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 115 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 0662 Jun 21. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1942 Aug 12. The total duration of Saros series 115 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0662 Jun 21 15:58:36 TD Last Eclipse = 1942 Aug 12 02:45:12 TD Duration of Saros 115 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 115 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 115 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 17 | 23.6% |
| Annular | A | 14 | 19.4% |
| Total | T | 37 | 51.4% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.6% |
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 115 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 115 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 55 | 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 115: 10P 37T 4H 14A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 115 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 115 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1816 May 27 | 01m54s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1581 Dec 25 | 00m04s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1293 Jul 05 | 06m24s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 0842 Oct 07 | 01m30s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1509 Nov 12 | 01m06s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1563 Dec 15 | 00m10s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0824 Sep 26 | - | 0.99287 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0662 Jun 21 | - | 0.00295 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 115. 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 115.
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
06348 -36 0662 Jun 21 15:58:36 4133 -16543 Pb 1.5377 0.0030 66.0N 148.9E 0
06394 -35 0680 Jul 01 23:10:18 3968 -16320 P 1.4605 0.1456 67.0N 29.8E 0
06438 -34 0698 Jul 13 06:25:23 3806 -16097 P 1.3851 0.2855 68.0N 90.6W 0
06481 -33 0716 Jul 23 13:47:09 3646 -15874 P 1.3140 0.4180 68.9N 146.8E 0
06524 -32 0734 Aug 03 21:14:27 3488 -15651 P 1.2467 0.5437 69.9N 22.2E 0
06566 -31 0752 Aug 14 04:50:37 3333 -15428 P 1.1859 0.6576 70.7N 105.2W 0
06607 -30 0770 Aug 25 12:34:31 3180 -15205 P 1.1309 0.7603 71.3N 125.0E 0
06648 -29 0788 Sep 04 20:26:59 3031 -14982 P 1.0824 0.8508 71.8N 7.6W 0
06689 -28 0806 Sep 16 04:28:29 2884 -14759 P 1.0409 0.9284 72.0N 142.7W 0
06730 -27 0824 Sep 26 12:39:01 2742 -14536 P 1.0062 0.9929 71.9N 79.8E 0
06770 -26 0842 Oct 07 20:58:30 2602 -14313 T 0.9787 1.0229 65.2N 84.3W 11 403 01m30s
06810 -25 0860 Oct 18 05:25:01 2467 -14090 T 0.9565 1.0241 58.5N 134.0E 16 286 01m42s
06850 -24 0878 Oct 29 13:59:59 2335 -13867 T 0.9411 1.0246 53.5N 3.7W 19 250 01m50s
06890 -23 0896 Nov 08 22:40:33 2208 -13644 T 0.9297 1.0251 49.5N 140.8W 21 234 01m57s
06930 -22 0914 Nov 20 07:26:39 2084 -13421 T 0.9225 1.0258 46.5N 81.8E 22 229 02m04s
06970 -21 0932 Nov 30 16:15:34 1965 -13198 T 0.9174 1.0267 44.3N 55.9W 23 230 02m11s
07011 -20 0950 Dec 12 01:07:14 1851 -12975 T 0.9143 1.0281 42.9N 166.1E 24 237 02m19s
07052 -19 0968 Dec 22 09:58:17 1741 -12752 T 0.9105 1.0300 41.8N 28.3E 24 246 02m28s
07093 -18 0987 Jan 02 18:48:09 1636 -12529 T 0.9056 1.0323 41.2N 108.9W 25 257 02m37s
07135 -17 1005 Jan 13 03:34:49 1535 -12306 T 0.8978 1.0352 40.7N 115.1E 26 267 02m48s
07177 -16 1023 Jan 24 12:18:00 1439 -12083 T 0.8869 1.0385 40.5N 19.7W 27 276 03m00s
07219 -15 1041 Feb 03 20:54:13 1347 -11860 T 0.8704 1.0424 40.4N 152.0W 29 283 03m13s
07262 -14 1059 Feb 15 05:24:50 1260 -11637 T 0.8492 1.0465 40.6N 77.7E 32 287 03m26s
07306 -13 1077 Feb 25 13:47:25 1178 -11414 T 0.8214 1.0510 41.0N 49.7W 35 290 03m40s
07350 -12 1095 Mar 08 22:03:57 1100 -11191 T 0.7883 1.0553 41.8N 174.8W 38 291 03m54s
07396 -11 1113 Mar 19 06:10:38 1026 -10968 T 0.7471 1.0598 42.7N 63.6E 41 290 04m08s
