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 73 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 -0698 Jul 27. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0582 Sep 03. The total duration of Saros series 73 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0698 Jul 27 12:52:31 TD Last Eclipse = 0582 Sep 03 00:33:28 TD Duration of Saros 73 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 73 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 73 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 31 | 43.1% |
| Annular | A | 31 | 43.1% |
| Total | T | 7 | 9.7% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.2% |
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 73 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 73 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 73: 23P 7T 3H 31A 8P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 73 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 73 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0167 Dec 29 | 08m08s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0103 Jul 19 | 00m11s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -0229 May 05 | 01m25s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -0283 Apr 02 | 00m59s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0157 Jun 17 | 01m00s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0121 Jul 09 | 00m19s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0301 Mar 23 | - | 0.91959 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0582 Sep 03 | - | 0.05106 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 73. 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 73.
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
03091 -38 -0698 Jul 27 12:52:31 20169 -33363 Pb 1.4732 0.1077 68.0N 123.1W 0
03136 -37 -0680 Aug 06 20:42:19 19881 -33140 P 1.4218 0.2079 69.0N 106.6E 0
03181 -36 -0662 Aug 18 04:38:34 19595 -32917 P 1.3757 0.2972 69.9N 26.0W 0
03226 -35 -0644 Aug 28 12:43:01 19310 -32694 P 1.3365 0.3729 70.6N 161.1W 0
03272 -34 -0626 Sep 08 20:55:06 19028 -32471 P 1.3038 0.4357 71.2N 61.3E 0
03318 -33 -0608 Sep 19 05:15:43 18748 -32248 P 1.2786 0.4838 71.6N 78.9W 0
03365 -32 -0590 Sep 30 13:42:15 18471 -32025 P 1.2586 0.5216 71.7N 139.2E 0
03413 -31 -0572 Oct 10 22:16:56 18195 -31802 P 1.2458 0.5456 71.6N 4.8W 0
03459 -30 -0554 Oct 22 06:56:52 17921 -31579 P 1.2376 0.5609 71.2N 149.9W 0
03504 -29 -0536 Nov 01 15:42:22 17650 -31356 P 1.2343 0.5669 70.6N 64.1E 0
03549 -28 -0518 Nov 13 00:30:08 17380 -31133 P 1.2334 0.5684 69.8N 81.8W 0
03594 -27 -0500 Nov 23 09:20:49 17110 -30910 P 1.2353 0.5650 68.8N 132.1E 0
03639 -26 -0482 Dec 04 18:11:07 16790 -30687 P 1.2373 0.5611 67.8N 13.4W 0
03682 -25 -0464 Dec 15 03:00:05 16480 -30464 P 1.2387 0.5586 66.7N 158.0W 0
03726 -24 -0446 Dec 26 11:45:57 16178 -30241 P 1.2379 0.5601 65.7N 58.7E 0
03770 -23 -0427 Jan 05 20:27:49 15884 -30018 P 1.2343 0.5669 64.7N 83.0W 0
03812 -22 -0409 Jan 17 05:02:42 15598 -29795 P 1.2256 0.5831 63.7N 137.4E 0
03854 -21 -0391 Jan 27 13:30:34 15320 -29572 P 1.2119 0.6086 62.9N 0.2W 0
03896 -20 -0373 Feb 07 21:50:08 15048 -29349 P 1.1920 0.6457 62.2N 135.4W 0
03936 -19 -0355 Feb 18 06:01:40 14783 -29126 P 1.1661 0.6939 61.6N 91.7E 0
03975 -18 -0337 Mar 01 14:02:23 14524 -28903 P 1.1321 0.7573 61.2N 38.4W 0
04016 -17 -0319 Mar 11 21:54:53 14271 -28680 P 1.0922 0.8314 60.9N 166.4W 0
04057 -16 -0301 Mar 23 05:37:13 14023 -28457 P 1.0448 0.9196 60.8N 68.3E 0
04098 -15 -0283 Apr 02 13:11:49 13781 -28234 T 0.9917 1.0166 61.1N 42.5W 6 519 00m59s
04138 -14 -0265 Apr 13 20:36:22 13544 -28011 T 0.9310 1.0201 59.7N 132.9W 21 187 01m16s
04178 -13 -0247 Apr 24 03:55:23 13312 -27788 T 0.8664 1.0211 59.4N 126.5E 30 143 01m23s
04219 -12 -0229 May 05 11:06:48 13084 -27565 T 0.7965 1.0210 59.2N 26.6E 37 118 01m25s
