Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 71

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 71

Solar eclipses of Saros 71 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 -0684 Oct 19. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0777 Mar 14. The total duration of Saros series 71 is 1460.44 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -0684 Oct 19   05:26:05 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   0777 Mar 14   05:52:01 TD

                      Duration of Saros  71  =  1460.44 Years

Saros 71 is composed of 82 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 71
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 82100.0%
PartialP 41 50.0%
AnnularA 29 35.4%
TotalT 9 11.0%
Hybrid[3]H 3 3.7%

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 71 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 71
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 41100.0%
Central (two limits) 40 97.6%
Central (one limit) 1 2.4%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 82 eclipses in Saros 71: 18P 29A 3H 9T 23P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 71 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 71
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -0107 Sep 2906m12s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 0146 Feb 2800m27s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 0326 Jun 1603m43s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 0218 Apr 1201m49s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0200 Apr 0101m17s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0164 Mar 1000m09s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 0380 Jul 18 - 0.98689
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0684 Oct 19 - 0.01582

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 71

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 71. 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 71.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 71

                         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

03127 -33 -0684 Oct 19  05:26:05  19941 -33187   Pb   1.5574  0.0158  71.3N 114.3W   0             
03172 -32 -0666 Oct 30  13:27:48  19655 -32964   P    1.5517  0.0273  70.8N 110.4E   0             
03217 -31 -0648 Nov 09  21:32:17  19370 -32741   P    1.5487  0.0338  70.0N  25.0W   0             
03262 -30 -0630 Nov 21  05:39:10  19088 -32518   P    1.5478  0.0364  69.1N 160.3W   0             
03308 -29 -0612 Dec 01  13:45:29  18807 -32295   P    1.5469  0.0388  68.1N  65.1E   0             
03355 -28 -0594 Dec 12  21:51:21  18529 -32072   P    1.5457  0.0411  67.1N  68.8W   0             
03402 -27 -0576 Dec 23  05:51:59  18253 -31849   P    1.5407  0.0497  66.0N 159.3E   0             
03449 -26 -0557 Jan 03  13:48:54  17979 -31626   P    1.5329  0.0626  65.0N  28.7E   0             
03494 -25 -0539 Jan 13  21:37:44  17707 -31403   P    1.5187  0.0859  64.0N  99.4W   0             
03539 -24 -0521 Jan 25  05:20:10  17437 -31180   P    1.4997  0.1170  63.1N 134.4E   0             

03584 -23 -0503 Feb 04  12:51:39  17169 -30957   P    1.4717  0.1630  62.3N  11.2E   0             
03629 -22 -0485 Feb 15  20:15:44  16857 -30734   P    1.4379  0.2191  61.7N 110.1W   0             
03672 -21 -0467 Feb 26  03:28:46  16544 -30511   P    1.3949  0.2908  61.2N 131.5E   0             
03716 -20 -0449 Mar 09  10:32:43  16241 -30288   P    1.3445  0.3753  60.9N  15.5E   0             
03760 -19 -0431 Mar 19  17:26:30  15946 -30065   P    1.2856  0.4745  60.7N  97.9W   0             
03803 -18 -0413 Mar 31  00:12:50  15658 -29842   P    1.2205  0.5850  60.6N 150.7E   0             
03845 -17 -0395 Apr 10  06:51:24  15378 -29619   P    1.1483  0.7080  60.8N  41.2E   0             
03887 -16 -0377 Apr 21  13:22:31  15105 -29396   P    1.0698  0.8424  61.0N  66.4W   0             
03928 -15 -0359 May 01  19:49:10  14838 -29173   An   0.9871  0.9357  64.7N 156.3W   8   -   04m13s
03967 -14 -0341 May 13  02:12:00  14578 -28950   A    0.9010  0.9417  67.4N 141.8E  25  497  04m15s

