Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 70

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 70

Solar eclipses of Saros 70 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 -0821 Sep 05. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0676 Feb 19. The total duration of Saros series 70 is 1496.50 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -0821 Sep 05   00:54:14 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   0676 Feb 19   13:37:43 TD

                      Duration of Saros  70  =  1496.50 Years

Saros 70 is composed of 84 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 70
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 84100.0%
PartialP 44 52.4%
AnnularA 32 38.1%
TotalT 5 6.0%
Hybrid[3]H 3 3.6%

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 70 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 70
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 40100.0%
Central (two limits) 40100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 84 eclipses in Saros 70: 23P 5T 3H 32A 21P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 70 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 70
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 0027 Jan 2607m34s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -0262 Aug 0600m13s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -0370 Jun 0202m17s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -0334 Jun 2401m55s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0316 Jul 0401m30s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0280 Jul 2600m24s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -0424 Apr 30 - 0.96634
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 0676 Feb 19 - 0.03349

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 70

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 70. 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 70.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 70

                         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

02804 -49 -0821 Sep 05  00:54:14  22189 -34883   Pb  -1.5106  0.0413  61.3S 171.0W   0             
02845 -48 -0803 Sep 15  09:13:10  21886 -34660   P   -1.4824  0.0966  61.0S  54.2E   0             
02886 -47 -0785 Sep 26  17:39:36  21586 -34437   P   -1.4605  0.1394  60.8S  82.4W   0             
02927 -46 -0767 Oct 07  02:13:14  21288 -34214   P   -1.4446  0.1707  60.8S 139.3E   0             
02969 -45 -0749 Oct 18  10:53:50  20992 -33991   P   -1.4347  0.1904  61.0S   0.8W   0             
03011 -44 -0731 Oct 28  19:38:52  20698 -33768   P   -1.4286  0.2025  61.3S 142.1W   0             
03055 -43 -0713 Nov 09  04:28:32  20406 -33545   P   -1.4268  0.2066  61.8S  75.4E   0             
03099 -42 -0695 Nov 19  13:20:05  20116 -33322   P   -1.4268  0.2071  62.5S  67.8W   0             
03144 -41 -0677 Nov 30  22:13:15  19828 -33099   P   -1.4286  0.2040  63.3S 148.4E   0             
03189 -40 -0659 Dec 11  07:03:44  19542 -32876   P   -1.4287  0.2038  64.2S   5.0E   0             

03234 -39 -0641 Dec 22  15:53:17  19258 -32653   P   -1.4287  0.2039  65.1S 138.5W   0             
03280 -38 -0622 Jan 02  00:37:29  18977 -32430   P   -1.4255  0.2098  66.2S  79.0E   0             
03326 -37 -0604 Jan 13  09:16:42  18697 -32207   P   -1.4187  0.2223  67.2S  62.8W   0             
03373 -36 -0586 Jan 23  17:47:38  18420 -31984   P   -1.4060  0.2458  68.2S 157.0E   0             
03421 -35 -0568 Feb 04  02:12:07  18144 -31761   P   -1.3889  0.2776  69.2S  17.8E   0             
03467 -34 -0550 Feb 14  10:27:15  17871 -31538   P   -1.3651  0.3219  70.1S 119.5W   0             
03512 -33 -0532 Feb 25  18:33:18  17600 -31315   P   -1.3347  0.3787  70.8S 104.8E   0             
03557 -32 -0514 Mar 08  02:30:09  17331 -31092   P   -1.2977  0.4481  71.3S  29.1W   0             
03602 -31 -0496 Mar 18  10:18:15  17050 -30869   P   -1.2540  0.5302  71.6S 161.1W   0             
03647 -30 -0478 Mar 29  17:57:45  16732 -30646   P   -1.2039  0.6240  71.7S  68.7E   0             

