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 63 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 -0879 Apr 20. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0401 May 29. The total duration of Saros series 63 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0879 Apr 20 19:29:54 TD Last Eclipse = 0401 May 29 04:57:52 TD Duration of Saros 63 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 63 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 63 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 14 | 19.4% |
| Total | T | 42 | 58.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.8% |
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 63 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 63 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 57 | 98.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.7% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 63: 7P 42T 2H 14A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 63 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 63 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0275 Mar 15 | 02m10s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0040 Oct 24 | 00m08s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -0194 Jun 06 | 06m26s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -0014 Sep 22 | 01m19s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0004 Oct 02 | 00m46s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0022 Oct 14 | 00m17s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0771 Jun 24 | - | 0.91558 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0879 Apr 20 | - | 0.04142 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 63. 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 63.
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
02673 -36 -0879 Apr 20 19:29:54 23182 -35605 Pb 1.5192 0.0414 61.0N 121.4W 0
02714 -35 -0861 May 02 02:38:41 22873 -35382 P 1.4433 0.1798 61.4N 121.3E 0
02754 -34 -0843 May 12 09:44:12 22566 -35159 P 1.3638 0.3263 61.9N 4.7E 0
02794 -33 -0825 May 23 16:51:36 22261 -34936 P 1.2846 0.4735 62.5N 112.6W 0
02835 -32 -0807 Jun 02 23:58:25 21958 -34713 P 1.2038 0.6248 63.2N 130.2E 0
02876 -31 -0789 Jun 14 07:10:12 21657 -34490 P 1.1259 0.7713 64.1N 11.4E 0
02917 -30 -0771 Jun 24 14:24:39 21358 -34267 P 1.0495 0.9156 65.0N 108.3W 0
02958 -29 -0753 Jul 05 21:44:52 21062 -34044 T 0.9769 1.0328 77.3N 138.0E 12 557 01m40s
03000 -28 -0735 Jul 16 05:10:58 20767 -33821 T 0.9082 1.0373 88.5N 145.4W 24 305 02m06s
03044 -27 -0717 Jul 27 12:45:12 20475 -33598 T 0.8458 1.0398 78.6N 96.3E 32 252 02m24s
03088 -26 -0699 Aug 06 20:27:21 20184 -33375 T 0.7890 1.0410 70.0N 21.4W 38 225 02m38s
03133 -25 -0681 Aug 18 04:17:49 19896 -33152 T 0.7387 1.0416 62.1N 141.6W 42 207 02m50s
03178 -24 -0663 Aug 28 12:17:52 19610 -32929 T 0.6960 1.0416 54.7N 95.4E 46 193 02m59s
03223 -23 -0645 Sep 08 20:26:44 19326 -32706 T 0.6603 1.0412 47.9N 30.0W 48 183 03m06s
03268 -22 -0627 Sep 19 04:44:18 19044 -32483 T 0.6314 1.0405 41.5N 157.7W 51 174 03m11s
03314 -21 -0609 Sep 30 13:10:06 18764 -32260 T 0.6092 1.0398 35.6N 72.5E 52 167 03m16s
03361 -20 -0591 Oct 10 21:43:55 18486 -32037 T 0.5934 1.0392 30.3N 59.2W 53 162 03m20s
03409 -19 -0573 Oct 22 06:24:20 18210 -31814 T 0.5830 1.0387 25.5N 167.6E 54 159 03m24s
03456 -18 -0555 Nov 01 15:09:28 17936 -31591 T 0.5764 1.0385 21.4N 33.3E 55 157 03m30s
03501 -17 -0537 Nov 12 23:59:29 17664 -31368 T 0.5735 1.0387 18.0N 102.1W 55 158 03m36s
03546 -16 -0519 Nov 23 08:51:54 17394 -31145 T 0.5724 1.0393 15.2N 122.0E 55 160 03m44s
03591 -15 -0501 Dec 04 17:44:58 17127 -30922 T 0.5717 1.0404 13.1N 14.0W 55 165 03m53s
03636 -14 -0483 Dec 15 02:36:40 16807 -30699 T 0.5698 1.0419 11.6N 149.8W 55 170 04m03s
03679 -13 -0465 Dec 26 11:26:22 16496 -30476 T 0.5660 1.0440 10.7N 75.1E 55 178 04m14s
03723 -12 -0446 Jan 05 20:12:29 16194 -30253 T 0.5588 1.0465 10.2N 59.1W 56 186 04m24s
03767 -11 -0428 Jan 17 04:52:35 15900 -30030 T 0.5466 1.0494 10.2N 168.4E 57 195 04m35s