04007 -13 -0323 May 23  08:32:52  14323 -28727   A    0.8126  0.9453  66.8N  66.3E  35  345  04m15s
04048 -12 -0305 Jun 03  14:53:00  14075 -28504   A    0.7228  0.9481  64.8N  13.5W  43  276  04m17s
04089 -11 -0287 Jun 13  21:15:08  13831 -28281   A    0.6341  0.9501  61.4N  97.6W  50  237  04m22s
04129 -10 -0269 Jun 25  03:40:35  13593 -28058   A    0.5476  0.9515  56.8N 173.8E  57  213  04m31s
04169 -09 -0251 Jul 05  10:09:32  13360 -27835   A    0.4633  0.9524  51.3N  81.3E  62  197  04m44s
04210 -08 -0233 Jul 16  16:45:14  13132 -27612   A    0.3839  0.9528  45.2N  15.1W  67  187  04m58s
04251 -07 -0215 Jul 26  23:28:05  12908 -27389   A    0.3097  0.9528  38.7N 115.1W  72  182  05m14s
04292 -06 -0197 Aug 07  06:20:16  12689 -27166   A    0.2424  0.9525  32.0N 141.4E  76  179  05m29s
04334 -05 -0179 Aug 17  13:20:51  12474 -26943   A    0.1813  0.9519  25.2N  34.9E  79  179  05m43s
04377 -04 -0161 Aug 28  20:32:49  12262 -26720   A    0.1290  0.9513  18.5N  74.9W  82  180  05m54s

04420 -03 -0143 Sep 08  03:54:50  12055 -26497   A    0.0843  0.9505  11.9N 172.5E  85  182  06m03s
04463 -02 -0125 Sep 19  11:27:28  11852 -26274   A    0.0475  0.9500   5.6N  57.1E  87  184  06m08s
04506 -01 -0107 Sep 29  19:10:01  11652 -26051   A    0.0183  0.9495   0.4S  60.6W  89  185  06m12s
04549  00 -0089 Oct 11  03:02:29  11455 -25828   A   -0.0036  0.9494   6.0S 179.4E  90  186  06m12s
04593  01 -0071 Oct 21  11:03:45  11261 -25605   A   -0.0186  0.9495  11.1S  57.5E  89  185  06m09s
04638  02 -0053 Nov 01  19:11:14  11071 -25382   A   -0.0294  0.9503  15.7S  65.4W  88  182  06m02s
04683  03 -0035 Nov 12  03:25:54  10883 -25159   A   -0.0348  0.9515  19.4S 170.4E  88  178  05m51s
04730  04 -0017 Nov 23  11:44:10  10698 -24936   A   -0.0384  0.9533  22.5S  45.7E  88  171  05m35s
04776  05  0001 Dec 03  20:05:38  10515 -24713   A   -0.0397  0.9558  24.7S  79.2W  88  161  05m14s
04822  06  0019 Dec 15  04:26:24  10334 -24490   A   -0.0425  0.9589  26.0S 156.3E  87  150  04m47s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 71

                         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

04868  07  0037 Dec 25  12:47:35  10155 -24267   A   -0.0458  0.9626  26.4S  31.9E  87  136  04m15s
04913  08  0056 Jan 05  21:05:29   9978 -24044   Am  -0.0529  0.9669  26.1S  91.7W  87  119  03m39s
04957  09  0074 Jan 16  05:19:43   9803 -23821   A   -0.0638  0.9718  25.0S 145.5E  86  101  03m01s
05001  10  0092 Jan 27  13:28:08   9629 -23598   A   -0.0807  0.9772  23.4S  24.0E  85   82  02m22s
05046  11  0110 Feb 06  21:31:05   9456 -23375   A   -0.1029  0.9829  21.4S  96.4W  84   61  01m43s
05090  12  0128 Feb 18  05:26:41   9283 -23152   A   -0.1321  0.9890  19.2S 144.8E  82   39  01m04s
05134  13  0146 Feb 28  13:15:23   9112 -22929   A   -0.1681  0.9953  17.0S  27.6E  80   17  00m27s
05176  14  0164 Mar 10  20:56:48   8940 -22706   H   -0.2112  1.0016  14.9S  88.0W  78    6  00m09s
05217  15  0182 Mar 22  04:32:06   8769 -22483   H   -0.2602  1.0078  13.1S 158.0E  75   28  00m44s
05258  16  0200 Apr 01  11:59:38   8598 -22260   H   -0.3166  1.0139  11.8S  45.9E  71   50  01m17s

