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 40 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 -1653 May 28. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0373 Jul 04. The total duration of Saros series 40 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1653 May 28 18:12:41 TD Last Eclipse = -0373 Jul 04 14:30:41 TD Duration of Saros 40 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 40 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 40 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 19 | 26.4% |
| Annular | A | 53 | 73.6% |
| 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 40 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 40 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 53 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 51 | 96.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 40: 11P 53A 8P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 40 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 40 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0734 Nov 30 | 08m30s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0517 Apr 09 | 00m59s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0499 Apr 19 | - | 0.96166 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1653 May 28 | - | 0.00728 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 40. 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 40.
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
00856 -36 -1653 May 28 18:12:41 38400 -45177 Pb -1.5359 0.0073 69.1S 94.5E 0
00897 -35 -1635 Jun 08 01:14:28 38002 -44954 P -1.4667 0.1372 68.2S 24.5W 0
00938 -34 -1617 Jun 19 08:17:47 37606 -44731 P -1.3992 0.2632 67.3S 143.3W 0
00979 -33 -1599 Jun 29 15:23:21 37213 -44508 P -1.3341 0.3833 66.3S 97.8E 0
01020 -32 -1581 Jul 10 22:32:03 36821 -44285 P -1.2721 0.4967 65.3S 21.5W 0
01061 -31 -1563 Jul 21 05:46:11 36431 -44062 P -1.2151 0.5997 64.4S 141.7W 0
01101 -30 -1545 Aug 01 13:05:55 36043 -43839 P -1.1630 0.6926 63.5S 97.1E 0
01141 -29 -1527 Aug 11 20:32:13 35658 -43616 P -1.1170 0.7734 62.6S 25.5W 0
01181 -28 -1509 Aug 23 04:05:42 35274 -43393 P -1.0774 0.8417 61.9S 149.6W 0
01221 -27 -1491 Sep 02 11:46:56 34893 -43170 P -1.0446 0.8972 61.4S 84.5E 0
01261 -26 -1473 Sep 13 19:36:05 34514 -42947 P -1.0190 0.9395 60.9S 43.1W 0
01301 -25 -1455 Sep 24 03:31:13 34136 -42724 A- -0.9989 0.9719 60.6S 172.2W 0
01342 -24 -1437 Oct 05 11:34:09 33761 -42501 As -0.9860 0.9460 59.4S 74.1E 9 - 03m49s
01383 -23 -1419 Oct 15 19:41:51 33388 -42278 A -0.9779 0.9420 60.4S 52.2W 11 1058 04m02s
01424 -22 -1401 Oct 27 03:54:45 33017 -42055 A -0.9744 0.9382 62.3S 177.1E 12 1052 04m13s
01465 -21 -1383 Nov 06 12:08:33 32648 -41832 A -0.9724 0.9348 64.7S 45.0E 13 1076 04m20s
01507 -20 -1365 Nov 17 20:25:06 32281 -41609 A -0.9735 0.9320 67.2S 90.3W 13 1159 04m25s
01549 -19 -1347 Nov 28 04:39:56 31916 -41386 A -0.9739 0.9298 69.8S 134.2E 12 1219 04m28s
01592 -18 -1329 Dec 09 12:52:56 31554 -41163 A -0.9735 0.9284 72.4S 1.7W 13 1243 04m30s
01635 -17 -1311 Dec 19 21:00:36 31193 -40940 A -0.9696 0.9277 75.6S 135.7W 13 1169 04m33s
01679 -16 -1293 Dec 31 05:03:18 30834 -40717 A -0.9620 0.9279 79.5S 90.0E 15 1036 04m35s
01724 -15 -1274 Jan 10 12:58:00 30478 -40494 A -0.9485 0.9288 84.2S 50.3W 18 873 04m39s
01768 -14 -1256 Jan 21 20:44:11 30123 -40271 A -0.9287 0.9302 87.0S 106.6E 21 722 04m45s
01814 -13 -1238 Feb 01 04:20:38 29771 -40048 A -0.9016 0.9321 81.7S 64.8W 25 596 04m52s
01859 -12 -1220 Feb 12 11:47:38 29420 -39825 A -0.8674 0.9343 74.4S 167.9E 29 497 05m01s
01903 -11 -1202 Feb 22 19:02:52 29072 -39602 A -0.8240 0.9367 66.4S 49.4E 34 417 05m12s
01948 -10 -1184 Mar 05 02:08:32 28726 -39379 A -0.7730 0.9391 58.0S 64.7W 39 355 05m26s
01994 -09 -1166 Mar 16 09:03:26 28382 -39156 A -0.7137 0.9415 49.2S 175.3W 44 307 05m40s