07441 -10 1131 Mar 30 14:11:49 957 -10745 T 0.7012 1.0639 43.9N 55.8W 45 289 04m22s
07486 -09 1149 Apr 09 22:04:02 891 -10522 T 0.6479 1.0676 44.9N 171.9W 49 286 04m38s
07531 -08 1167 Apr 21 05:51:40 830 -10299 T 0.5906 1.0709 45.8N 73.9E 54 284 04m53s
07577 -07 1185 May 01 13:30:57 773 -10076 T 0.5264 1.0736 46.0N 37.2W 58 280 05m10s
07622 -06 1203 May 12 21:07:30 719 -9853 T 0.4596 1.0755 45.5N 147.2W 62 275 05m26s
07668 -05 1221 May 23 04:38:19 669 -9630 T 0.3885 1.0767 43.9N 104.3E 67 269 05m43s
07714 -04 1239 Jun 03 12:07:17 622 -9407 T 0.3157 1.0771 41.3N 4.2W 71 263 05m58s
07759 -03 1257 Jun 13 19:33:21 579 -9184 T 0.2409 1.0765 37.6N 112.8W 76 255 06m11s
07803 -02 1275 Jun 25 02:59:56 538 -8961 T 0.1668 1.0752 33.0N 137.5E 80 247 06m21s
07846 -01 1293 Jul 05 10:26:45 499 -8738 T 0.0933 1.0730 27.5N 26.7E 84 238 06m24s
07888 00 1311 Jul 16 17:55:04 464 -8515 Tm 0.0216 1.0700 21.4N 85.4W 89 228 06m20s
07929 01 1329 Jul 27 01:26:16 430 -8292 T -0.0471 1.0662 14.9N 160.9E 87 217 06m08s
07970 02 1347 Aug 07 09:01:38 399 -8069 T -0.1116 1.0618 8.1N 45.7E 84 204 05m48s
08011 03 1365 Aug 17 16:41:46 369 -7846 T -0.1716 1.0569 1.1N 71.2W 80 190 05m22s
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
08052 04 1383 Aug 29 00:27:38 342 -7623 T -0.2262 1.0516 5.9S 170.2E 77 175 04m50s
08093 05 1401 Sep 08 08:20:21 315 -7400 T -0.2746 1.0459 12.8S 49.9E 74 159 04m15s
08133 06 1419 Sep 19 16:20:21 291 -7177 T -0.3162 1.0401 19.5S 72.1W 71 141 03m40s
08173 07 1437 Sep 30 00:26:45 267 -6954 T -0.3519 1.0343 25.9S 164.7E 69 123 03m05s
08213 08 1455 Oct 11 08:40:44 245 -6731 T -0.3809 1.0286 31.8S 40.2E 67 104 02m31s
08253 09 1473 Oct 21 17:01:28 224 -6508 T -0.4040 1.0230 37.3S 85.1W 66 86 02m00s
08293 10 1491 Nov 02 01:28:47 204 -6285 T -0.4209 1.0179 42.0S 148.9E 65 68 01m32s
08334 11 1509 Nov 12 10:00:15 186 -6062 H -0.4338 1.0131 45.8S 23.2E 64 50 01m06s
08376 12 1527 Nov 23 18:36:38 169 -5839 H -0.4422 1.0089 48.6S 102.5W 64 34 00m45s
08417 13 1545 Dec 04 03:15:42 153 -5616 H -0.4480 1.0051 50.1S 132.1E 63 20 00m25s
08458 14 1563 Dec 15 11:55:49 139 -5393 H -0.4524 1.0020 50.3S 6.8E 63 8 00m10s
08499 15 1581 Dec 25 20:35:20 128 -5170 A -0.4567 0.9993 49.4S 118.5W 63 3 00m04s
08540 16 1600 Jan 16 05:12:46 118 -4947 A -0.4623 0.9972 47.4S 115.9E 62 11 00m14s
08582 17 1618 Jan 26 13:46:44 97 -4724 A -0.4700 0.9955 44.7S 9.7W 62 18 00m23s
08626 18 1636 Feb 06 22:14:33 70 -4501 A -0.4825 0.9943 41.6S 134.7W 61 23 00m29s
08672 19 1654 Feb 17 06:36:38 43 -4278 A -0.4991 0.9933 38.3S 100.9E 60 27 00m34s
08718 20 1672 Feb 28 14:50:43 21 -4055 A -0.5218 0.9926 35.2S 22.0W 58 30 00m38s
08763 21 1690 Mar 10 22:56:00 9 -3832 A -0.5512 0.9920 32.5S 143.0W 56 33 00m42s
08808 22 1708 Mar 22 06:51:37 9 -3609 A -0.5879 0.9913 30.4S 98.3E 54 37 00m46s
08853 23 1726 Apr 02 14:38:16 10 -3386 A -0.6313 0.9906 29.2S 18.3W 51 42 00m52s
08899 24 1744 Apr 12 22:15:24 12 -3163 A -0.6819 0.9895 29.1S 132.6W 47 49 00m59s
08944 25 1762 Apr 24 05:42:10 15 -2940 A -0.7402 0.9881 30.3S 115.6E 42 61 01m08s
08990 26 1780 May 04 13:00:42 17 -2717 A -0.8043 0.9861 33.3S 5.9E 36 81 01m21s
09035 27 1798 May 15 20:10:32 14 -2494 A -0.8744 0.9832 38.6S 101.6W 29 121 01m36s
09080 28 1816 May 27 03:13:24 12 -2271 A -0.9492 0.9791 48.0S 153.5E 18 238 01m54s
09125 29 1834 Jun 07 10:08:38 6 -2048 P -1.0291 0.9295 64.6S 55.4E 0
09169 30 1852 Jun 17 16:59:50 7 -1825 P -1.1111 0.7828 65.6S 57.3W 0
09211 31 1870 Jun 28 23:46:43 0 -1602 P -1.1949 0.6335 66.6S 169.4W 0
09253 32 1888 Jul 09 06:30:52 -6 -1379 P -1.2797 0.4832 67.6S 78.8E 0
09295 33 1906 Jul 21 13:14:19 6 -1156 P -1.3637 0.3355 68.6S 33.3W 0
09337 34 1924 Jul 31 19:58:20 24 -933 P -1.4459 0.1920 69.6S 146.0W 0
09380 35 1942 Aug 12 02:45:12 26 -710 Pe -1.5244 0.0561 70.4S 99.9E 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)"
