Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 87

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 87

Solar eclipses of Saros 87 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 -0076 Feb 23. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1222 Apr 13. The total duration of Saros series 87 is 1298.17 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =  -0076 Feb 23   14:20:30 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   1222 Apr 13   10:33:58 TD

                      Duration of Saros  87  =  1298.17 Years

Saros 87 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 87
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 73100.0%
PartialP 29 39.7%
AnnularA 0 0.0%
TotalT 42 57.5%
Hybrid[3]H 2 2.7%

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 87 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 87
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 44100.0%
Central (two limits) 43 97.7%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.3%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 87: 9P 2H 42T 20P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 87 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 87
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 0699 Jun 0307m17s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 0122 Jun 2100m55s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0104 Jun 1000m33s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0086 May 3100m08s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 0068 May 19 - 0.95189
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0076 Feb 23 - 0.01213

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 87

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 87. 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 87.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 87

                         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

04580 -36 -0076 Feb 23  14:20:30  11322 -25675   Pb   1.5513  0.0121  61.3N  53.0W   0             
04625 -35 -0058 Mar 05  21:50:17  11130 -25452   P    1.5057  0.0889  61.0N 175.0W   0             
04670 -34 -0040 Mar 16  05:12:45  10942 -25229   P    1.4529  0.1791  60.8N  64.9E   0             
04716 -33 -0022 Mar 27  12:27:48  10756 -25006   P    1.3932  0.2829  60.7N  53.3W   0             
04762 -32 -0004 Apr 06  19:37:20  10572 -24783   P    1.3277  0.3983  60.9N 170.1W   0             
04807 -31  0014 Apr 18  02:41:51  10391 -24560   P    1.2571  0.5240  61.2N  74.2E   0             
04853 -30  0032 Apr 28  09:42:10  10211 -24337   P    1.1818  0.6596  61.6N  40.4W   0             
04899 -29  0050 May 09  16:39:47  10034 -24114   P    1.1028  0.8033  62.1N 154.6W   0             
04943 -28  0068 May 19  23:36:21   9858 -23891   P    1.0218  0.9519  62.8N  91.4E   0             
04987 -27  0086 May 31  06:33:47   9683 -23668   H    0.9401  1.0022  75.5N  24.1E  19   23  00m08s

05032 -26  0104 Jun 10  13:31:44   9510 -23445   H2   0.8576  1.0087  77.6N  34.9W  31   59  00m33s
05076 -25  0122 Jun 21  20:33:47   9337 -23222   T    0.7773  1.0136  74.0N 109.2W  39   75  00m55s
05120 -24  0140 Jul 02  03:39:41   9165 -22999   T    0.6994  1.0175  68.0N 159.3E  45   84  01m15s
05163 -23  0158 Jul 13  10:52:07   8994 -22776   T    0.6255  1.0206  61.3N  57.9E  51   90  01m33s
05204 -22  0176 Jul 23  18:09:39   8823 -22553   T    0.5550  1.0228  54.2N  48.8W  56   94  01m48s
05245 -21  0194 Aug 04  01:36:08   8652 -22330   T    0.4912  1.0245  47.0N 159.9W  60   96  02m02s
05286 -20  0212 Aug 14  09:10:09   8481 -22107   T    0.4330  1.0255  39.9N  85.7E  64   96  02m12s
05327 -19  0230 Aug 25  16:53:17   8310 -21884   T    0.3818  1.0261  32.9N  31.6W  67   96  02m20s
05368 -18  0248 Sep 05  00:45:17   8138 -21661   T    0.3372  1.0263  26.1N 151.6W  70   95  02m25s
05410 -17  0266 Sep 16  08:47:23   7966 -21438   T    0.3004  1.0264  19.7N  85.7E  72   94  02m29s

05450 -16  0284 Sep 26  16:58:52   7793 -21215   T    0.2710  1.0263  13.6N  39.4W  74   92  02m31s
05490 -15  0302 Oct 08  01:17:57   7619 -20992   T    0.2474  1.0263   7.9N 166.3W  76   92  02m34s
05529 -14  0320 Oct 18  09:46:09   7444 -20769   T    0.2308  1.0263   2.9N  64.8E  77   92  02m36s
05569 -13  0338 Oct 29  18:20:54   7269 -20546   T    0.2190  1.0266   1.6S  65.5W  77   92  02m39s
05609 -12  0356 Nov 09  03:02:18   7093 -20323   T    0.2122  1.0272   5.3S 162.9E  78   94  02m44s
05649 -11  0374 Nov 20  11:46:54   6916 -20100   T    0.2076  1.0283   8.3S  30.8E  78   98  02m51s
05690 -10  0392 Nov 30  20:35:47   6738 -19877   T    0.2060  1.0298  10.4S 102.1W  78  103  03m00s
05731 -09  0410 Dec 12  05:25:03   6560 -19654   T    0.2041  1.0318  11.7S 125.1E  78  110  03m11s
05772 -08  0428 Dec 22  14:14:19   6381 -19431   T    0.2019  1.0343  12.1S   7.5W  78  118  03m22s
05813 -07  0447 Jan 02  23:00:54   6203 -19208   T    0.1969  1.0373  11.8S 139.5W  79  128  03m35s

