Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 123

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 123

Solar eclipses of Saros 123 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 1074 Apr 29. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2318 May 31. The total duration of Saros series 123 is 1244.08 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   1074 Apr 29   01:23:46 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   2318 May 31   05:42:33 TD

                      Duration of Saros 123  =  1244.08 Years

Saros 123 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 123
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 70100.0%
PartialP 26 37.1%
AnnularA 27 38.6%
TotalT 14 20.0%
Hybrid[3]H 3 4.3%

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 123 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 123
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 44100.0%
Central (two limits) 42 95.5%
Central (one limit) 1 2.3%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.3%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 123: 6P 27A 3H 14T 20P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 123 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 123
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 1398 Nov 0908m07s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 1651 Apr 1900m14s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 1813 Jul 2703m27s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 1939 Oct 1201m32s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1705 May 2201m32s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1669 Apr 3000m22s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 1975 Nov 03 - 0.95882
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 1074 Apr 29 - 0.11514

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 123

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 123. 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 123.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 123

                         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

07299 -33  1074 Apr 29  01:23:46   1190 -11449   Pb   1.4965  0.1151  62.2N  39.8E   0             
07343 -32  1092 May 09  07:55:04   1111 -11226   P    1.4182  0.2481  62.8N  67.4W   0             
07389 -31  1110 May 20  14:22:27   1037 -11003   P    1.3362  0.3876  63.6N 173.8W   0             
07434 -30  1128 May 30  20:45:57    967 -10780   P    1.2507  0.5336  64.5N  80.5E   0             
07479 -29  1146 Jun 11  03:09:15    901 -10557   P    1.1642  0.6817  65.4N  25.5W   0             
07524 -28  1164 Jun 21  09:30:36    840 -10334   P    1.0754  0.8336  66.4N 131.2W   0             
07570 -27  1182 Jul 02  15:55:48    782 -10111   An   0.9892  0.9368  74.6N 120.1E   7   -   03m50s
07615 -26  1200 Jul 12  22:22:50    728  -9888   A    0.9039  0.9409  83.6N 101.5W  25  521  04m12s
07660 -25  1218 Jul 24  04:55:35    677  -9665   A    0.8225  0.9425  72.3N 135.3E  34  376  04m34s
07706 -24  1236 Aug 03  11:33:03    629  -9442   A    0.7441  0.9432  61.9N  29.8E  42  314  04m57s

07751 -23  1254 Aug 14  18:19:43    585  -9219   A    0.6726  0.9433  52.6N  75.8W  47  282  05m23s
07795 -22  1272 Aug 25  01:13:45    544  -8996   A    0.6067  0.9430  43.9N 177.3E  52  264  05m50s
07838 -21  1290 Sep 05  08:17:10    505  -8773   A    0.5480  0.9424  35.8N  68.4E  57  253  06m17s
07880 -20  1308 Sep 15  15:30:02    469  -8550   A    0.4964  0.9417  28.2N  42.6W  60  247  06m43s
07922 -19  1326 Sep 26  22:53:53    435  -8327   A    0.4531  0.9409  21.3N 156.1W  63  244  07m07s
07963 -18  1344 Oct 07  06:26:57    404  -8104   A    0.4170  0.9402  15.1N  88.4E  65  242  07m29s
08005 -17  1362 Oct 18  14:09:27    374  -7881   A    0.3879  0.9397   9.6N  29.1W  67  241  07m48s
08046 -16  1380 Oct 28  22:00:47    346  -7658   A    0.3656  0.9395   4.9N 148.4W  69  240  08m01s
08087 -15  1398 Nov 09  06:00:34    319  -7435   A    0.3493  0.9397   1.1N  90.5E  70  238  08m07s
08127 -14  1416 Nov 19  14:05:55    294  -7212   A    0.3370  0.9404   1.8S  31.6W  70  234  08m05s

08167 -13  1434 Nov 30  22:17:34    271  -6989   A    0.3290  0.9416   3.7S 155.0W  71  229  07m54s
08207 -12  1452 Dec 11  06:31:53    248  -6766   A    0.3224  0.9434   4.8S  81.1E  71  221  07m32s
08246 -11  1470 Dec 22  14:49:05    227  -6543   A    0.3175  0.9458   4.9S  43.4W  72  210  07m02s
08286 -10  1489 Jan 01  23:04:27    207  -6320   A    0.3102  0.9489   4.3S 167.5W  72  197  06m24s
08327 -09  1507 Jan 13  07:20:10    189  -6097   A    0.3024  0.9526   3.0S  68.3E  72  181  05m42s
08369 -08  1525 Jan 23  15:31:21    171  -5874   A    0.2897  0.9569   1.2S  54.8W  73  163  04m58s
08411 -07  1543 Feb 03  23:38:52    155  -5651   A    0.2735  0.9617   1.0N 177.0W  74  143  04m14s
08452 -06  1561 Feb 14  07:39:21    141  -5428   A    0.2507  0.9670   3.4N  62.6E  75  122  03m30s
08493 -05  1579 Feb 25  15:34:47    129  -5205   A    0.2229  0.9728   6.0N  56.4W  77  100  02m48s
08534 -04  1597 Mar 17  23:22:39    120  -4982   A    0.1878  0.9788   8.4N 173.3W  79   77  02m08s

