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 86 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 -0069 Apr 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 1193 May 02. The total duration of Saros series 86 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0069 Apr 06 23:01:31 TD Last Eclipse = 1193 May 02 20:41:06 TD Duration of Saros 86 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 86 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 86 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 30 | 42.3% |
| Annular | A | 41 | 57.7% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 0 | 0.0% |
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 86 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 86 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| 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 71 eclipses in Saros 86: 7P 41A 23P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 86 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 86 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0345 Dec 10 | 09m13s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0724 Jul 25 | 00m39s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0796 Sep 06 | - | 0.94350 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -0069 Apr 06 | - | 0.06070 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 86. 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 86.
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
04597 -33 -0069 Apr 06 23:01:31 11246 -25587 Pb -1.5229 0.0607 71.6S 44.3W 0
04642 -32 -0051 Apr 17 05:51:00 11055 -25364 P -1.4574 0.1746 71.2S 161.1W 0
04687 -31 -0033 Apr 28 12:34:02 10868 -25141 P -1.3870 0.2970 70.6S 84.1E 0
04734 -30 -0015 May 08 19:09:41 10683 -24918 P -1.3108 0.4294 69.9S 28.4W 0
04779 -29 0003 May 20 01:41:30 10500 -24695 P -1.2319 0.5663 69.0S 139.3W 0
04825 -28 0021 May 30 08:07:52 10320 -24472 P -1.1487 0.7102 68.0S 111.8E 0
04871 -27 0039 Jun 10 14:34:18 10141 -24249 P -1.0656 0.8534 67.0S 3.3E 0
04916 -26 0057 Jun 20 20:59:17 9964 -24026 As -0.9809 0.9434 55.8S 101.3W 10 - 05m25s
04960 -25 0075 Jul 02 03:26:47 9789 -23803 A -0.8984 0.9446 40.1S 158.7E 26 466 06m10s
05004 -24 0093 Jul 12 09:56:16 9615 -23580 A -0.8175 0.9437 31.2S 58.8E 35 358 06m41s
05049 -23 0111 Jul 23 16:31:55 9442 -23357 A -0.7415 0.9421 25.2S 42.0W 42 314 07m03s
05093 -22 0129 Aug 02 23:12:37 9269 -23134 A -0.6694 0.9398 21.2S 143.6W 48 295 07m20s
05137 -21 0147 Aug 14 06:00:10 9098 -22911 A -0.6027 0.9372 18.8S 113.5E 53 286 07m31s
05179 -20 0165 Aug 24 12:55:58 8927 -22688 A -0.5429 0.9343 17.9S 8.7E 57 286 07m42s
05220 -19 0183 Sep 04 20:00:32 8756 -22465 A -0.4903 0.9315 18.2S 98.2W 61 289 07m51s
05261 -18 0201 Sep 15 03:14:40 8585 -22242 A -0.4453 0.9286 19.6S 152.6E 63 295 08m01s
05302 -17 0219 Sep 26 10:36:54 8414 -22019 A -0.4070 0.9259 21.7S 41.4E 66 301 08m13s
05344 -16 0237 Oct 06 18:09:22 8242 -21796 A -0.3770 0.9234 24.5S 72.3W 68 309 08m25s
05385 -15 0255 Oct 18 01:49:03 8070 -21573 A -0.3529 0.9214 27.7S 172.5E 69 315 08m37s
05426 -14 0273 Oct 28 09:36:39 7898 -21350 A -0.3353 0.9197 31.0S 55.6E 70 321 08m49s
05466 -13 0291 Nov 08 17:29:47 7724 -21127 A -0.3220 0.9186 34.2S 62.2W 71 325 09m00s
05505 -12 0309 Nov 19 01:28:42 7550 -20904 A -0.3133 0.9181 37.1S 179.1E 72 327 09m08s
05544 -11 0327 Nov 30 09:29:55 7375 -20681 A -0.3063 0.9183 39.3S 60.5E 72 326 09m12s
05584 -10 0345 Dec 10 17:32:54 7199 -20458 A -0.3003 0.9191 40.6S 57.9W 72 322 09m13s
05624 -09 0363 Dec 22 01:35:17 7023 -20235 A -0.2937 0.9207 40.8S 175.9W 73 315 09m08s
05665 -08 0382 Jan 01 09:36:33 6846 -20012 A -0.2861 0.9228 39.9S 66.2E 73 305 08m59s
