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 39 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 -1718 May 26. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0438 Jul 03. The total duration of Saros series 39 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1718 May 26 11:58:02 TD Last Eclipse = -0438 Jul 03 12:58:27 TD Duration of Saros 39 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 39 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 39 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.8% |
| Annular | A | 22 | 30.6% |
| Total | T | 32 | 44.4% |
| 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 39 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 39 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 57 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 56 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 39: 9P 32T 3H 22A 6P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 39 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 39 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0546 Apr 29 | 04m20s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0925 Sep 15 | 00m21s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1141 May 08 | 04m36s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -1556 Aug 31 | 02m05s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0979 Aug 13 | 01m48s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0943 Sep 03 | 00m21s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1574 Aug 21 | - | 0.97105 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1718 May 26 | - | 0.03190 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 39. 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 39.
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
00700 -37 -1718 May 26 11:58:02 39852 -45981 Pb 1.5157 0.0319 62.2N 37.2E 0
00745 -36 -1700 Jun 05 19:15:14 39447 -45758 P 1.4394 0.1769 62.9N 83.1W 0
00789 -35 -1682 Jun 17 02:36:40 39043 -45535 P 1.3656 0.3177 63.7N 155.4E 0
00831 -34 -1664 Jun 27 10:01:58 38642 -45312 P 1.2944 0.4538 64.6N 32.7E 0
00872 -33 -1646 Jul 08 17:34:05 38243 -45089 P 1.2284 0.5802 65.5N 92.0W 0
00913 -32 -1628 Jul 19 01:13:01 37846 -44866 P 1.1677 0.6962 66.5N 141.1E 0
00954 -31 -1610 Jul 30 08:59:13 37451 -44643 P 1.1127 0.8009 67.6N 12.0E 0
00995 -30 -1592 Aug 09 16:53:53 37058 -44420 P 1.0643 0.8927 68.6N 119.8W 0
01036 -29 -1574 Aug 21 00:57:11 36667 -44197 P 1.0228 0.9711 69.5N 105.6E 0
01077 -28 -1556 Aug 31 09:09:55 36278 -43974 Tn 0.9891 1.0404 74.7N 51.1W 7 - 02m05s
01117 -27 -1538 Sep 11 17:29:52 35891 -43751 T 0.9613 1.0409 73.4N 137.0E 15 514 02m18s
01157 -26 -1520 Sep 22 01:59:24 35506 -43528 T 0.9413 1.0400 68.3N 11.9W 19 403 02m24s
01197 -25 -1502 Oct 03 10:35:41 35124 -43305 T 0.9268 1.0389 63.1N 153.6W 22 350 02m28s
01237 -24 -1484 Oct 13 19:19:27 34743 -43082 T 0.9184 1.0376 58.6N 66.5E 23 320 02m30s
01277 -23 -1466 Oct 25 04:07:02 34365 -42859 T 0.9133 1.0365 54.7N 73.0W 24 302 02m33s
01317 -22 -1448 Nov 04 12:59:34 33988 -42636 T 0.9124 1.0357 51.5N 147.1E 24 294 02m36s
01358 -21 -1430 Nov 15 21:53:14 33614 -42413 T 0.9127 1.0353 48.9N 7.2E 24 292 02m39s
01399 -20 -1412 Nov 26 06:47:37 33241 -42190 T 0.9137 1.0353 46.7N 132.8W 24 294 02m44s
01440 -19 -1394 Dec 07 15:40:19 32871 -41967 T 0.9135 1.0359 44.8N 87.7E 24 299 02m51s
01482 -18 -1376 Dec 18 00:30:56 32503 -41744 T 0.9116 1.0369 43.1N 51.2W 24 304 02m59s
01524 -17 -1358 Dec 29 09:15:55 32137 -41521 T 0.9054 1.0386 41.3N 171.4E 25 307 03m09s
01566 -16 -1339 Jan 08 17:55:37 31773 -41298 T 0.8952 1.0406 39.5N 35.8E 26 306 03m20s
01609 -15 -1321 Jan 20 02:27:58 31411 -41075 T 0.8791 1.0432 37.6N 97.5W 28 301 03m32s
01653 -14 -1303 Jan 30 10:53:53 31051 -40852 T 0.8578 1.0459 36.0N 131.5E 31 294 03m44s
01696 -13 -1285 Feb 10 19:09:44 30693 -40629 T 0.8283 1.0488 34.3N 3.7E 34 285 03m56s
01741 -12 -1267 Feb 21 03:18:32 30338 -40406 T 0.7933 1.0515 33.2N 121.6W 37 275 04m05s
01786 -11 -1249 Mar 04 11:17:32 29984 -40183 T 0.7504 1.0542 32.3N 116.2E 41 265 04m14s
