Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 69

Introduction

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.


Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 69

Solar eclipses of Saros 69 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 -0724 Dec 09. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0665 Mar 22. The total duration of Saros series 69 is 1388.32 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -0724 Dec 09   02:48:54 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   0665 Mar 22   15:47:20 TD

                      Duration of Saros  69  =  1388.32 Years

Saros 69 is composed of 78 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 69
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 78100.0%
PartialP 35 44.9%
AnnularA 0 0.0%
TotalT 43 55.1%
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 69 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 69
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 43100.0%
Central (two limits) 43100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 78 eclipses in Saros 69: 14P 43T 21P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 69 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 69
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 0142 May 1305m28s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 0286 Aug 0701m15s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 0304 Aug 17 - 0.97046
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0724 Dec 09 - 0.00554

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 69

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 69. 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 69.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 69

                         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

03029 -42 -0724 Dec 09  02:48:54  20582 -33680   Pb   1.5521  0.0055  67.5N 130.3W   0             
03073 -41 -0706 Dec 20  11:15:50  20291 -33457   P    1.5448  0.0165  66.4N  90.9E   0             
03117 -40 -0688 Dec 30  19:40:35  20002 -33234   P    1.5350  0.0315  65.3N  46.8W   0             
03162 -39 -0669 Jan 11  03:59:58  19715 -33011   P    1.5201  0.0558  64.3N 177.2E   0             
03207 -38 -0651 Jan 21  12:14:48  19430 -32788   P    1.5007  0.0881  63.4N  42.7E   0             
03252 -37 -0633 Feb 01  20:22:42  19147 -32565   P    1.4748  0.1322  62.6N  89.8W   0             
03298 -36 -0615 Feb 12  04:23:39  18866 -32342   P    1.4425  0.1884  61.9N 139.7E   0             
03345 -35 -0597 Feb 23  12:17:04  18588 -32119   P    1.4032  0.2581  61.4N  11.3E   0             
03392 -34 -0579 Mar 05  20:03:40  18311 -31896   P    1.3576  0.3403  61.0N 115.3W   0             
03439 -33 -0561 Mar 17  03:42:26  18036 -31673   P    1.3048  0.4368  60.8N 120.1E   0             

03485 -32 -0543 Mar 27  11:15:28  17764 -31450   P    1.2463  0.5450  60.7N   3.0W   0             
03530 -31 -0525 Apr 07  18:42:21  17493 -31227   P    1.1819  0.6655  60.8N 124.5W   0             
03575 -30 -0507 Apr 18  02:06:04  17225 -31004   P    1.1138  0.7942  61.0N 114.7E   0             
03620 -29 -0489 Apr 29  09:24:17  16924 -30781   P    1.0402  0.9342  61.4N   5.0W   0             
03664 -28 -0471 May 09  16:41:49  16609 -30558   T    0.9651  1.0386  67.3N  92.6W  15  509  02m06s
03708 -27 -0453 May 20  23:57:02  16304 -30335   T    0.8874  1.0460  69.4N 175.5W  27  333  02m40s
03751 -26 -0435 May 31  07:14:08  16007 -30112   T    0.8101  1.0514  69.3N  94.5E  36  291  03m07s
03794 -25 -0417 Jun 11  14:30:53  15718 -29889   T    0.7318  1.0555  67.4N   1.2E  43  269  03m32s
03836 -24 -0399 Jun 21  21:52:27  15437 -29666   T    0.6567  1.0585  64.1N  97.5W  49  256  03m53s
03878 -23 -0381 Jul 03  05:16:57  15162 -29443   T    0.5837  1.0606  59.5N 159.1E  54  246  04m13s