05855 -06  0465 Jan 13  07:44:43   6025 -18985   T    0.1892  1.0407  10.9S  89.1E  79  139  03m49s
05898 -05  0483 Jan 24  16:22:34   5848 -18762   T    0.1763  1.0446   9.4S  40.8W  80  151  04m03s
05942 -04  0501 Feb 04  00:54:51   5672 -18539   T    0.1585  1.0487   7.4S 169.5W  81  164  04m18s
05986 -03  0519 Feb 15  09:19:56   5495 -18316   T    0.1343  1.0530   5.2S  63.6E  82  177  04m33s
06030 -02  0537 Feb 25  17:38:41   5319 -18093   T    0.1043  1.0574   2.9S  61.7W  84  190  04m49s
06076 -01  0555 Mar 09  01:47:58   5144 -17870   T    0.0662  1.0618   0.7S 175.4E  86  203  05m05s
06122  00  0573 Mar 19  09:51:15   4971 -17647   Tm   0.0228  1.0659   1.5N  54.2E  89  215  05m22s
06168  01  0591 Mar 30  17:45:50   4799 -17424   T   -0.0281  1.0697   3.2N  64.8W  88  227  05m41s
06213  02  0609 Apr 10  01:35:40   4628 -17201   T   -0.0835  1.0730   4.5N 177.6E  85  238  06m00s
06258  03  0627 Apr 21  09:16:52   4459 -16978   T   -0.1462  1.0758   5.0N  62.3E  82  248  06m19s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 87

                         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

06303  04  0645 May 01  16:55:24   4291 -16755   T   -0.2115  1.0779   4.7N  52.4W  78  257  06m38s
06350  05  0663 May 13  00:27:42   4125 -16532   T   -0.2818  1.0792   3.4N 165.7W  74  266  06m56s
06396  06  0681 May 23  07:58:17   3960 -16309   T   -0.3538  1.0797   1.2N  81.2E  69  274  07m10s
06440  07  0699 Jun 03  15:24:55   3798 -16086   T   -0.4291  1.0792   2.2S  31.3W  65  282  07m17s
06483  08  0717 Jun 13  22:52:28   3638 -15863   T   -0.5035  1.0779   6.5S 144.6W  60  291  07m15s
06526  09  0735 Jun 25  06:19:09   3480 -15640   T   -0.5781  1.0756  11.9S 101.6E  55  300  07m02s
06568  10  0753 Jul 05  13:47:40   3325 -15417   T   -0.6509  1.0725  18.1S  13.4W  49  310  06m38s
06609  11  0771 Jul 16  21:18:25   3173 -15194   T   -0.7214  1.0684  25.2S 129.8W  44  322  06m04s
06650  12  0789 Jul 27  04:53:37   3023 -14971   T   -0.7876  1.0636  32.9S 111.7E  38  338  05m22s
06691  13  0807 Aug 07  12:33:13   2877 -14748   T   -0.8498  1.0579  41.4S   9.4W  31  361  04m35s

06732  14  0825 Aug 17  20:18:04   2735 -14525   T   -0.9071  1.0515  50.7S 134.1W  24  406  03m46s
06772  15  0843 Aug 29  04:09:48   2595 -14302   T   -0.9582  1.0442  60.8S  94.1E  16  526  02m56s
06812  16  0861 Sep 08  12:08:25   2460 -14079   T-  -1.0032  1.0053  71.9S  70.3W   0             
06852  17  0879 Sep 19  20:14:10   2329 -13856   P   -1.0419  0.9299  72.0S 153.5E   0             
06892  18  0897 Sep 30  04:27:23   2202 -13633   P   -1.0742  0.8672  71.9S  15.5E   0             
06932  19  0915 Oct 11  12:48:25   2078 -13410   P   -1.0999  0.8174  71.5S 124.3W   0             
06973  20  0933 Oct 21  21:16:05   1960 -13187   P   -1.1197  0.7793  70.8S  94.8E   0             
07014  21  0951 Nov 02  05:48:45   1845 -12964   P   -1.1351  0.7496  70.0S  46.8W   0             
07055  22  0969 Nov 12  14:26:54   1736 -12741   P   -1.1457  0.7291  69.1S 170.8E   0             
07095  23  0987 Nov 23  23:08:42   1630 -12518   P   -1.1533  0.7145  68.0S  28.3E   0             

07137  24  1005 Dec 04  07:52:26   1530 -12295   P   -1.1589  0.7037  67.0S 114.2W   0             
07179  25  1023 Dec 15  16:36:13   1434 -12072   P   -1.1640  0.6940  65.9S 103.9E   0             
07221  26  1041 Dec 26  01:19:06   1343 -11849   P   -1.1695  0.6835  64.8S  37.3W   0             
07264  27  1060 Jan 06  09:59:33   1256 -11626   P   -1.1766  0.6704  63.9S 177.5W   0             
07308  28  1078 Jan 16  18:34:30   1174 -11403   P   -1.1878  0.6499  63.0S  44.1E   0             
07352  29  1096 Jan 28  03:04:32   1096 -11180   P   -1.2026  0.6230  62.3S  92.9W   0             
07398  30  1114 Feb 07  11:26:45   1022 -10957   P   -1.2234  0.5854  61.7S 132.3E   0             
07443  31  1132 Feb 18  19:41:35    953 -10734   P   -1.2495  0.5380  61.3S   0.4W   0             
07488  32  1150 Mar 01  03:46:23    888 -10511   P   -1.2835  0.4765  61.0S 130.6W   0             
07533  33  1168 Mar 11  11:43:09    827 -10288   P   -1.3232  0.4045  60.9S 101.3E   0             

07579  34  1186 Mar 22  19:29:34    770 -10065   P   -1.3708  0.3183  61.0S  24.2W   0             
07624  35  1204 Apr 02  03:06:26    717  -9842   P   -1.4253  0.2196  61.2S 147.4W   0             
07670  36  1222 Apr 13  10:33:58    667  -9619   Pe  -1.4863  0.1092  61.5S  91.7E   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)"


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Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26