Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 108

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 108

Solar eclipses of Saros 108 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 0550 Jan 04. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 1902 Apr 08. The total duration of Saros series 108 is 1352.26 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   0550 Jan 04   00:04:07 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   1902 Apr 08   14:05:06 TD

                      Duration of Saros 108  =  1352.26 Years

Saros 108 is composed of 76 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 108
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 76100.0%
PartialP 33 43.4%
AnnularA 20 26.3%
TotalT 18 23.7%
Hybrid[3]H 5 6.6%

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 108 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 108
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 43100.0%
Central (two limits) 41 95.3%
Central (one limit) 2 4.7%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 76 eclipses in Saros 108: 12P 20A 5H 18T 21P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 108 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 108
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 0766 May 1303m35s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 1108 Dec 0400m08s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 1361 May 0505m07s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 1217 Feb 0702m15s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1199 Jan 2801m45s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1126 Dec 1500m08s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 1541 Aug 21 - 0.91717
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 0550 Jan 04 - 0.00673

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 108

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 108. 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 108.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 108

                         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

06063 -36  0550 Jan 04  00:04:07   5194 -17934   Pb  -1.5674  0.0067  67.3S  19.5E   0             
06109 -35  0568 Jan 15  07:57:59   5020 -17711   P   -1.5538  0.0280  68.4S 110.9W   0             
06155 -34  0586 Jan 25  15:47:13   4848 -17488   P   -1.5361  0.0559  69.4S 119.2E   0             
06200 -33  0604 Feb 05  23:29:00   4677 -17265   P   -1.5118  0.0948  70.3S   9.5W   0             
06245 -32  0622 Feb 16  07:04:22   4507 -17042   P   -1.4819  0.1434  71.0S 137.1W   0             
06290 -31  0640 Feb 27  14:30:29   4339 -16819   P   -1.4439  0.2060  71.6S  97.0E   0             
06336 -30  0658 Mar 09  21:49:57   4172 -16596   P   -1.3999  0.2794  71.9S  27.5W   0             
06382 -29  0676 Mar 20  05:00:44   4007 -16373   P   -1.3481  0.3667  72.0S 150.1W   0             
06426 -28  0694 Mar 31  12:04:07   3844 -16150   P   -1.2894  0.4669  71.8S  89.3E   0             
06470 -27  0712 Apr 10  18:59:59   3684 -15927   P   -1.2234  0.5805  71.4S  29.1W   0             

06513 -26  0730 Apr 22  01:50:35   3525 -15704   P   -1.1522  0.7044  70.8S 145.8W   0             
06555 -25  0748 May 02  08:36:33   3369 -15481   P   -1.0762  0.8378  70.0S  99.3E   0             
06597 -24  0766 May 13  15:18:08   3216 -15258   As  -0.9955  0.9562  66.1S  17.0W   3   -   03m35s
06638 -23  0784 May 23  21:58:34   3066 -15035   A   -0.9126  0.9653  44.6S 132.5W  24  309  03m30s
06679 -22  0802 Jun 04  04:38:09   2919 -14812   A   -0.8275  0.9711  33.2S 121.9E  34  185  03m12s
06720 -21  0820 Jun 14  11:19:09   2775 -14589   A   -0.7426  0.9759  24.5S  17.9E  42  128  02m49s
06760 -20  0838 Jun 25  18:01:51   2635 -14366   A   -0.6578  0.9798  17.4S  85.4W  49   95  02m24s
06800 -19  0856 Jul 06  00:49:20   2499 -14143   A   -0.5758  0.9831  12.0S 171.0E  55   73  02m00s
06840 -18  0874 Jul 17  07:42:26   2366 -13920   A   -0.4970  0.9856   8.0S  66.7E  60   58  01m39s
06880 -17  0892 Jul 27  14:41:15   2238 -13697   A   -0.4218  0.9877   5.2S  38.6W  65   48  01m22s