02040 -08 -1148 Mar 26 15:50:19 28040 -38933 A -0.6482 0.9436 40.3S 76.8E 49 271 05m55s
02086 -07 -1130 Apr 06 22:26:34 27700 -38710 A -0.5743 0.9456 31.2S 28.1W 55 242 06m10s
02132 -06 -1112 Apr 17 04:57:35 27362 -38487 A -0.4964 0.9472 22.2S 131.1W 60 222 06m25s
02176 -05 -1094 Apr 28 11:21:18 27026 -38264 A -0.4123 0.9484 13.2S 128.0E 66 207 06m37s
02219 -04 -1076 May 08 17:42:37 26692 -38041 A -0.3266 0.9493 4.6S 28.3E 71 196 06m46s
02262 -03 -1058 May 19 23:59:17 26361 -37818 A -0.2370 0.9496 3.8N 69.6W 76 190 06m52s
02305 -02 -1040 May 30 06:17:20 26031 -37595 A -0.1485 0.9495 11.5N 167.1W 82 187 06m53s
02349 -01 -1022 Jun 10 12:34:40 25704 -37372 A -0.0591 0.9489 18.7N 96.5E 87 188 06m50s
02391 00 -1004 Jun 20 18:55:29 25378 -37149 Am 0.0276 0.9479 25.0N 0.1E 88 192 06m43s
02432 01 -0986 Jul 02 01:19:51 25055 -36926 A 0.1115 0.9464 30.4N 96.0W 83 199 06m35s
02473 02 -0968 Jul 12 07:51:00 24733 -36703 A 0.1901 0.9447 34.5N 167.1E 79 208 06m28s
02514 03 -0950 Jul 23 14:29:18 24414 -36480 A 0.2631 0.9427 37.2N 69.2E 75 220 06m24s
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
02555 04 -0932 Aug 02 21:15:20 24097 -36257 A 0.3301 0.9405 38.7N 30.2W 71 233 06m22s
02595 05 -0914 Aug 14 04:11:20 23782 -36034 A 0.3892 0.9382 38.9N 132.3W 67 248 06m25s
02635 06 -0896 Aug 24 11:16:27 23469 -35811 A 0.4412 0.9360 37.9N 122.9E 64 264 06m32s
02676 07 -0878 Sep 04 18:32:13 23158 -35588 A 0.4845 0.9338 36.1N 14.5E 61 279 06m42s
02717 08 -0860 Sep 15 01:57:24 22849 -35365 A 0.5206 0.9319 33.7N 97.1W 58 293 06m55s
02757 09 -0842 Sep 26 09:33:26 22542 -35142 A 0.5482 0.9303 30.8N 147.7E 57 306 07m11s
02797 10 -0824 Oct 06 17:18:03 22238 -34919 A 0.5692 0.9292 27.8N 29.8E 55 316 07m29s
02838 11 -0806 Oct 18 01:11:04 21935 -34696 A 0.5837 0.9286 24.7N 90.8W 54 322 07m47s
02879 12 -0788 Oct 28 09:11:01 21634 -34473 A 0.5931 0.9286 21.7N 146.5E 53 325 08m04s
02920 13 -0770 Nov 08 17:17:02 21336 -34250 A 0.5976 0.9292 18.9N 22.1E 53 324 08m19s
02961 14 -0752 Nov 19 01:26:10 21039 -34027 A 0.6005 0.9305 16.6N 103.1W 53 320 08m28s
03003 15 -0734 Nov 30 09:37:18 20745 -33804 A 0.6024 0.9324 14.9N 131.2E 53 312 08m30s
03047 16 -0716 Dec 10 17:48:27 20453 -33581 A 0.6048 0.9351 13.8N 5.5E 53 301 08m22s
03092 17 -0698 Dec 22 01:59:06 20162 -33358 A 0.6081 0.9384 13.6N 120.0W 52 287 08m03s
03137 18 -0679 Jan 01 10:04:53 19874 -33135 A 0.6160 0.9423 14.4N 115.7E 52 271 07m32s
03182 19 -0661 Jan 12 18:07:10 19588 -32912 A 0.6274 0.9466 16.1N 7.9W 51 252 06m51s
03227 20 -0643 Jan 23 02:02:02 19304 -32689 A 0.6456 0.9515 19.1N 129.9W 50 232 06m02s
03273 21 -0625 Feb 03 09:52:04 19022 -32466 A 0.6684 0.9567 23.0N 108.9E 48 211 05m09s
03319 22 -0607 Feb 13 17:32:25 18742 -32243 A 0.6995 0.9620 28.1N 10.4W 45 191 04m14s
03366 23 -0589 Feb 25 01:07:26 18464 -32020 A 0.7358 0.9675 34.1N 129.0W 42 171 03m23s
03414 24 -0571 Mar 07 08:33:18 18189 -31797 A 0.7802 0.9728 41.2N 113.7E 38 154 02m36s
03460 25 -0553 Mar 18 15:53:22 17915 -31574 A 0.8300 0.9778 49.2N 3.8W 34 140 01m56s
03505 26 -0535 Mar 28 23:05:20 17644 -31351 A 0.8873 0.9823 58.4N 122.9W 27 136 01m23s
03550 27 -0517 Apr 09 06:13:34 17374 -31128 A 0.9484 0.9858 68.4N 108.2E 18 161 00m59s
03595 28 -0499 Apr 19 13:16:39 17102 -30905 P 1.0144 0.9617 71.2N 65.8W 0
03640 29 -0481 Apr 30 20:16:46 16783 -30682 P 1.0836 0.8385 70.6N 174.6E 0
03683 30 -0463 May 11 03:14:59 16473 -30459 P 1.1553 0.7094 69.9N 56.0E 0
03727 31 -0445 May 22 10:13:27 16171 -30236 P 1.2277 0.5777 69.0N 62.0W 0
03771 32 -0427 Jun 01 17:12:55 15878 -30013 P 1.2999 0.4453 68.1N 179.7W 0
03813 33 -0409 Jun 13 00:14:15 15592 -29790 P 1.3713 0.3136 67.1N 62.7E 0
03855 34 -0391 Jun 23 07:19:55 15314 -29567 P 1.4400 0.1861 66.1N 55.5W 0
03897 35 -0373 Jul 04 14:30:41 15042 -29344 Pe 1.5055 0.0643 65.2N 174.6W 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)"
