Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 124

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 124

Solar eclipses of Saros 124 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 1049 Mar 06. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2347 May 11. The total duration of Saros series 124 is 1298.17 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   1049 Mar 06   16:00:57 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   2347 May 11   12:07:08 TD

                      Duration of Saros 124  =  1298.17 Years

Saros 124 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 124
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 73100.0%
PartialP 29 39.7%
AnnularA 0 0.0%
TotalT 43 58.9%
Hybrid[3]H 1 1.4%

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 124 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 124
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 44100.0%
Central (two limits) 44100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 124: 9P 43T 1H 20P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 124 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 124
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 1734 May 0305m46s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 1968 Sep 2200m40s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1986 Oct 0300m00s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 1986 Oct 0300m00s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 1193 Jun 01 - 0.93315
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 1049 Mar 06 - 0.01379

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 124

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 124. 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 124.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 124

                         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

07239 -37  1049 Mar 06  16:00:57   1307 -11760   Pb  -1.5374  0.0138  71.9S  47.7E   0             
07283 -36  1067 Mar 17  23:50:58   1222 -11537   P   -1.4938  0.0904  71.9S  84.3W   0             
07327 -35  1085 Mar 28  07:34:42   1142 -11314   P   -1.4444  0.1790  71.8S 145.3E   0             
07372 -34  1103 Apr 08  15:12:10   1066 -11091   P   -1.3890  0.2797  71.4S  16.9E   0             
07417 -33  1121 Apr 18  22:43:16    994 -10868   P   -1.3276  0.3929  70.7S 109.5W   0             
07462 -32  1139 Apr 30  06:10:02    927 -10645   P   -1.2616  0.5159  70.0S 125.8E   0             
07507 -31  1157 May 10  13:32:54    864 -10422   P   -1.1912  0.6486  69.1S   2.6E   0             
07552 -30  1175 May 21  20:53:01    804 -10199   P   -1.1176  0.7882  68.1S 119.3W   0             
07598 -29  1193 Jun 01  04:11:37    748  -9976   P   -1.0418  0.9331  67.1S 119.8E   0             
07643 -28  1211 Jun 12  11:30:10    696  -9753   T   -0.9649  1.0434  51.7S   3.4E  15  569  03m20s

07689 -27  1229 Jun 22  18:50:32    648  -9530   T   -0.8886  1.0496  39.0S 109.7W  27  360  04m10s
07734 -26  1247 Jul 04  02:11:47    602  -9307   T   -0.8122  1.0539  30.9S 137.9E  35  304  04m42s
07778 -25  1265 Jul 14  09:37:31    560  -9084   T   -0.7388  1.0568  25.3S  25.1E  42  275  04m59s
07821 -24  1283 Jul 25  17:06:40    520  -8861   T   -0.6677  1.0587  21.4S  88.1W  48  256  05m07s
07864 -23  1301 Aug 05  00:42:42    483  -8638   T   -0.6019  1.0597  19.1S 157.3E  53  242  05m07s
07906 -22  1319 Aug 16  08:23:22    448  -8415   T   -0.5396  1.0600  18.0S  41.9E  57  231  05m01s
07947 -21  1337 Aug 26  16:12:58    416  -8192   T   -0.4842  1.0596  18.1S  75.7W  61  221  04m53s
07988 -20  1355 Sep 07  00:09:07    385  -7969   T   -0.4340  1.0586  19.2S 165.3E  64  212  04m43s
08029 -19  1373 Sep 17  08:14:16    357  -7746   T   -0.3912  1.0573  21.0S  44.0E  67  204  04m33s
08071 -18  1391 Sep 28  16:26:31    330  -7523   T   -0.3541  1.0557  23.4S  78.9W  69  195  04m23s

08111 -17  1409 Oct 09  00:48:09    304  -7300   T   -0.3249  1.0539  26.2S 156.1E  71  188  04m15s
08151 -16  1427 Oct 20  09:16:36    280  -7077   T   -0.3009  1.0521  29.1S  29.6E  72  180  04m07s
08191 -15  1445 Oct 30  17:52:12    257  -6854   T   -0.2828  1.0505  32.0S  98.2W  73  174  04m01s
08231 -14  1463 Nov 11  02:33:46    235  -6631   T   -0.2696  1.0490  34.5S 133.0E  74  169  03m56s
08271 -13  1481 Nov 21  11:21:13    215  -6408   T   -0.2617  1.0479  36.6S   3.3E  75  165  03m53s
08311 -12  1499 Dec 02  20:11:32    196  -6185   T   -0.2557  1.0471  37.9S 126.7W  75  162  03m51s
08353 -11  1517 Dec 13  05:04:13    178  -5962   T   -0.2520  1.0468  38.2S 103.0E  75  161  03m52s
08394 -10  1535 Dec 24  13:56:57    161  -5739   T   -0.2482  1.0469  37.5S  27.4W  75  161  03m55s
08435 -09  1554 Jan 03  22:49:38    147  -5516   T   -0.2447  1.0474  35.8S 158.1W  76  163  04m00s
08476 -08  1572 Jan 15  07:38:12    134  -5293   T   -0.2380  1.0485  33.0S  71.6E  76  166  04m07s