06920 -16  0910 Aug 07  21:48:49   2113 -13474   A   -0.3526  0.9891   3.8S 145.8W  69   41  01m10s
06960 -15  0928 Aug 18  05:04:32   1993 -13251   A   -0.2893  0.9902   3.5S 105.1E  73   36  01m01s
07002 -14  0946 Aug 29  12:31:00   1878 -13028   A   -0.2337  0.9909   4.3S   6.6W  76   33  00m55s
07043 -13  0964 Sep 08  20:05:22   1767 -12805   A   -0.1838  0.9914   5.8S 120.3W  79   31  00m51s
07083 -12  0982 Sep 20  03:51:25   1660 -12582   A   -0.1426  0.9916   8.0S 122.9E  82   30  00m49s
07125 -11  1000 Sep 30  11:45:53   1558 -12359   A   -0.1075  0.9919  10.6S   4.1E  84   29  00m47s
07167 -10  1018 Oct 11  19:50:54   1461 -12136   A   -0.0806  0.9923  13.5S 117.3W  85   27  00m45s
07209 -09  1036 Oct 22  04:03:26   1368 -11913   A   -0.0593  0.9928  16.4S 119.5E  87   25  00m42s
07252 -08  1054 Nov 02  12:25:18   1280 -11690   A   -0.0451  0.9937  19.2S   5.8W  87   22  00m38s
07295 -07  1072 Nov 12  20:52:43   1197 -11467   A   -0.0348  0.9948  21.6S 132.2W  88   18  00m31s

07339 -06  1090 Nov 24  05:25:50   1118 -11244   A   -0.0286  0.9965  23.5S 100.3E  88   12  00m21s
07385 -05  1108 Dec 04  14:02:16   1043 -11021   A   -0.0245  0.9986  24.7S  27.7W  88    5  00m08s
07431 -04  1126 Dec 15  22:41:48    973 -10798   H   -0.0228  1.0013  25.0S 156.4W  89    5  00m08s
07476 -03  1144 Dec 26  07:20:32    907 -10575   H   -0.0195  1.0046  24.3S  75.1E  89   16  00m28s
07521 -02  1163 Jan 06  15:58:40    844 -10352   H   -0.0151  1.0084  22.6S  53.4W  89   29  00m51s
07567 -01  1181 Jan 17  00:33:25    786 -10129   H   -0.0073  1.0127  19.8S 178.5E  89   44  01m17s
07612  00  1199 Jan 28  09:05:27    732  -9906   H2   0.0033  1.0174  16.2S  50.5E  90   60  01m45s
07657  01  1217 Feb 07  17:30:25    681  -9683   T    0.0204  1.0226  11.7S  76.2W  89   77  02m15s
07703  02  1235 Feb 19  01:50:49    633  -9460   Tm   0.0419  1.0280   6.6S 157.8E  88   95  02m45s
07748  03  1253 Mar 01  10:02:56    589  -9237   T    0.0710  1.0336   0.8S  33.4E  86  113  03m15s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 108

                         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

07792  04  1271 Mar 12  18:09:34    547  -9014   T    0.1052  1.0392   5.4N  89.9W  84  132  03m44s
07835  05  1289 Mar 23  02:07:05    508  -8791   T    0.1475  1.0448  12.1N 148.9E  81  151  04m10s
07877  06  1307 Apr 03  09:59:42    472  -8568   T    0.1946  1.0501  18.9N  29.0E  79  169  04m33s
07919  07  1325 Apr 13  17:44:29    438  -8345   T    0.2487  1.0551  26.0N  88.8W  75  188  04m50s
07960  08  1343 Apr 25  01:24:16    406  -8122   T    0.3077  1.0597  33.1N 155.2E  72  206  05m02s
08002  09  1361 May 05  08:58:03    376  -7899   T    0.3722  1.0635  40.2N  41.4E  68  224  05m07s
08043  10  1379 May 16  16:28:59    348  -7676   T    0.4396  1.0668  47.0N  70.5W  64  243  05m07s
08084  11  1397 May 26  23:56:51    321  -7453   T    0.5101  1.0692  53.4N 179.9W  59  263  05m01s
08124  12  1415 Jun 07  07:22:41    296  -7230   T    0.5827  1.0708  59.2N  73.7E  54  284  04m51s
08164  13  1433 Jun 17  14:48:42    273  -7007   T    0.6558  1.0714  64.0N  29.5W  49  309  04m38s

