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 138 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 1472 Jun 06. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2716 Jul 11. The total duration of Saros series 138 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1472 Jun 06 20:20:31 TD Last Eclipse = 2716 Jul 11 12:01:43 TD Duration of Saros 138 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 138 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 138 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 22.9% |
| Annular | A | 50 | 71.4% |
| Total | T | 3 | 4.3% |
| 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 138 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 138 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 54 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 53 | 98.1% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 138: 7P 50A 1H 3T 9P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 138 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 138 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 1869 Feb 11 | 08m02s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2482 Feb 18 | 00m09s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 2554 Apr 03 | 00m56s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 2518 Mar 12 | 00m31s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2500 Mar 01 | 00m12s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2500 Mar 01 | 00m12s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2572 Apr 13 | - | 0.99022 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1472 Jun 06 | - | 0.02090 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 138. 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 138.
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
08250 -33 1472 Jun 06 20:20:31 225 -6525 Pb -1.5448 0.0209 66.4S 132.2W 0
08290 -32 1490 Jun 18 02:55:30 206 -6302 P -1.4661 0.1592 65.4S 118.7E 0
08331 -31 1508 Jun 28 09:28:44 187 -6079 P -1.3860 0.2993 64.5S 10.4E 0
08373 -30 1526 Jul 09 16:02:42 170 -5856 P -1.3063 0.4379 63.6S 97.8W 0
08414 -29 1544 Jul 19 22:38:22 154 -5633 P -1.2281 0.5730 62.8S 153.9E 0
08455 -28 1562 Jul 31 05:16:46 140 -5410 P -1.1522 0.7034 62.2S 45.1E 0
08496 -27 1580 Aug 10 12:00:05 129 -5187 P -1.0802 0.8258 61.6S 64.7W 0
08537 -26 1598 Aug 31 18:48:48 119 -4964 A- -1.0126 0.9398 61.2S 175.6W 0
08578 -25 1616 Sep 11 01:44:06 99 -4741 A -0.9505 0.9319 54.1S 102.3E 18 807 05m42s
08622 -24 1634 Sep 22 08:47:04 72 -4518 A -0.8947 0.9300 51.5S 2.3E 26 572 06m03s
08667 -23 1652 Oct 02 15:58:30 45 -4295 A -0.8458 0.9275 51.2S 102.7W 32 497 06m19s
08713 -22 1670 Oct 13 23:19:00 23 -4072 A -0.8043 0.9247 52.4S 149.1E 36 467 06m34s
08758 -21 1688 Oct 24 06:46:41 9 -3849 A -0.7686 0.9221 54.4S 39.2E 39 453 06m49s
08803 -20 1706 Nov 05 14:23:57 9 -3626 A -0.7407 0.9195 57.0S 72.6W 42 449 07m02s
08848 -19 1724 Nov 15 22:07:38 10 -3403 A -0.7183 0.9174 59.9S 175.0E 44 448 07m15s
08894 -18 1742 Nov 27 05:58:59 12 -3180 A -0.7019 0.9156 62.6S 62.2E 45 450 07m26s
08940 -17 1760 Dec 07 13:53:44 15 -2957 A -0.6881 0.9144 64.7S 49.4W 46 451 07m36s
08986 -16 1778 Dec 18 21:53:54 17 -2734 A -0.6788 0.9137 65.8S 160.6W 47 450 07m44s
09032 -15 1796 Dec 29 05:54:58 15 -2511 A -0.6703 0.9136 65.5S 88.6E 48 446 07m51s
09077 -14 1815 Jan 10 13:57:06 12 -2288 A -0.6626 0.9143 63.7S 23.6W 48 438 07m55s
09122 -13 1833 Jan 20 21:56:55 6 -2065 A -0.6530 0.9155 60.6S 137.4W 49 426 07m59s
09166 -12 1851 Feb 01 05:54:27 7 -1842 A -0.6413 0.9175 56.4S 106.9E 50 409 08m01s
09208 -11 1869 Feb 11 13:46:39 2 -1619 A -0.6251 0.9201 51.3S 9.7W 51 387 08m02s
09250 -10 1887 Feb 22 21:33:04 -6 -1396 A -0.6040 0.9232 45.7S 126.5W 53 362 08m01s
