Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 150

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 150

Solar eclipses of Saros 150 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 1729 Aug 24. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2991 Sep 29. The total duration of Saros series 150 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   1729 Aug 24   13:48:31 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   2991 Sep 29   06:52:19 TD

                      Duration of Saros 150  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 150 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 150
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PartialP 31 43.7%
AnnularA 40 56.3%
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 150 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 150
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 40100.0%
Central (two limits) 39 97.5%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.5%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 150: 22P 40A 9P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 150 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 150
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 2522 Dec 1909m58s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 2829 Jun 2200m35s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 2847 Jul 03 - 0.97752
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 1729 Aug 24 - 0.00667

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 150

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 150. 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 150.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 150

                         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

08862 -35  1729 Aug 24  13:48:31     11  -3344   Pb  -1.5430  0.0067  61.7S  95.2W   0             
08908 -34  1747 Sep 04  21:07:57     12  -3121   P   -1.4880  0.1086  61.4S 146.1E   0             
08953 -33  1765 Sep 15  04:32:34     15  -2898   P   -1.4378  0.2009  61.1S  26.2E   0             
08999 -32  1783 Sep 26  12:04:17     17  -2675   P   -1.3935  0.2814  61.1S  95.4W   0             
09044 -31  1801 Oct 07  19:42:34     13  -2452   P   -1.3552  0.3505  61.2S 141.3E   0             
09089 -30  1819 Oct 19  03:27:17     12  -2229   P   -1.3226  0.4085  61.5S  16.4E   0             
09133 -29  1837 Oct 29  11:19:24      5  -2006   P   -1.2967  0.4542  61.9S 110.5W   0             
09176 -28  1855 Nov 09  19:17:51      7  -1783   P   -1.2767  0.4892  62.5S 121.0E   0             
09219 -27  1873 Nov 20  03:22:52     -2  -1560   P   -1.2625  0.5138  63.2S   9.5W   0             
09261 -26  1891 Dec 01  11:31:08     -6  -1337   P   -1.2515  0.5326  64.1S 140.9W   0             

09303 -25  1909 Dec 12  19:44:48     10  -1114   P   -1.2456  0.5424  65.0S  86.0E   0             
09345 -24  1927 Dec 24  03:59:41     24   -891   P   -1.2416  0.5490  66.1S  47.7W   0             
09388 -23  1946 Jan 03  12:16:11     27   -668   P   -1.2392  0.5529  67.1S 177.6E   0             
09428 -22  1964 Jan 14  20:30:08     35   -445   P   -1.2354  0.5591  68.2S  43.1E   0             
09468 -21  1982 Jan 25  04:42:53     52   -222   P   -1.2311  0.5663  69.3S  91.7W   0             
09507 -20  2000 Feb 05  12:50:27     64      1   P   -1.2233  0.5795  70.2S 134.1E   0             
09547 -19  2018 Feb 15  20:52:33     71    224   P   -1.2116  0.5991  71.0S   0.6E   0             
09587 -18  2036 Feb 27  04:46:49     82    447   P   -1.1942  0.6286  71.6S 131.4W   0             
09627 -17  2054 Mar 09  12:33:40    101    670   P   -1.1711  0.6678  72.0S  97.9E   0             
09669 -16  2072 Mar 19  20:10:31    140    893   P   -1.1405  0.7199  72.2S  30.4W   0             

09710 -15  2090 Mar 31  03:38:08    180   1116   P   -1.1028  0.7843  72.1S 156.3W   0             
09751 -14  2108 Apr 11  10:55:37    222   1339   P   -1.0573  0.8620  71.7S  80.5E   0             
09792 -13  2126 Apr 22  18:04:22    267   1562   A-  -1.0051  0.9514  71.1S  40.0W   0             
09833 -12  2144 May 03  01:02:06    313   1785   A   -0.9441  0.9363  53.6S 175.9W  19  727  06m09s
09875 -11  2162 May 14  07:52:46    355   2008   A   -0.8775  0.9396  42.3S  72.8E  28  468  06m37s
09918 -10  2180 May 24  14:34:28    395   2231   A   -0.8035  0.9422  32.6S  32.9W  36  359  06m59s
09962 -09  2198 Jun 04  21:11:35    437   2454   A   -0.7260  0.9442  24.2S 135.7W  43  299  07m13s
10006 -08  2216 Jun 16  03:41:04    482   2677   A   -0.6420  0.9458  16.7S 124.6E  50  260  07m20s
10050 -07  2234 Jun 27  10:09:34    529   2900   A   -0.5572  0.9468  10.3S  26.1E  56  235  07m18s
10095 -06  2252 Jul 07  16:34:12    577   3123   A   -0.4686  0.9473   4.9S  70.6W  62  218  07m10s

