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 62 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 -0890 May 22. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0372 Jun 17. The total duration of Saros series 62 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0890 May 22 14:07:11 TD Last Eclipse = 0372 Jun 17 22:13:25 TD Duration of Saros 62 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 62 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 62 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.7% |
| Annular | A | 25 | 35.2% |
| Total | T | 27 | 38.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 5 | 7.0% |
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 62 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 62 | ||
| 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 71 eclipses in Saros 62: 7P 25A 5H 27T 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 62 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 62 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0710 Sep 07 | 07m29s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0331 Apr 22 | 00m35s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 0192 Mar 01 | 03m44s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -0061 Oct 01 | 01m31s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0241 Jun 15 | 01m34s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0313 May 03 | 00m02s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0264 Apr 14 | - | 0.93304 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0890 May 22 | - | 0.06669 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 62. 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 62.
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
02648 -34 -0890 May 22 14:07:11 23370 -35740 Pb -1.5229 0.0667 69.3S 92.7E 0
02689 -33 -0872 Jun 01 20:25:59 23059 -35517 P -1.4382 0.2122 68.3S 15.1W 0
02730 -32 -0854 Jun 13 02:44:57 22751 -35294 P -1.3532 0.3582 67.4S 122.5W 0
02769 -31 -0836 Jun 23 09:06:11 22445 -35071 P -1.2694 0.5015 66.3S 130.1E 0
02810 -30 -0818 Jul 04 15:31:21 22141 -34848 P -1.1883 0.6400 65.3S 22.2E 0
02851 -29 -0800 Jul 14 22:02:17 21839 -34625 P -1.1109 0.7713 64.4S 86.7W 0
02892 -28 -0782 Jul 26 04:40:03 21539 -34402 P -1.0388 0.8933 63.5S 162.9E 0
02933 -27 -0764 Aug 05 11:25:43 21241 -34179 A -0.9723 0.9282 52.4S 65.5E 13 1174 06m53s
02975 -26 -0746 Aug 16 18:21:08 20945 -33956 A -0.9131 0.9285 43.9S 36.9W 24 644 07m18s
03017 -25 -0728 Aug 27 01:26:21 20652 -33733 A -0.8612 0.9277 40.1S 144.2W 30 517 07m27s
03061 -24 -0710 Sep 07 08:41:03 20360 -33510 A -0.8164 0.9266 38.6S 105.5E 35 462 07m29s
03105 -23 -0692 Sep 17 16:06:16 20070 -33287 A -0.7796 0.9254 38.9S 7.6W 39 434 07m27s
03150 -22 -0674 Sep 28 23:41:07 19783 -33064 A -0.7505 0.9243 40.4S 123.3W 41 419 07m22s
03195 -21 -0656 Oct 09 07:25:32 19497 -32841 A -0.7282 0.9235 43.0S 118.7E 43 410 07m15s
03240 -20 -0638 Oct 20 15:16:38 19214 -32618 A -0.7109 0.9230 46.3S 0.8W 44 405 07m08s
03286 -19 -0620 Oct 30 23:15:34 18933 -32395 A -0.6996 0.9230 50.0S 121.8W 45 400 06m58s
03333 -18 -0602 Nov 11 07:19:13 18654 -32172 A -0.6918 0.9235 54.1S 116.8E 46 395 06m47s
03380 -17 -0584 Nov 21 15:26:35 18376 -31949 A -0.6866 0.9247 58.0S 4.2W 46 388 06m34s
03428 -16 -0566 Dec 02 23:35:05 18101 -31726 A -0.6819 0.9265 61.5S 123.5W 47 377 06m20s
03474 -15 -0548 Dec 13 07:43:37 17828 -31503 A -0.6766 0.9291 64.2S 119.6E 47 362 06m05s
03519 -14 -0530 Dec 24 15:50:22 17557 -31280 A -0.6692 0.9323 65.4S 5.3E 48 342 05m49s
03564 -13 -0511 Jan 03 23:52:51 17289 -31057 A -0.6579 0.9362 64.9S 107.1W 49 317 05m31s
03609 -12 -0493 Jan 15 07:51:11 17000 -30834 A -0.6424 0.9407 62.5S 140.1E 50 288 05m12s
03653 -11 -0475 Jan 25 15:43:04 16683 -30611 A -0.6212 0.9459 58.5S 26.1E 51 255 04m52s
03697 -10 -0457 Feb 05 23:28:11 16376 -30388 A -0.5934 0.9515 53.3S 88.8W 53 221 04m29s
