Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 120

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 120

Solar eclipses of Saros 120 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 0933 May 27. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2195 Jul 07. The total duration of Saros series 120 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   0933 May 27   04:10:41 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   2195 Jul 07   15:41:21 TD

                      Duration of Saros 120  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 120 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 120
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PartialP 16 22.5%
AnnularA 25 35.2%
TotalT 26 36.6%
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 120 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 120
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 55100.0%
Central (two limits) 55100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 120: 7P 25A 4H 26T 9P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 120 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 120
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 1113 Sep 1106m24s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 1492 Apr 2600m16s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 1997 Mar 0902m50s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 1582 Jun 2001m59s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1564 Jun 0801m44s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1510 May 0800m22s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 2051 Apr 11 - 0.98490
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 2195 Jul 07 - 0.03534

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 120

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 120. 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 120.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 120

                         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

06972 -33  0933 May 27  04:10:41   1962 -13192   Pb  -1.5258  0.0630  67.7S 132.3E   0             
07013 -32  0951 Jun 07  10:33:36   1848 -12969   P   -1.4414  0.2073  66.7S  25.1E   0             
07054 -31  0969 Jun 17  16:54:26   1738 -12746   P   -1.3547  0.3558  65.7S  81.0W   0             
07094 -30  0987 Jun 28  23:17:31   1633 -12523   P   -1.2690  0.5024  64.8S 172.8E   0             
07136 -29  1005 Jul 09  05:42:18   1532 -12300   P   -1.1837  0.6481  63.9S  66.5E   0             
07178 -28  1023 Jul 20  12:11:29   1436 -12077   P   -1.1015  0.7883  63.0S  40.6W   0             
07220 -27  1041 Jul 30  18:45:44   1345 -11854   P   -1.0226  0.9223  62.3S 148.7W   0             
07263 -26  1059 Aug 11  01:27:30   1258 -11631   A   -0.9493  0.9337  49.9S 125.8E  18  775  06m10s
07307 -25  1077 Aug 21  08:17:11   1175 -11408   A   -0.8817  0.9344  43.9S  27.0E  28  502  06m21s
07351 -24  1095 Sep 01  15:14:39   1097 -11185   A   -0.8197  0.9343  41.2S  76.0W  35  414  06m24s

07397 -23  1113 Sep 11  22:22:41   1024 -10962   A   -0.7658  0.9336  40.5S 177.7E  40  373  06m24s
07442 -22  1131 Sep 23  05:39:54    955 -10739   A   -0.7188  0.9328  41.2S  68.9E  44  351  06m24s
07487 -21  1149 Oct 03  13:08:11    890 -10516   A   -0.6802  0.9320  43.0S  42.7W  47  339  06m24s
07532 -20  1167 Oct 14  20:44:41    829 -10293   A   -0.6477  0.9313  45.4S 156.0W  49  332  06m24s
07578 -19  1185 Oct 25  04:31:56    771 -10070   A   -0.6233  0.9308  48.4S  88.5E  51  328  06m24s
07623 -18  1203 Nov 05  12:25:54    718  -9847   A   -0.6037  0.9307  51.4S  27.9W  53  323  06m23s
07669 -17  1221 Nov 15  20:27:28    668  -9624   A   -0.5900  0.9310  54.2S 145.0W  54  319  06m20s
07715 -16  1239 Nov 27  04:33:35    621  -9401   A   -0.5795  0.9318  56.5S  98.1E  54  313  06m16s
07760 -15  1257 Dec 07  12:44:36    577  -9178   A   -0.5725  0.9332  57.9S  18.9W  55  305  06m09s
07804 -14  1275 Dec 18  20:56:34    537  -8955   A   -0.5657  0.9352  58.0S 135.5W  55  294  06m00s

07847 -13  1293 Dec 29  05:09:12    499  -8732   A   -0.5588  0.9379  56.8S 107.6E  56  279  05m48s
07889 -12  1312 Jan 09  13:20:03    463  -8509   A   -0.5500  0.9413  54.3S  10.2W  56  261  05m33s
07930 -11  1330 Jan 19  21:28:48    429  -8286   A   -0.5391  0.9452  50.6S 129.0W  57  240  05m16s
07971 -10  1348 Jan 31  05:31:34    398  -8063   A   -0.5226  0.9499  46.0S 111.9E  58  216  04m55s
08012 -09  1366 Feb 10  13:29:55    369  -7840   A   -0.5016  0.9549  40.6S   7.4W  60  190  04m32s
08053 -08  1384 Feb 21  21:20:45    341  -7617   A   -0.4738  0.9605  34.6S 126.0W  62  162  04m05s
08094 -07  1402 Mar 04  05:06:39    315  -7394   A   -0.4410  0.9665  28.2S 115.9E  64  134  03m34s
08134 -06  1420 Mar 14  12:42:57    290  -7171   A   -0.3994  0.9727  21.4S   0.3W  66  106  02m59s
08174 -05  1438 Mar 25  20:14:23    266  -6948   A   -0.3529  0.9790  14.5S 115.5W  69   80  02m21s
08214 -04  1456 Apr 05  03:37:14    244  -6725   A   -0.2980  0.9853   7.3S 131.5E  73   54  01m40s

