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 31 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1805 Jan 31. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0489 Mar 31. The total duration of Saros series 31 is 1316.20 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1805 Jan 31 08:30:57 TD
Last Eclipse = -0489 Mar 31 01:26:56 TD
Duration of Saros 31 = 1316.20 Years
Saros 31 is composed of 74 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 31 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 74 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 34 | 45.9% |
| Annular | A | 40 | 54.1% |
| Total | T | 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 31 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 31 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 40 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 39 | 97.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.5% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 74 eclipses in Saros 31: 10P 40A 24P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 31 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1319 Nov 18 Duration = 11m29s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0940 Jul 02 Duration = 01m24s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1643 May 07 Magnitude = 0.9483
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1805 Jan 31 Magnitude = 0.0081
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 31 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 031 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 -35 -1805 Jan 31 08:30:57 40531 -47061 Pb 1.5526 0.0081 63.3N 173.4W 0 144
02 -34 -1787 Feb 10 16:07:23 40129 -46838 P 1.5213 0.0626 62.5N 61.4E 0 135
03 -33 -1769 Feb 21 23:32:24 39728 -46615 P 1.4816 0.1318 61.8N 60.6W 0 125
04 -32 -1751 Mar 04 06:47:43 39330 -46392 P 1.4347 0.2136 61.3N 179.9E 0 116
05 -31 -1733 Mar 15 13:52:14 38933 -46169 P 1.3796 0.3097 60.9N 63.3E 0 107
06 -30 -1715 Mar 25 20:46:57 38539 -45946 P 1.3171 0.4188 60.7N 50.8W 0 99
07 -29 -1697 Apr 06 03:33:07 38147 -45723 P 1.2482 0.5389 60.6N 162.7W 0 90
08 -28 -1679 Apr 16 10:11:56 37756 -45500 P 1.1740 0.6681 60.6N 87.3E 0 81
09 -27 -1661 Apr 27 16:44:02 37368 -45277 P 1.0949 0.8056 60.8N 21.1W 0 73
10 -26 -1643 May 07 23:11:49 36981 -45054 P 1.0124 0.9483 61.2N 128.4W 0 64
11 -25 -1625 May 19 05:36:22 36597 -44831 A 0.9278 0.9523 66.7N 174.3E 21 100 469 03m19s
12 -24 -1607 May 29 12:00:07 36215 -44608 A 0.8427 0.9525 66.9N 98.5E 32 121 322 03m32s
13 -23 -1589 Jun 09 18:22:35 35834 -44385 A 0.7568 0.9516 65.7N 18.2E 41 138 271 03m51s
14 -22 -1571 Jun 20 00:48:42 35456 -44162 A 0.6743 0.9499 63.3N 66.6W 47 152 249 04m15s
15 -21 -1553 Jul 01 07:17:10 35080 -43939 A 0.5941 0.9476 59.7N 155.0W 53 164 240 04m44s
16 -20 -1535 Jul 11 13:52:31 34705 -43716 A 0.5194 0.9449 55.3N 111.9E 58 174 238 05m19s
17 -19 -1517 Jul 22 20:32:30 34333 -43493 A 0.4487 0.9418 50.0N 15.1E 63 181 241 05m59s
18 -18 -1499 Aug 02 03:22:20 33963 -43270 A 0.3864 0.9386 44.4N 86.1W 67 186 248 06m42s
19 -17 -1481 Aug 13 10:18:57 33594 -43047 A 0.3298 0.9351 38.4N 169.6E 71 190 256 07m27s
20 -16 -1463 Aug 23 17:25:29 33228 -42824 A 0.2817 0.9318 32.3N 61.8E 73 194 266 08m10s
21 -15 -1445 Sep 04 00:40:23 32864 -42601 A 0.2404 0.9286 26.2N 48.7W 76 196 276 08m51s
22 -14 -1427 Sep 14 08:05:58 32501 -42378 A 0.2080 0.9256 20.2N 162.4W 78 197 286 09m27s
23 -13 -1409 Sep 25 15:39:41 32141 -42155 A 0.1825 0.9229 14.4N 81.8E 79 198 296 10m00s
24 -12 -1391 Oct 05 23:21:33 31783 -41932 A 0.1637 0.9207 8.9N 36.2W 81 198 304 10m27s
25 -11 -1373 Oct 17 07:10:35 31426 -41709 A 0.1509 0.9190 3.7N 155.9W 81 198 310 10m51s
26 -10 -1355 Oct 27 15:05:56 31072 -41486 A 0.1429 0.9180 1.0S 83.0E 82 196 314 11m10s
27 -09 -1337 Nov 07 23:04:53 30720 -41263 A 0.1379 0.9176 5.3S 38.8W 82 194 316 11m24s
28 -08 -1319 Nov 18 07:06:24 30370 -41040 A 0.1346 0.9178 9.1S 160.8W 82 191 315 11m29s
