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 146 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 1541 Sep 19. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2893 Dec 29. The total duration of Saros series 146 is 1352.26 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1541 Sep 19 20:34:01 TD Last Eclipse = 2893 Dec 29 06:42:03 TD Duration of Saros 146 = 1352.26 Years
Saros 146 is composed of 76 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 146 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 76 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 35 | 46.1% |
| Annular | A | 24 | 31.6% |
| Total | T | 13 | 17.1% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.3% |
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 146 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 146 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 76 eclipses in Saros 146: 22P 13T 4H 24A 13P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 146 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 146 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2659 Aug 10 | 03m30s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2244 Dec 01 | 00m27s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 1992 Jun 30 | 05m21s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 2154 Oct 07 | 02m05s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2172 Oct 17 | 01m34s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2226 Nov 20 | 00m03s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 1920 May 18 | - | 0.97341 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2893 Dec 29 | - | 0.00285 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 146. 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 146.
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
08408 -46 1541 Sep 19 20:34:01 157 -5668 Pb -1.5140 0.0378 61.1S 135.3E 0
08449 -45 1559 Oct 01 04:46:46 142 -5445 P -1.4772 0.1083 61.3S 3.4E 0
08490 -44 1577 Oct 11 13:08:02 130 -5222 P -1.4473 0.1654 61.6S 130.8W 0
08531 -43 1595 Nov 01 21:36:53 120 -4999 P -1.4233 0.2111 62.1S 93.1E 0
08572 -42 1613 Nov 12 06:12:15 102 -4776 P -1.4048 0.2464 62.7S 44.9W 0
08616 -41 1631 Nov 23 14:53:44 76 -4553 P -1.3912 0.2723 63.5S 175.4E 0
08661 -40 1649 Dec 03 23:40:37 49 -4330 P -1.3820 0.2896 64.4S 34.1E 0
08707 -39 1667 Dec 15 08:29:59 26 -4107 P -1.3752 0.3024 65.3S 108.2W 0
08752 -38 1685 Dec 25 17:22:35 11 -3884 P -1.3710 0.3102 66.4S 108.3E 0
08797 -37 1704 Jan 07 02:14:51 9 -3661 P -1.3669 0.3177 67.4S 35.5W 0
08842 -36 1722 Jan 17 11:07:10 10 -3438 P -1.3629 0.3251 68.5S 179.9W 0
08888 -35 1740 Jan 28 19:54:59 12 -3215 P -1.3555 0.3387 69.5S 36.2E 0
08934 -34 1758 Feb 08 04:40:52 14 -2992 P -1.3468 0.3549 70.4S 107.8W 0
08979 -33 1776 Feb 19 13:20:11 16 -2769 P -1.3334 0.3800 71.1S 109.2E 0
09025 -32 1794 Mar 01 21:54:00 15 -2546 P -1.3155 0.4136 71.6S 32.9W 0
09070 -31 1812 Mar 13 06:19:30 12 -2323 P -1.2913 0.4594 71.9S 173.3W 0
09115 -30 1830 Mar 24 14:38:43 7 -2100 P -1.2622 0.5148 72.0S 47.7E 0
09159 -29 1848 Apr 03 22:49:07 7 -1877 P -1.2264 0.5834 71.8S 89.0W 0
09202 -28 1866 Apr 15 06:51:40 5 -1654 P -1.1846 0.6637 71.4S 136.6E 0
09244 -27 1884 Apr 25 14:46:17 -6 -1431 P -1.1365 0.7563 70.7S 4.6E 0
09286 -26 1902 May 07 22:34:16 0 -1208 P -1.0831 0.8593 70.0S 125.1W 0
09328 -25 1920 May 18 06:14:55 21 -985 P -1.0239 0.9734 69.1S 107.7E 0
09371 -24 1938 May 29 13:50:19 24 -762 T -0.9607 1.0552 52.7S 22.0W 16 675 04m05s
09412 -23 1956 Jun 08 21:20:39 32 -539 T -0.8934 1.0581 40.8S 140.7W 26 429 04m45s
09452 -22 1974 Jun 20 04:48:04 45 -316 T -0.8239 1.0592 32.1S 103.7E 34 344 05m09s
09491 -21 1992 Jun 30 12:11:22 59 -93 T -0.7512 1.0592 25.2S 9.5W 41 294 05m21s
09530 -20 2010 Jul 11 19:34:38 67 130 T -0.6788 1.0580 19.7S 121.9W 47 259 05m20s
09570 -19 2028 Jul 22 02:56:40 77 353 T -0.6056 1.0560 15.6S 126.7E 53 230 05m10s
