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 81 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 -0322 May 12. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0958 Jun 19. The total duration of Saros series 81 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0322 May 12 11:41:16 TD Last Eclipse = 0958 Jun 19 23:06:54 TD Duration of Saros 81 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 81 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 81 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 5 | 6.9% |
| Total | T | 44 | 61.1% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 9 | 12.5% |
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 81 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 81 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 58 | 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 81: 7P 5A 9H 44T 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 81 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 81 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0196 Jul 26 | 00m31s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | -0124 Sep 07 | 00m00s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 0363 Jun 27 | 07m24s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 0832 Apr 04 | 00m47s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0038 Dec 14 | 01m19s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | -0106 Sep 19 | 00m03s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0214 Jul 16 | - | 0.90723 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0322 May 12 | - | 0.03380 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 81. 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 81.
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
04010 -35 -0322 May 12 11:41:16 14310 -28715 Pb 1.5329 0.0338 62.1N 62.2W 0
04051 -34 -0304 May 22 18:26:38 14062 -28492 P 1.4496 0.1804 62.8N 173.7W 0
04092 -33 -0286 Jun 03 01:10:51 13818 -28269 P 1.3641 0.3323 63.6N 74.9E 0
04132 -32 -0268 Jun 13 07:59:41 13581 -28046 P 1.2811 0.4807 64.5N 37.9W 0
04172 -31 -0250 Jun 24 14:50:42 13348 -27823 P 1.1987 0.6289 65.4N 151.6W 0
04213 -30 -0232 Jul 04 21:48:29 13120 -27600 P 1.1203 0.7704 66.4N 92.7E 0
04253 -29 -0214 Jul 16 04:51:12 12896 -27377 P 1.0448 0.9072 67.4N 24.7W 0
04294 -28 -0196 Jul 26 12:03:26 12677 -27154 A 0.9758 0.9909 79.3N 163.0W 12 157 00m31s
04336 -27 -0178 Aug 06 19:23:28 12462 -26931 A 0.9123 0.9949 79.2N 1.3W 24 44 00m19s
04379 -26 -0160 Aug 17 02:53:04 12251 -26708 A 0.8557 0.9973 70.2N 137.1W 31 18 00m11s
04422 -25 -0142 Aug 28 10:32:25 12044 -26485 A 0.8060 0.9988 61.7N 99.0E 36 7 00m05s
04465 -24 -0124 Sep 07 18:22:16 11841 -26262 A 0.7642 0.9999 54.1N 24.4W 40 1 00m00s
04508 -23 -0106 Sep 19 02:21:57 11641 -26039 H 0.7298 1.0006 47.1N 149.0W 43 3 00m03s
04551 -22 -0088 Sep 29 10:30:23 11444 -25816 H 0.7020 1.0013 40.8N 84.7E 45 6 00m07s
04595 -21 -0070 Oct 10 18:48:28 11251 -25593 H 0.6815 1.0020 35.2N 43.5W 47 9 00m11s
04640 -20 -0052 Oct 21 03:14:09 11060 -25370 H 0.6666 1.0028 30.3N 173.4W 48 13 00m16s
04685 -19 -0034 Nov 01 11:46:46 10873 -25147 H 0.6569 1.0040 26.1N 55.2E 49 18 00m23s
04732 -18 -0016 Nov 11 20:24:21 10688 -24924 H 0.6508 1.0054 22.7N 77.2W 49 25 00m33s
04778 -17 0002 Nov 23 05:06:15 10505 -24701 H 0.6476 1.0074 20.0N 149.5E 49 33 00m45s
04824 -16 0020 Dec 03 13:49:49 10324 -24478 H 0.6453 1.0098 18.0N 15.9E 50 44 01m01s
04870 -15 0038 Dec 14 22:33:40 10146 -24255 H 0.6427 1.0128 16.7N 117.8W 50 57 01m19s
04915 -14 0056 Dec 25 07:16:33 9969 -24032 T 0.6386 1.0163 15.9N 108.9E 50 73 01m40s
04959 -13 0075 Jan 05 15:57:02 9793 -23809 T 0.6317 1.0204 15.6N 23.7W 51 89 02m01s
05003 -12 0093 Jan 16 00:32:32 9619 -23586 T 0.6202 1.0250 15.7N 155.0W 52 107 02m25s
05048 -11 0111 Jan 27 09:03:03 9446 -23363 T 0.6041 1.0299 16.3N 75.2E 53 126 02m47s
05092 -10 0129 Feb 06 17:27:01 9274 -23140 T 0.5820 1.0354 17.1N 52.8W 54 144 03m10s
