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 77 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 -0474 Jul 11. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0788 Aug 06. The total duration of Saros series 77 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0474 Jul 11 14:09:39 TD Last Eclipse = 0788 Aug 06 11:52:52 TD Duration of Saros 77 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 77 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 77 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 26 | 36.6% |
| Annular | A | 36 | 50.7% |
| Total | T | 7 | 9.9% |
| 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 77 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 77 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 45 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 95.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.2% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.2% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 77: 18P 36A 2H 7T 8P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 77 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 77 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0131 Feb 01 | 07m45s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0482 Feb 04 | 00m05s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 0626 May 01 | 03m01s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 0536 Mar 08 | 01m17s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0518 Feb 25 | 00m50s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0500 Feb 15 | 00m22s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0662 May 23 | - | 0.94399 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0788 Aug 06 | - | 0.06068 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 77. 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 77.
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
03658 -33 -0474 Jul 11 14:09:39 16658 -30593 Pb 1.4887 0.1193 66.8N 142.4W 0
03702 -32 -0456 Jul 21 20:57:12 16351 -30370 P 1.4221 0.2366 67.8N 103.5E 0
03745 -31 -0438 Aug 02 03:48:23 16053 -30147 P 1.3586 0.3475 68.8N 12.0W 0
03788 -30 -0420 Aug 12 10:47:49 15763 -29924 P 1.3022 0.4450 69.7N 130.1W 0
03830 -29 -0402 Aug 23 17:53:19 15480 -29701 P 1.2510 0.5327 70.5N 109.7E 0
03872 -28 -0384 Sep 03 01:08:00 15204 -29478 P 1.2073 0.6067 71.2N 13.4W 0
03913 -27 -0366 Sep 14 08:29:47 14936 -29255 P 1.1697 0.6697 71.7N 138.7W 0
03952 -26 -0348 Sep 24 16:01:22 14673 -29032 P 1.1402 0.7185 71.9N 93.1E 0
03992 -25 -0330 Oct 05 23:39:58 14416 -28809 P 1.1169 0.7567 71.8N 36.8W 0
04033 -24 -0312 Oct 16 07:25:31 14166 -28586 P 1.0994 0.7848 71.5N 168.4W 0
04074 -23 -0294 Oct 27 15:17:24 13920 -28363 P 1.0873 0.8041 71.0N 58.9E 0
04114 -22 -0276 Nov 06 23:14:33 13680 -28140 P 1.0793 0.8166 70.2N 74.6W 0
04154 -21 -0258 Nov 18 07:14:57 13445 -27917 P 1.0744 0.8243 69.3N 151.8E 0
04195 -20 -0240 Nov 28 15:16:22 13215 -27694 P 1.0702 0.8310 68.2N 18.7E 0
04236 -19 -0222 Dec 09 23:18:20 12990 -27471 P 1.0664 0.8371 67.1N 114.0W 0
04277 -18 -0204 Dec 20 07:18:35 12769 -27248 P 1.0610 0.8464 66.0N 114.4E 0
04318 -17 -0186 Dec 31 15:14:40 12552 -27025 P 1.0521 0.8615 65.0N 15.7W 0
04361 -16 -0167 Jan 10 23:05:42 12340 -26802 P 1.0389 0.8841 64.0N 144.1W 0
04405 -15 -0149 Jan 22 06:49:55 12131 -26579 A+ 1.0200 0.9166 63.1N 89.6E 0
04448 -14 -0131 Feb 01 14:27:14 11926 -26356 An 0.9951 0.9121 59.7N 29.0W 4 - 07m45s
04491 -13 -0113 Feb 12 21:54:51 11725 -26133 A 0.9620 0.9179 51.6N 135.4W 15 1135 07m43s
04534 -12 -0095 Feb 23 05:14:37 11527 -25910 A 0.9222 0.9229 47.7N 115.3E 22 732 07m19s
04577 -11 -0077 Mar 06 12:24:40 11332 -25687 A 0.8741 0.9279 45.2N 8.4E 29 539 06m50s
04622 -10 -0059 Mar 16 19:25:48 11140 -25464 A 0.8184 0.9329 43.7N 96.0W 35 422 06m19s
04667 -09 -0041 Mar 28 02:18:20 10952 -25241 A 0.7551 0.9377 42.9N 162.3E 41 343 05m50s
