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 118 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 0803 May 24. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2083 Jul 15. The total duration of Saros series 118 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0803 May 24 13:35:52 TD Last Eclipse = 2083 Jul 15 00:14:23 TD Duration of Saros 118 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 118 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 118 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.8% |
| Annular | A | 15 | 20.8% |
| Total | T | 40 | 55.6% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.8% |
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 118 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 118 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 57 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 56 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 118: 8P 40T 2H 15A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 118 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 118 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1849 Feb 23 | 01m58s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1704 Nov 27 | 00m01s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1398 May 16 | 06m59s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1650 Oct 25 | 01m26s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1668 Nov 04 | 00m57s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1686 Nov 15 | 00m28s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0929 Aug 07 | - | 0.98805 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0803 May 24 | - | 0.01225 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 118. 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 118.
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
06682 -36 0803 May 24 13:35:52 2911 -14800 Pb -1.5325 0.0122 68.1S 0.7W 0
06723 -35 0821 Jun 03 20:45:44 2768 -14577 P -1.4545 0.1561 67.1S 119.9W 0
06763 -34 0839 Jun 15 03:56:24 2628 -14354 P -1.3758 0.3023 66.1S 121.2E 0
06803 -33 0857 Jun 25 11:08:23 2491 -14131 P -1.2972 0.4494 65.1S 2.5E 0
06843 -32 0875 Jul 06 18:24:50 2359 -13908 P -1.2210 0.5929 64.2S 117.0W 0
06883 -31 0893 Jul 17 01:45:18 2231 -13685 P -1.1469 0.7327 63.4S 122.8E 0
06923 -30 0911 Jul 28 09:12:23 2107 -13462 P -1.0774 0.8640 62.6S 1.2E 0
06963 -29 0929 Aug 07 16:45:08 1987 -13239 P -1.0118 0.9880 62.0S 121.6W 0
07004 -28 0947 Aug 19 00:26:53 1872 -13016 T -0.9527 1.0357 51.3S 139.1E 17 393 02m29s
07045 -27 0965 Aug 29 08:15:51 1761 -12793 T -0.8990 1.0377 47.1S 24.8E 26 283 02m41s
07085 -26 0983 Sep 09 16:13:17 1655 -12570 T -0.8518 1.0386 45.7S 93.8W 31 242 02m44s
07127 -25 1001 Sep 20 00:19:08 1553 -12347 T -0.8111 1.0388 46.1S 144.9E 36 218 02m43s
07169 -24 1019 Oct 01 08:34:20 1456 -12124 T -0.7781 1.0386 47.8S 20.9E 39 202 02m40s
07211 -23 1037 Oct 11 16:57:23 1363 -11901 T -0.7512 1.0382 50.3S 104.8W 41 191 02m36s
07254 -22 1055 Oct 23 01:27:47 1276 -11678 T -0.7301 1.0377 53.4S 128.1E 43 183 02m32s
07297 -21 1073 Nov 02 10:05:13 1192 -11455 T -0.7148 1.0373 56.8S 0.1E 44 178 02m29s
07341 -20 1091 Nov 13 18:48:57 1114 -11232 T -0.7047 1.0371 60.3S 128.2W 45 175 02m26s
07387 -19 1109 Nov 24 03:36:12 1039 -11009 T -0.6974 1.0372 63.5S 104.6E 46 175 02m26s
07433 -18 1127 Dec 05 12:27:08 969 -10786 T -0.6930 1.0377 65.9S 21.2W 46 176 02m28s
07478 -17 1145 Dec 15 21:18:46 903 -10563 T -0.6892 1.0387 67.0S 145.0W 46 180 02m32s
07523 -16 1163 Dec 27 06:11:27 841 -10340 T -0.6860 1.0400 66.6S 91.5E 46 185 02m38s
07569 -15 1182 Jan 06 15:00:32 783 -10117 T -0.6802 1.0419 64.4S 32.7W 47 192 02m48s
07614 -14 1200 Jan 17 23:48:29 729 -9894 T -0.6731 1.0443 61.0S 159.1W 47 200 03m01s
07659 -13 1218 Jan 28 08:30:17 678 -9671 T -0.6613 1.0470 56.5S 73.1E 48 209 03m17s
07705 -12 1236 Feb 08 17:07:28 631 -9448 T -0.6454 1.0501 51.3S 55.5W 50 217 03m36s