03919 -22 -0363 Jul 13  12:47:19  14894 -29220   T    0.5151  1.0618  54.2N  51.0E  59  237  04m30s
03958 -21 -0345 Jul 24  20:22:43  14632 -28997   T    0.4502  1.0621  48.2N  60.8W  63  229  04m44s
03998 -20 -0327 Aug 04  04:06:08  14377 -28774   T    0.3918  1.0618  41.9N 176.2W  67  221  04m54s
04039 -19 -0309 Aug 15  11:56:49  14127 -28551   T    0.3394  1.0609  35.5N  65.4E  70  212  05m00s
04081 -18 -0291 Aug 25  19:55:06  13882 -28328   T    0.2931  1.0595  29.1N  55.7W  73  205  05m02s
04121 -17 -0273 Sep 06  04:02:20  13643 -28105   T    0.2543  1.0578  22.8N 179.4W  75  197  05m00s
04161 -16 -0255 Sep 16  12:17:51  13409 -27882   T    0.2223  1.0559  16.7N  54.5E  77  189  04m55s
04202 -15 -0237 Sep 27  20:42:09  13180 -27659   T    0.1973  1.0539  10.8N  73.8W  79  181  04m49s
04243 -14 -0219 Oct 08  05:13:14  12955 -27436   T    0.1780  1.0519   5.3N 156.4E  80  175  04m43s
04284 -13 -0201 Oct 19  13:52:09  12735 -27213   T    0.1652  1.0501   0.4N  24.7E  80  169  04m37s

04325 -12 -0183 Oct 29  22:36:26  12519 -26990   T    0.1566  1.0486   4.1S 107.9W  81  163  04m32s
04368 -11 -0165 Nov 10  07:25:27  12307 -26767   T    0.1519  1.0475   7.9S 118.6E  81  160  04m28s
04411 -10 -0147 Nov 20  16:17:33  12099 -26544   T    0.1496  1.0468  11.0S  15.4W  81  157  04m26s
04454 -09 -0129 Dec 02  01:12:00  11894 -26321   T    0.1490  1.0465  13.3S 149.6W  82  156  04m25s
04497 -08 -0111 Dec 12  10:05:34  11693 -26098   T    0.1478  1.0467  14.8S  76.7E  82  157  04m26s
04540 -07 -0093 Dec 23  18:57:31  11496 -25875   T    0.1453  1.0474  15.5S  56.5W  82  159  04m28s
04585 -06 -0074 Jan 03  03:45:55  11302 -25652   T    0.1398  1.0485  15.5S 171.3E  82  163  04m30s
04630 -05 -0056 Jan 14  12:30:30  11111 -25429   T    0.1310  1.0499  14.7S  39.9E  83  167  04m33s
04675 -04 -0038 Jan 24  21:07:27  10922 -25206   T    0.1161  1.0517  13.5S  89.5W  83  172  04m37s
04721 -03 -0020 Feb 05  05:38:33  10736 -24983   Tm   0.0964  1.0536  11.8S 142.4E  85  178  04m40s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 69

                         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

04767 -02 -0002 Feb 15  14:00:36  10553 -24760   T    0.0693  1.0557   9.8S  16.5E  86  184  04m45s
04812 -01  0016 Feb 26  22:16:04  10372 -24537   T    0.0369  1.0576   7.7S 107.9W  88  190  04m50s
04858  00  0034 Mar 09  06:20:44  10193 -24314   T   -0.0045  1.0594   5.6S 130.6E  90  195  04m56s
04903  01  0052 Mar 19  14:19:19  10015 -24091   T   -0.0509  1.0609   3.7S  10.6E  87  200  05m02s
04947  02  0070 Mar 30  22:07:59   9840 -23868   T   -0.1051  1.0619   2.1S 106.9W  84  204  05m08s
04991  03  0088 Apr 10  05:50:43   9665 -23645   T   -0.1642  1.0625   1.0S 137.2E  81  207  05m15s
05036  04  0106 Apr 21  13:25:03   9492 -23422   T   -0.2300  1.0623   0.7S  23.5E  77  209  05m22s
05081  05  0124 May 01  20:55:09   9319 -23199   T   -0.2990  1.0615   1.1S  89.2W  73  211  05m26s
05125  06  0142 May 13  04:19:27   9148 -22976   T   -0.3722  1.0598   2.5S 159.4E  68  211  05m28s
05168  07  0160 May 23  11:40:03   8976 -22753   T   -0.4481  1.0573   5.0S  48.6E  63  210  05m24s