04713 -08 -0023 Apr 07 09:03:45 10765 -25018 A 0.6856 0.9425 42.5N 62.9E 46 285 05m23s
04759 -07 -0005 Apr 18 15:43:14 10582 -24795 A 0.6104 0.9470 42.3N 34.4W 52 242 05m00s
04804 -06 0013 Apr 28 22:16:18 10400 -24572 A 0.5293 0.9512 41.8N 129.6W 58 208 04m41s
04850 -05 0031 May 10 04:46:51 10221 -24349 A 0.4456 0.9549 41.0N 136.1E 63 183 04m26s
04897 -04 0049 May 20 11:14:25 10043 -24126 A 0.3588 0.9583 39.4N 42.6E 69 162 04m15s
04941 -03 0067 May 31 17:42:22 9867 -23903 A 0.2714 0.9612 37.0N 51.4W 74 146 04m08s
04985 -02 0085 Jun 11 00:09:59 9693 -23680 A 0.1828 0.9636 33.6N 145.9W 79 134 04m04s
05030 -01 0103 Jun 22 06:42:09 9519 -23457 A 0.0971 0.9654 29.4N 117.6E 84 125 04m02s
05074 00 0121 Jul 02 13:17:36 9346 -23234 A 0.0136 0.9668 24.3N 19.4E 89 120 04m02s
05118 01 0139 Jul 13 19:59:21 9175 -23011 A -0.0655 0.9677 18.7N 81.3W 86 116 04m02s
05161 02 0157 Jul 24 02:47:35 9003 -22788 Am -0.1401 0.9682 12.6N 175.5E 82 115 04m01s
05202 03 0175 Aug 04 09:44:59 8832 -22565 A -0.2079 0.9684 6.2N 69.4E 78 116 03m59s
05243 04 0193 Aug 14 16:50:56 8661 -22342 A -0.2692 0.9683 0.4S 39.4W 74 118 03m56s
05284 05 0211 Aug 26 00:06:18 8490 -22119 A -0.3234 0.9679 7.0S 150.9W 71 122 03m51s
05325 06 0229 Sep 05 07:32:08 8319 -21896 A -0.3696 0.9676 13.6S 94.8E 68 125 03m46s
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
05366 07 0247 Sep 16 15:08:27 8147 -21673 A -0.4079 0.9671 20.0S 22.1W 66 129 03m40s
05408 08 0265 Sep 26 22:54:42 7975 -21450 A -0.4387 0.9669 26.2S 141.2W 64 132 03m32s
05448 09 0283 Oct 08 06:51:00 7802 -21227 A -0.4620 0.9669 32.1S 97.6E 62 134 03m24s
05488 10 0301 Oct 18 14:56:19 7628 -21004 A -0.4787 0.9672 37.5S 25.1W 61 134 03m15s
05527 11 0319 Oct 29 23:10:06 7454 -20781 A -0.4892 0.9679 42.3S 149.0W 60 132 03m04s
05567 12 0337 Nov 09 07:29:17 7278 -20558 A -0.4961 0.9691 46.6S 87.0E 60 128 02m52s
05607 13 0355 Nov 20 15:55:14 7102 -20335 A -0.4984 0.9708 49.9S 37.4W 60 121 02m38s
05647 14 0373 Dec 01 00:23:43 6925 -20112 A -0.4996 0.9732 52.3S 161.1W 60 111 02m22s
05688 15 0391 Dec 12 08:55:08 6747 -19889 A -0.4991 0.9761 53.5S 75.4E 60 99 02m04s
05729 16 0409 Dec 22 17:24:51 6569 -19666 A -0.5009 0.9797 53.6S 47.3W 60 84 01m44s
05770 17 0428 Jan 03 01:54:51 6391 -19443 A -0.5033 0.9838 52.5S 170.4W 60 66 01m22s
05811 18 0446 Jan 13 10:20:25 6213 -19220 A -0.5105 0.9884 50.6S 66.9E 59 47 00m58s
05853 19 0464 Jan 24 18:42:06 6035 -18997 A -0.5215 0.9935 48.0S 55.9W 58 27 00m32s
05896 20 0482 Feb 04 02:57:02 5857 -18774 A -0.5389 0.9989 45.2S 178.0W 57 4 00m05s
05940 21 0500 Feb 15 11:06:27 5681 -18551 H -0.5616 1.0046 42.2S 60.6E 56 19 00m22s
05984 22 0518 Feb 25 19:08:25 5504 -18328 H -0.5912 1.0104 39.6S 59.6W 54 44 00m50s
06028 23 0536 Mar 08 03:03:15 5328 -18105 T -0.6276 1.0162 37.4S 178.3W 51 70 01m17s
06074 24 0554 Mar 19 10:50:48 5153 -17882 T -0.6708 1.0217 35.9S 64.5E 48 98 01m44s
06120 25 0572 Mar 29 18:32:10 4980 -17659 T -0.7198 1.0270 35.3S 51.2W 44 129 02m10s
06166 26 0590 Apr 10 02:06:40 4808 -17436 T -0.7752 1.0318 36.0S 165.2W 39 166 02m33s
06211 27 0608 Apr 20 09:36:37 4637 -17213 T -0.8352 1.0358 38.3S 82.0E 33 214 02m51s
06256 28 0626 May 01 17:01:46 4468 -16990 T -0.8997 1.0389 42.9S 29.1W 26 294 03m01s
06301 29 0644 May 12 00:25:07 4300 -16767 T -0.9666 1.0400 51.6S 137.6W 14 531 02m56s
06347 30 0662 May 23 07:44:42 4133 -16544 P -1.0371 0.9440 63.5S 118.9E 0
06393 31 0680 Jun 02 15:04:59 3969 -16321 P -1.1075 0.8109 64.4S 1.5W 0
06437 32 0698 Jun 13 22:24:22 3807 -16098 P -1.1789 0.6750 65.3S 122.0W 0
06480 33 0716 Jun 24 05:46:51 3646 -15875 P -1.2484 0.5420 66.3S 116.4E 0
06523 34 0734 Jul 05 13:10:19 3489 -15652 P -1.3172 0.4098 67.3S 5.9W 0
06565 35 0752 Jul 15 20:39:39 3333 -15429 P -1.3816 0.2859 68.3S 130.1W 0
06606 36 0770 Jul 27 04:12:53 3181 -15206 P -1.4428 0.1682 69.2S 104.3E 0
06647 37 0788 Aug 06 11:52:52 3031 -14983 Pe -1.4989 0.0607 70.0S 23.7W 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)"