08254 -03  1474 Apr 16  10:55:48    223  -6502   A   -0.2387  0.9916   0.2S  19.7E  76   30  00m58s
08294 -02  1492 Apr 26  18:07:10    204  -6279   A   -0.1723  0.9976   6.8N  90.0W  80    8  00m16s
08335 -01  1510 May 08  01:16:15    185  -6056   H   -0.1030  1.0033  13.5N 161.4E  84   12  00m22s
08377  00  1528 May 18  08:21:05    168  -5833   H   -0.0290  1.0085  19.9N  54.6E  88   29  00m56s
08418  01  1546 May 29  15:24:40    153  -5610   H    0.0470  1.0133  25.7N  51.0W  87   46  01m24s
08459  02  1564 Jun 08  22:26:49    139  -5387   H2   0.1253  1.0174  30.8N 155.4W  83   60  01m44s
08500  03  1582 Jun 20  05:30:27    128  -5164   T    0.2032  1.0210  35.0N 100.8E  78   73  01m59s
08541  04  1600 Jul 10  12:35:58    118  -4941   T    0.2804  1.0238  38.2N   2.7W  74   84  02m08s
08583  05  1618 Jul 21  19:44:30     96  -4718   T    0.3558  1.0260  40.4N 106.3W  69   94  02m13s
08627  06  1636 Aug 01  02:58:15     69  -4495   T    0.4279  1.0275  41.5N 148.9E  64  103  02m15s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 120

                         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

08673  07  1654 Aug 12  10:17:43     42  -4272   T    0.4962  1.0285  41.7N  42.5E  60  110  02m16s
08719  08  1672 Aug 22  17:44:06     21  -4049   T    0.5594  1.0288  41.2N  66.2W  56  117  02m15s
08764  09  1690 Sep 03  01:17:47      9  -3826   T    0.6173  1.0287  40.3N 177.4W  52  122  02m13s
08809  10  1708 Sep 14  09:00:22      9  -3603   T    0.6685  1.0281  39.2N  68.3E  48  126  02m10s
08854  11  1726 Sep 25  16:51:45     10  -3380   T    0.7134  1.0273  38.0N  49.0W  44  129  02m07s
08900  12  1744 Oct 06  00:51:24     12  -3157   T    0.7521  1.0263  37.0N 169.1W  41  132  02m04s
08945  13  1762 Oct 17  09:00:34     15  -2934   T    0.7836  1.0253  36.2N  67.6E  38  135  02m02s
08991  14  1780 Oct 27  17:18:27     17  -2711   T    0.8083  1.0244  35.6N  58.6W  36  138  02m00s
09036  15  1798 Nov 08  01:44:39     14  -2488   T    0.8270  1.0237  35.1N 172.5E  34  141  01m59s
09081  16  1816 Nov 19  10:17:23     12  -2265   T    0.8408  1.0233  35.0N  41.5E  33  145  02m00s

09126  17  1834 Nov 30  18:56:35      6  -2042   T    0.8498  1.0233  34.9N  91.6W  32  150  02m02s
09170  18  1852 Dec 11  03:40:44      7  -1819   T    0.8551  1.0237  35.2N 133.9E  31  156  02m05s
09213  19  1870 Dec 22  12:27:33     -0  -1596   T    0.8585  1.0248  35.7N   1.5W  31  165  02m11s
09255  20  1889 Jan 01  21:16:50     -6  -1373   T    0.8603  1.0262  36.7N 137.6W  30  175  02m17s
09297  21  1907 Jan 14  06:05:43      6  -1150   T    0.8628  1.0281  38.3N  86.4E  30  189  02m25s
09339  22  1925 Jan 24  14:54:03     24   -927   T    0.8661  1.0304  40.5N  49.6W  30  206  02m32s
09382  23  1943 Feb 04  23:38:10     26   -704   T    0.8734  1.0331  43.6N 175.1E  29  229  02m39s
09422  24  1961 Feb 15  08:19:48     34   -481   T    0.8830  1.0360  47.4N  40.0E  28  258  02m45s
09462  25  1979 Feb 26  16:55:06     50   -258   T    0.8981  1.0391  52.1N  94.5W  26  298  02m49s
09501  26  1997 Mar 09  01:24:51     62    -35   T    0.9183  1.0420  57.8N 130.7E  23  356  02m50s

09541  27  2015 Mar 20  09:46:47     69    188   T    0.9454  1.0445  64.4N   6.6W  18  463  02m47s
09581  28  2033 Mar 30  18:02:36     80    411   T    0.9778  1.0462  71.3N 155.8W  11  781  02m37s
09621  29  2051 Apr 11  02:10:39     95    634   P    1.0169  0.9849  71.6N  32.2E   0             
09662  30  2069 Apr 21  10:11:09    133    857   P    1.0624  0.8992  71.0N 101.3W   0             
09703  31  2087 May 02  18:04:42    173   1080   P    1.1139  0.8011  70.3N 127.6E   0             
09744  32  2105 May 14  01:52:06    215   1303   P    1.1708  0.6921  69.4N   1.4W   0             
09785  33  2123 May 25  09:33:27    259   1526   P    1.2325  0.5729  68.5N 128.2W   0             
09826  34  2141 Jun 04  17:09:59    305   1749   P    1.2981  0.4458  67.5N 106.7E   0             
09868  35  2159 Jun 16  00:42:44    348   1972   P    1.3668  0.3124  66.5N  17.0W   0             
09911  36  2177 Jun 26  08:13:28    388   2195   P    1.4371  0.1758  65.5N 139.8W   0             

09955  37  2195 Jul 07  15:41:21    430   2418   Pe   1.5095  0.0353  64.6N  98.5E   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)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26