08517 -07  1590 Feb 04  16:24:05    123  -5070   T   -0.2293  1.0498  29.3S  58.8W  77  170  04m17s
08558 -06  1608 Feb 16  01:03:28    110  -4847   T   -0.2154  1.0515  24.8S 171.7E  77  175  04m29s
08602 -05  1626 Feb 26  09:37:27     85  -4624   T   -0.1971  1.0535  19.7S  42.7E  79  180  04m42s
08647 -04  1644 Mar 08  18:02:43     58  -4401   T   -0.1717  1.0555  14.0S  84.7W  80  186  04m57s
08692 -03  1662 Mar 20  02:21:49     32  -4178   T   -0.1414  1.0576   7.9S 149.1E  82  191  05m11s
08738 -02  1680 Mar 30  10:32:01     14  -3955   T   -0.1039  1.0595   1.5S  24.9E  84  197  05m25s
08783 -01  1698 Apr 10  18:34:26      8  -3732   Tm  -0.0599  1.0613   5.1N  97.3W  87  201  05m36s
08828  00  1716 Apr 22  02:28:33     10  -3509   T   -0.0091  1.0625  11.8N 142.6E  90  205  05m43s
08873  01  1734 May 03  10:15:56     11  -3286   T    0.0472  1.0635  18.4N  24.6E  87  208  05m46s
08919  02  1752 May 13  17:56:29     13  -3063   T    0.1090  1.0637  24.9N  91.1W  84  210  05m42s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 124

                         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

08964  03  1770 May 25  01:30:12     16  -2840   T    0.1760  1.0634  31.2N 155.6E  80  211  05m31s
09010  04  1788 Jun 04  08:59:31     16  -2617   T    0.2465  1.0623  37.0N  44.4E  76  211  05m15s
09056  05  1806 Jun 16  16:24:27     12  -2394   T    0.3204  1.0604  42.2N  64.6W  71  210  04m55s
09101  06  1824 Jun 26  23:46:33     10  -2171   T    0.3960  1.0578  46.6N 171.4W  66  207  04m31s
09145  07  1842 Jul 08  07:06:27      6  -1948   T    0.4727  1.0543  50.1N  83.6E  62  204  04m05s
09188  08  1860 Jul 18  14:26:24      8  -1725   T    0.5487  1.0500  52.5N  20.3W  56  198  03m39s
09230  09  1878 Jul 29  21:47:18     -5  -1502   T    0.6232  1.0450  53.8N 124.0W  51  191  03m11s
09272  10  1896 Aug 09  05:09:00     -6  -1279   T    0.6964  1.0392  54.4N 132.2E  46  182  02m43s
09314  11  1914 Aug 21  12:34:27     17  -1056   T    0.7655  1.0328  54.5N  27.1E  40  170  02m14s
09357  12  1932 Aug 31  20:03:41     24   -833   T    0.8307  1.0257  54.5N  79.5W  34  155  01m45s

09399  13  1950 Sep 12  03:38:47     29   -610   T    0.8903  1.0182  54.8N 172.3E  27  134  01m14s
09439  14  1968 Sep 22  11:18:46     39   -387   T    0.9451  1.0099  56.2N  64.0E  19  104  00m40s
09479  15  1986 Oct 03  19:06:15     55   -164   H    0.9931  1.0000  59.9N  37.1W   5    1  00m00s
09518  16  2004 Oct 14  03:00:23     65     59   P    1.0348  0.9282  61.2N 153.7W   0             
09558  17  2022 Oct 25  11:01:20     73    282   P    1.0701  0.8619  61.6N  77.4E   0             
09598  18  2040 Nov 04  19:09:02     85    505   P    1.0993  0.8074  62.2N  53.4W   0             
09639  19  2058 Nov 16  03:23:07    111    728   P    1.1224  0.7644  62.9N 174.2E   0             
09680  20  2076 Nov 26  11:43:01    150    951   P    1.1401  0.7315  63.7N  40.1E   0             
09721  21  2094 Dec 07  20:05:56    191   1174   P    1.1547  0.7046  64.7N  95.0W   0             
09762  22  2112 Dec 19  04:33:16    233   1397   P    1.1648  0.6858  65.7N 128.4E   0             

09802  23  2130 Dec 30  13:01:34    278   1620   P    1.1730  0.6708  66.8N   8.8W   0             
09844  24  2149 Jan 09  21:30:38    325   1843   P    1.1802  0.6575  67.9N 146.7W   0             
09886  25  2167 Jan 21  05:56:25    365   2066   P    1.1892  0.6413  68.9N  75.5E   0             
09930  26  2185 Jan 31  14:20:20    406   2289   P    1.1991  0.6238  69.9N  62.4W   0             
09974  27  2203 Feb 12  22:38:35    449   2512   P    1.2128  0.5998  70.8N 160.4E   0             
10018  28  2221 Feb 23  06:50:48    494   2735   P    1.2305  0.5688  71.5N  24.2E   0             
10062  29  2239 Mar 06  14:54:58    541   2958   P    1.2541  0.5278  72.0N 110.6W   0             
10106  30  2257 Mar 16  22:51:29    590   3181   P    1.2833  0.4770  72.2N 116.2E   0             
10151  31  2275 Mar 28  06:37:50    642   3404   P    1.3199  0.4133  72.2N  14.4W   0             
10197  32  2293 Apr 07  14:14:55    695   3627   P    1.3632  0.3380  71.8N 142.5W   0             

10242  33  2311 Apr 19  21:41:49    751   3850   P    1.4139  0.2499  71.3N  92.3E   0             
10287  34  2329 Apr 30  04:59:58    808   4073   P    1.4705  0.1514  70.6N  30.1W   0             
10333  35  2347 May 11  12:07:08    868   4296   Pe   1.5351  0.0391  69.7N 149.1W   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