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 137 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 1389 May 25. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2633 Jun 28. The total duration of Saros series 137 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1389 May 25 16:48:11 TD Last Eclipse = 2633 Jun 28 15:48:41 TD Duration of Saros 137 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 137 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 137 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 21.4% |
| Annular | A | 36 | 51.4% |
| Total | T | 10 | 14.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 9 | 12.9% |
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 137 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 137 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 54 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 137: 8P 10T 6H 4A 3H 32A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 137 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 137 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2435 Feb 28 | 07m05s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1948 May 09 | 00m00s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1569 Sep 10 | 02m55s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 1695 Dec 06 | 01m16s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1713 Dec 17 | 00m56s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 1804 Feb 11 | 00m00s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1515 Aug 09 | - | 0.96860 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1389 May 25 | - | 0.05492 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 137. 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 137.
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
08066 -36 1389 May 25 16:48:11 333 -7552 Pb 1.4993 0.0549 64.4N 139.8E 0
08106 -35 1407 Jun 06 00:16:35 307 -7329 P 1.4296 0.1902 65.2N 17.8E 0
08146 -34 1425 Jun 16 07:44:06 283 -7106 P 1.3592 0.3271 66.2N 104.4W 0
08186 -33 1443 Jun 27 15:11:10 260 -6883 P 1.2887 0.4640 67.2N 133.2E 0
08226 -32 1461 Jul 07 22:39:29 238 -6660 P 1.2191 0.5989 68.2N 10.0E 0
08266 -31 1479 Jul 19 06:09:16 217 -6437 P 1.1509 0.7302 69.1N 114.1W 0
08306 -30 1497 Jul 29 13:43:13 198 -6214 P 1.0863 0.8539 70.0N 120.2E 0
08348 -29 1515 Aug 09 21:21:25 180 -5991 P 1.0258 0.9686 70.8N 7.1W 0
08389 -28 1533 Aug 20 05:04:01 164 -5768 T 0.9693 1.0479 73.7N 178.3E 13 678 02m40s
08430 -27 1551 Aug 31 12:53:01 149 -5545 T 0.9185 1.0460 65.7N 28.4E 23 391 02m52s
08471 -26 1569 Sep 10 20:48:16 135 -5322 T 0.8732 1.0428 57.4N 103.4W 29 293 02m55s
08512 -25 1587 Oct 02 04:51:25 125 -5099 T 0.8352 1.0387 50.0N 128.3E 33 235 02m51s
08553 -24 1605 Oct 12 12:59:58 112 -4876 T 0.8022 1.0344 43.4N 0.6E 36 193 02m43s
08595 -23 1623 Oct 23 21:17:10 88 -4653 T 0.7770 1.0298 37.8N 128.0W 39 159 02m31s
08640 -22 1641 Nov 03 05:40:09 61 -4430 T 0.7570 1.0252 33.0N 102.5E 41 130 02m15s
08685 -21 1659 Nov 14 14:10:08 35 -4207 T 0.7432 1.0208 29.2N 28.2W 42 106 01m56s
08731 -20 1677 Nov 24 22:44:03 16 -3984 T 0.7332 1.0166 26.3N 159.6W 43 84 01m36s
08776 -19 1695 Dec 06 07:23:18 8 -3761 T 0.7280 1.0128 24.3N 67.9E 43 64 01m16s
08821 -18 1713 Dec 17 16:04:20 9 -3538 H 0.7249 1.0094 23.1N 64.8W 43 47 00m56s
08867 -17 1731 Dec 29 00:46:53 11 -3315 H 0.7234 1.0065 22.7N 162.2E 44 32 00m39s
08913 -16 1750 Jan 08 09:28:43 13 -3092 H 0.7217 1.0041 23.0N 29.3E 44 20 00m24s
08958 -15 1768 Jan 19 18:09:29 16 -2869 H 0.7195 1.0022 23.9N 103.2W 44 11 00m13s
09004 -14 1786 Jan 30 02:45:26 17 -2646 H 0.7140 1.0009 25.1N 125.5E 44 5 00m05s
09049 -13 1804 Feb 11 11:16:33 12 -2423 H 0.7053 1.0000 26.7N 4.5W 45 0 00m00s
09094 -12 1822 Feb 21 19:40:40 11 -2200 A 0.6914 0.9996 28.6N 132.3W 46 2 00m02s