08204  14  1451 Jun 28  22:15:28    250  -6784   T    0.7287  1.0711  67.5N 128.8W  43  339  04m23s
08243  15  1469 Jul 09  05:44:22    229  -6561   T    0.8000  1.0697  69.3N 134.7E  37  380  04m06s
08283  16  1487 Jul 20  13:15:36    209  -6338   T    0.8696  1.0673  69.3N  39.6E  29  446  03m47s
08324  17  1505 Jul 30  20:51:55    190  -6115   T    0.9352  1.0635  67.9N  55.6W  20  593  03m25s
08366  18  1523 Aug 11  04:33:16    173  -5892   Tn   0.9969  1.0558  62.7N 135.9W   2   -   02m44s
08407  19  1541 Aug 21  12:20:07    157  -5669   P    1.0541  0.9172  61.3N 102.0E   0             
08448  20  1559 Sep 01  20:13:59    143  -5446   P    1.1056  0.8172  61.1N  25.3W   0             
08489  21  1577 Sep 12  04:15:22    130  -5223   P    1.1507  0.7297  61.0N 154.4W   0             
08530  22  1595 Oct 03  12:24:36    121  -5000   P    1.1896  0.6546  61.1N  74.6E   0             
08571  23  1613 Oct 13  20:40:24    102  -4777   P    1.2232  0.5902  61.3N  58.2W   0             

08615  24  1631 Oct 25  05:04:15     76  -4554   P    1.2502  0.5384  61.7N 167.0E   0             
08660  25  1649 Nov 04  13:35:08     49  -4331   P    1.2716  0.4977  62.2N  30.2E   0             
08706  26  1667 Nov 15  22:12:06     26  -4108   P    1.2880  0.4667  62.9N 108.2W   0             
08751  27  1685 Nov 26  06:54:43     11  -3885   P    1.3000  0.4442  63.7N 111.8E   0             
08796  28  1703 Dec 08  15:41:30      9  -3662   P    1.3086  0.4281  64.6N  29.5W   0             
08841  29  1721 Dec 19  00:31:51     10  -3439   P    1.3144  0.4172  65.7N 172.0W   0             
08887  30  1739 Dec 30  09:22:03     12  -3216   P    1.3203  0.4062  66.7N  45.1E   0             
08933  31  1758 Jan 09  18:13:42     14  -2993   P    1.3251  0.3972  67.8N  98.7W   0             
08978  32  1776 Jan 21  03:02:27     16  -2770   P    1.3318  0.3847  68.8N 117.6E   0             
09024  33  1794 Jan 31  11:48:45     15  -2547   P    1.3407  0.3680  69.8N  26.0W   0             

09069  34  1812 Feb 12  20:28:40     12  -2324   P    1.3545  0.3422  70.7N 168.8W   0             
09114  35  1830 Feb 23  05:04:13      7  -2101   P    1.3716  0.3100  71.3N  49.0E   0             
09158  36  1848 Mar 05  13:31:35      7  -1878   P    1.3950  0.2662  71.8N  91.7W   0             
09201  37  1866 Mar 16  21:51:25      5  -1655   P    1.4241  0.2114  72.0N 129.2E   0             
09243  38  1884 Mar 27  06:02:11     -6  -1432   P    1.4602  0.1436  72.0N   7.7W   0             
09285  39  1902 Apr 08  14:05:06      0  -1209   Pe   1.5024  0.0643  71.7N 142.4W   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