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 38 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 -1729 Jun 26. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0431 Aug 14. The total duration of Saros series 38 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1729 Jun 26 22:02:21 TD Last Eclipse = -0431 Aug 14 07:45:52 TD Duration of Saros 38 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 38 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 38 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 25 | 34.2% |
| Annular | A | 8 | 11.0% |
| Total | T | 38 | 52.1% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.7% |
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 38 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 38 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 48 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 46 | 95.8% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 2 | 4.2% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 38: 17P 8A 2H 38T 8P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 38 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 38 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1386 Jan 18 | 02m35s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -1296 Mar 12 | 00m27s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -0701 Mar 05 | 05m33s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1242 Apr 14 | 01m29s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1260 Apr 03 | 00m48s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -1278 Mar 23 | 00m09s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0557 May 31 | - | 0.93305 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0431 Aug 14 | - | 0.04325 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 38. 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 38.
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
00672 -35 -1729 Jun 26 22:02:21 40099 -46116 Pb -1.5245 0.0649 66.7S 13.9E 0
00719 -34 -1711 Jul 07 04:35:37 39692 -45893 P -1.4482 0.1959 65.7S 96.7W 0
00763 -33 -1693 Jul 18 11:15:43 39287 -45670 P -1.3762 0.3192 64.7S 151.5E 0
00807 -32 -1675 Jul 28 18:05:50 38885 -45447 P -1.3114 0.4301 63.7S 37.5E 0
00847 -31 -1657 Aug 09 01:05:08 38484 -45224 P -1.2530 0.5298 62.9S 78.5W 0
00888 -30 -1639 Aug 19 08:15:30 38086 -45001 P -1.2026 0.6154 62.1S 163.1E 0
00929 -29 -1621 Aug 30 15:35:02 37690 -44778 P -1.1588 0.6897 61.5S 42.6E 0
00970 -28 -1603 Sep 09 23:06:46 37295 -44555 P -1.1239 0.7488 61.0S 80.8W 0
01011 -27 -1585 Sep 21 06:47:30 36903 -44332 P -1.0953 0.7971 60.6S 153.7E 0
01052 -26 -1567 Oct 01 14:38:25 36513 -44109 P -1.0743 0.8325 60.5S 25.7E 0
01093 -25 -1549 Oct 12 22:37:05 36125 -43886 P -1.0587 0.8589 60.5S 104.1W 0
01133 -24 -1531 Oct 23 06:44:07 35739 -43663 P -1.0493 0.8751 60.6S 123.9E 0
01172 -23 -1513 Nov 03 14:55:34 35355 -43440 P -1.0424 0.8872 61.0S 9.3W 0
01212 -22 -1495 Nov 13 23:10:56 34973 -43217 P -1.0379 0.8956 61.5S 143.5W 0
01252 -21 -1477 Nov 25 07:27:52 34593 -42994 P -1.0340 0.9033 62.2S 81.7E 0
01292 -20 -1459 Dec 05 15:45:47 34216 -42771 P -1.0304 0.9106 63.0S 53.5W 0
01333 -19 -1441 Dec 17 00:00:13 33840 -42548 P -1.0231 0.9247 63.9S 171.8E 0
01374 -18 -1423 Dec 27 08:12:11 33467 -42325 A- -1.0132 0.9438 64.9S 37.4E 0
01416 -17 -1404 Jan 07 16:17:53 33095 -42102 A- -0.9974 0.9734 66.0S 95.8W 0
01457 -16 -1386 Jan 18 00:19:23 32726 -41879 A -0.9773 0.9560 78.5S 128.5E 11 817 02m35s
01499 -15 -1368 Jan 29 08:11:40 32358 -41656 A -0.9492 0.9636 83.7S 42.8W 18 432 02m15s
01541 -14 -1350 Feb 08 15:58:43 31993 -41433 A -0.9158 0.9712 80.0S 139.2E 23 262 01m53s
01583 -13 -1332 Feb 19 23:36:23 31630 -41210 A -0.8738 0.9789 72.3S 1.8E 29 155 01m28s
01626 -12 -1314 Mar 02 07:08:37 31269 -40987 A -0.8263 0.9867 64.0S 122.9W 34 84 00m59s
01670 -11 -1296 Mar 12 14:32:02 30910 -40764 A -0.7705 0.9943 55.2S 117.5E 39 31 00m27s
01714 -10 -1278 Mar 23 21:51:30 30553 -40541 H -0.7102 1.0018 46.3S 0.6E 44 9 00m09s
01758 -09 -1260 Apr 03 05:04:17 30198 -40318 H -0.6432 1.0088 37.4S 114.0W 50 40 00m48s