03691 -29 -0460 Apr 09  01:28:57  16423 -30423   P   -1.1479  0.7291  71.5S  59.3W   0             
03734 -28 -0442 Apr 20  08:53:18  16123 -30200   P   -1.0866  0.8437  71.2S 174.6E   0             
03778 -27 -0424 Apr 30  16:11:23  15831 -29977   P   -1.0208  0.9663  70.6S  50.6E   0             
03820 -26 -0406 May 11  23:23:29  15547 -29754   T   -0.9507  1.0249  54.1S  88.5W  18  278  01m56s
03862 -25 -0388 May 22  06:32:18  15269 -29531   T   -0.8785  1.0251  41.8S 153.6E  28  179  02m12s
03904 -24 -0370 Jun 02  13:37:55  14999 -29308   T   -0.8041  1.0238  32.1S  40.6E  36  136  02m17s
03943 -23 -0352 Jun 12  20:43:07  14735 -29085   T   -0.7303  1.0213  24.1S  70.5W  43  106  02m11s
03982 -22 -0334 Jun 24  03:46:52  14477 -28862   T   -0.6560  1.0179  17.3S 179.8E  49   81  01m55s
04023 -21 -0316 Jul 04  10:53:21  14225 -28639   H3  -0.5847  1.0137  12.0S  70.4E  54   58  01m30s
04064 -20 -0298 Jul 15  18:01:16  13978 -28416   H   -0.5152  1.0089   7.7S  38.6W  59   36  00m59s

04105 -19 -0280 Jul 26  01:13:50  13737 -28193   H   -0.4506  1.0037   4.9S 148.3W  63   14  00m24s
04145 -18 -0262 Aug 06  08:30:11  13501 -27970   A   -0.3900  0.9979   3.2S 101.5E  67    8  00m13s
04186 -17 -0244 Aug 16  15:53:47  13269 -27747   A   -0.3361  0.9920   2.8S  10.4W  70   30  00m51s
04227 -16 -0226 Aug 27  23:23:22  13043 -27524   A   -0.2879  0.9858   3.4S 123.6W  73   52  01m28s
04268 -15 -0208 Sep 07  07:00:00  12821 -27301   A   -0.2462  0.9797   4.9S 121.3E  76   74  02m05s
04309 -14 -0190 Sep 18  14:44:22  12603 -27078   A   -0.2118  0.9736   7.3S   4.3E  78   96  02m41s
04351 -13 -0172 Sep 28  22:36:11  12390 -26855   A   -0.1846  0.9679  10.3S 114.6W  79  117  03m17s
04395 -12 -0154 Oct 10  06:35:16  12180 -26632   A   -0.1637  0.9624  13.7S 124.7E  80  138  03m52s
04437 -11 -0136 Oct 20  14:39:14  11974 -26409   A   -0.1476  0.9574  17.2S   2.9E  81  157  04m26s
04480 -10 -0118 Oct 31  22:49:30  11772 -26186   A   -0.1375  0.9529  20.8S 120.2W  82  174  05m00s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 70

                         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

04523 -09 -0100 Nov 11  07:02:52  11573 -25963   A   -0.1308  0.9490  24.1S 116.3E  82  189  05m32s
04566 -08 -0082 Nov 22  15:19:03  11378 -25740   A   -0.1272  0.9458  27.0S   7.5W  83  201  06m01s
04611 -07 -0064 Dec 02  23:34:49  11186 -25517   Am  -0.1241  0.9432  29.1S 130.7W  83  212  06m28s
04656 -06 -0046 Dec 14  07:50:16  10996 -25294   A   -0.1213  0.9413  30.4S 106.5E  83  219  06m50s
04702 -05 -0028 Dec 24  16:01:49  10809 -25071   A   -0.1161  0.9400  30.5S  15.1W  83  224  07m08s
04749 -04 -0009 Jan 05  00:08:42  10625 -24848   A   -0.1079  0.9393  29.4S 135.6W  84  227  07m21s
04794 -03  0009 Jan 15  08:08:55  10443 -24625   A   -0.0949  0.9392  27.2S 105.2E  84  227  07m30s
04840 -02  0027 Jan 26  16:02:14  10263 -24402   A   -0.0771  0.9395  23.8S  13.0W  85  225  07m34s
04886 -01  0045 Feb 05  23:45:29  10085 -24179   A   -0.0514  0.9402  19.2S 129.3W  87  222  07m34s
04930  00  0063 Feb 17  07:19:50   9909 -23956   A   -0.0188  0.9412  13.8S 115.9E  89  218  07m30s