09138 -11 1840 Mar 04 03:58:22 5 -1977 A 0.6728 0.9995 30.6N 101.7E 48 2 00m03s
09181 -10 1858 Mar 15 12:05:28 7 -1754 A 0.6461 0.9996 32.7N 20.9W 50 2 00m02s
09224 -09 1876 Mar 25 20:05:06 -4 -1531 A 0.6142 0.9999 34.8N 141.1W 52 1 00m01s
09266 -08 1894 Apr 06 03:53:41 -6 -1308 H 0.5740 1.0001 36.7N 102.4E 55 1 00m01s
09308 -07 1912 Apr 17 11:34:22 14 -1085 H 0.5280 1.0003 38.4N 11.3W 58 1 00m02s
09351 -06 1930 Apr 28 19:03:34 24 -862 H 0.4730 1.0003 39.4N 121.2W 62 1 00m01s
09394 -05 1948 May 09 02:26:04 28 -639 A 0.4133 0.9999 39.8N 131.2E 65 0 00m00s
09434 -04 1966 May 20 09:39:02 37 -416 A 0.3467 0.9991 39.2N 26.4E 70 3 00m05s
09474 -03 1984 May 30 16:45:41 54 -193 A 0.2755 0.9980 37.5N 76.7W 74 7 00m11s
09513 -02 2002 Jun 10 23:45:22 64 30 A 0.1993 0.9962 34.5N 178.6W 78 13 00m23s
09553 -01 2020 Jun 21 06:41:15 72 253 Am 0.1209 0.9940 30.5N 79.7E 83 21 00m38s
09593 00 2038 Jul 02 13:32:55 84 476 A 0.0398 0.9911 25.4N 21.9W 88 31 01m00s
09633 01 2056 Jul 12 20:21:59 106 699 A -0.0426 0.9878 19.4N 123.7W 88 43 01m26s
09674 02 2074 Jul 24 03:10:32 145 922 A -0.1242 0.9838 12.8N 133.7E 83 58 01m57s
09715 03 2092 Aug 03 09:59:33 185 1145 A -0.2044 0.9794 5.6N 30.3E 78 75 02m31s
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
09756 04 2110 Aug 15 16:50:45 228 1368 A -0.2819 0.9746 2.0S 74.3W 74 94 03m07s
09797 05 2128 Aug 25 23:44:34 272 1591 A -0.3562 0.9694 9.8S 180.0E 69 117 03m41s
09839 06 2146 Sep 06 06:44:00 319 1814 A -0.4249 0.9639 17.8S 72.6E 65 143 04m13s
09881 07 2164 Sep 16 13:48:20 360 2037 A -0.4885 0.9583 25.7S 36.3W 61 172 04m42s
09925 08 2182 Sep 27 20:58:45 400 2260 A -0.5461 0.9527 33.5S 146.7W 57 205 05m05s
09969 09 2200 Oct 09 04:16:21 443 2483 A -0.5972 0.9470 41.1S 101.3E 53 241 05m25s
10013 10 2218 Oct 20 11:41:56 488 2706 A -0.6411 0.9416 48.4S 12.1W 50 280 05m41s
10057 11 2236 Oct 30 19:15:15 535 2929 A -0.6779 0.9365 55.2S 126.4W 47 321 05m54s
10101 12 2254 Nov 11 02:55:16 584 3152 A -0.7086 0.9317 61.4S 119.3E 45 363 06m05s
10146 13 2272 Nov 21 10:42:52 635 3375 A -0.7327 0.9275 66.8S 5.9E 43 402 06m15s
10192 14 2290 Dec 02 18:36:41 688 3598 A -0.7515 0.9237 70.9S 104.7W 41 439 06m23s
10237 15 2308 Dec 14 02:34:52 743 3821 A -0.7662 0.9207 73.4S 148.6E 40 470 06m31s
10282 16 2326 Dec 25 10:36:53 801 4044 A -0.7774 0.9182 73.6S 43.3E 39 496 06m39s
10328 17 2345 Jan 04 18:40:23 860 4267 A -0.7872 0.9165 71.9S 64.6W 38 517 06m45s
10374 18 2363 Jan 16 02:45:07 922 4490 A -0.7955 0.9154 68.8S 177.6W 37 532 06m52s
10418 19 2381 Jan 26 10:46:38 985 4713 A -0.8064 0.9149 65.3S 66.8E 36 546 06m57s
10462 20 2399 Feb 06 18:46:44 1051 4936 A -0.8180 0.9150 61.6S 51.0W 35 557 07m01s
10505 21 2417 Feb 17 02:40:42 1118 5159 A -0.8345 0.9155 58.3S 168.3W 33 574 07m04s
10548 22 2435 Feb 28 10:29:45 1188 5382 A -0.8546 0.9165 55.4S 75.0E 31 599 07m05s
10591 23 2453 Mar 10 18:09:42 1260 5605 A -0.8820 0.9177 53.6S 39.1W 28 647 07m04s
10633 24 2471 Mar 22 01:43:37 1334 5828 A -0.9141 0.9190 52.9S 151.3W 24 738 07m00s
10675 25 2489 Apr 01 09:07:55 1410 6051 A -0.9541 0.9200 54.4S 101.3E 17 997 06m50s
10717 26 2507 Apr 13 16:23:43 1488 6274 A- -1.0006 0.9539 61.3S 13.5E 0
10758 27 2525 Apr 23 23:30:15 1568 6497 P -1.0544 0.8646 61.8S 101.6W 0
10799 28 2543 May 05 06:29:19 1650 6720 P -1.1140 0.7648 62.3S 145.1E 0
10839 29 2561 May 15 13:20:16 1734 6943 P -1.1801 0.6534 63.1S 33.6E 0
10879 30 2579 May 26 20:04:28 1820 7166 P -1.2516 0.5320 63.9S 76.4W 0
10919 31 2597 Jun 06 02:43:07 1909 7389 P -1.3272 0.4029 64.8S 174.7E 0
10960 32 2615 Jun 18 09:17:56 1999 7612 P -1.4053 0.2689 65.7S 66.4E 0
11001 33 2633 Jun 28 15:48:41 2092 7835 Pe -1.4864 0.1291 66.7S 41.2W 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)"
