The periodicity and recurrence of solar (and lunar) 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.
Solar eclipses of Saros 6 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 -2673 Mar 27. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1393 May 03. The total duration of Saros series 6 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2673 Mar 27 20:31:11 TD
Last Eclipse = -1393 May 03 21:58:15 TD
Duration of Saros 6 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 6 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 6 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 22.2% |
| Annular | A | 47 | 65.3% |
| Total | T | 7 | 9.7% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.8% |
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 6 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 6 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 53 | 94.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 2 | 3.6% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 6: 7P 7T 2H 47A 9P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 6 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -2511 Jul 02 Duration = 03m18s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -2439 Aug 14 Duration = 01m40s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1646 Dec 03 Duration = 09m36s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -2385 Sep 16 Duration = 00m03s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -2421 Aug 26 Duration = 01m04s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -2403 Sep 05 Duration = 00m30s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -2565 May 31 Magnitude = 0.8857
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1393 May 03 Magnitude = 0.0404
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 6 are presented in the following catalog. The sequence number in the first column links to a global map showing regions of eclipse visibility. A detailed key and additional information about the catalog can be found at: Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.
For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Saros 006 Animation.
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
01 -37 -2673 Mar 27 20:31:11 62276 -57795 Pb -1.4782 0.0985 71.1S 115.5W 0 249
02 -36 -2655 Apr 07 03:58:32 61777 -57572 P -1.4150 0.2203 71.4S 116.8E 0 263
03 -35 -2637 Apr 18 11:22:10 61280 -57349 P -1.3490 0.3477 71.4S 10.0W 0 276
04 -34 -2619 Apr 28 18:41:50 60785 -57126 P -1.2800 0.4808 71.2S 135.8W 0 289
05 -33 -2601 May 10 01:59:13 60292 -56903 P -1.2094 0.6165 70.8S 99.3E 0 302
06 -32 -2583 May 20 09:15:36 59801 -56680 P -1.1384 0.7524 70.2S 25.0W 0 315
07 -31 -2565 May 31 16:32:39 59312 -56457 P -1.0682 0.8857 69.4S 149.0W 0 327
08 -30 -2547 Jun 10 23:51:42 58825 -56234 T- -1.0003 1.0134 68.6S 87.1E 0 338 - -
09 -29 -2529 Jun 22 07:12:42 58340 -56011 T -0.9345 1.0405 47.4S 42.0W 20 354 386 03m15s
10 -28 -2511 Jul 02 14:38:50 57857 -55788 T -0.8736 1.0376 37.8S 161.1W 29 0 261 03m18s
