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 128 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 0984 Aug 29. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2282 Nov 01. The total duration of Saros series 128 is 1298.17 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 0984 Aug 29 08:35:40 TD Last Eclipse = 2282 Nov 01 05:06:24 TD Duration of Saros 128 = 1298.17 Years
Saros 128 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 128 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 73 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 33 | 45.2% |
| Annular | A | 32 | 43.8% |
| Total | T | 4 | 5.5% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.5% |
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 128 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 128 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 40 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 39 | 97.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.5% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 73 eclipses in Saros 128: 24P 4T 4H 32A 9P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 128 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 128 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1832 Feb 01 | 08m35s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1561 Aug 11 | 00m27s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1453 Jun 07 | 01m45s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1417 May 16 | 01m30s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1489 Jun 28 | 01m23s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1543 Jul 31 | 00m05s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1399 May 06 | - | 0.99487 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 0984 Aug 29 | - | 0.00850 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 128. 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 128.
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
07088 -42 0984 Aug 29 08:35:40 1649 -12558 Pb -1.5263 0.0085 61.3S 18.5W 0
07130 -41 1002 Sep 09 16:38:28 1548 -12335 P -1.4840 0.0911 61.1S 148.4W 0
07172 -40 1020 Sep 20 00:47:49 1451 -12112 P -1.4474 0.1625 61.0S 80.2E 0
07214 -39 1038 Oct 01 09:05:32 1359 -11889 P -1.4177 0.2202 61.2S 53.4W 0
07257 -38 1056 Oct 11 17:30:26 1271 -11666 P -1.3942 0.2656 61.4S 171.3E 0
07301 -37 1074 Oct 23 02:01:48 1188 -11443 P -1.3765 0.2999 61.9S 34.2E 0
07345 -36 1092 Nov 02 10:39:37 1109 -11220 P -1.3643 0.3234 62.4S 104.5W 0
07391 -35 1110 Nov 13 19:22:20 1035 -10997 P -1.3568 0.3380 63.2S 115.3E 0
07436 -34 1128 Nov 24 04:09:27 965 -10774 P -1.3531 0.3453 64.0S 26.2W 0
07481 -33 1146 Dec 05 12:57:34 900 -10551 P -1.3507 0.3500 65.0S 168.3W 0
07526 -32 1164 Dec 15 21:48:04 838 -10328 P -1.3507 0.3502 66.0S 48.7E 0
07572 -31 1182 Dec 27 06:37:09 780 -10105 P -1.3505 0.3506 67.1S 94.4W 0
07617 -30 1201 Jan 06 15:24:30 726 -9882 P -1.3491 0.3532 68.1S 122.4E 0
07662 -29 1219 Jan 18 00:06:47 676 -9659 P -1.3445 0.3619 69.1S 20.1W 0
07708 -28 1237 Jan 28 08:44:50 628 -9436 P -1.3369 0.3759 70.0S 162.2W 0
07753 -27 1255 Feb 08 17:15:43 584 -9213 P -1.3244 0.3991 70.8S 57.0E 0
07797 -26 1273 Feb 19 01:39:04 543 -8990 P -1.3066 0.4321 71.4S 82.5W 0
07840 -25 1291 Mar 02 09:53:49 504 -8767 P -1.2826 0.4766 71.8S 139.8E 0
07882 -24 1309 Mar 12 18:00:25 468 -8544 P -1.2527 0.5323 71.9S 3.9E 0
07924 -23 1327 Mar 24 01:56:52 435 -8321 P -1.2152 0.6020 71.8S 129.5W 0
07965 -22 1345 Apr 03 09:44:58 403 -8098 P -1.1717 0.6830 71.5S 99.5E 0
08006 -21 1363 Apr 14 17:23:47 373 -7875 P -1.1212 0.7768 70.9S 28.7W 0
08047 -20 1381 Apr 25 00:55:46 345 -7652 P -1.0659 0.8794 70.2S 154.8W 0
08088 -19 1399 May 06 08:18:28 319 -7429 P -1.0035 0.9949 69.3S 82.1E 0
08128 -18 1417 May 16 15:36:31 294 -7206 T -0.9378 1.0179 48.9S 46.3W 20 180 01m30s
08168 -17 1435 May 27 22:47:54 270 -6983 T -0.8670 1.0184 37.8S 160.2W 30 127 01m43s
