Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 31

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 31

Solar eclipses of Saros 31 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 -1805 Jan 31. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0489 Mar 31. The total duration of Saros series 31 is 1316.20 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -1805 Jan 31   08:30:57 TD
                       Last Eclipse =  -0489 Mar 31   01:26:56 TD

                      Duration of Saros  31  =  1316.20 Years

Saros 31 is composed of 74 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 31
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 74100.0%
PartialP 34 45.9%
AnnularA 40 54.1%
TotalT 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 31 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 31
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 40100.0%
Central (two limits) 39 97.5%
Central (one limit) 1 2.5%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 74 eclipses in Saros 31: 10P 40A 24P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 31 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 31
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -1319 Nov 1811m29s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -0940 Jul 0201m24s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -1643 May 07 - 0.94835
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -1805 Jan 31 - 0.00808

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 31

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 31. 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 31.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 31

                         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

00478 -35 -1805 Jan 31  08:30:57  41845 -47061   Pb   1.5526  0.0081  63.3N 167.9W   0             
00525 -34 -1787 Feb 10  16:07:23  41430 -46838   P    1.5213  0.0626  62.5N  66.9E   0             
00570 -33 -1769 Feb 21  23:32:24  41016 -46615   P    1.4816  0.1318  61.8N  55.2W   0             
00615 -32 -1751 Mar 04  06:47:43  40605 -46392   P    1.4347  0.2136  61.3N 174.7W   0             
00660 -31 -1733 Mar 15  13:52:14  40196 -46169   P    1.3796  0.3097  60.9N  68.6E   0             
00707 -30 -1715 Mar 25  20:46:57  39789 -45946   P    1.3171  0.4188  60.7N  45.6W   0             
00751 -29 -1697 Apr 06  03:33:07  39383 -45723   P    1.2482  0.5389  60.6N 157.5W   0             
00795 -28 -1679 Apr 16  10:11:56  38980 -45500   P    1.1740  0.6681  60.6N  92.4E   0             
00837 -27 -1661 Apr 27  16:44:02  38579 -45277   P    1.0949  0.8056  60.8N  16.0W   0             
00878 -26 -1643 May 07  23:11:49  38180 -45054   P    1.0124  0.9483  61.2N 123.4W   0             

00919 -25 -1625 May 19  05:36:22  37784 -44831   A    0.9278  0.9523  66.7N 179.3E  21  469  03m19s
00960 -24 -1607 May 29  12:00:07  37389 -44608   A    0.8427  0.9525  66.9N 103.4E  32  322  03m32s
01001 -23 -1589 Jun 09  18:22:35  36996 -44385   A    0.7568  0.9516  65.7N  23.0E  41  271  03m51s
01042 -22 -1571 Jun 20  00:48:42  36606 -44162   A    0.6743  0.9499  63.3N  61.8W  47  249  04m15s
01083 -21 -1553 Jul 01  07:17:10  36217 -43939   A    0.5941  0.9476  59.7N 150.2W  53  240  04m44s
01123 -20 -1535 Jul 11  13:52:31  35831 -43716   A    0.5194  0.9449  55.3N 116.6E  58  238  05m19s
01163 -19 -1517 Jul 22  20:32:30  35446 -43493   A    0.4487  0.9418  50.0N  19.7E  63  241  05m59s
01203 -18 -1499 Aug 02  03:22:20  35064 -43270   A    0.3864  0.9386  44.4N  81.5W  67  248  06m42s
01243 -17 -1481 Aug 13  10:18:57  34683 -43047   A    0.3298  0.9351  38.4N 174.1E  71  256  07m27s
01283 -16 -1463 Aug 23  17:25:29  34305 -42824   A    0.2817  0.9318  32.3N  66.3E  73  266  08m10s

01324 -15 -1445 Sep 04  00:40:23  33929 -42601   A    0.2404  0.9286  26.2N  44.3W  76  276  08m51s
01365 -14 -1427 Sep 14  08:05:58  33555 -42378   A    0.2080  0.9256  20.2N 158.0W  78  286  09m27s
01406 -13 -1409 Sep 25  15:39:41  33183 -42155   A    0.1825  0.9229  14.4N  86.1E  79  296  10m00s
01447 -12 -1391 Oct 05  23:21:33  32813 -41932   A    0.1637  0.9207   8.9N  31.9W  81  304  10m27s
01488 -11 -1373 Oct 17  07:10:35  32445 -41709   A    0.1509  0.9190   3.7N 151.7W  81  310  10m51s
01530 -10 -1355 Oct 27  15:05:56  32080 -41486   A    0.1429  0.9180   1.0S  87.2E  82  314  11m10s
01572 -09 -1337 Nov 07  23:04:53  31716 -41263   A    0.1379  0.9176   5.3S  34.6W  82  316  11m24s
01615 -08 -1319 Nov 18  07:06:24  31354 -41040   A    0.1346  0.9178   9.1S 156.7W  82  315  11m29s
01659 -07 -1301 Nov 29  15:08:25  30995 -40817   A    0.1315  0.9188  12.2S  81.3E  83  311  11m26s
01703 -06 -1283 Dec 09  23:10:06  30637 -40594   A    0.1275  0.9205  14.7S  40.3W  83  303  11m11s