01804 -08 -1242 Apr 14 12:13:39 29845 -40095 T -0.5722 1.0155 28.5S 132.8E 55 64 01m29s
01849 -07 -1224 Apr 24 19:19:25 29494 -39872 T -0.4970 1.0216 19.9S 21.1E 60 84 02m09s
01894 -06 -1206 May 06 02:24:27 29145 -39649 T -0.4199 1.0271 11.5S 89.9W 65 101 02m47s
01939 -05 -1188 May 16 09:29:05 28799 -39426 T -0.3414 1.0319 3.5S 159.8E 70 114 03m20s
01985 -04 -1170 May 27 16:34:16 28454 -39203 T -0.2624 1.0360 4.0N 50.0E 75 125 03m46s
02032 -03 -1152 Jun 06 23:42:32 28112 -38980 T -0.1849 1.0392 10.8N 59.9W 79 134 04m04s
02078 -02 -1134 Jun 18 06:54:15 27771 -38757 T -0.1092 1.0418 16.7N 169.7W 84 141 04m13s
02123 -01 -1116 Jun 28 14:10:36 27433 -38534 T -0.0367 1.0436 21.8N 80.1E 88 146 04m16s
02167 00 -1098 Jul 09 21:33:01 27097 -38311 T 0.0316 1.0447 25.7N 30.8W 88 149 04m12s
02210 01 -1080 Jul 20 05:02:51 26763 -38088 Tm 0.0943 1.0452 28.3N 142.9W 84 151 04m05s
02253 02 -1062 Jul 31 12:41:03 26431 -37865 T 0.1509 1.0452 29.6N 103.2E 81 152 03m56s
02296 03 -1044 Aug 10 20:26:56 26101 -37642 T 0.2018 1.0447 29.8N 12.6W 78 152 03m47s
02340 04 -1026 Aug 22 04:22:51 25773 -37419 T 0.2451 1.0439 28.7N 131.2W 76 151 03m38s
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
02382 05 -1008 Sep 01 12:27:39 25447 -37196 T 0.2814 1.0428 26.7N 107.5E 74 149 03m30s
02424 06 -0990 Sep 12 20:42:00 25123 -36973 T 0.3105 1.0417 24.0N 16.7W 72 146 03m24s
02465 07 -0972 Sep 23 05:04:16 24801 -36750 T 0.3335 1.0406 20.7N 143.5W 70 143 03m19s
02506 08 -0954 Oct 04 13:35:24 24481 -36527 T 0.3499 1.0398 17.1N 87.0E 69 141 03m17s
02547 09 -0936 Oct 14 22:13:31 24164 -36304 T 0.3609 1.0391 13.4N 44.5W 69 139 03m17s
02587 10 -0918 Oct 26 06:57:14 23848 -36081 T 0.3675 1.0389 9.7N 177.6W 68 139 03m21s
02627 11 -0900 Nov 05 15:46:05 23535 -35858 T 0.3702 1.0389 6.3N 48.0E 68 140 03m26s
02667 12 -0882 Nov 17 00:37:33 23223 -35635 T 0.3709 1.0396 3.2N 87.0W 68 142 03m35s
02708 13 -0864 Nov 27 09:30:43 22914 -35412 T 0.3706 1.0406 0.7N 137.7E 68 146 03m46s
02748 14 -0846 Dec 08 18:22:12 22607 -35189 T 0.3719 1.0423 0.9S 3.0E 68 152 04m01s
02788 15 -0828 Dec 19 03:13:05 22302 -34966 T 0.3738 1.0443 1.8S 131.5W 68 159 04m16s
02829 16 -0810 Dec 30 11:59:37 21999 -34743 T 0.3791 1.0467 1.6S 95.2E 68 168 04m33s
02870 17 -0791 Jan 09 20:41:34 21698 -34520 T 0.3888 1.0495 0.3S 37.1W 67 178 04m49s
02911 18 -0773 Jan 21 05:16:36 21398 -34297 T 0.4043 1.0525 2.1N 167.9W 66 190 05m04s
02953 19 -0755 Jan 31 13:45:31 21102 -34074 T 0.4250 1.0556 5.5N 62.5E 65 202 05m17s
02995 20 -0737 Feb 11 22:06:33 20807 -33851 T 0.4526 1.0587 10.0N 65.6W 63 216 05m27s
03039 21 -0719 Feb 22 06:19:28 20514 -33628 T 0.4868 1.0617 15.4N 167.9E 61 231 05m32s
03083 22 -0701 Mar 05 14:24:23 20223 -33405 T 0.5280 1.0643 21.7N 42.8E 58 246 05m33s
03128 23 -0683 Mar 15 22:21:36 19935 -33182 T 0.5758 1.0665 28.7N 80.7W 55 264 05m28s
03173 24 -0665 Mar 27 06:11:13 19648 -32959 T 0.6299 1.0681 36.4N 157.0E 51 284 05m18s
03218 25 -0647 Apr 06 13:53:47 19364 -32736 T 0.6898 1.0689 44.8N 35.8E 46 308 05m02s
03263 26 -0629 Apr 17 21:30:12 19081 -32513 T 0.7547 1.0689 53.8N 85.0W 41 341 04m42s
03309 27 -0611 Apr 28 05:01:51 18801 -32290 T 0.8234 1.0678 63.6N 152.8E 34 390 04m16s
03356 28 -0593 May 09 12:28:16 18523 -32067 T 0.8961 1.0653 73.9N 22.3E 26 487 03m45s
03403 29 -0575 May 19 19:52:45 18247 -31844 T 0.9700 1.0606 79.3N 160.2W 13 865 03m06s
03450 30 -0557 May 31 03:14:30 17973 -31621 P 1.0459 0.9331 68.4N 41.6E 0
03495 31 -0539 Jun 10 10:37:25 17701 -31398 P 1.1203 0.7889 67.4N 81.5W 0
03540 32 -0521 Jun 21 17:58:59 17431 -31175 P 1.1951 0.6444 66.4N 156.2E 0
03585 33 -0503 Jul 02 01:24:31 17163 -30952 P 1.2662 0.5077 65.4N 33.3E 0
03630 34 -0485 Jul 13 08:51:40 16849 -30729 P 1.3356 0.3754 64.5N 89.8W 0
03673 35 -0467 Jul 23 16:24:32 16537 -30506 P 1.3997 0.2544 63.6N 146.1E 0
03717 36 -0449 Aug 04 00:01:15 16234 -30283 P 1.4601 0.1417 62.8N 21.2E 0
03761 37 -0431 Aug 14 07:45:52 15939 -30060 Pe 1.5136 0.0432 62.1N 105.3W 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)"