11 -27 -2493 Jul 13 22:09:25 57376 -55565 T -0.8168 1.0334 30.9S 80.6E 35 5 195 03m06s
12 -26 -2475 Jul 24 05:46:29 56897 -55342 T -0.7663 1.0285 25.9S 38.4W 40 10 150 02m44s
13 -25 -2457 Aug 04 13:29:25 56420 -55119 T -0.7215 1.0229 22.6S 158.2W 44 14 112 02m14s
14 -24 -2439 Aug 14 21:20:29 55945 -54896 T -0.6839 1.0172 20.8S 80.4E 47 18 80 01m40s
15 -23 -2421 Aug 26 05:18:48 55472 -54673 H -0.6532 1.0112 20.4S 42.7W 49 22 50 01m04s
16 -22 -2403 Sep 05 13:24:05 55001 -54450 H -0.6288 1.0053 21.2S 167.4W 51 26 23 00m30s
17 -21 -2385 Sep 16 21:37:07 54532 -54227 A -0.6116 0.9995 23.1S 66.0E 52 29 2 00m03s
18 -20 -2367 Sep 27 05:56:38 54065 -54004 A -0.6007 0.9941 26.0S 62.4W 53 32 25 00m32s
19 -19 -2349 Oct 08 14:22:11 53600 -53781 A -0.5951 0.9890 29.7S 167.8E 53 34 47 00m58s
20 -18 -2331 Oct 18 22:50:28 53138 -53558 A -0.5925 0.9844 33.8S 37.3E 53 36 67 01m21s
21 -17 -2313 Oct 30 07:22:48 52676 -53335 A -0.5940 0.9804 38.4S 93.9W 53 37 85 01m40s
22 -16 -2295 Nov 09 15:55:23 52218 -53112 A -0.5966 0.9770 43.1S 135.3E 53 37 101 01m55s
23 -15 -2277 Nov 21 00:27:44 51761 -52889 A -0.5997 0.9743 47.8S 5.4E 53 36 114 02m07s
24 -14 -2259 Dec 01 08:56:19 51306 -52666 A -0.6008 0.9721 52.0S 122.2W 53 33 124 02m17s
25 -13 -2241 Dec 12 17:21:27 50853 -52443 A -0.5997 0.9706 55.7S 112.6E 53 29 132 02m25s
26 -12 -2223 Dec 23 01:39:37 50402 -52220 A -0.5939 0.9696 58.2S 8.8W 53 22 136 02m30s
27 -11 -2204 Jan 03 09:50:09 49953 -51997 A -0.5827 0.9691 59.2S 126.8W 54 14 137 02m35s
28 -10 -2186 Jan 13 17:51:29 49506 -51774 A -0.5650 0.9690 58.4S 118.0E 55 5 136 02m39s
29 -09 -2168 Jan 25 01:43:38 49061 -51551 A -0.5409 0.9692 55.8S 4.0E 57 357 132 02m43s
30 -08 -2150 Feb 04 09:24:06 48619 -51328 A -0.5079 0.9696 51.6S 108.9W 59 351 127 02m47s
31 -07 -2132 Feb 15 16:54:35 48178 -51105 A -0.4674 0.9701 46.1S 138.7E 62 347 122 02m52s
32 -06 -2114 Feb 26 00:13:39 47739 -50882 A -0.4184 0.9706 39.5S 27.4E 65 344 116 02m57s
33 -05 -2096 Mar 08 07:23:38 47302 -50659 A -0.3629 0.9709 32.3S 82.9W 69 342 112 03m04s
34 -04 -2078 Mar 19 14:21:35 46867 -50436 A -0.2981 0.9710 24.5S 169.0E 73 342 109 03m12s
35 -03 -2060 Mar 29 21:12:36 46434 -50213 A -0.2285 0.9707 16.3S 62.1E 77 341 108 03m22s
36 -02 -2042 Apr 10 03:54:13 46004 -49990 A -0.1516 0.9701 7.7S 42.8W 81 342 109 03m33s
37 -01 -2024 Apr 20 10:31:12 45575 -49767 Am -0.0718 0.9690 0.9N 146.5W 86 342 112 03m45s
38 00 -2006 May 01 17:00:43 45148 -49544 A 0.0134 0.9673 9.7N 111.8E 89 165 118 03m58s
39 01 -1988 May 11 23:28:58 44723 -49321 A 0.0987 0.9652 18.3N 10.8E 84 165 126 04m11s
40 02 -1970 May 23 05:53:04 44300 -49098 A 0.1869 0.9625 26.8N 88.7W 79 167 138 04m23s
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
41 03 -1952 Jun 02 12:18:03 43880 -48875 A 0.2734 0.9595 34.9N 172.5E 74 170 153 04m34s
42 04 -1934 Jun 13 18:42:52 43461 -48652 A 0.3594 0.9558 42.5N 75.1E 69 173 173 04m44s
43 05 -1916 Jun 24 01:12:09 43044 -48429 A 0.4409 0.9519 49.4N 21.8W 64 178 197 04m53s
44 06 -1898 Jul 05 07:45:10 42629 -48206 A 0.5188 0.9476 55.2N 117.2W 58 185 226 05m02s