01748 -05 -1265 Dec 21  07:07:40  30282 -40371   A    0.1197  0.9229  16.6S 160.6W  83  293  10m44s
01794 -04 -1247 Dec 31  15:01:47  29929 -40148   A    0.1084  0.9259  17.8S  80.2E  84  280  10m06s
01839 -03 -1228 Jan 11  22:49:04  29577 -39925   A    0.0909  0.9295  18.4S  37.2W  85  265  09m19s
01884 -02 -1210 Jan 22  06:30:03  29228 -39702   A    0.0678  0.9337  18.4S 152.9W  86  248  08m26s
01929 -01 -1192 Feb 02  14:02:01  28881 -39479   A    0.0364  0.9381  18.0S  93.7E  88  230  07m33s
01974  00 -1174 Feb 12  21:26:57  28536 -39256   A   -0.0013  0.9430  17.2S  18.0W  90  211  06m40s
02021  01 -1156 Feb 24  04:43:07  28193 -39033   A   -0.0471  0.9480  16.2S 127.4W  87  191  05m52s
02067  02 -1138 Mar 06  11:50:47  27852 -38810   Am  -0.1004  0.9532  15.0S 125.2E  84  172  05m07s
02112  03 -1120 Mar 16  18:50:43  27513 -38587   A   -0.1607  0.9582  13.9S  19.8E  81  154  04m28s
02157  04 -1102 Mar 28  01:44:10  27177 -38364   A   -0.2270  0.9632  13.0S  84.0W  77  136  03m52s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 31

                         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

02200  05 -1084 Apr 07  08:32:24  26842 -38141   A   -0.2985  0.9678  12.5S 173.5E  73  120  03m22s
02243  06 -1066 Apr 18  15:15:13  26509 -37918   A   -0.3752  0.9722  12.6S  72.2E  68  106  02m56s
02286  07 -1048 Apr 28  21:56:14  26179 -37695   A   -0.4542  0.9760  13.4S  28.7W  63   95  02m33s
02330  08 -1030 May 10  04:35:16  25850 -37472   A   -0.5354  0.9794  15.2S 129.4W  58   85  02m14s
02373  09 -1012 May 20  11:15:02  25524 -37249   A   -0.6168  0.9821  18.0S 129.4E  52   79  01m57s
02415  10 -0994 May 31  17:55:43  25200 -37026   A   -0.6985  0.9841  22.1S  27.6E  46   77  01m44s
02455  11 -0976 Jun 11  00:40:34  24877 -36803   A   -0.7775  0.9854  27.6S  76.0W  39   81  01m34s
02496  12 -0958 Jun 22  07:29:45  24557 -36580   A   -0.8536  0.9859  34.6S 178.7E  31   95  01m27s
02537  13 -0940 Jul 02  14:24:34  24239 -36357   A   -0.9259  0.9853  44.1S  70.9E  22  139  01m24s
02577  14 -0922 Jul 13  21:26:58  23923 -36134   As  -0.9926  0.9822  61.1S  40.6W   5   -   01m27s

02617  15 -0904 Jul 24  04:37:34  23609 -35911   P   -1.0531  0.8902  67.6S 160.1W   0             
02657  16 -0886 Aug 04  11:57:43  23297 -35688   P   -1.1068  0.7938  68.6S  77.1E   0             
02698  17 -0868 Aug 14  19:26:56  22987 -35465   P   -1.1537  0.7094  69.5S  48.5W   0             
02739  18 -0850 Aug 26  03:06:52  22680 -35242   P   -1.1926  0.6394  70.3S 177.5W   0             
02779  19 -0832 Sep 05  10:56:45  22374 -35019   P   -1.2242  0.5826  71.0S  50.5E   0             
02820  20 -0814 Sep 16  18:56:14  22070 -34796   P   -1.2487  0.5385  71.4S  84.3W   0             
02861  21 -0796 Sep 27  03:05:45  21769 -34573   P   -1.2660  0.5073  71.7S 138.0E   0             
02902  22 -0778 Oct 08  11:23:56  21469 -34350   P   -1.2773  0.4870  71.6S   2.0W   0             
02943  23 -0760 Oct 18  19:50:33  21172 -34127   P   -1.2825  0.4777  71.3S 143.9W   0             
02985  24 -0742 Oct 30  04:22:22  20877 -33904   P   -1.2844  0.4742  70.8S  73.2E   0             

03028  25 -0724 Nov 09  13:00:39  20583 -33681   P   -1.2820  0.4785  70.1S  70.7W   0             
03072  26 -0706 Nov 20  21:41:18  20292 -33458   P   -1.2789  0.4842  69.2S 145.4E   0             
03116  27 -0688 Dec 01  06:24:23  20003 -33235   P   -1.2745  0.4922  68.2S   1.5E   0             
03161  28 -0670 Dec 12  15:05:49  19716 -33012   P   -1.2723  0.4963  67.1S 141.4W   0             
03206  29 -0652 Dec 22  23:46:43  19431 -32789   P   -1.2713  0.4982  66.1S  76.5E   0             
03251  30 -0633 Jan 03  08:23:21  19148 -32566   P   -1.2746  0.4922  65.0S  64.1W   0             
03297  31 -0615 Jan 13  16:55:37  18868 -32343   P   -1.2820  0.4784  64.1S 156.8E   0             
03344  32 -0597 Jan 25  01:21:19  18589 -32120   P   -1.2957  0.4531  63.2S  19.7E   0             
03391  33 -0579 Feb 04  09:40:57  18312 -31897   P   -1.3147  0.4174  62.5S 115.7W   0             
03438  34 -0561 Feb 15  17:52:30  18038 -31674   P   -1.3409  0.3679  61.9S 111.2E   0             

03484  35 -0543 Feb 26  01:57:02  17765 -31451   P   -1.3735  0.3058  61.4S  20.0W   0             
03529  36 -0525 Mar 09  09:53:41  17495 -31228   P   -1.4130  0.2300  61.1S 149.1W   0             
03574  37 -0507 Mar 19  17:44:28  17226 -31005   P   -1.4579  0.1431  60.9S  83.3E   0             
03619  38 -0489 Mar 31  01:26:56  16925 -30782   Pe  -1.5100  0.0418  60.9S  42.3W   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