09292 -09 1905 Mar 06 05:12:26 4 -1173 A -0.5768 0.9269 39.5S 117.4E 55 334 07m58s
09334 -08 1923 Mar 17 12:44:58 23 -950 A -0.5438 0.9310 33.0S 2.4E 57 305 07m51s
09377 -07 1941 Mar 27 20:08:08 25 -727 A -0.5025 0.9355 26.2S 110.9W 60 276 07m41s
09418 -06 1959 Apr 08 03:24:08 33 -504 A -0.4546 0.9401 19.1S 137.6E 63 247 07m26s
09458 -05 1977 Apr 18 10:31:30 48 -281 A -0.3990 0.9449 11.9S 28.3E 66 220 07m04s
09497 -04 1995 Apr 29 17:33:21 61 -58 A -0.3382 0.9497 4.8S 79.4W 70 196 06m37s
09537 -03 2013 May 10 00:26:20 68 165 A -0.2694 0.9544 2.2N 175.5E 74 173 06m03s
09577 -02 2031 May 21 07:16:04 78 388 A -0.1970 0.9589 8.9N 71.7E 79 152 05m26s
09617 -01 2049 May 31 13:59:59 92 611 A -0.1187 0.9631 15.3N 29.9W 83 134 04m45s
09658 00 2067 Jun 11 20:42:26 129 834 A -0.0387 0.9670 21.0N 130.2W 88 119 04m05s
09699 01 2085 Jun 22 03:21:16 169 1057 A 0.0452 0.9704 26.2N 131.3E 87 106 03m29s
09740 02 2103 Jul 04 10:01:48 211 1280 Am 0.1285 0.9734 30.3N 33.2E 82 96 02m57s
09781 03 2121 Jul 14 16:42:39 255 1503 A 0.2125 0.9758 33.6N 64.3W 78 88 02m32s
09822 04 2139 Jul 25 23:26:33 300 1726 A 0.2946 0.9778 35.8N 161.9W 73 83 02m13s
09864 05 2157 Aug 05 06:14:19 344 1949 A 0.3743 0.9792 37.1N 99.6E 68 80 01m59s
09907 06 2175 Aug 16 13:08:17 384 2172 A 0.4497 0.9802 37.6N 0.5W 63 78 01m50s
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
09951 07 2193 Aug 26 20:09:20 426 2395 A 0.5200 0.9806 37.4N 102.9W 58 80 01m45s
09996 08 2211 Sep 08 03:17:18 470 2618 A 0.5854 0.9808 36.9N 152.5E 54 83 01m43s
10040 09 2229 Sep 18 10:34:51 516 2841 A 0.6439 0.9805 36.2N 44.8E 50 89 01m44s
10084 10 2247 Sep 29 18:01:05 564 3064 A 0.6961 0.9801 35.6N 65.9W 46 96 01m47s
10129 11 2265 Oct 10 01:37:34 615 3287 A 0.7404 0.9796 35.1N 179.8W 42 105 01m51s
10174 12 2283 Oct 21 09:23:11 667 3510 A 0.7783 0.9790 34.9N 63.2E 39 116 01m56s
10219 13 2301 Nov 01 17:19:33 721 3733 A 0.8080 0.9786 34.8N 57.2W 36 126 02m01s
10264 14 2319 Nov 13 01:24:39 778 3956 A 0.8314 0.9784 35.0N 179.6E 34 136 02m04s
10309 15 2337 Nov 23 09:37:55 836 4179 A 0.8488 0.9786 35.5N 53.8E 32 142 02m05s
10355 16 2355 Dec 04 17:58:37 897 4402 A 0.8609 0.9792 36.0N 74.4W 30 145 02m02s
10400 17 2373 Dec 15 02:25:55 960 4625 A 0.8678 0.9803 36.7N 155.4E 29 141 01m56s
10444 18 2391 Dec 26 10:57:15 1024 4848 A 0.8723 0.9820 37.6N 24.0E 29 131 01m46s
10488 19 2410 Jan 05 19:31:39 1091 5071 A 0.8749 0.9842 38.8N 108.2W 29 116 01m31s
10531 20 2428 Jan 17 04:07:20 1160 5294 A 0.8770 0.9870 40.5N 119.1E 28 96 01m13s
10574 21 2446 Jan 27 12:43:51 1231 5517 A 0.8789 0.9903 42.7N 13.9W 28 72 00m53s
10617 22 2464 Feb 07 21:17:16 1304 5740 A 0.8840 0.9941 45.7N 146.4W 28 44 00m31s
10659 23 2482 Feb 18 05:48:52 1379 5963 A 0.8912 0.9982 49.3N 81.2E 27 14 00m09s
10701 24 2500 Mar 01 14:14:47 1457 6186 H 0.9038 1.0026 53.9N 50.7W 25 21 00m12s
10742 25 2518 Mar 12 22:37:02 1536 6409 T 0.9200 1.0071 59.1N 176.7E 23 63 00m31s
10783 26 2536 Mar 23 06:51:06 1617 6632 T 0.9435 1.0115 65.3N 42.0E 19 121 00m46s
10823 27 2554 Apr 03 15:00:51 1701 6855 T 0.9713 1.0153 71.5N 102.2W 13 232 00m56s
10863 28 2572 Apr 13 23:02:08 1786 7078 P 1.0068 0.9902 71.5N 81.8E 0
10903 29 2590 Apr 25 06:57:46 1874 7301 P 1.0476 0.9167 70.9N 50.1W 0
10944 30 2608 May 06 14:45:32 1963 7524 P 1.0954 0.8288 70.1N 179.4W 0
10985 31 2626 May 17 22:28:40 2055 7747 P 1.1476 0.7318 69.1N 53.1E 0
11025 32 2644 May 28 06:05:58 2149 7970 P 1.2051 0.6236 68.2N 72.3W 0
11065 33 2662 Jun 08 13:38:43 2245 8193 P 1.2666 0.5068 67.2N 163.9E 0
11106 34 2680 Jun 18 21:08:08 2342 8416 P 1.3315 0.3827 66.2N 41.5E 0
11148 35 2698 Jun 30 04:35:43 2442 8639 P 1.3983 0.2539 65.3N 80.1W 0
11190 36 2716 Jul 11 12:01:43 2545 8862 Pe 1.4666 0.1219 64.4N 159.1E 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)"
