oct 23 22:41:00 36146 -43898 A -0.3911 0.9164 26.9S 23.8W 67 342 09m09s
01131 -13 -1532 Nov 03 06:39:37 35760 -43675 A -0.3854 0.9154 31.1S 145.0W 67 346 09m11s
01170 -12 -1514 Nov 14 14:39:37 35376 -43452 A -0.3807 0.9151 35.1S 94.0E 67 348 09m12s
01210 -11 -1496 Nov 24 22:41:35 34994 -43229 A -0.3774 0.9154 38.8S 26.8W 68 346 09m09s
01250 -10 -1478 Dec 06 06:41:47 34614 -43006 A -0.3725 0.9165 41.8S 146.1W 68 341 09m04s
01290 -09 -1460 Dec 16 14:39:12 34236 -42783 A -0.3653 0.9183 43.7S 96.1E 68 333 08m56s
01331 -08 -1442 Dec 27 22:31:42 33860 -42560 A -0.3539 0.9207 44.4S 19.9W 69 321 08m46s
01372 -07 -1423 Jan 07 06:18:43 33487 -42337 A -0.3381 0.9238 43.7S 134.4W 70 306 08m33s
01414 -06 -1405 Jan 18 13:57:34 33115 -42114 A -0.3152 0.9274 41.4S 112.6E 71 288 08m17s
01455 -05 -1387 Jan 28 21:28:28 32746 -41891 A -0.2853 0.9315 37.8S 0.7E 73 268 07m59s
01497 -04 -1369 Feb 09 04:50:40 32378 -41668 A -0.2481 0.9359 32.9S 110.2W 75 246 07m38s
01539 -03 -1351 Feb 19 12:05:04 32013 -41445 A -0.2042 0.9406 27.1S 139.8E 78 225 07m12s
01581 -02 -1333 Mar 02 19:09:14 31649 -41222 A -0.1513 0.9454 20.3S 31.4E 81 203 06m43s
01624 -01 -1315 Mar 13 02:06:52 31288 -40999 A -0.0924 0.9502 13.0S 76.1W 85 183 06m11s
01668 00 -1297 Mar 24 08:56:20 30929 -40776 A -0.0260 0.9550 5.1S 178.0E 88 164 05m35s
01712 01 -1279 Apr 03 15:41:31 30572 -40553 A 0.0446 0.9596 3.0N 72.8E 87 147 04m58s
01756 02 -1261 Apr 14 22:19:22 30217 -40330 Am 0.1220 0.9638 11.5N 30.6W 83 132 04m21s
01802 03 -1243 Apr 25 04:56:05 29864 -40107 A 0.2012 0.9677 20.1N 133.7W 78 119 03m45s
01847 04 -1225 May 06 11:29:17 29513 -39884 A 0.2843 0.9711 28.7N 124.5E 73 108 03m12s
01892 05 -1207 May 16 18:03:07 29164 -39661 A 0.3675 0.9740 37.2N 23.1E 68 100 02m42s
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
01937 06 -1189 May 28 00:37:05 28817 -39438 A 0.4515 0.9763 45.6N 77.4W 63 95 02m18s
01983 07 -1171 Jun 07 07:14:58 28473 -39215 A 0.5331 0.9782 53.5N 177.2W 58 92 01m58s
02030 08 -1153 Jun 18 13:56:56 28130 -38992 A 0.6121 0.9793 60.9N 84.5E 52 94 01m44s
02076 09 -1135 Jun 28 20:43:51 27790 -38769 A 0.6878 0.9799 67.3N 10.7W 46 99 01m34s
02121 10 -1117 Jul 10 03:38:09 27451 -38546 A 0.7583 0.9799 72.1N 101.1W 40 110 01m28s
02165 11 -1099 Jul 20 10:40:21 27115 -38323 A 0.8232 0.9795 74.3N 173.6E 34 129 01m25s
02208 12 -1081 Jul 31 17:52:04 26781 -38100 A 0.8810 0.9785 73.5N 86.9E 28 163 01m25s
02251 13 -1063 Aug 11 01:12:43 26448 -37877 A 0.9323 0.9770 70.8N 6.5W 21 230 01m27s
02294 14 -1045 Aug 22 08:44:56 26118 -37654 A 0.9753 0.9748 66.9N 105.6W 12 427 01m31s
02338 15 -1027 Sep 01 16:27:11 25790 -37431 P 1.0111 0.9614 61.3N 154.1E 0
02380 16 -1009 Sep 13 00:19:59 25464 -37208 P 1.0391 0.9117 60.9N 25.8E 0
02422 17 -0991 Sep 23 08:22:26 25140 -36985 P 1.0604 0.8739 60.7N 104.9W 0
02463 18 -0973 Oct 04 16:35:00 24818 -36762 P 1.0741 0.8496 60.7N 122.0E 0
02504 19 -0955 Oct 15 00:55:20 24499 -36539 P 1.0828 0.8345 60.8N 13.1W 0
02545 20 -0937 Oct 26 09:22:23 24181 -36316 P 1.0869 0.8276 61.1N 149.9W 0
02585 21 -0919 Nov 05 17:54:59 23865 -36093 P 1.0872 0.8275 61.5N 71.9E 0
02625 22 -0901 Nov 17 02:32:05 23552 -35870 P 1.0844 0.8332 62.1N 67.7W 0
02665 23 -0883 Nov 27 11:10:12 23240 -35647 P 1.0817 0.8389 62.8N 152.4E 0
02706 24 -0865 Dec 08 19:49:05 22931 -35424 P 1.0789 0.8450 63.7N 12.0E 0
02746 25 -0847 Dec 19 04:25:32 22623 -35201 P 1.0788 0.8465 64.7N 128.1W 0
02786 26 -0829 Dec 30 13:00:21 22318 -34978 P 1.0807 0.8445 65.7N 91.8E 0
02827 27 -0810 Jan 09 21:28:45 22015 -34755 P 1.0882 0.8324 66.8N 47.1W 0
02868 28 -0792 Jan 21 05:53:25 21714 -34532 P 1.0995 0.8133 67.8N 174.4E 0
02909 29 -0774 Jan 31 14:09:54 21415 -34309 P 1.1180 0.7809 68.8N 37.3E 0
02950 30 -0756 Feb 11 22:20:51 21118 -34086 P 1.1418 0.7382 69.7N 98.9W 0
02992 31 -0738 Feb 22 06:22:32 20823 -33863 P 1.1738 0.6798 70.5N 126.6E 0
03036 32 -0720 Mar 04 14:18:58 20530 -33640 P 1.2107 0.6114 71.1N 7.1W 0
03080 33 -0702 Mar 15 22:07:08 20239 -33417 P 1.2550 0.5285 71.5N 139.1W 0
03124 34 -0684 Mar 26 05:49:17 19950 -33194 P 1.3047 0.4341 71.6N 90.2E 0
03169 35 -0666 Apr 06 13:24:57 19664 -32971 P 1.3604 0.3276 71.5N 38.8W 0
03214 36 -0648 Apr 16 20:56:38 19379 -32748 P 1.4199 0.2128 71.2N 166.6W 0
03259 37 -0630 Apr 28 04:23:58 19097 -32525 Pe 1.4832 0.0901 70.7N 67.0E 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)"