05209  08  0178 Jun 03  18:57:36   8805 -22530   T   -0.5255  1.0540   8.6S  61.9W  58  209  05m13s
05250  09  0196 Jun 14  02:14:22   8634 -22307   T   -0.6028  1.0498  13.3S 172.8W  53  207  04m54s
05291  10  0214 Jun 25  09:30:41   8463 -22084   T   -0.6796  1.0448  19.2S  75.6E  47  203  04m23s
05332  11  0232 Jul 05  16:47:56   8292 -21861   T   -0.7547  1.0389  26.1S  37.0W  41  199  03m44s
05373  12  0250 Jul 17  00:07:55   8120 -21638   T   -0.8264  1.0322  34.2S 151.5W  34  194  02m57s
05414  13  0268 Jul 27  07:31:46   7948 -21415   T   -0.8938  1.0247  43.5S  91.3E  26  188  02m07s
05454  14  0286 Aug 07  14:59:28   7775 -21192   T   -0.9570  1.0161  55.1S  30.7W  16  194  01m15s
05494  15  0304 Aug 17  22:33:03   7601 -20969   P   -1.0145  0.9705  70.7S 173.1W   0             
05533  16  0322 Aug 29  06:13:02   7426 -20746   P   -1.0658  0.8736  71.3S  57.9E   0             
05573  17  0340 Sep 08  14:00:38   7251 -20523   P   -1.1098  0.7912  71.7S  73.6W   0             

05613  18  0358 Sep 19  21:53:58   7074 -20300   P   -1.1483  0.7198  71.9S 153.2E   0             
05654  19  0376 Sep 30  05:55:50   6897 -20077   P   -1.1791  0.6633  71.9S  17.8E   0             
05695  20  0394 Oct 11  14:04:04   6720 -19854   P   -1.2040  0.6179  71.6S 119.1W   0             
05736  21  0412 Oct 21  22:19:21   6541 -19631   P   -1.2225  0.5845  71.0S 102.6E   0             
05777  22  0430 Nov 02  06:38:40   6363 -19408   P   -1.2369  0.5587  70.3S  36.2W   0             
05817  23  0448 Nov 12  15:03:08   6185 -19185   P   -1.2465  0.5416  69.4S 175.6W   0             
05859  24  0466 Nov 23  23:29:39   6007 -18962   P   -1.2537  0.5290  68.3S  45.2E   0             
05902  25  0484 Dec 04  07:57:06   5830 -18739   P   -1.2595  0.5187  67.2S  93.7W   0             
05946  26  0502 Dec 15  16:23:51   5653 -18516   P   -1.2652  0.5088  66.2S 128.2E   0             
05990  27  0520 Dec 26  00:48:33   5476 -18293   P   -1.2721  0.4969  65.1S   9.0W   0             

06034  28  0539 Jan 06  09:08:45   5301 -18070   P   -1.2818  0.4803  64.1S 144.5W   0             
06080  29  0557 Jan 16  17:22:42   5126 -17847   P   -1.2959  0.4558  63.2S  81.8E   0             
06126  30  0575 Jan 28  01:30:01   4953 -17624   P   -1.3147  0.4234  62.4S  49.9W   0             
06172  31  0593 Feb 07  09:29:17   4781 -17401   P   -1.3396  0.3804  61.8S 179.5W   0             
06217  32  0611 Feb 18  17:18:20   4610 -17178   P   -1.3719  0.3245  61.3S  53.8E   0             
06262  33  0629 Mar 01  00:58:09   4441 -16955   P   -1.4107  0.2572  61.0S  70.6W   0             
06307  34  0647 Mar 12  08:27:23   4273 -16732   P   -1.4573  0.1764  60.8S 167.7E   0             
06354  35  0665 Mar 22  15:47:20   4108 -16509   Pe  -1.5106  0.0840  60.8S  48.4E   0             


Calendar

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..


Predictions

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

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.


Footnotes

[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.


Acknowledgments

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)"


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Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26