05706 -07 0400 Jan 12 17:32:37 6668 -19789 A -0.2735 0.9257 37.6S 50.8W 74 291 08m44s
05748 -06 0418 Jan 23 01:24:23 6489 -19566 A -0.2570 0.9291 34.2S 167.6W 75 275 08m26s
05789 -05 0436 Feb 03 09:08:51 6311 -19343 A -0.2341 0.9331 29.8S 76.4E 76 257 08m03s
05829 -04 0454 Feb 13 16:47:54 6133 -19120 A -0.2063 0.9375 24.5S 39.0W 78 237 07m36s
05872 -03 0472 Feb 25 00:16:40 5955 -18897 A -0.1696 0.9424 18.4S 152.8W 80 216 07m05s
05915 -02 0490 Mar 07 07:39:25 5778 -18674 A -0.1274 0.9474 11.8S 94.5E 83 195 06m30s
05959 -01 0508 Mar 17 14:52:12 5602 -18451 A -0.0762 0.9525 4.7S 16.3W 86 174 05m52s
06003 00 0526 Mar 28 21:59:31 5425 -18228 A -0.0200 0.9578 2.7N 125.8W 89 154 05m11s
06048 01 0544 Apr 08 04:57:45 5250 -18005 A 0.0445 0.9629 10.4N 126.9E 87 135 04m29s
06094 02 0562 Apr 19 11:52:31 5075 -17782 Am 0.1125 0.9678 18.2N 20.6E 83 117 03m47s
06140 03 0580 Apr 29 18:41:09 4903 -17559 A 0.1866 0.9724 25.9N 83.6W 79 101 03m08s
06186 04 0598 May 11 01:27:21 4731 -17336 A 0.2635 0.9766 33.6N 173.4E 75 86 02m31s
06231 05 0616 May 21 08:10:42 4561 -17113 A 0.3438 0.9803 40.9N 72.2E 70 74 01m59s
06276 06 0634 Jun 01 14:54:37 4392 -16890 A 0.4246 0.9836 47.8N 27.7W 65 64 01m33s
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
06322 07 0652 Jun 11 21:39:10 4225 -16667 A 0.5057 0.9862 54.0N 125.7W 59 56 01m13s
06369 08 0670 Jun 23 04:26:06 4060 -16444 A 0.5856 0.9883 59.2N 138.4E 54 51 00m58s
06414 09 0688 Jul 03 11:17:17 3896 -16221 A 0.6632 0.9897 63.1N 44.4E 48 49 00m48s
06458 10 0706 Jul 14 18:13:55 3735 -15998 A 0.7372 0.9904 65.4N 48.4W 42 50 00m42s
06500 11 0724 Jul 25 01:16:50 3575 -15775 A 0.8066 0.9906 66.1N 141.6W 36 56 00m39s
06542 12 0742 Aug 05 08:27:12 3419 -15552 A 0.8707 0.9901 65.6N 122.9E 29 71 00m40s
06584 13 0760 Aug 15 15:46:22 3265 -15329 A 0.9284 0.9888 64.5N 24.9E 21 106 00m43s
06625 14 0778 Aug 26 23:14:42 3113 -15106 A 0.9795 0.9864 63.1N 71.8W 11 250 00m50s
06666 15 0796 Sep 06 06:51:48 2965 -14883 P 1.0242 0.9435 61.0N 172.4W 0
06707 16 0814 Sep 17 14:39:24 2821 -14660 P 1.0612 0.8771 60.9N 61.4E 0
06748 17 0832 Sep 27 22:36:40 2679 -14437 P 1.0908 0.8238 60.9N 67.2W 0
06788 18 0850 Oct 09 06:43:55 2542 -14214 P 1.1133 0.7832 61.2N 161.7E 0
06828 19 0868 Oct 19 14:59:08 2408 -13991 P 1.1302 0.7528 61.6N 28.6E 0
06868 20 0886 Oct 30 23:23:09 2278 -13768 P 1.1408 0.7338 62.1N 106.8W 0
06908 21 0904 Nov 10 07:53:36 2152 -13545 P 1.1471 0.7227 62.8N 116.0E 0
06948 22 0922 Nov 21 16:29:24 2031 -13322 P 1.1496 0.7185 63.6N 22.7W 0
06989 23 0940 Dec 02 01:09:04 1914 -13099 P 1.1498 0.7185 64.5N 162.7W 0
07030 24 0958 Dec 13 09:50:52 1802 -12876 P 1.1488 0.7206 65.5N 56.4E 0
07070 25 0976 Dec 23 18:33:17 1694 -12653 P 1.1481 0.7224 66.6N 85.0W 0
07112 26 0995 Jan 04 03:13:44 1590 -12430 P 1.1496 0.7206 67.7N 133.6E 0
07154 27 1013 Jan 14 11:52:21 1491 -12207 P 1.1531 0.7148 68.7N 7.9W 0
07196 28 1031 Jan 25 20:26:16 1397 -11984 P 1.1606 0.7018 69.7N 148.9W 0
07238 29 1049 Feb 05 04:54:51 1308 -11761 P 1.1733 0.6792 70.5N 70.9E 0
07282 30 1067 Feb 16 13:16:39 1223 -11538 P 1.1920 0.6453 71.2N 68.2W 0
07326 31 1085 Feb 26 21:32:13 1142 -11315 P 1.2162 0.6007 71.7N 153.8E 0
07371 32 1103 Mar 10 05:40:52 1066 -11092 P 1.2466 0.5440 71.9N 17.3E 0
07416 33 1121 Mar 20 13:41:29 995 -10869 P 1.2840 0.4736 71.8N 117.2W 0
07461 34 1139 Mar 31 21:35:42 927 -10646 P 1.3272 0.3913 71.6N 110.0E 0
07506 35 1157 Apr 11 05:23:00 864 -10423 P 1.3767 0.2964 71.1N 20.7W 0
07551 36 1175 Apr 22 13:04:58 804 -10200 P 1.4309 0.1916 70.4N 149.4W 0
07597 37 1193 May 02 20:41:06 749 -9977 Pe 1.4902 0.0765 69.6N 83.8E 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)"
