Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 144

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 144

Solar eclipses of Saros 144 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 1736 Apr 11. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2980 May 05. The total duration of Saros series 144 is 1244.08 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   1736 Apr 11   07:18:07 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   2980 May 05   22:48:34 TD

                      Duration of Saros 144  =  1244.08 Years

Saros 144 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 144
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 70100.0%
PartialP 31 44.3%
AnnularA 39 55.7%
TotalT 0 0.0%
Hybrid[3]H 0 0.0%

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 144 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 144
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 39100.0%
Central (two limits) 39100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 144: 8P 39A 23P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 144 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 144
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 2168 Dec 2909m52s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 2547 Aug 1600m37s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 2583 Sep 07 - 0.95964
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 2980 May 05 - 0.06969

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 144

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 144. 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 144.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 144

                         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

08878 -32  1736 Apr 11  07:18:07     11  -3262   Pb  -1.5166  0.0748  71.5S 134.3E   0             
08924 -31  1754 Apr 22  14:25:57     13  -3039   P   -1.4631  0.1669  71.0S  14.0E   0             
08969 -30  1772 May 02  21:26:41     16  -2816   P   -1.4043  0.2683  70.2S 104.1W   0             
09015 -29  1790 May 14  04:17:21     16  -2593   P   -1.3374  0.3840  69.4S 140.9E   0             
09060 -28  1808 May 25  11:02:35     12  -2370   P   -1.2665  0.5064  68.4S  27.8E   0             
09105 -27  1826 Jun 05  17:39:05      9  -2147   P   -1.1887  0.6407  67.4S  82.5W   0             
09149 -26  1844 Jun 16  00:13:22      6  -1924   P   -1.1092  0.7778  66.4S 168.3E   0             
09192 -25  1862 Jun 27  06:42:21      8  -1701   P   -1.0252  0.9222  65.4S  60.8E   0             
09234 -24  1880 Jul 07  13:10:28     -5  -1478   A   -0.9406  0.9441  46.4S  33.4W  19  611  05m47s
09276 -23  1898 Jul 18  19:36:54     -4  -1255   A   -0.8546  0.9450  35.7S 130.1W  31  385  06m11s

09318 -22  1916 Jul 30  02:06:10     19  -1032   A   -0.7709  0.9447  29.0S 132.4E  39  313  06m24s
09361 -21  1934 Aug 10  08:37:48     24   -809   A   -0.6890  0.9436  24.5S  34.6E  46  280  06m33s
09403 -20  1952 Aug 20  15:13:35     30   -586   A   -0.6102  0.9420  21.7S  64.1W  52  264  06m40s
09443 -19  1970 Aug 31  21:55:30     41   -363   A   -0.5364  0.9400  20.3S 164.0W  57  258  06m47s
09483 -18  1988 Sep 11  04:44:29     56   -140   A   -0.4681  0.9377  20.0S  94.4E  62  258  06m57s
09522 -17  2006 Sep 22  11:41:16     65     83   A   -0.4062  0.9352  20.6S   9.1W  66  261  07m09s
09562 -16  2024 Oct 02  18:46:13     74    306   A   -0.3509  0.9326  22.0S 114.5W  69  266  07m25s
09602 -15  2042 Oct 14  02:00:42     87    529   A   -0.3030  0.9300  23.7S 137.8E  72  273  07m44s
09643 -14  2060 Oct 24  09:24:10    115    752   A   -0.2625  0.9277  25.8S  28.1E  75  281  08m06s
09684 -13  2078 Nov 04  16:55:44    154    975   A   -0.2285  0.9255  27.8S  83.3W  77  287  08m29s

09725 -12  2096 Nov 15  00:36:15    195   1198   A   -0.2018  0.9237  29.7S 163.3E  78  294  08m53s
09766 -11  2114 Nov 27  08:24:15    238   1421   A   -0.1815  0.9223  31.3S  48.4E  79  298  09m14s
09806 -10  2132 Dec 07  16:18:43    283   1644   A   -0.1661  0.9215  32.2S  67.9W  80  301  09m33s
09848 -09  2150 Dec 19  00:17:02    330   1867   A   -0.1535  0.9211  32.3S 175.0E  81  302  09m46s
09890 -08  2168 Dec 29  08:19:33    369   2090   A   -0.1444  0.9215  31.6S  56.7E  82  300  09m52s
09934 -07  2187 Jan 09  16:23:41    410   2313   A   -0.1365  0.9224  30.0S  62.1W  82  296  09m51s
09979 -06  2205 Jan 21  00:27:32    454   2536   A   -0.1281  0.9241  27.5S 178.6E  82  289  09m42s
10023 -05  2223 Feb 01  08:29:43    499   2759   A   -0.1180  0.9263  24.1S  59.2E  83  279  09m26s
10067 -04  2241 Feb 11  16:28:39    546   2982   A   -0.1046  0.9292  19.9S  60.0W  84  267  09m04s
10112 -03  2259 Feb 23  00:23:41    596   3205   A   -0.0875  0.9326  15.0S 178.8W  85  253  08m36s