04974  01  0081 Feb 27  14:43:32   9734 -23733   A    0.0220  0.9424   7.6S   3.1E  89  213  07m23s
05019  02  0099 Mar 10  21:58:35   9560 -23510   A    0.0692  0.9437   0.8S 108.0W  86  208  07m12s
05063  03  0117 Mar 21  05:01:14   9387 -23287   A    0.1263  0.9449   6.6N 143.6E  83  205  06m59s
05107  04  0135 Apr 01  11:56:36   9215 -23064   A    0.1888  0.9460  14.3N  36.9E  79  202  06m43s
05151  05  0153 Apr 11  18:41:20   9044 -22841   A    0.2599  0.9470  22.5N  67.2W  75  202  06m24s
05193  06  0171 Apr 23  01:20:33   8873 -22618   A    0.3349  0.9476  30.9N 169.7W  70  204  06m04s
05234  07  0189 May 03  07:50:35   8702 -22395   A    0.4170  0.9478  39.5N  90.5E  65  211  05m43s
05275  08  0207 May 14  14:17:53   8531 -22172   A    0.5008  0.9476  48.1N   7.7W  60  223  05m22s
05316  09  0225 May 24  20:39:31   8360 -21949   A    0.5890  0.9468  56.8N 103.0W  54  243  05m02s
05357  10  0243 Jun 05  03:00:14   8188 -21726   A    0.6774  0.9456  65.4N 164.8E  47  274  04m45s

05398  11  0261 Jun 15  09:19:24   8016 -21503   A    0.7667  0.9436  73.7N  79.7E  40  326  04m31s
05438  12  0279 Jun 26  15:41:17   7843 -21280   A    0.8534  0.9410  80.3N  15.7E  31  423  04m20s
05478  13  0297 Jul 06  22:05:39   7670 -21057   A    0.9379  0.9373  78.8N  15.1W  20  688  04m12s
05517  14  0315 Jul 18  04:34:43   7495 -20834   P    1.0183  0.9296  63.5N  74.6W   0             
05557  15  0333 Jul 28  11:09:49   7320 -20611   P    1.0937  0.8007  62.8N 176.6E   0             
05597  16  0351 Aug 08  17:52:21   7144 -20388   P    1.1632  0.6821  62.1N  66.2E   0             
05637  17  0369 Aug 19  00:43:14   6967 -20165   P    1.2258  0.5758  61.5N  46.2W   0             
05679  18  0387 Aug 30  07:43:13   6790 -19942   P    1.2812  0.4820  61.1N 160.7W   0             
05720  19  0405 Sep 09  14:53:32   6612 -19719   P    1.3285  0.4022  60.9N  82.3E   0             
05761  20  0423 Sep 20  22:13:51   6433 -19496   P    1.3680  0.3358  60.8N  37.2W   0             

05802  21  0441 Oct 01  05:43:30   6255 -19273   P    1.4003  0.2818  60.9N 159.0W   0             
05843  22  0459 Oct 12  13:23:10   6077 -19050   P    1.4248  0.2409  61.1N  76.7E   0             
05886  23  0477 Oct 22  21:11:13   5899 -18827   P    1.4426  0.2113  61.5N  49.8W   0             
05929  24  0495 Nov 03  05:07:15   5723 -18604   P    1.4546  0.1912  62.0N 178.4W   0             
05973  25  0513 Nov 13  13:08:18   5546 -18381   P    1.4630  0.1770  62.7N  51.6E   0             
06017  26  0531 Nov 24  21:15:03   5370 -18158   P    1.4671  0.1697  63.5N  80.1W   0             
06062  27  0549 Dec 05  05:24:33   5195 -17935   P    1.4693  0.1655  64.5N 147.2E   0             
06108  28  0567 Dec 16  13:35:23   5021 -17712   P    1.4708  0.1621  65.5N  13.9E   0             
06154  29  0585 Dec 26  21:45:28   4849 -17489   P    1.4733  0.1569  66.5N 119.7W   0             
06199  30  0604 Jan 07  05:53:30   4677 -17266   P    1.4780  0.1475  67.6N 106.7E   0             


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 70

                         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

06244  31  0622 Jan 17  13:58:14   4508 -17043   P    1.4858  0.1326  68.7N  26.7W   0             
06289  32  0640 Jan 28  21:57:14   4339 -16820   P    1.4986  0.1089  69.6N 159.2W   0             
06335  33  0658 Feb 08  05:51:03   4173 -16597   P    1.5160  0.0767  70.4N  69.0E   0             
06381  34  0676 Feb 19  13:37:43   4008 -16374   Pe   1.5396  0.0335  71.1N  61.6W   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