04259 -11 -0211 May 15 18:13:53 12861 -27342 T 0.7236 1.0201 58.9N 72.3W 43 99 01m25s
04300 -10 -0193 May 27 01:16:17 12643 -27119 T 0.6476 1.0182 57.8N 170.2W 49 81 01m20s
04342 -09 -0175 Jun 06 08:17:11 12429 -26896 T 0.5711 1.0156 55.8N 91.8E 55 65 01m13s
04386 -08 -0157 Jun 17 15:16:42 12218 -26673 H 0.4943 1.0121 52.7N 7.2W 60 48 01m00s
04429 -07 -0139 Jun 27 22:15:44 12012 -26450 H 0.4178 1.0081 48.5N 107.6W 65 31 00m42s
04472 -06 -0121 Jul 09 05:17:01 11809 -26227 H 0.3444 1.0034 43.5N 149.8E 70 12 00m19s
04515 -05 -0103 Jul 19 12:20:49 11610 -26004 A 0.2740 0.9982 37.8N 45.0E 74 6 00m11s
04558 -04 -0085 Jul 30 19:29:21 11414 -25781 A 0.2084 0.9926 31.7N 62.1W 78 27 00m46s
04603 -03 -0067 Aug 10 02:42:07 11221 -25558 A 0.1474 0.9867 25.3N 171.2W 81 47 01m26s
04648 -02 -0049 Aug 21 10:02:16 11031 -25335 Am 0.0935 0.9807 18.8N 77.2E 85 69 02m10s
04693 -01 -0031 Aug 31 17:28:31 10844 -25112 A 0.0458 0.9745 12.3N 36.3W 87 91 02m55s
04740 00 -0013 Sep 12 01:01:55 10659 -24889 A 0.0050 0.9685 5.9N 151.7W 90 113 03m41s
04785 01 0005 Sep 22 08:42:23 10476 -24666 A -0.0291 0.9626 0.4S 91.0E 88 135 04m25s
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
04831 02 0023 Oct 03 16:31:02 10296 -24443 A -0.0558 0.9570 6.3S 28.2W 87 157 05m07s
04877 03 0041 Oct 14 00:26:01 10118 -24220 A -0.0762 0.9519 11.8S 148.6W 86 177 05m47s
04922 04 0059 Oct 25 08:26:50 9941 -23997 A -0.0913 0.9472 16.8S 90.0E 85 195 06m23s
04966 05 0077 Nov 04 16:32:39 9766 -23774 A -0.1015 0.9431 21.1S 32.2W 84 211 06m55s
05011 06 0095 Nov 16 00:43:03 9592 -23551 A -0.1075 0.9396 24.8S 154.9W 84 225 07m23s
05056 07 0113 Nov 26 08:54:28 9419 -23328 A -0.1122 0.9369 27.6S 82.7E 83 236 07m44s
05100 08 0131 Dec 07 17:06:49 9247 -23105 A -0.1155 0.9347 29.6S 39.4W 83 245 07m59s
05144 09 0149 Dec 18 01:16:52 9075 -22882 A -0.1204 0.9332 30.7S 160.7W 83 251 08m07s
05186 10 0167 Dec 29 09:25:01 8904 -22659 A -0.1262 0.9324 30.8S 78.7E 83 255 08m08s
05226 11 0186 Jan 08 17:26:06 8733 -22436 A -0.1376 0.9321 30.3S 40.2W 82 256 08m01s
05267 12 0204 Jan 20 01:22:31 8562 -22213 A -0.1522 0.9324 29.0S 158.2W 81 256 07m51s
05308 13 0222 Jan 30 09:09:29 8391 -21990 A -0.1743 0.9331 27.3S 86.0E 80 254 07m37s
05349 14 0240 Feb 10 16:48:43 8220 -21767 A -0.2021 0.9342 25.2S 28.2W 78 250 07m21s
05390 15 0258 Feb 21 00:16:25 8048 -21544 A -0.2392 0.9355 23.2S 139.8W 76 247 07m06s
05431 16 0276 Mar 03 07:36:11 7875 -21321 A -0.2822 0.9370 21.2S 110.5E 73 243 06m53s
05471 17 0294 Mar 14 14:44:43 7702 -21098 A -0.3343 0.9385 19.5S 3.5E 70 240 06m43s
05510 18 0312 Mar 24 21:43:57 7527 -20875 A -0.3936 0.9401 18.4S 101.3W 67 239 06m36s
05550 19 0330 Apr 05 04:33:27 7352 -20652 A -0.4603 0.9413 18.1S 156.3E 62 241 06m34s
05590 20 0348 Apr 15 11:15:44 7176 -20429 A -0.5326 0.9424 18.8S 55.6E 58 247 06m35s
05630 21 0366 Apr 26 17:50:18 7000 -20206 A -0.6110 0.9430 20.6S 43.3W 52 260 06m38s
05671 22 0384 May 07 00:18:55 6822 -19983 A -0.6941 0.9432 24.0S 140.9W 46 284 06m42s
05712 23 0402 May 18 06:43:34 6644 -19760 A -0.7800 0.9428 29.1S 122.1E 39 331 06m44s
05753 24 0420 May 28 13:05:35 6466 -19537 A -0.8673 0.9415 36.7S 25.5E 30 430 06m38s
05794 25 0438 Jun 08 19:25:47 6288 -19314 A -0.9558 0.9388 48.9S 70.3W 17 783 06m17s
05835 26 0456 Jun 19 01:47:00 6109 -19091 P -1.0431 0.8887 65.6S 166.1W 0
05878 27 0474 Jun 30 08:10:05 5932 -18868 P -1.1285 0.7425 66.6S 87.0E 0
05921 28 0492 Jul 10 14:37:35 5755 -18645 P -1.2099 0.6032 67.6S 21.4W 0
05965 29 0510 Jul 21 21:08:35 5579 -18422 P -1.2882 0.4692 68.6S 131.3W 0
06009 30 0528 Aug 01 03:47:42 5402 -18199 P -1.3595 0.3476 69.5S 116.3E 0
06054 31 0546 Aug 12 10:33:29 5227 -17976 P -1.4253 0.2357 70.4S 1.6E 0
06100 32 0564 Aug 22 17:29:17 5053 -17753 P -1.4832 0.1376 71.0S 116.1W 0
06146 33 0582 Sep 03 00:33:28 4880 -17530 Pe -1.5345 0.0511 71.5S 123.5E 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)"