03809 -10 -0410 Jan 27 13:26:55 15614 -29807 T 0.5294 1.0525 10.7N 37.4E 58 203 04m44s
03851 -09 -0392 Feb 07 21:53:26 15335 -29584 T 0.5057 1.0560 11.4N 91.3W 60 212 04m53s
03893 -08 -0374 Feb 18 06:12:52 15063 -29361 T 0.4761 1.0594 12.4N 142.0E 61 220 05m02s
03934 -07 -0356 Feb 29 14:23:05 14797 -29138 T 0.4386 1.0628 13.6N 17.9E 64 227 05m11s
03973 -06 -0338 Mar 11 22:26:24 14538 -28915 T 0.3954 1.0660 15.0N 104.2W 67 233 05m19s
04014 -05 -0320 Mar 22 06:21:05 14284 -28692 T 0.3452 1.0689 16.4N 136.3E 70 238 05m28s
04055 -04 -0302 Apr 02 14:08:34 14036 -28469 T 0.2890 1.0713 17.8N 19.0E 73 241 05m37s
04096 -03 -0284 Apr 12 21:48:54 13794 -28246 T 0.2270 1.0731 18.8N 96.2W 77 243 05m47s
04136 -02 -0266 Apr 24 05:23:32 13556 -28023 T 0.1606 1.0742 19.5N 150.4E 81 244 05m57s
04176 -01 -0248 May 04 12:53:34 13324 -27800 T 0.0902 1.0746 19.6N 38.4E 85 243 06m07s
04217 00 -0230 May 15 20:18:47 13096 -27577 Tm 0.0162 1.0742 18.8N 72.4W 89 241 06m16s
04257 01 -0212 May 26 03:42:22 12873 -27354 T -0.0588 1.0729 17.3N 177.2E 87 237 06m23s
04298 02 -0194 Jun 06 11:04:05 12655 -27131 T -0.1348 1.0707 14.9N 66.9E 82 232 06m26s
04340 03 -0176 Jun 16 18:26:21 12440 -26908 T -0.2101 1.0678 11.5N 44.0W 78 226 06m23s
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
04384 04 -0158 Jun 28 01:49:01 12230 -26685 T -0.2844 1.0639 7.3N 155.5W 74 218 06m13s
04427 05 -0140 Jul 08 09:14:45 12023 -26462 T -0.3557 1.0594 2.3N 91.6E 69 209 05m53s
04470 06 -0122 Jul 19 16:43:53 11820 -26239 T -0.4232 1.0541 3.2S 22.9W 65 197 05m24s
04513 07 -0104 Jul 30 00:16:56 11620 -26016 T -0.4867 1.0484 9.2S 138.9W 61 184 04m48s
04556 08 -0086 Aug 10 07:56:02 11424 -25793 T -0.5444 1.0422 15.6S 103.1E 57 168 04m06s
04601 09 -0068 Aug 20 15:41:05 11231 -25570 T -0.5964 1.0357 22.1S 16.9W 53 149 03m22s
04646 10 -0050 Aug 31 23:33:54 11041 -25347 T -0.6410 1.0290 28.7S 139.2W 50 127 02m38s
04691 11 -0032 Sep 11 07:32:25 10854 -25124 T -0.6801 1.0224 35.3S 97.0E 47 103 01m57s
04738 12 -0014 Sep 22 15:39:28 10669 -24901 T -0.7112 1.0158 41.6S 29.0W 44 77 01m19s
04783 13 0004 Oct 02 23:52:25 10486 -24678 H -0.7368 1.0095 47.8S 156.3W 42 48 00m46s
04829 14 0022 Oct 14 08:12:53 10306 -24455 H -0.7556 1.0037 53.6S 75.1E 41 19 00m17s
04875 15 0040 Oct 24 16:37:57 10127 -24232 A -0.7699 0.9982 59.2S 53.7W 39 10 00m08s
04920 16 0058 Nov 05 01:09:07 9951 -24009 A -0.7787 0.9934 64.3S 177.8E 39 37 00m29s
04964 17 0076 Nov 15 09:42:44 9775 -23786 A -0.7848 0.9891 68.9S 51.4E 38 62 00m46s
05009 18 0094 Nov 26 18:18:40 9601 -23563 A -0.7886 0.9855 72.8S 71.4W 38 84 01m01s
05054 19 0112 Dec 07 02:54:33 9428 -23340 A -0.7919 0.9825 75.5S 171.7E 37 103 01m13s
05098 20 0130 Dec 18 11:29:55 9256 -23117 A -0.7953 0.9800 76.2S 59.4E 37 118 01m22s
05142 21 0148 Dec 28 20:00:51 9085 -22894 A -0.8017 0.9780 75.1S 52.5W 36 132 01m30s
05184 22 0167 Jan 09 04:27:22 8914 -22671 A -0.8110 0.9765 72.5S 168.1W 35 144 01m37s
05224 23 0185 Jan 19 12:46:54 8743 -22448 A -0.8256 0.9752 69.3S 73.9E 34 157 01m42s
05265 24 0203 Jan 30 20:59:58 8572 -22225 A -0.8449 0.9742 66.0S 45.4W 32 172 01m47s
05306 25 0221 Feb 10 05:02:06 8400 -22002 A -0.8724 0.9731 63.2S 162.7W 29 196 01m52s
05347 26 0239 Feb 21 12:56:11 8229 -21779 A -0.9056 0.9719 61.1S 81.9E 25 235 01m57s
05388 27 0257 Mar 03 20:38:34 8057 -21556 A -0.9476 0.9702 60.2S 27.9W 18 335 02m03s
05429 28 0275 Mar 15 04:12:26 7884 -21333 As -0.9957 0.9661 61.0S 120.4W 3 - 02m10s
05469 29 0293 Mar 25 11:33:58 7711 -21110 P -1.0531 0.8842 60.7S 126.8E 0
05508 30 0311 Apr 05 18:47:59 7537 -20887 P -1.1156 0.7737 60.9S 8.9E 0
05547 31 0329 Apr 16 01:51:19 7362 -20664 P -1.1855 0.6500 61.2S 106.4W 0
05587 32 0347 Apr 27 08:47:40 7186 -20441 P -1.2601 0.5183 61.6S 139.9E 0
05627 33 0365 May 07 15:35:42 7009 -20218 P -1.3402 0.3772 62.2S 28.2E 0
05668 34 0383 May 18 22:19:09 6832 -19995 P -1.4227 0.2323 63.0S 82.6W 0
05709 35 0401 May 29 04:57:52 6654 -19772 Pe -1.5078 0.0836 63.8S 167.6E 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)"