01831 -10 -1231 Mar 14 19:09:48 29632 -39960 T 0.7022 1.0564 32.0N 3.7W 45 256 04m20s
01876 -09 -1213 Mar 26 02:51:53 29283 -39737 T 0.6458 1.0582 32.0N 120.3W 50 246 04m26s
01921 -08 -1195 Apr 05 10:28:46 28935 -39514 T 0.5854 1.0595 32.3N 124.9E 54 237 04m30s
01966 -07 -1177 Apr 16 17:57:28 28590 -39291 T 0.5187 1.0599 32.7N 12.7E 59 228 04m33s
02013 -06 -1159 Apr 27 01:22:00 28247 -39068 T 0.4491 1.0598 33.1N 97.9W 63 218 04m35s
02059 -05 -1141 May 08 08:40:41 27905 -38845 T 0.3750 1.0587 33.2N 153.4E 68 207 04m36s
02105 -04 -1123 May 18 15:57:41 27566 -38622 T 0.3003 1.0569 32.9N 45.3E 72 196 04m35s
02150 -03 -1105 May 29 23:12:07 27229 -38399 T 0.2242 1.0541 31.9N 62.0W 77 183 04m32s
02193 -02 -1087 Jun 09 06:25:42 26894 -38176 T 0.1481 1.0506 30.1N 169.3W 81 170 04m26s
02236 -01 -1069 Jun 20 13:40:07 26561 -37953 Tm 0.0736 1.0463 27.5N 82.8E 86 155 04m16s
02279 00 -1051 Jun 30 20:56:39 26231 -37730 T 0.0020 1.0414 24.0N 26.1W 90 139 03m59s
02322 01 -1033 Jul 12 04:16:54 25902 -37507 T -0.0660 1.0358 19.9N 136.7W 86 121 03m36s
02365 02 -1015 Jul 22 11:40:52 25575 -37284 T -0.1298 1.0298 15.2N 111.1E 83 102 03m06s
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
02407 03 -0997 Aug 02 19:11:20 25250 -37061 T -0.1874 1.0234 10.0N 3.3W 79 81 02m29s
02448 04 -0979 Aug 13 02:47:53 24928 -36838 H3 -0.2387 1.0168 4.5N 119.8W 76 59 01m48s
02489 05 -0961 Aug 24 10:31:09 24607 -36615 H -0.2836 1.0100 1.2S 121.7E 74 36 01m05s
02530 06 -0943 Sep 03 18:21:30 24289 -36392 H -0.3218 1.0033 7.0S 1.2E 71 12 00m21s
02571 07 -0925 Sep 15 02:19:48 23972 -36169 A -0.3526 0.9968 12.8S 121.5W 69 12 00m21s
02611 08 -0907 Sep 25 10:25:04 23658 -35946 A -0.3764 0.9905 18.4S 114.3E 68 36 00m59s
02651 09 -0889 Oct 06 18:36:18 23346 -35723 A -0.3944 0.9846 23.9S 11.2W 67 59 01m34s
02692 10 -0871 Oct 17 02:53:28 23036 -35500 A -0.4066 0.9793 29.1S 137.7W 66 80 02m05s
02733 11 -0853 Oct 28 11:15:54 22728 -35277 A -0.4137 0.9744 34.0S 95.2E 65 100 02m32s
02772 12 -0835 Nov 07 19:40:57 22422 -35054 A -0.4178 0.9703 38.4S 31.8W 65 117 02m54s
02813 13 -0817 Nov 19 04:07:45 22118 -34831 A -0.4197 0.9667 42.2S 158.2W 65 132 03m14s
02854 14 -0799 Nov 29 12:34:02 21816 -34608 A -0.4214 0.9638 45.4S 76.5E 65 144 03m29s
02895 15 -0781 Dec 10 20:59:29 21516 -34385 A -0.4230 0.9615 47.7S 47.5W 65 154 03m41s
02936 16 -0763 Dec 21 05:19:37 21219 -34162 A -0.4284 0.9598 49.1S 169.5W 64 162 03m49s
02978 17 -0744 Jan 01 13:36:07 20923 -33939 A -0.4362 0.9586 49.6S 69.8E 64 167 03m54s
03021 18 -0726 Jan 11 21:44:28 20629 -33716 A -0.4504 0.9579 49.1S 48.9W 63 172 03m56s
03066 19 -0708 Jan 23 05:45:46 20338 -33493 A -0.4695 0.9575 48.0S 166.2W 62 175 03m56s
03110 20 -0690 Feb 02 13:36:01 20048 -33270 A -0.4972 0.9573 46.4S 78.7E 60 178 03m55s
03155 21 -0672 Feb 13 21:18:09 19761 -33047 A -0.5308 0.9573 44.5S 35.1W 58 182 03m54s
03200 22 -0654 Feb 24 04:48:41 19476 -32824 A -0.5735 0.9572 42.7S 146.4W 55 188 03m53s
03245 23 -0636 Mar 06 12:08:54 19193 -32601 A -0.6238 0.9571 41.2S 104.5E 51 196 03m54s
03291 24 -0618 Mar 17 19:18:06 18911 -32378 A -0.6821 0.9567 40.5S 2.0W 47 211 03m57s
03338 25 -0600 Mar 28 02:18:16 18632 -32155 A -0.7469 0.9559 40.6S 106.2W 41 235 04m02s
03385 26 -0582 Apr 08 09:08:42 18355 -31932 A -0.8188 0.9546 42.3S 152.5E 35 280 04m09s
03432 27 -0564 Apr 18 15:50:40 18080 -31709 A -0.8967 0.9523 46.2S 54.7E 26 382 04m17s
03478 28 -0546 Apr 29 22:26:02 17808 -31486 A -0.9788 0.9481 55.2S 34.6W 11 954 04m20s
03523 29 -0528 May 10 04:56:01 17537 -31263 P -1.0641 0.8568 61.8S 124.6W 0
03568 30 -0510 May 21 11:21:36 17268 -31040 P -1.1519 0.7048 62.5S 128.8E 0
03613 31 -0492 May 31 17:45:10 16975 -30817 P -1.2404 0.5518 63.3S 22.4E 0
03657 32 -0474 Jun 12 00:08:10 16659 -30594 P -1.3282 0.4005 64.1S 84.2W 0
03701 33 -0456 Jun 22 06:32:48 16353 -30371 P -1.4136 0.2541 65.1S 168.5E 0
03744 34 -0438 Jul 03 12:58:27 16055 -30148 Pe -1.4974 0.1112 66.1S 60.6E 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)"