08575 -03  1615 Mar 29  07:03:24    100  -4759   A    0.1461  0.9851  10.7N  71.7E  82   53  01m28s
08619 -02  1633 Apr 08  14:37:06     74  -4536   A    0.0976  0.9913  12.4N  41.2W  84   31  00m51s
08664 -01  1651 Apr 19  22:04:37     47  -4313   A    0.0433  0.9976  13.7N 152.4W  87    8  00m14s
08710  00  1669 Apr 30  05:26:07     24  -4090   H   -0.0171  1.0036  14.1N  98.2E  89   13  00m22s
08755  01  1687 May 11  12:42:28     10  -3867   H   -0.0828  1.0094  13.6N   9.9W  85   33  00m57s
08800  02  1705 May 22  19:55:06      9  -3644   Hm  -0.1525  1.0147  12.2N 117.0W  81   51  01m32s
08845  03  1723 Jun 03  03:05:13     10  -3421   T   -0.2251  1.0196   9.6N 136.1E  77   69  02m05s
08891  04  1741 Jun 13  10:12:48     12  -3198   T   -0.3007  1.0239   6.0N  29.4E  73   85  02m35s
08937  05  1759 Jun 24  17:20:59     14  -2975   T   -0.3768  1.0275   1.4N  78.1W  68  101  02m59s
08983  06  1777 Jul 05  00:29:29     17  -2752   T   -0.4531  1.0305   4.2S 173.7E  63  115  03m17s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 123

                         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

09029  07  1795 Jul 16  07:41:36     15  -2529   T   -0.5274  1.0327  10.4S  63.8E  58  130  03m26s
09074  08  1813 Jul 27  14:55:35     12  -2306   T   -0.6006  1.0341  17.4S  47.4W  53  144  03m27s
09119  09  1831 Aug 07  22:15:59      7  -2083   T   -0.6691  1.0349  24.9S 160.9W  48  158  03m20s
09163  10  1849 Aug 18  05:40:49      7  -1860   T   -0.7343  1.0349  32.9S  83.5E  43  172  03m07s
09205  11  1867 Aug 29  13:13:07      3  -1637   T   -0.7940  1.0344  41.1S  34.9W  37  189  02m51s
09247  12  1885 Sep 08  20:51:52     -6  -1414   T   -0.8489  1.0332  49.6S 156.5W  32  211  02m31s
09289  13  1903 Sep 21  04:39:52      2  -1191   T   -0.8967  1.0316  58.0S  77.2E  26  241  02m12s
09331  14  1921 Oct 01  12:35:58     22   -968   T   -0.9383  1.0293  66.1S  56.1W  20  291  01m52s
09374  15  1939 Oct 12  20:40:23     24   -745   T   -0.9737  1.0266  72.8S 155.1E  12  418  01m32s
09415  16  1957 Oct 23  04:54:02     32   -522   T-  -1.0022  1.0013  71.2S  23.1W   0             

09455  17  1975 Nov 03  13:15:54     46   -299   P   -1.0248  0.9588  70.4S 161.7W   0             
09494  18  1993 Nov 13  21:45:51     60    -76   P   -1.0411  0.9280  69.6S  58.3E   0             
09534  19  2011 Nov 25  06:21:24     68    147   P   -1.0536  0.9047  68.6S  82.4W   0             
09574  20  2029 Dec 05  15:03:58     77    370   P   -1.0609  0.8911  67.5S 135.7E   0             
09614  21  2047 Dec 16  23:50:12     91    593   P   -1.0661  0.8816  66.4S   6.6W   0             
09655  22  2065 Dec 27  08:39:56    126    816   P   -1.0688  0.8769  65.4S 149.2W   0             
09696  23  2084 Jan 07  17:30:24    166   1039   P   -1.0715  0.8723  64.4S  68.5E   0             
09737  24  2102 Jan 19  02:21:30    207   1262   P   -1.0741  0.8682  63.5S  73.6W   0             
09778  25  2120 Jan 30  11:09:56    251   1485   P   -1.0792  0.8594  62.7S 145.3E   0             
09819  26  2138 Feb 09  19:55:23    297   1708   P   -1.0872  0.8453  62.1S   5.1E   0             

09861  27  2156 Feb 21  04:36:02    341   1931   P   -1.0995  0.8230  61.6S 133.7W   0             
09903  28  2174 Mar 03  13:11:54    381   2154   P   -1.1162  0.7924  61.3S  88.7E   0             
09947  29  2192 Mar 13  21:40:00    423   2377   P   -1.1395  0.7491  61.1S  46.8W   0             
09992  30  2210 Mar 26  06:01:57    466   2600   P   -1.1680  0.6954  61.1S 179.2E   0             
10035  31  2228 Apr 05  14:15:36    512   2823   P   -1.2036  0.6279  61.3S  47.3E   0             
10079  32  2246 Apr 16  22:23:24    560   3046   P   -1.2445  0.5498  61.6S  83.2W   0             
10124  33  2264 Apr 27  06:21:41    611   3269   P   -1.2931  0.4564  62.1S 148.5E   0             
10169  34  2282 May 08  14:15:16    663   3492   P   -1.3458  0.3545  62.7S  21.3E   0             
10215  35  2300 May 19  22:00:39    717   3715   P   -1.4049  0.2399  63.4S 104.1W   0             
10260  36  2318 May 31  05:42:33    773   3938   Pe  -1.4670  0.1192  64.2S 131.2E   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