05136 -09 0147 Feb 18 01:45:03 9102 -22917 T 0.5541 1.0409 18.2N 179.0W 56 162 03m32s
05178 -08 0165 Feb 28 09:54:09 8931 -22694 T 0.5184 1.0467 19.4N 57.5E 59 179 03m54s
05219 -07 0183 Mar 11 17:57:10 8760 -22471 T 0.4771 1.0523 20.9N 64.2W 61 195 04m14s
05260 -06 0201 Mar 22 01:51:41 8589 -22248 T 0.4284 1.0578 22.3N 176.7E 65 209 04m35s
05301 -05 0219 Apr 02 09:40:55 8418 -22025 T 0.3748 1.0629 23.7N 59.3E 68 221 04m56s
05343 -04 0237 Apr 12 17:21:56 8247 -21802 T 0.3138 1.0677 24.8N 55.4W 72 232 05m18s
05384 -03 0255 Apr 24 00:59:20 8075 -21579 T 0.2494 1.0718 25.5N 169.0W 75 241 05m39s
05425 -02 0273 May 04 08:30:52 7902 -21356 T 0.1800 1.0753 25.5N 79.3E 79 248 06m02s
05465 -01 0291 May 15 16:00:04 7729 -21133 T 0.1081 1.0781 24.7N 31.8W 84 254 06m24s
05504 00 0309 May 25 23:26:08 7555 -20910 T 0.0334 1.0799 23.1N 142.3W 88 258 06m45s
05543 01 0327 Jun 06 06:52:21 7380 -20687 Tm -0.0413 1.0810 20.5N 106.9E 88 261 07m03s
05583 02 0345 Jun 16 14:18:48 7204 -20464 T -0.1162 1.0811 17.0N 4.5W 83 263 07m17s
05623 03 0363 Jun 27 21:46:29 7028 -20241 T -0.1899 1.0804 12.7N 116.8W 79 264 07m24s
05664 04 0381 Jul 08 05:17:09 6850 -20018 T -0.2612 1.0788 7.6N 129.4E 75 264 07m22s
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
05705 05 0399 Jul 19 12:51:41 6672 -19795 T -0.3290 1.0764 2.0N 13.9E 71 262 07m11s
05747 06 0417 Jul 29 20:31:08 6494 -19572 T -0.3928 1.0734 4.1S 103.3W 67 259 06m50s
05788 07 0435 Aug 10 04:16:06 6316 -19349 T -0.4516 1.0697 10.6S 137.5E 63 254 06m22s
05828 08 0453 Aug 20 12:07:55 6137 -19126 T -0.5045 1.0656 17.2S 16.3E 60 247 05m50s
05871 09 0471 Aug 31 20:07:11 5960 -18903 T -0.5507 1.0611 23.8S 107.1W 56 239 05m15s
05914 10 0489 Sep 11 04:13:02 5783 -18680 T -0.5912 1.0564 30.4S 127.8E 54 229 04m40s
05958 11 0507 Sep 22 12:27:05 5606 -18457 T -0.6247 1.0516 36.8S 0.7E 51 217 04m06s
06002 12 0525 Oct 02 20:48:13 5430 -18234 T -0.6521 1.0469 43.1S 127.7W 49 205 03m35s
06047 13 0543 Oct 14 05:17:10 5254 -18011 T -0.6726 1.0424 48.9S 102.6E 47 191 03m07s
06093 14 0561 Oct 24 13:50:59 5080 -17788 T -0.6888 1.0381 54.5S 27.3W 46 176 02m43s
06139 15 0579 Nov 04 22:31:45 4907 -17565 T -0.6991 1.0344 59.4S 157.1W 45 162 02m24s
06185 16 0597 Nov 15 07:16:12 4736 -17342 T -0.7064 1.0310 63.7S 74.5E 45 148 02m07s
06230 17 0615 Nov 26 16:04:23 4565 -17119 T -0.7105 1.0282 67.0S 51.7W 44 137 01m54s
06275 18 0633 Dec 07 00:53:04 4397 -16896 T -0.7139 1.0258 68.9S 175.0W 44 126 01m43s
06321 19 0651 Dec 18 09:42:29 4229 -16673 T -0.7167 1.0241 69.2S 63.2E 44 118 01m36s
06368 20 0669 Dec 28 18:29:34 4064 -16450 T -0.7212 1.0227 68.0S 58.9W 44 112 01m30s
06413 21 0688 Jan 09 03:13:09 3900 -16227 T -0.7284 1.0218 65.6S 177.5E 43 108 01m27s
06457 22 0706 Jan 19 11:51:48 3739 -16004 T -0.7395 1.0211 62.5S 52.6E 42 107 01m24s
06499 23 0724 Jan 30 20:24:34 3580 -15781 T -0.7552 1.0207 59.2S 72.8W 41 107 01m23s
06541 24 0742 Feb 10 04:48:57 3423 -15558 T -0.7774 1.0203 56.2S 162.8E 39 109 01m22s
06583 25 0760 Feb 21 13:05:15 3269 -15335 T -0.8057 1.0199 53.6S 39.6E 36 113 01m22s
06624 26 0778 Mar 03 21:12:24 3117 -15112 T -0.8411 1.0192 51.9S 81.3W 32 119 01m20s
06665 27 0796 Mar 14 05:11:10 2969 -14889 T -0.8830 1.0181 51.4S 160.4E 28 129 01m16s
06706 28 0814 Mar 25 12:59:04 2824 -14666 T -0.9332 1.0161 52.9S 46.7E 21 152 01m07s
06747 29 0832 Apr 04 20:39:15 2683 -14443 T -0.9888 1.0120 58.4S 56.1W 8 305 00m47s
06786 30 0850 Apr 16 04:09:53 2545 -14220 P -1.0515 0.9045 61.4S 164.2W 0
06826 31 0868 Apr 26 11:34:04 2411 -13997 P -1.1188 0.7799 61.9S 75.3E 0
06866 32 0886 May 07 18:49:14 2282 -13774 P -1.1926 0.6435 62.6S 43.1W 0
06906 33 0904 May 18 02:00:21 2156 -13551 P -1.2687 0.5031 63.3S 160.7W 0
06946 34 0922 May 29 09:05:23 2034 -13328 P -1.3483 0.3570 64.2S 83.0E 0
06987 35 0940 Jun 08 16:07:41 1917 -13105 P -1.4291 0.2096 65.1S 32.9W 0
07028 36 0958 Jun 19 23:06:54 1805 -12882 Pe -1.5110 0.0612 66.1S 148.3W 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)"
