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 42 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 -1577 Apr 28. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0297 Jun 05. The total duration of Saros series 42 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1577 Apr 28 09:28:38 TD Last Eclipse = -0297 Jun 05 10:12:52 TD Duration of Saros 42 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 42 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 42 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 21 | 29.2% |
| Total | T | 34 | 47.2% |
| 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 42 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 42 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 57 | 98.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.7% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 42: 8P 34T 3H 21A 6P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 42 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 42 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0531 Jan 15 | 06m47s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0766 Aug 28 | 00m23s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -0964 Apr 30 | 05m00s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -0838 Jul 15 | 02m01s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0820 Jul 26 | 01m24s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0784 Aug 16 | 00m12s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1451 Jul 12 | - | 0.99435 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1577 Apr 28 | - | 0.02329 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 42. 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 42.
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
01029 -37 -1577 Apr 28 09:28:38 36738 -44238 Pb -1.5198 0.0233 71.1S 106.8W 0
01070 -36 -1559 May 08 16:46:41 36349 -44015 P -1.4450 0.1650 70.5S 128.8E 0
01110 -35 -1541 May 20 00:03:34 35962 -43792 P -1.3684 0.3112 69.8S 5.2E 0
01150 -34 -1523 May 30 07:22:51 35577 -43569 P -1.2928 0.4563 68.9S 118.5W 0
01190 -33 -1505 Jun 10 14:43:50 35194 -43346 P -1.2178 0.6009 68.0S 117.9E 0
01230 -32 -1487 Jun 20 22:09:54 34813 -43123 P -1.1463 0.7387 67.0S 6.4W 0
01270 -31 -1469 Jul 02 05:39:07 34434 -42900 P -1.0770 0.8722 66.0S 131.0W 0
01310 -30 -1451 Jul 12 13:15:57 34057 -42677 P -1.0135 0.9944 65.0S 102.9E 0
01351 -29 -1433 Jul 23 20:58:00 33682 -42454 T -0.9538 1.0553 48.3S 12.4W 17 615 04m08s
01392 -28 -1415 Aug 03 04:48:22 33310 -42231 T -0.9008 1.0560 40.7S 133.0W 25 423 04m22s
01433 -27 -1397 Aug 14 12:45:34 32939 -42008 T -0.8534 1.0554 36.4S 104.7E 31 346 04m23s
01474 -26 -1379 Aug 24 20:52:28 32571 -41785 T -0.8141 1.0540 34.4S 20.1W 35 302 04m14s
01516 -25 -1361 Sep 05 05:06:58 32204 -41562 T -0.7810 1.0521 33.9S 146.8W 38 270 04m01s
01558 -24 -1343 Sep 15 13:29:48 31840 -41339 T -0.7547 1.0500 34.9S 84.5E 41 247 03m46s
01601 -23 -1325 Sep 26 22:00:17 31477 -41116 T -0.7348 1.0478 37.0S 46.2W 42 229 03m30s
01644 -22 -1307 Oct 07 06:38:34 31117 -40893 T -0.7216 1.0456 40.0S 178.9W 44 215 03m16s
01687 -21 -1289 Oct 18 15:22:14 30759 -40670 T -0.7127 1.0436 43.6S 47.3E 44 204 03m03s
01732 -20 -1271 Oct 29 00:11:01 30403 -40447 T -0.7083 1.0418 47.8S 87.6W 45 196 02m51s
01777 -19 -1253 Nov 09 09:02:45 30049 -40224 T -0.7064 1.0405 52.2S 137.4E 45 190 02m43s
01823 -18 -1235 Nov 19 17:57:11 29697 -40001 T -0.7069 1.0396 56.7S 2.8E 45 187 02m36s
01868 -17 -1217 Dec 01 02:50:17 29347 -39778 T -0.7066 1.0392 60.9S 129.8W 45 186 02m33s
01913 -16 -1199 Dec 11 11:43:12 28999 -39555 T -0.7065 1.0393 64.6S 100.1E 45 186 02m32s
01958 -15 -1181 Dec 22 20:31:34 28653 -39332 T -0.7031 1.0399 67.1S 25.7W 45 189 02m34s
02004 -14 -1162 Jan 02 05:16:03 28310 -39109 T -0.6968 1.0409 67.9S 148.2W 46 192 02m40s
02050 -13 -1144 Jan 13 13:52:43 27968 -38886 T -0.6845 1.0423 66.7S 91.4E 47 195 02m48s
02096 -12 -1126 Jan 23 22:23:45 27629 -38663 T -0.6681 1.0440 63.6S 30.0W 48 198 02m58s
