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 91 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 -0159 Aug 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1175 Oct 16. The total duration of Saros series 91 is 1334.23 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -0159 Aug 06 16:17:02 TD Last Eclipse = 1175 Oct 16 15:57:46 TD Duration of Saros 91 = 1334.23 Years
Saros 91 is composed of 75 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 91 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 75 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 33 | 44.0% |
| Annular | A | 25 | 33.3% |
| Total | T | 14 | 18.7% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.0% |
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 91 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 91 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 75 eclipses in Saros 91: 23P 14T 3H 25A 10P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 91 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 91 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0977 Jun 19 | 05m16s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 0562 Oct 14 | 00m05s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 0382 Jun 27 | 04m03s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 0490 Aug 31 | 02m19s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0508 Sep 11 | 01m45s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 0544 Oct 02 | 00m31s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0238 Apr 02 | - | 0.95228 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1175 Oct 16 | - | 0.00195 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 91. 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 91.
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
04382 -40 -0159 Aug 06 16:17:02 12240 -26696 Pb 1.5260 0.0126 69.4N 137.1E 0
04425 -39 -0141 Aug 18 00:07:27 12033 -26473 P 1.4734 0.1129 70.2N 6.2E 0
04468 -38 -0123 Aug 28 08:05:47 11830 -26250 P 1.4272 0.2012 70.9N 127.3W 0
04511 -37 -0105 Sep 08 16:13:09 11630 -26027 P 1.3881 0.2759 71.4N 96.5E 0
04554 -36 -0087 Sep 19 00:29:08 11434 -25804 P 1.3559 0.3372 71.7N 42.3W 0
04599 -35 -0069 Sep 30 08:52:47 11241 -25581 P 1.3300 0.3866 71.8N 176.8E 0
04644 -34 -0051 Oct 10 17:24:36 11050 -25358 P 1.3105 0.4235 71.6N 33.9E 0
04689 -33 -0033 Oct 22 02:03:25 10863 -25135 P 1.2967 0.4498 71.1N 110.4W 0
04736 -32 -0015 Nov 01 10:48:19 10678 -24912 P 1.2881 0.4661 70.4N 104.3E 0
04781 -31 0003 Nov 12 19:36:29 10495 -24689 P 1.2822 0.4772 69.6N 41.2W 0
04827 -30 0021 Nov 23 04:28:42 10315 -24466 P 1.2797 0.4820 68.6N 172.9E 0
04873 -29 0039 Dec 04 13:22:13 10136 -24243 P 1.2781 0.4850 67.5N 27.3E 0
04918 -28 0057 Dec 14 22:15:33 9959 -24020 P 1.2766 0.4881 66.5N 117.6W 0
04962 -27 0075 Dec 26 07:06:47 9784 -23797 P 1.2734 0.4942 65.4N 98.4E 0
05006 -26 0094 Jan 05 15:55:02 9610 -23574 P 1.2679 0.5046 64.4N 44.3W 0
05051 -25 0112 Jan 17 00:38:49 9437 -23351 P 1.2589 0.5217 63.5N 174.4E 0
05095 -24 0130 Jan 27 09:15:57 9265 -23128 P 1.2446 0.5488 62.7N 35.1E 0
05139 -23 0148 Feb 07 17:46:55 9093 -22905 P 1.2255 0.5854 62.0N 102.4W 0
05181 -22 0166 Feb 18 02:09:50 8922 -22682 P 1.2001 0.6340 61.5N 122.2E 0
05222 -21 0184 Feb 29 10:24:45 8751 -22459 P 1.1684 0.6947 61.1N 11.0W 0
05263 -20 0202 Mar 11 18:30:53 8580 -22236 P 1.1299 0.7688 60.9N 142.0W 0
05304 -19 0220 Mar 22 02:29:25 8409 -22013 P 1.0855 0.8543 60.8N 88.9E 0
05345 -18 0238 Apr 02 10:19:52 8237 -21790 P 1.0347 0.9523 60.9N 38.1W 0
05386 -17 0256 Apr 12 18:02:10 8065 -21567 T 0.9776 1.0522 62.9N 139.0W 11 857 02m50s
05427 -16 0274 Apr 24 01:38:24 7893 -21344 T 0.9159 1.0564 63.5N 124.8E 23 463 03m14s
05467 -15 0292 May 04 09:08:37 7720 -21121 T 0.8497 1.0586 63.9N 24.2E 31 364 03m29s
05506 -14 0310 May 15 16:34:57 7545 -20898 T 0.7804 1.0596 63.9N 76.4W 38 313 03m41s
05545 -13 0328 May 25 23:56:30 7370 -20675 T 0.7077 1.0596 63.0N 175.9W 45 277 03m50s