29 -07 -1301 Nov 29 15:08:25 30021 -40817 A 0.1315 0.9188 12.2S 77.2E 83 188 311 11m26s
30 -06 -1283 Dec 09 23:10:06 29675 -40594 A 0.1275 0.9205 14.7S 44.3W 83 184 303 11m11s
31 -05 -1265 Dec 21 07:07:40 29331 -40371 A 0.1197 0.9229 16.6S 164.6W 83 179 293 10m44s
32 -04 -1247 Dec 31 15:01:47 28989 -40148 A 0.1084 0.9259 17.8S 76.3E 84 175 280 10m06s
33 -03 -1228 Jan 11 22:49:04 28648 -39925 A 0.0909 0.9295 18.4S 41.1W 85 170 265 09m19s
34 -02 -1210 Jan 22 06:30:03 28310 -39702 A 0.0678 0.9337 18.4S 156.7W 86 165 248 08m26s
35 -01 -1192 Feb 02 14:02:01 27974 -39479 A 0.0364 0.9381 18.0S 89.9E 88 160 230 07m33s
36 00 -1174 Feb 12 21:26:57 27640 -39256 A -0.0013 0.9430 17.2S 21.7W 90 351 211 06m40s
37 01 -1156 Feb 24 04:43:07 27307 -39033 A -0.0471 0.9480 16.2S 131.1W 87 335 191 05m52s
38 02 -1138 Mar 06 11:50:47 26977 -38810 Am -0.1004 0.9532 15.0S 121.6E 84 332 172 05m07s
39 03 -1120 Mar 16 18:50:43 26649 -38587 A -0.1607 0.9582 13.9S 16.2E 81 331 154 04m28s
40 04 -1102 Mar 28 01:44:10 26323 -38364 A -0.2270 0.9632 13.0S 87.6W 77 330 136 03m52s
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 05 -1084 Apr 07 08:32:24 25999 -38141 A -0.2985 0.9678 12.5S 169.9E 73 330 120 03m22s
42 06 -1066 Apr 18 15:15:13 25677 -37918 A -0.3752 0.9722 12.6S 68.7E 68 331 106 02m56s
43 07 -1048 Apr 28 21:56:14 25356 -37695 A -0.4542 0.9760 13.4S 32.2W 63 333 95 02m33s
44 08 -1030 May 10 04:35:16 25038 -37472 A -0.5354 0.9794 15.2S 132.8W 58 335 85 02m14s
45 09 -1012 May 20 11:15:02 24722 -37249 A -0.6168 0.9821 18.0S 126.1E 52 338 79 01m57s
46 10 -0994 May 31 17:55:43 24408 -37026 A -0.6985 0.9841 22.1S 24.3E 46 341 77 01m44s
47 11 -0976 Jun 11 00:40:34 24096 -36803 A -0.7775 0.9854 27.6S 79.2W 39 345 81 01m34s
48 12 -0958 Jun 22 07:29:45 23786 -36580 A -0.8536 0.9859 34.6S 175.5E 31 349 95 01m27s
49 13 -0940 Jul 02 14:24:34 23478 -36357 A -0.9259 0.9853 44.1S 67.7E 22 353 139 01m24s
50 14 -0922 Jul 13 21:26:58 23172 -36134 As -0.9926 0.9822 61.1S 43.7W 5 358 - 01m27s
51 15 -0904 Jul 24 04:37:34 22867 -35911 P -1.0531 0.8902 67.6S 163.2W 0 9
52 16 -0886 Aug 04 11:57:43 22565 -35688 P -1.1068 0.7938 68.6S 74.1E 0 20
53 17 -0868 Aug 14 19:26:56 22265 -35465 P -1.1537 0.7094 69.5S 51.6W 0 32
54 18 -0850 Aug 26 03:06:52 21967 -35242 P -1.1926 0.6394 70.3S 179.5E 0 44
55 19 -0832 Sep 05 10:56:45 21671 -35019 P -1.2242 0.5826 71.0S 47.6E 0 57
56 20 -0814 Sep 16 18:56:14 21377 -34796 P -1.2487 0.5385 71.4S 87.2W 0 71
57 21 -0796 Sep 27 03:05:45 21085 -34573 P -1.2660 0.5073 71.7S 135.1E 0 85
58 22 -0778 Oct 08 11:23:56 20795 -34350 P -1.2773 0.4870 71.6S 4.8W 0 99
59 23 -0760 Oct 18 19:50:33 20507 -34127 P -1.2825 0.4777 71.3S 146.7W 0 113
60 24 -0742 Oct 30 04:22:22 20221 -33904 P -1.2844 0.4742 70.8S 70.5E 0 127
61 25 -0724 Nov 09 13:00:39 19937 -33681 P -1.2820 0.4785 70.1S 73.4W 0 140
62 26 -0706 Nov 20 21:41:18 19655 -33458 P -1.2789 0.4842 69.2S 142.7E 0 153
63 27 -0688 Dec 01 06:24:23 19355 -33235 P -1.2745 0.4922 68.2S 1.2W 0 165
64 28 -0670 Dec 12 15:05:49 19052 -33012 P -1.2723 0.4963 67.1S 144.1W 0 177
65 29 -0652 Dec 22 23:46:43 18754 -32789 P -1.2713 0.4982 66.1S 73.7E 0 188
66 30 -0633 Jan 03 08:23:21 18461 -32566 P -1.2746 0.4922 65.0S 67.0W 0 198
67 31 -0615 Jan 13 16:55:37 18172 -32343 P -1.2820 0.4784 64.1S 153.9E 0 208
68 32 -0597 Jan 25 01:21:19 17888 -32120 P -1.2957 0.4531 63.2S 16.7E 0 218
69 33 -0579 Feb 04 09:40:57 17608 -31897 P -1.3147 0.4174 62.5S 118.6W 0 228
70 34 -0561 Feb 15 17:52:30 17332 -31674 P -1.3409 0.3679 61.9S 108.3E 0 237
71 35 -0543 Feb 26 01:57:02 17061 -31451 P -1.3735 0.3058 61.4S 22.9W 0 246
72 36 -0525 Mar 09 09:53:41 16794 -31228 P -1.4130 0.2300 61.1S 152.0W 0 255
73 37 -0507 Mar 19 17:44:28 16531 -31005 P -1.4579 0.1431 60.9S 80.4E 0 264
74 38 -0489 Mar 31 01:26:56 16272 -30782 Pe -1.5100 0.0418 60.9S 45.0W 0 273
[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)"