10157 -02  2277 Mar 05  08:11:55    647   3428   A   -0.0645  0.9366   9.5S  63.6E  86  236  08m04s
10203 -01  2295 Mar 16  15:54:34    701   3651   A   -0.0362  0.9409   3.6S  53.0W  88  219  07m29s
10248  00  2313 Mar 27  23:29:31    757   3874   A   -0.0011  0.9456   2.6N 167.9W  90  200  06m49s
10293  01  2331 Apr 08  06:57:09    815   4097   A    0.0408  0.9506   9.2N  79.0E  88  181  06m07s
10339  02  2349 Apr 18  14:16:52    874   4320   A    0.0899  0.9557  16.0N  32.1W  85  162  05m23s
10384  03  2367 Apr 29  21:30:03    936   4543   Am   0.1451  0.9607  22.8N 141.2W  82  144  04m38s
10428  04  2385 May 10  04:36:49   1000   4766   A    0.2063  0.9657  29.5N 111.9E  78  126  03m53s
10472  05  2403 May 21  11:36:55   1066   4989   A    0.2737  0.9705  36.1N   7.4E  74  110  03m10s
10515  06  2421 May 31  18:32:59   1135   5212   A    0.3451  0.9750  42.4N  95.0W  70   95  02m32s
10558  07  2439 Jun 12  01:25:22   1205   5435   A    0.4206  0.9791  48.2N 165.1E  65   82  01m59s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 144

                         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

10601  08  2457 Jun 22  08:16:13   1277   5658   A    0.4979  0.9827  53.2N  67.4E  60   71  01m32s
10644  09  2475 Jul 03  15:05:22   1351   5881   A    0.5775  0.9858  57.3N  27.7W  54   62  01m11s
10686  10  2493 Jul 13  21:56:36   1428   6104   A    0.6562  0.9882  60.3N 121.4W  49   55  00m56s
10728  11  2511 Jul 26  04:49:26   1506   6327   A    0.7346  0.9899  62.1N 146.2E  42   52  00m45s
10768  12  2529 Aug 05  11:45:36   1587   6550   A    0.8109  0.9910  62.9N  53.9E  36   54  00m39s
10808  13  2547 Aug 16  18:46:36   1670   6773   A    0.8841  0.9910  63.0N  38.6W  28   67  00m37s
10848  14  2565 Aug 27  01:53:56   1754   6996   A    0.9527  0.9900  63.0N 129.3W  17  117  00m39s
10888  15  2583 Sep 07  09:09:01   1841   7219   P    1.0160  0.9596  61.3N 150.8E   0             
10929  16  2601 Sep 18  16:30:38   1930   7442   P    1.0746  0.8541  61.1N  32.1E   0             
10970  17  2619 Sep 30  00:02:28   2021   7665   P    1.1256  0.7620  61.2N  89.2W   0             

11011  18  2637 Oct 10  07:42:11   2114   7888   P    1.1709  0.6802  61.4N 147.6E   0             
11051  19  2655 Oct 21  15:32:13   2209   8111   P    1.2084  0.6123  61.7N  21.7E   0             
11092  20  2673 Oct 31  23:29:55   2306   8334   P    1.2404  0.5544  62.2N 106.2W   0             
11133  21  2691 Nov 12  07:38:14   2405   8557   P    1.2646  0.5105  62.8N 123.2E   0             
11175  22  2709 Nov 23  15:53:41   2507   8780   P    1.2837  0.4759  63.6N   9.5W   0             
11217  23  2727 Dec 05  00:17:21   2610   9003   P    1.2968  0.4521  64.4N 144.5W   0             
11260  24  2745 Dec 15  08:47:08   2716   9226   P    1.3057  0.4358  65.4N  78.7E   0             
11305  25  2763 Dec 26  17:23:22   2823   9449   P    1.3098  0.4283  66.4N  60.1W   0             
11349  26  2782 Jan 06  02:02:17   2933   9672   P    1.3126  0.4228  67.5N 159.9E   0             
11394  27  2800 Jan 17  10:43:57   3044   9895   P    1.3141  0.4200  68.6N  18.7E   0             

11439  28  2818 Jan 27  19:25:58   3158  10118   P    1.3157  0.4167  69.6N 123.1W   0             
11484  29  2836 Feb 08  04:08:21   3274  10341   P    1.3175  0.4130  70.5N  94.2E   0             
11530  30  2854 Feb 18  12:46:44   3392  10564   P    1.3232  0.4021  71.2N  48.0W   0             
11576  31  2872 Feb 29  21:22:44   3512  10787   P    1.3315  0.3864  71.7N 169.8E   0             
11623  32  2890 Mar 12  05:52:26   3634  11010   P    1.3454  0.3600  72.0N  28.9E   0             
11670  33  2908 Mar 23  14:18:02   3758  11233   P    1.3632  0.3262  72.1N 111.2W   0             
11715  34  2926 Apr 03  22:34:55   3884  11456   P    1.3882  0.2785  71.9N 111.0E   0             
11760  35  2944 Apr 14  06:47:04   4012  11679   P    1.4176  0.2219  71.4N  25.3W   0             
11804  36  2962 Apr 25  14:50:32   4143  11902   P    1.4546  0.1507  70.8N 158.9W   0             
11848  37  2980 May 05  22:48:34   4275  12125   Pe   1.4963  0.0697  70.0N  69.5E   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