05585 -12 0346 Jun 06 07:17:19 7195 -20452 T 0.6346 1.0586 60.9N 83.5E 50 250 03m58s
05625 -11 0364 Jun 16 14:36:12 7018 -20229 T 0.5608 1.0566 57.4N 18.6W 56 226 04m02s
05666 -10 0382 Jun 27 21:55:37 6841 -20006 T 0.4878 1.0538 52.9N 123.1W 61 204 04m03s
05707 -09 0400 Jul 08 05:16:04 6663 -19783 T 0.4163 1.0502 47.5N 129.9E 65 183 04m00s
05749 -08 0418 Jul 19 12:39:47 6485 -19560 T 0.3481 1.0459 41.5N 20.4E 69 163 03m52s
05790 -07 0436 Jul 29 20:07:35 6306 -19337 T 0.2842 1.0409 35.1N 91.5W 73 143 03m37s
05830 -06 0454 Aug 10 03:39:07 6128 -19114 T 0.2243 1.0355 28.5N 154.6E 77 122 03m17s
05873 -05 0472 Aug 20 11:17:31 5950 -18891 T 0.1710 1.0296 21.8N 38.5E 80 102 02m50s
05916 -04 0490 Aug 31 19:01:26 5774 -18668 T 0.1232 1.0235 15.1N 79.5W 83 81 02m19s
05960 -03 0508 Sep 11 02:53:05 5597 -18445 H3 0.0826 1.0173 8.6N 160.4E 85 59 01m45s
06004 -02 0526 Sep 22 10:50:19 5420 -18222 H 0.0476 1.0111 2.3N 38.9E 87 38 01m08s
06049 -01 0544 Oct 02 18:56:04 5245 -17999 H 0.0206 1.0050 3.5S 84.5W 89 17 00m31s
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
06095 00 0562 Oct 14 03:07:26 5071 -17776 A -0.0010 0.9992 9.0S 150.9E 90 3 00m05s
06141 01 0580 Oct 24 11:25:33 4898 -17553 A -0.0163 0.9938 13.9S 25.2E 89 22 00m40s
06187 02 0598 Nov 04 19:48:16 4726 -17330 A -0.0271 0.9888 18.0S 101.3W 88 40 01m13s
06232 03 0616 Nov 15 04:16:21 4556 -17107 A -0.0331 0.9843 21.4S 131.5E 88 56 01m43s
06277 04 0634 Nov 26 12:46:01 4388 -16884 A -0.0369 0.9804 23.9S 4.4E 88 70 02m09s
06323 05 0652 Dec 06 21:16:51 4220 -16661 A -0.0391 0.9771 25.5S 122.6W 88 82 02m31s
06370 06 0670 Dec 18 05:46:46 4055 -16438 A -0.0415 0.9744 26.1S 110.8E 87 92 02m49s
06415 07 0688 Dec 28 14:15:19 3892 -16215 A -0.0447 0.9723 25.8S 15.4W 87 99 03m02s
06459 08 0707 Jan 08 22:38:11 3730 -15992 A -0.0520 0.9708 24.8S 140.3W 87 105 03m09s
06501 09 0725 Jan 19 06:56:11 3571 -15769 A -0.0624 0.9696 23.1S 95.8E 86 109 03m14s
06543 10 0743 Jan 30 15:05:55 3414 -15546 A -0.0792 0.9690 21.0S 26.3W 85 112 03m15s
06585 11 0761 Feb 09 23:08:52 3260 -15323 A -0.1007 0.9686 18.5S 146.9W 84 113 03m15s
06626 12 0779 Feb 21 07:00:09 3109 -15100 A -0.1312 0.9685 16.1S 95.2E 82 114 03m14s
06667 13 0797 Mar 03 14:43:35 2961 -14877 A -0.1675 0.9685 13.7S 20.8W 80 115 03m14s
06708 14 0815 Mar 14 22:15:01 2817 -14654 A -0.2128 0.9684 11.7S 133.7W 78 116 03m15s
06749 15 0833 Mar 25 05:37:48 2675 -14431 A -0.2645 0.9683 10.1S 115.4E 75 117 03m18s
06789 16 0851 Apr 05 12:48:54 2538 -14208 A -0.3251 0.9680 9.3S 7.6E 71 121 03m25s
06829 17 0869 Apr 15 19:52:37 2404 -13985 A -0.3909 0.9674 9.3S 98.4W 67 126 03m35s
06869 18 0887 Apr 27 02:46:27 2275 -13762 A -0.4641 0.9664 10.4S 157.9E 62 135 03m50s
06909 19 0905 May 07 09:33:22 2149 -13539 A -0.5422 0.9649 12.8S 55.8E 57 149 04m07s
06949 20 0923 May 18 16:13:31 2028 -13316 A -0.6247 0.9629 16.6S 44.9W 51 170 04m28s
06990 21 0941 May 28 22:49:33 1911 -13093 A -0.7096 0.9603 21.9S 145.2W 45 203 04m49s
07031 22 0959 Jun 09 05:22:03 1799 -12870 A -0.7965 0.9569 29.1S 114.7E 37 259 05m06s
07071 23 0977 Jun 19 11:52:12 1691 -12647 A -0.8844 0.9526 38.8S 14.2E 27 373 05m16s
07113 24 0995 Jun 30 18:22:43 1587 -12424 A -0.9708 0.9465 53.9S 88.3W 13 854 05m11s
07155 25 1013 Jul 11 00:53:58 1489 -12201 P -1.0554 0.8698 68.1S 162.5E 0
07197 26 1031 Jul 22 07:27:48 1395 -11978 P -1.1369 0.7287 69.1S 52.1E 0
07240 27 1049 Aug 01 14:05:43 1305 -11755 P -1.2142 0.5957 70.0S 59.8W 0
07284 28 1067 Aug 12 20:49:40 1221 -11532 P -1.2857 0.4734 70.8S 173.9W 0
07328 29 1085 Aug 23 03:40:37 1140 -11309 P -1.3506 0.3635 71.4S 69.7E 0
07373 30 1103 Sep 03 10:38:20 1064 -11086 P -1.4094 0.2646 71.8S 48.8W 0
07418 31 1121 Sep 13 17:45:19 993 -10863 P -1.4600 0.1802 72.0S 170.0W 0
07463 32 1139 Sep 25 01:00:38 925 -10640 P -1.5037 0.1081 72.0S 66.7E 0
07508 33 1157 Oct 05 08:25:14 862 -10417 P -1.5396 0.0494 71.7S 58.7W 0
07553 34 1175 Oct 16 15:57:46 803 -10194 Pe -1.5690 0.0019 71.1S 174.3E 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)"