45 07 -1880 Jul 15 14:24:03 42216 -47983 A 0.5912 0.9430 59.7N 148.4E 53 195 262 05m12s
46 08 -1862 Jul 26 21:10:21 41806 -47760 A 0.6570 0.9383 62.4N 54.5E 49 206 304 05m24s
47 09 -1844 Aug 06 04:04:34 41397 -47537 A 0.7161 0.9335 63.3N 40.6W 44 217 355 05m37s
48 10 -1826 Aug 17 11:07:52 40990 -47314 A 0.7672 0.9289 62.6N 139.2W 40 227 414 05m53s
49 11 -1808 Aug 27 18:20:00 40586 -47091 A 0.8110 0.9244 60.9N 117.5E 36 233 482 06m12s
50 12 -1790 Sep 08 01:42:19 40183 -46868 A 0.8463 0.9202 58.7N 9.0E 32 237 558 06m33s
51 13 -1772 Sep 18 09:13:28 39782 -46645 A 0.8744 0.9165 56.3N 104.1W 29 238 641 06m57s
52 14 -1754 Sep 29 16:52:56 39383 -46422 A 0.8956 0.9133 54.1N 138.8E 26 236 725 07m23s
53 15 -1736 Oct 10 00:40:09 38987 -46199 A 0.9103 0.9108 52.1N 18.2E 24 233 802 07m50s
54 16 -1718 Oct 21 08:33:49 38592 -45976 A 0.9195 0.9091 50.2N 105.3W 23 229 861 08m18s
55 17 -1700 Oct 31 16:31:53 38199 -45753 A 0.9254 0.9081 48.5N 129.4E 22 223 905 08m44s
56 18 -1682 Nov 12 00:32:11 37809 -45530 A 0.9295 0.9078 47.1N 3.2E 21 218 936 09m08s
57 19 -1664 Nov 22 08:33:54 37420 -45307 A 0.9323 0.9083 46.1N 123.6W 21 212 955 09m26s
58 20 -1646 Dec 03 16:35:07 37033 -45084 A 0.9353 0.9095 45.6N 109.7E 20 206 971 09m36s
59 21 -1628 Dec 14 00:32:53 36649 -44861 A 0.9413 0.9113 46.1N 16.0W 19 200 1006 09m33s
60 22 -1610 Dec 25 08:26:41 36266 -44638 A 0.9505 0.9134 47.8N 140.8W 18 194 1076 09m18s
61 23 -1591 Jan 04 16:14:07 35885 -44415 A 0.9652 0.9160 51.3N 95.8E 15 187 1258 08m45s
62 24 -1573 Jan 15 23:55:57 35507 -44192 An 0.9847 0.9183 57.7N 27.4W 9 180 - 07m57s
63 25 -1555 Jan 26 07:28:19 35130 -43969 A+ 1.0120 0.9351 67.8N 153.0W 0 169 - -
64 26 -1537 Feb 06 14:54:09 34755 -43746 P 1.0448 0.8815 68.8N 82.3E 0 158
65 27 -1519 Feb 16 22:10:22 34383 -43523 P 1.0857 0.8139 69.7N 40.5W 0 146
66 28 -1501 Feb 28 05:19:15 34012 -43300 P 1.1329 0.7347 70.5N 162.1W 0 133
67 29 -1483 Mar 10 12:19:02 33644 -43077 P 1.1879 0.6414 71.1N 78.1E 0 120
68 30 -1465 Mar 21 19:13:02 33277 -42854 P 1.2478 0.5385 71.5N 40.7W 0 107
69 31 -1447 Apr 01 02:00:26 32912 -42631 P 1.3133 0.4249 71.7N 158.0W 0 93
70 32 -1429 Apr 12 08:42:37 32550 -42408 P 1.3832 0.3025 71.6N 86.0E 0 80
71 33 -1411 Apr 22 15:21:18 32189 -42185 P 1.4562 0.1736 71.2N 28.9W 0 66
72 34 -1393 May 03 21:58:15 31831 -41962 Pe 1.5310 0.0404 70.7N 143.0W 0 54
[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 the Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is virtually identical 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 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.
Special thanks to Dan McGlaun for extracting the individual eclipse maps from the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 for use in this catalog and for preparing the Saros series animations from these maps.
The Besselian elements used in the predictions were kindly provided by Jean Meeus. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Some of the information presented on this web site is based on data originally published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)"