10140 -05  2270 Jul 18  22:59:54    628   3346   A   -0.3811  0.9474   0.7S 166.9W  68  208  06m57s
10186 -04  2288 Jul 29  05:25:23    681   3569   A   -0.2930  0.9469   2.5N  97.4E  73  203  06m46s
10231 -03  2306 Aug 10  11:55:10    736   3792   A   -0.2083  0.9461   4.6N   1.0E  78  202  06m37s
10276 -02  2324 Aug 20  18:28:22    793   4015   A   -0.1261  0.9449   5.7N  96.0W  83  205  06m33s
10321 -01  2342 Sep 01  01:06:55    852   4238   A   -0.0480  0.9434   6.1N 165.7E  87  209  06m34s
10367  00  2360 Sep 11  07:52:25    913   4461   Am   0.0244  0.9415   5.7N  65.6E  89  217  06m41s
10411  01  2378 Sep 22  14:45:48    977   4684   A    0.0904  0.9396   4.8N  36.6W  85  225  06m54s
10455  02  2396 Oct 02  21:48:07   1042   4907   A    0.1493  0.9375   3.5N 141.2W  81  234  07m12s
10498  03  2414 Oct 14  04:58:50   1109   5130   A    0.2015  0.9355   2.2N 111.8E  78  245  07m34s
10541  04  2432 Oct 24  12:19:58   1179   5353   A    0.2455  0.9335   0.8N   2.1E  76  255  08m01s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 150

                         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

10584  05  2450 Nov 04  19:49:31   1250   5576   A    0.2828  0.9318   0.5S 109.9W  74  264  08m30s
10627  06  2468 Nov 15  03:28:23   1324   5799   A    0.3126  0.9304   1.5S 135.7E  72  273  08m59s
10670  07  2486 Nov 26  11:15:08   1400   6022   A    0.3363  0.9294   2.1S  19.2E  70  280  09m26s
10712  08  2504 Dec 07  19:10:09   1477   6245   A    0.3535  0.9289   2.3S  99.5W  69  284  09m46s
10753  09  2522 Dec 19  03:10:40   1557   6468   A    0.3668  0.9289   2.0S 140.4E  68  286  09m58s
10794  10  2540 Dec 29  11:15:59   1639   6691   A    0.3765  0.9295   1.0S  19.0E  68  285  09m57s
10834  11  2559 Jan 09  19:24:29   1723   6914   A    0.3841  0.9308   0.6N 103.4W  67  280  09m43s
10874  12  2577 Jan 20  03:35:00   1809   7137   A    0.3901  0.9326   2.8N 133.7E  67  273  09m18s
10914  13  2595 Jan 31  11:44:03   1897   7360   A    0.3981  0.9352   5.9N  10.9E  67  263  08m42s
10955  14  2613 Feb 11  19:51:44   1987   7583   A    0.4076  0.9382   9.6N 111.8W  66  250  08m00s

10996  15  2631 Feb 23  03:55:11   2080   7806   A    0.4211  0.9419  14.0N 126.3E  65  236  07m13s
11036  16  2649 Mar 05  11:55:21   2174   8029   A    0.4378  0.9460  19.0N   5.2E  64  220  06m25s
11077  17  2667 Mar 16  19:47:40   2270   8252   A    0.4613  0.9506  24.6N 114.3W  62  203  05m36s
11118  18  2685 Mar 27  03:35:09   2369   8475   A    0.4895  0.9554  30.7N 127.5E  61  185  04m48s
11160  19  2703 Apr 08  11:13:59   2469   8698   A    0.5256  0.9605  37.2N  11.4E  58  167  04m01s
11202  20  2721 Apr 18  18:47:26   2572   8921   A    0.5665  0.9657  44.1N 103.1W  55  150  03m17s
11245  21  2739 Apr 30  02:11:56   2677   9144   A    0.6157  0.9708  51.4N 145.0E  52  133  02m37s
11288  22  2757 May 10  09:32:11   2783   9367   A    0.6690  0.9758  58.9N  35.1E  48  116  02m01s
11333  23  2775 May 21  16:45:20   2892   9590   A    0.7292  0.9804  66.7N  71.6W  43  102  01m31s
11378  24  2793 May 31  23:54:30   3003   9813   A    0.7933  0.9846  74.7N 173.3W  37   90  01m06s

11423  25  2811 Jun 12  06:58:46   3116  10036   A    0.8623  0.9880  82.8N 102.4E  30   84  00m47s
11468  26  2829 Jun 22  14:01:25   3231  10259   A    0.9335  0.9904  83.4N  97.9E  21   97  00m35s
11514  27  2847 Jul 03  21:02:28   3348  10482   P    1.0066  0.9775  64.9N  33.4E   0             
11560  28  2865 Jul 14  04:03:03   3467  10705   P    1.0808  0.8446  64.0N  80.8W   0             
11606  29  2883 Jul 25  11:05:22   3589  10928   P    1.1544  0.7116  63.3N 164.7E   0             
11653  30  2901 Aug 05  18:10:19   3712  11151   P    1.2266  0.5801  62.6N  49.9E   0             
11699  31  2919 Aug 17  01:18:50   3837  11374   P    1.2963  0.4526  62.1N  65.7W   0             
11744  32  2937 Aug 27  08:32:10   3965  11597   P    1.3627  0.3306  61.7N 177.6E   0             
11788  33  2955 Sep 07  15:51:40   4094  11820   P    1.4246  0.2164  61.4N  59.5E   0             
11832  34  2973 Sep 17  23:18:46   4226  12043   P    1.4812  0.1119  61.3N  60.5W   0             

11876  35  2991 Sep 29  06:52:19   4360  12266   Pe   1.5333  0.0156  61.4N 178.0E   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