03740 -09 -0439 Feb 16 07:05:14 16077 -30165 A -0.5579 0.9575 47.1S 156.3E 56 186 04m04s
03784 -08 -0421 Feb 27 14:35:29 15786 -29942 A -0.5161 0.9637 40.3S 41.6E 59 152 03m36s
03826 -07 -0403 Mar 09 21:58:29 15503 -29719 A -0.4674 0.9702 33.0S 72.2W 62 121 03m04s
03868 -06 -0385 Mar 21 05:13:33 15227 -29496 A -0.4111 0.9766 25.3S 175.5E 66 91 02m29s
03910 -05 -0367 Mar 31 12:23:03 14957 -29273 A -0.3492 0.9830 17.4S 64.4E 69 64 01m52s
03949 -04 -0349 Apr 11 19:26:44 14694 -29050 A -0.2812 0.9891 9.3S 45.3W 74 40 01m13s
03989 -03 -0331 Apr 22 02:26:56 14437 -28827 A -0.2095 0.9949 1.3S 153.9W 78 18 00m35s
04030 -02 -0313 May 03 09:22:29 14186 -28604 H -0.1330 1.0002 6.6N 98.9E 82 1 00m02s
04071 -01 -0295 May 13 16:17:41 13940 -28381 H -0.0550 1.0051 14.2N 7.6W 87 18 00m34s
04111 00 -0277 May 24 23:12:00 13699 -28158 H 0.0249 1.0093 21.4N 113.1W 88 32 01m00s
04151 01 -0259 Jun 04 06:07:27 13464 -27935 Hm 0.1047 1.0130 28.1N 142.0E 84 45 01m21s
04192 02 -0241 Jun 15 13:05:26 13234 -27712 H2 0.1836 1.0160 34.0N 37.5E 79 56 01m34s
04233 03 -0223 Jun 25 20:07:48 13008 -27489 T 0.2598 1.0184 38.9N 66.8W 75 65 01m42s
04274 04 -0205 Jul 07 03:16:01 12786 -27266 T 0.3323 1.0200 42.7N 171.5W 70 73 01m46s
04315 05 -0187 Jul 17 10:29:18 12569 -27043 T 0.4014 1.0212 45.2N 83.4E 66 79 01m47s
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
04358 06 -0169 Jul 28 17:51:19 12357 -26820 T 0.4644 1.0217 46.3N 23.5W 62 83 01m45s
04402 07 -0151 Aug 08 01:20:46 12148 -26597 T 0.5222 1.0218 46.3N 132.5W 58 87 01m43s
04445 08 -0133 Aug 19 09:00:20 11942 -26374 T 0.5723 1.0215 45.3N 115.1E 55 89 01m40s
04488 09 -0115 Aug 29 16:47:48 11741 -26151 T 0.6167 1.0210 43.6N 0.3W 52 90 01m36s
04531 10 -0097 Sep 10 00:46:41 11543 -25928 T 0.6525 1.0204 41.3N 119.8W 49 90 01m34s
04574 11 -0079 Sep 20 08:53:49 11348 -25705 T 0.6823 1.0197 38.9N 117.8E 47 90 01m32s
04619 12 -0061 Oct 01 17:10:28 11156 -25482 T 0.7048 1.0192 36.3N 8.0W 45 91 01m31s
04664 13 -0043 Oct 12 01:34:43 10967 -25259 T 0.7217 1.0189 33.8N 136.4W 44 91 01m32s
04710 14 -0025 Oct 23 10:07:36 10780 -25036 T 0.7318 1.0189 31.2N 92.5E 43 93 01m35s
04756 15 -0007 Nov 02 18:45:46 10596 -24813 T 0.7385 1.0194 29.0N 40.1W 42 96 01m40s
04801 16 0011 Nov 14 03:29:00 10415 -24590 T 0.7415 1.0203 27.0N 174.2W 42 101 01m48s
04847 17 0029 Nov 24 12:15:21 10235 -24367 T 0.7424 1.0217 25.5N 50.8E 42 109 01m59s
04894 18 0047 Dec 05 21:04:34 10057 -24144 T 0.7414 1.0236 24.4N 84.8W 42 119 02m13s
04938 19 0065 Dec 16 05:52:32 9881 -23921 T 0.7420 1.0261 24.1N 139.9E 42 132 02m28s
04982 20 0083 Dec 27 14:39:57 9707 -23698 T 0.7435 1.0290 24.5N 4.7E 42 147 02m44s
05027 21 0102 Jan 06 23:23:12 9533 -23475 T 0.7490 1.0323 25.9N 129.5W 41 165 03m00s
05071 22 0120 Jan 18 08:03:34 9360 -23252 T 0.7574 1.0359 28.2N 96.9E 41 185 03m16s
05115 23 0138 Jan 28 16:36:21 9189 -23029 T 0.7723 1.0396 31.7N 35.2W 39 209 03m28s
05158 24 0156 Feb 09 01:04:40 9017 -22806 T 0.7914 1.0435 36.0N 166.6W 37 237 03m38s
05199 25 0174 Feb 19 09:23:59 8846 -22583 T 0.8182 1.0472 41.4N 63.4E 35 272 03m43s
05240 26 0192 Mar 01 17:37:08 8675 -22360 T 0.8505 1.0507 47.8N 66.2W 31 318 03m44s
05281 27 0210 Mar 13 01:40:48 8504 -22137 T 0.8909 1.0536 55.5N 164.2E 27 390 03m38s
05322 28 0228 Mar 23 09:38:46 8333 -21914 T 0.9363 1.0557 64.0N 30.3E 20 529 03m27s
05363 29 0246 Apr 03 17:28:38 8161 -21691 Tn 0.9885 1.0553 72.5N 129.1W 7 - 02m59s
05404 30 0264 Apr 14 01:12:18 7989 -21468 P 1.0461 0.9330 71.3N 76.4E 0
05444 31 0282 Apr 25 08:50:06 7816 -21245 P 1.1087 0.8128 70.7N 52.1W 0
05484 32 0300 May 05 16:23:42 7642 -21022 P 1.1751 0.6846 69.9N 178.9W 0
05523 33 0318 May 16 23:53:36 7468 -20799 P 1.2444 0.5501 69.0N 55.7E 0
05563 34 0336 May 27 07:20:31 7293 -20576 P 1.3160 0.4107 68.1N 68.3W 0
05603 35 0354 Jun 07 14:46:56 7116 -20353 P 1.3882 0.2704 67.1N 168.3E 0
05643 36 0372 Jun 17 22:13:25 6939 -20130 Pe 1.4603 0.1305 66.1N 45.3E 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)"