07750 -11 1254 Feb 19 01:36:18 586 -9225 T -0.6227 1.0534 45.4S 176.3E 51 225 03m59s
07794 -10 1272 Mar 01 09:59:32 545 -9002 T -0.5954 1.0569 39.2S 48.6E 53 232 04m24s
07837 -09 1290 Mar 12 18:13:59 506 -8779 T -0.5611 1.0604 32.7S 77.6W 56 238 04m52s
07879 -08 1308 Mar 23 02:21:00 470 -8556 T -0.5205 1.0638 25.9S 157.8E 58 243 05m21s
07921 -07 1326 Apr 03 10:19:38 436 -8333 T -0.4731 1.0668 19.0S 35.3E 62 246 05m49s
07962 -06 1344 Apr 13 18:11:36 405 -8110 T -0.4200 1.0695 12.0S 85.4W 65 249 06m15s
08004 -05 1362 Apr 25 01:56:16 375 -7887 T -0.3611 1.0717 5.2S 155.9E 69 249 06m37s
08045 -04 1380 May 05 09:34:58 347 -7664 T -0.2973 1.0732 1.5N 39.2E 73 249 06m52s
08086 -03 1398 May 16 17:08:41 320 -7441 T -0.2294 1.0741 7.7N 75.7W 77 247 06m59s
08126 -02 1416 May 27 00:38:48 295 -7218 T -0.1584 1.0742 13.5N 171.0E 81 244 06m56s
08166 -01 1434 Jun 07 08:05:20 271 -6995 T -0.0847 1.0735 18.7N 59.3E 85 239 06m45s
08206 00 1452 Jun 17 15:30:42 249 -6772 Tm -0.0102 1.0719 23.0N 51.3W 90 234 06m26s
08245 01 1470 Jun 28 22:54:56 228 -6549 T 0.0650 1.0695 26.4N 161.0W 86 227 06m02s
08285 02 1488 Jul 09 06:20:51 208 -6326 T 0.1384 1.0663 28.9N 89.5E 82 219 05m36s
08326 03 1506 Jul 20 13:46:58 189 -6103 T 0.2112 1.0623 30.4N 19.8W 78 209 05m08s
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
08368 04 1524 Jul 30 21:17:39 172 -5880 T 0.2797 1.0577 30.8N 130.2W 74 198 04m40s
08410 05 1542 Aug 11 04:51:06 156 -5657 T 0.3454 1.0525 30.6N 118.6E 70 184 04m12s
08451 06 1560 Aug 21 12:30:55 142 -5434 T 0.4050 1.0469 29.7N 5.3E 66 170 03m44s
08492 07 1578 Sep 01 20:15:08 130 -5211 T 0.4602 1.0408 28.4N 109.6W 62 152 03m17s
08533 08 1596 Sep 22 04:07:03 120 -4988 T 0.5085 1.0346 26.8N 133.0E 59 134 02m50s
08574 09 1614 Oct 03 12:04:51 101 -4765 T 0.5511 1.0282 25.2N 13.5E 56 113 02m22s
08618 10 1632 Oct 13 20:09:39 75 -4542 T 0.5873 1.0220 23.7N 108.2W 54 91 01m55s
08663 11 1650 Oct 25 04:21:25 48 -4319 T 0.6170 1.0159 22.3N 127.9E 52 68 01m26s
08709 12 1668 Nov 04 12:40:05 25 -4096 H 0.6401 1.0102 21.1N 1.8E 50 45 00m57s
08754 13 1686 Nov 15 21:05:00 10 -3873 H 0.6578 1.0048 20.2N 126.0W 49 22 00m28s
08799 14 1704 Nov 27 05:33:53 9 -3650 A 0.6716 0.9999 19.7N 104.9E 48 1 00m01s
08844 15 1722 Dec 08 14:07:35 10 -3427 A 0.6808 0.9955 19.5N 25.4W 47 21 00m28s
08890 16 1740 Dec 18 22:43:17 12 -3204 A 0.6876 0.9917 19.9N 156.4W 46 40 00m53s
08936 17 1758 Dec 30 07:20:12 14 -2981 A 0.6929 0.9885 20.8N 72.2E 46 56 01m15s
08982 18 1777 Jan 09 15:55:35 17 -2758 A 0.6988 0.9859 22.4N 58.9W 46 70 01m32s
09028 19 1795 Jan 21 00:29:13 15 -2535 A 0.7055 0.9837 24.8N 170.3E 45 81 01m44s
09073 20 1813 Feb 01 08:58:27 12 -2312 A 0.7152 0.9820 27.9N 40.4E 44 91 01m53s
09118 21 1831 Feb 12 17:21:45 7 -2089 A 0.7288 0.9807 31.9N 88.3W 43 100 01m57s
09162 22 1849 Feb 23 01:38:09 7 -1866 A 0.7475 0.9796 36.7N 144.3E 41 108 01m58s
09204 23 1867 Mar 06 09:46:48 4 -1643 A 0.7716 0.9787 42.3N 18.4E 39 118 01m57s
09246 24 1885 Mar 16 17:45:43 -6 -1420 A 0.8030 0.9778 48.9N 106.1W 36 132 01m55s
09288 25 1903 Mar 29 01:35:23 2 -1197 A 0.8413 0.9767 56.2N 130.3E 32 153 01m53s
09330 26 1921 Apr 08 09:15:01 22 -974 A 0.8869 0.9753 64.5N 5.6E 27 192 01m50s
09373 27 1939 Apr 19 16:45:53 24 -751 A 0.9388 0.9731 73.1N 129.1W 20 285 01m49s
09414 28 1957 Apr 30 00:05:28 32 -528 A+ 0.9992 0.9799 70.6N 40.3E 0
09454 29 1975 May 11 07:17:33 46 -305 P 1.0647 0.8636 69.7N 80.2W 0
09493 30 1993 May 21 14:20:15 59 -82 P 1.1372 0.7352 68.8N 162.3E 0
09532 31 2011 Jun 01 21:17:18 67 141 P 1.2130 0.6010 67.8N 46.8E 0
09572 32 2029 Jun 12 04:06:13 77 364 P 1.2943 0.4576 66.8N 66.2W 0
09612 33 2047 Jun 23 10:52:31 91 587 P 1.3766 0.3129 65.8N 178.0W 0
09653 34 2065 Jul 03 17:33:52 125 810 P 1.4619 0.1638 64.8N 71.9E 0
09694 35 2083 Jul 15 00:14:23 165 1033 Pe 1.5465 0.0168 64.0N 37.7W 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)"