09610 -18 2046 Aug 02 10:21:13 90 576 T -0.5350 1.0531 12.7S 15.2E 58 206 04m51s
09651 -17 2064 Aug 12 17:46:06 123 799 T -0.4652 1.0495 10.9S 96.0W 62 184 04m28s
09692 -16 2082 Aug 24 01:16:21 163 1022 T -0.4004 1.0452 10.3S 151.8E 66 163 04m01s
09734 -15 2100 Sep 04 08:49:20 204 1245 T -0.3384 1.0402 10.5S 39.0E 70 142 03m32s
09775 -14 2118 Sep 15 16:28:26 248 1468 T -0.2823 1.0349 11.5S 75.2W 74 122 03m04s
09816 -13 2136 Sep 26 00:12:14 293 1691 T -0.2309 1.0292 13.0S 169.4E 77 101 02m34s
09858 -12 2154 Oct 07 08:03:50 338 1914 T -0.1867 1.0234 15.1S 52.1E 79 81 02m05s
09900 -11 2172 Oct 17 16:01:36 378 2137 H3 -0.1484 1.0174 17.3S 66.6W 81 60 01m34s
09944 -10 2190 Oct 29 00:05:50 419 2360 H -0.1161 1.0116 19.6S 173.2E 83 40 01m04s
09989 -09 2208 Nov 09 08:17:12 463 2583 H -0.0905 1.0059 21.8S 51.4E 85 20 00m34s
10032 -08 2226 Nov 20 16:34:56 509 2806 Hm -0.0711 1.0005 23.7S 71.7W 86 2 00m03s
10076 -07 2244 Dec 01 00:58:17 557 3029 A -0.0568 0.9955 25.1S 164.0E 87 16 00m27s
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
10121 -06 2262 Dec 12 09:25:02 607 3252 A -0.0461 0.9910 25.8S 39.0E 87 32 00m56s
10166 -05 2280 Dec 22 17:55:44 659 3475 A -0.0392 0.9870 25.8S 86.8W 88 46 01m23s
10212 -04 2299 Jan 03 02:27:43 713 3698 A -0.0341 0.9836 24.9S 146.9E 88 58 01m47s
10257 -03 2317 Jan 14 10:59:38 769 3921 A -0.0298 0.9807 23.2S 20.5E 88 69 02m08s
10303 -02 2335 Jan 25 19:29:43 827 4144 A -0.0247 0.9784 20.6S 105.9W 88 77 02m25s
10349 -01 2353 Feb 05 03:56:55 887 4367 A -0.0179 0.9766 17.1S 128.0E 89 84 02m38s
10394 00 2371 Feb 16 12:18:49 950 4590 A -0.0075 0.9753 12.9S 2.7E 89 88 02m48s
10437 01 2389 Feb 26 20:33:52 1014 4813 A 0.0078 0.9744 8.1S 121.3W 90 92 02m55s
10481 02 2407 Mar 10 04:41:40 1081 5036 A 0.0283 0.9739 2.7S 116.1E 88 93 02m59s
10524 03 2425 Mar 20 12:41:12 1149 5259 A 0.0546 0.9735 3.1N 4.7W 87 95 03m02s
10567 04 2443 Mar 31 20:30:25 1220 5482 A 0.0889 0.9734 9.3N 123.1W 85 95 03m02s
10610 05 2461 Apr 11 04:10:36 1293 5705 A 0.1300 0.9732 15.8N 120.8E 82 97 03m02s
10652 06 2479 Apr 22 11:40:30 1367 5928 A 0.1790 0.9731 22.5N 7.5E 80 98 03m01s
10694 07 2497 May 02 19:01:52 1444 6151 A 0.2341 0.9727 29.2N 103.2W 76 100 02m59s
10736 08 2515 May 15 02:12:11 1523 6374 A 0.2976 0.9722 36.0N 149.4E 72 104 02m57s
10777 09 2533 May 25 09:15:50 1604 6597 A 0.3660 0.9712 42.6N 44.8E 68 111 02m56s
10817 10 2551 Jun 05 16:10:40 1687 6820 A 0.4411 0.9699 49.0N 56.1W 64 121 02m55s
10857 11 2569 Jun 15 23:00:08 1773 7043 A 0.5197 0.9680 54.8N 153.7W 58 135 02m56s
10897 12 2587 Jun 27 05:42:58 1860 7266 A 0.6029 0.9656 59.9N 113.1E 53 156 02m58s
10938 13 2605 Jul 08 12:23:21 1949 7489 A 0.6873 0.9626 64.0N 24.0E 46 186 03m03s
10979 14 2623 Jul 19 19:00:06 2040 7712 A 0.7738 0.9589 66.8N 60.2W 39 235 03m10s
11019 15 2641 Jul 30 01:35:56 2134 7935 A 0.8602 0.9545 68.1N 140.0W 30 326 03m20s
11059 16 2659 Aug 10 08:11:51 2229 8158 A 0.9454 0.9487 67.6N 146.8E 19 584 03m30s
11100 17 2677 Aug 20 14:50:18 2327 8381 P 1.0277 0.9182 61.7N 81.5E 0
11142 18 2695 Aug 31 21:32:02 2427 8604 P 1.1064 0.7816 61.3N 27.3W 0
11184 19 2713 Sep 12 04:18:12 2528 8827 P 1.1807 0.6536 61.1N 137.1W 0
11227 20 2731 Sep 23 11:10:46 2632 9050 P 1.2491 0.5366 61.0N 111.6E 0
11270 21 2749 Oct 03 18:09:52 2738 9273 P 1.3115 0.4305 61.1N 1.4W 0
11315 22 2767 Oct 15 01:16:22 2846 9496 P 1.3673 0.3366 61.4N 116.2W 0
11359 23 2785 Oct 25 08:31:14 2956 9719 P 1.4158 0.2555 61.8N 126.8E 0
11404 24 2803 Nov 05 15:54:34 3068 9942 P 1.4572 0.1871 62.3N 7.6E 0
11449 25 2821 Nov 15 23:26:43 3182 10165 P 1.4912 0.1314 63.0N 114.0W 0
11494 26 2839 Nov 27 07:05:15 3299 10388 P 1.5198 0.0847 63.8N 122.6E 0
11540 27 2857 Dec 07 14:52:22 3417 10611 P 1.5412 0.0502 64.8N 3.2W 0
11586 28 2875 Dec 18 22:44:21 3537 10834 P 1.5581 0.0230 65.8N 130.6W 0
11633 29 2893 Dec 29 06:42:03 3660 11057 Pe 1.5706 0.0028 66.8N 100.1E 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)"