02141 -11 -1108 Feb 04 06:45:48 27291 -38440 T -0.6450 1.0458 59.0S 152.4W 50 200 03m12s
02184 -10 -1090 Feb 14 14:59:22 26956 -38217 T -0.6152 1.0477 53.4S 84.6E 52 201 03m27s
02227 -09 -1072 Feb 25 23:03:35 26622 -37994 T -0.5781 1.0495 46.9S 38.1W 54 201 03m45s
02270 -08 -1054 Mar 08 06:59:28 26291 -37771 T -0.5344 1.0511 39.8S 160.0W 57 200 04m04s
02313 -07 -1036 Mar 18 14:46:50 25962 -37548 T -0.4843 1.0523 32.4S 79.6E 61 197 04m22s
02358 -06 -1018 Mar 29 22:25:34 25635 -37325 T -0.4276 1.0531 24.7S 39.2W 65 194 04m38s
02400 -05 -1000 Apr 09 05:57:32 25310 -37102 T -0.3655 1.0533 16.8S 156.3W 68 189 04m51s
02441 -04 -0982 Apr 20 13:23:00 24987 -36879 T -0.2985 1.0529 8.9S 88.2E 73 183 04m59s
02482 -03 -0964 Apr 30 20:43:01 24666 -36656 T -0.2274 1.0517 1.0S 25.7W 77 176 05m00s
02523 -02 -0946 May 12 03:58:30 24347 -36433 T -0.1532 1.0497 6.7N 138.1W 81 167 04m54s
02564 -01 -0928 May 22 11:10:57 24030 -36210 Tm -0.0771 1.0470 14.0N 110.9E 86 157 04m39s
02604 00 -0910 Jun 02 18:21:52 23716 -35987 T -0.0005 1.0435 20.9N 1.1E 90 145 04m16s
02643 01 -0892 Jun 13 01:31:21 23403 -35764 T 0.0765 1.0392 27.1N 107.5W 85 132 03m47s
02684 02 -0874 Jun 24 08:42:23 23093 -35541 T 0.1513 1.0343 32.4N 144.5E 81 117 03m13s
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
02725 03 -0856 Jul 04 15:55:03 22784 -35318 T 0.2239 1.0287 36.8N 37.3E 77 100 02m37s
02765 04 -0838 Jul 15 23:12:04 22478 -35095 T 0.2919 1.0227 39.9N 70.2W 73 81 02m01s
02806 05 -0820 Jul 26 06:32:15 22174 -34872 H3 0.3561 1.0161 41.8N 177.9W 69 59 01m24s
02847 06 -0802 Aug 06 13:59:03 21871 -34649 H 0.4140 1.0094 42.3N 72.9E 65 36 00m48s
02888 07 -0784 Aug 16 21:31:24 21571 -34426 H 0.4666 1.0024 41.8N 38.1W 62 9 00m12s
02929 08 -0766 Aug 28 05:11:00 21273 -34203 A 0.5121 0.9955 40.3N 151.7W 59 18 00m23s
02971 09 -0748 Sep 07 12:57:40 20977 -33980 A 0.5509 0.9886 38.1N 92.0E 56 48 00m58s
03013 10 -0730 Sep 18 20:52:12 20683 -33757 A 0.5823 0.9821 35.5N 27.3W 54 77 01m34s
03057 11 -0712 Sep 29 04:54:14 20391 -33534 A 0.6068 0.9758 32.6N 149.3W 52 107 02m11s
03101 12 -0694 Oct 10 13:01:39 20101 -33311 A 0.6263 0.9701 29.7N 86.8E 51 135 02m48s
03146 13 -0676 Oct 20 21:15:40 19814 -33088 A 0.6394 0.9648 26.8N 39.3W 50 161 03m27s
03191 14 -0658 Nov 01 05:33:35 19528 -32865 A 0.6482 0.9602 24.1N 166.7W 49 185 04m05s
03236 15 -0640 Nov 11 13:55:10 19244 -32642 A 0.6536 0.9563 21.7N 64.8E 49 206 04m43s
03282 16 -0622 Nov 22 22:16:40 18963 -32419 A 0.6580 0.9530 19.8N 63.7W 49 224 05m19s
03329 17 -0604 Dec 03 06:38:55 18684 -32196 A 0.6612 0.9504 18.5N 167.7E 48 240 05m51s
03376 18 -0586 Dec 14 14:58:15 18406 -31973 A 0.6658 0.9484 18.0N 39.7E 48 253 06m18s
03424 19 -0568 Dec 24 23:13:44 18131 -31750 A 0.6726 0.9470 18.4N 87.3W 48 263 06m37s
03470 20 -0549 Jan 05 07:22:57 17858 -31527 A 0.6837 0.9460 19.8N 147.2E 47 273 06m47s
03515 21 -0531 Jan 15 15:25:39 17587 -31304 A 0.6993 0.9455 22.3N 23.1E 45 281 06m47s
03560 22 -0513 Jan 26 23:19:08 17317 -31081 A 0.7217 0.9452 25.9N 99.1W 44 291 06m38s
03605 23 -0495 Feb 06 07:03:27 17034 -30858 A 0.7509 0.9451 30.7N 140.3E 41 305 06m22s
03649 24 -0477 Feb 17 14:37:28 16717 -30635 A 0.7877 0.9451 36.7N 21.4E 38 326 06m00s
03693 25 -0459 Feb 27 22:02:12 16408 -30412 A 0.8311 0.9449 43.8N 96.4W 33 362 05m35s
03736 26 -0441 Mar 11 05:14:24 16109 -30189 A 0.8841 0.9444 52.5N 146.4E 27 436 05m08s
03780 27 -0423 Mar 21 12:18:06 15817 -29966 A 0.9433 0.9430 62.8N 24.3E 19 640 04m39s
03822 28 -0405 Apr 01 19:10:51 15533 -29743 A+ 1.0107 0.9459 71.9N 138.8W 0
03864 29 -0387 Apr 12 01:57:00 15256 -29520 P 1.0823 0.8230 71.6N 104.5E 0
03906 30 -0369 Apr 23 08:32:44 14986 -29297 P 1.1614 0.6870 71.1N 9.2W 0
03945 31 -0351 May 03 15:04:44 14722 -29074 P 1.2425 0.5475 70.5N 121.4W 0
03984 32 -0333 May 14 21:29:55 14464 -28851 P 1.3284 0.3998 69.6N 128.7E 0
04025 33 -0315 May 25 03:53:17 14212 -28628 P 1.4145 0.2521 68.7N 19.9E 0
04066 34 -0297 Jun 05 10:12:52 13966 -28405 Pe 1.5027 0.1011 67.7N 87.4W 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)"