05299  17  0218 Apr 12  19:22:42   8427 -22037   T   -0.3774  1.0195  11.2S  65.2W  68   71  01m49s
05341  18  0236 Apr 23  02:40:05   8256 -21814   T   -0.4436  1.0248  11.5S 175.0W  64   93  02m20s
05382  19  0254 May 04  09:55:34   8084 -21591   T   -0.5125  1.0294  12.7S  75.5E  59  114  02m49s
05423  20  0272 May 14  17:06:05   7912 -21368   T   -0.5860  1.0334  15.2S  33.0W  54  137  03m13s
05463  21  0290 May 26  00:17:58   7738 -21145   T   -0.6592  1.0365  18.8S 142.4W  49  162  03m32s
05502  22  0308 Jun 05  07:28:21   7564 -20922   T   -0.7341  1.0389  23.7S 108.1E  43  191  03m42s
05541  23  0326 Jun 16  14:42:01   7389 -20699   T   -0.8071  1.0403  30.0S   3.0W  36  228  03m43s
05581  24  0344 Jun 26  21:56:50   7214 -20476   T   -0.8798  1.0405  38.3S 115.5W  28  286  03m32s
05621  25  0362 Jul 08  05:17:57   7037 -20253   T   -0.9480  1.0393  49.2S 128.7E  18  421  03m07s
05662  26  0380 Jul 18  12:43:15   6860 -20030   P   -1.0132  0.9869  68.2S   4.3E   0             

05703  27  0398 Jul 29  20:15:04   6682 -19807   P   -1.0735  0.8727  69.2S 121.2W   0             
05744  28  0416 Aug 09  03:53:39   6504 -19584   P   -1.1288  0.7677  70.0S 111.1E   0             
05785  29  0434 Aug 20  11:40:53   6325 -19361   P   -1.1776  0.6752  70.8S  19.3W   0             
05825  30  0452 Aug 30  19:36:11   6147 -19138   P   -1.2202  0.5944  71.3S 152.3W   0             
05868  31  0470 Sep 11  03:39:39   5969 -18915   P   -1.2566  0.5255  71.7S  72.3E   0             
05911  32  0488 Sep 21  11:52:21   5793 -18692   P   -1.2858  0.4701  71.8S  65.7W   0             
05955  33  0506 Oct 02  20:13:20   5616 -18469   P   -1.3089  0.4266  71.7S 154.2E   0             
05999  34  0524 Oct 13  04:41:57   5439 -18246   P   -1.3264  0.3939  71.3S  12.4E   0             
06044  35  0542 Oct 24  13:17:39   5264 -18023   P   -1.3386  0.3711  70.7S 130.8W   0             
06090  36  0560 Nov 03  21:59:47   5089 -17800   P   -1.3461  0.3570  69.9S  85.0E   0             

06136  37  0578 Nov 15  06:46:52   4917 -17577   P   -1.3501  0.3496  69.0S  59.8W   0             
06182  38  0596 Nov 25  15:36:49   4745 -17354   P   -1.3524  0.3455  68.0S 155.2E   0             
06227  39  0614 Dec 07  00:29:40   4575 -17131   P   -1.3529  0.3445  67.0S  10.2E   0             
06272  40  0632 Dec 17  09:22:54   4406 -16908   P   -1.3539  0.3426  65.9S 134.4W   0             
06317  41  0650 Dec 28  18:14:40   4238 -16685   P   -1.3564  0.3379  64.9S  81.8E   0             
06364  42  0669 Jan 08  03:03:18   4073 -16462   P   -1.3617  0.3275  63.9S  60.8W   0             
06409  43  0687 Jan 19  11:48:03   3909 -16239   P   -1.3707  0.3102  63.1S 157.9E   0             
06453  44  0705 Jan 29  20:27:40   3747 -16016   P   -1.3844  0.2840  62.4S  18.1E   0             
06496  45  0723 Feb 10  04:59:52   3588 -15793   P   -1.4042  0.2457  61.8S 119.6W   0             
06538  46  0741 Feb 20  13:25:25   3431 -15570   P   -1.4296  0.1966  61.4S 104.5E   0             


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 71

                         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

06580  47  0759 Mar 03  21:42:22   3277 -15347   P   -1.4620  0.1340  61.1S  29.1W   0             
06621  48  0777 Mar 14  05:52:01   3125 -15124   Pe  -1.5004  0.0595  61.0S 160.9W   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)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26