08208 -16 1453 Jun 07 05:56:44 248 -6760 T -0.7948 1.0175 29.4S 88.7E 37 99 01m45s
08247 -15 1471 Jun 18 13:00:12 227 -6537 T -0.7189 1.0157 22.3S 19.7W 44 77 01m38s
08287 -14 1489 Jun 28 20:04:24 207 -6314 H3 -0.6440 1.0130 16.8S 127.5W 50 58 01m23s
08328 -13 1507 Jul 10 03:06:33 188 -6091 H -0.5680 1.0095 12.4S 126.0E 55 40 01m01s
08370 -12 1525 Jul 20 10:11:04 171 -5868 H -0.4947 1.0054 9.3S 19.4E 60 21 00m35s
08412 -11 1543 Jul 31 17:16:23 155 -5645 H -0.4229 1.0007 7.3S 87.0W 65 3 00m05s
08453 -10 1561 Aug 11 00:27:07 141 -5422 A -0.3564 0.9956 6.5S 165.5E 69 16 00m27s
08494 -09 1579 Aug 22 07:41:32 129 -5199 A -0.2937 0.9901 6.6S 57.2E 73 36 01m00s
08535 -08 1597 Sep 11 15:01:22 120 -4976 A -0.2363 0.9843 7.6S 52.4W 76 57 01m35s
08576 -07 1615 Sep 22 22:27:21 100 -4753 A -0.1849 0.9784 9.1S 163.5W 79 78 02m11s
08620 -06 1633 Oct 03 06:00:37 73 -4530 Am -0.1405 0.9726 11.2S 83.4E 82 99 02m48s
08665 -05 1651 Oct 14 13:40:56 46 -4307 A -0.1025 0.9668 13.5S 31.3W 84 120 03m27s
08711 -04 1669 Oct 24 21:28:05 24 -4084 A -0.0710 0.9613 15.9S 147.7W 86 141 04m07s
08756 -03 1687 Nov 05 05:22:24 10 -3861 A -0.0460 0.9561 18.3S 94.3E 87 160 04m49s
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
08801 -02 1705 Nov 16 13:23:06 9 -3638 A -0.0271 0.9514 20.4S 25.0W 88 178 05m31s
08846 -01 1723 Nov 27 21:28:16 10 -3415 A -0.0125 0.9471 22.0S 145.2W 89 195 06m12s
08892 00 1741 Dec 08 05:38:00 12 -3192 A -0.0024 0.9434 23.0S 93.6E 90 209 06m51s
08938 01 1759 Dec 19 13:50:05 14 -2969 A 0.0051 0.9404 23.3S 28.0W 90 221 07m25s
08984 02 1777 Dec 29 22:03:28 17 -2746 A 0.0110 0.9380 22.7S 150.0W 90 231 07m53s
09030 03 1796 Jan 10 06:14:52 15 -2523 A 0.0179 0.9362 21.1S 88.3E 89 238 08m15s
09075 04 1814 Jan 21 14:24:47 12 -2300 A 0.0253 0.9350 18.6S 33.4W 89 242 08m28s
09120 05 1832 Feb 01 22:30:14 7 -2077 A 0.0355 0.9344 15.3S 154.4W 88 245 08m35s
09164 06 1850 Feb 12 06:29:37 7 -1854 A 0.0503 0.9345 11.0S 85.6E 87 245 08m35s
09206 07 1868 Feb 23 14:21:31 3 -1631 A 0.0706 0.9348 6.1S 33.0W 86 244 08m30s
09248 08 1886 Mar 05 22:05:26 -6 -1408 A 0.0970 0.9357 0.5S 150.1W 84 241 08m20s
09290 09 1904 Mar 17 05:40:44 3 -1185 A 0.1299 0.9367 5.6N 94.7E 82 237 08m07s
09332 10 1922 Mar 28 13:05:26 23 -962 A 0.1711 0.9381 12.3N 18.0W 80 233 07m50s
09375 11 1940 Apr 07 20:21:21 24 -739 A 0.2190 0.9394 19.2N 128.5W 77 230 07m30s
09416 12 1958 Apr 19 03:27:17 32 -516 A 0.2750 0.9408 26.5N 123.6E 74 228 07m07s
09456 13 1976 Apr 29 10:24:18 47 -293 A 0.3378 0.9421 34.0N 18.3E 70 227 06m41s
09495 14 1994 May 10 17:12:26 60 -70 A 0.4077 0.9431 41.5N 84.1W 66 230 06m13s
09535 15 2012 May 20 23:53:54 68 153 A 0.4828 0.9439 49.1N 176.3E 61 237 05m46s
09575 16 2030 Jun 01 06:29:13 78 376 A 0.5626 0.9443 56.5N 80.1E 55 250 05m21s
09615 17 2048 Jun 11 12:58:53 92 599 A 0.6468 0.9441 63.7N 11.5W 49 272 04m58s
09656 18 2066 Jun 22 19:25:48 127 822 A 0.7330 0.9435 70.1N 96.4W 43 309 04m40s
09697 19 2084 Jul 03 01:50:26 167 1045 A 0.8208 0.9421 75.0N 169.1W 35 377 04m25s
09738 20 2102 Jul 15 08:15:14 208 1268 A 0.9080 0.9398 75.9N 134.2E 24 539 04m14s
09779 21 2120 Jul 25 14:40:02 252 1491 An 0.9948 0.9343 66.0N 90.4E 4 - 04m00s
09820 22 2138 Aug 05 21:08:57 298 1714 P 1.0781 0.8285 62.4N 9.2W 0
09862 23 2156 Aug 16 03:41:28 342 1937 P 1.1584 0.6912 61.9N 116.1W 0
09905 24 2174 Aug 27 10:19:55 382 2160 P 1.2336 0.5629 61.4N 135.6E 0
09949 25 2192 Sep 06 17:05:08 424 2383 P 1.3032 0.4444 61.2N 25.8E 0
09994 26 2210 Sep 18 23:59:09 468 2606 P 1.3657 0.3384 61.0N 86.2W 0
10037 27 2228 Sep 29 07:02:08 514 2829 P 1.4212 0.2445 61.1N 159.6E 0
10081 28 2246 Oct 10 14:13:18 562 3052 P 1.4705 0.1615 61.3N 43.4E 0
10126 29 2264 Oct 20 21:35:23 612 3275 P 1.5111 0.0933 61.6N 75.7W 0
10171 30 2282 Nov 01 05:06:24 664 3498 Pe 1.5448 0.0370 62.1N 163.0E 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)"
