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 34 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 -1917 Aug 04. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0384 Feb 09. The total duration of Saros series 34 is 1532.56 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1917 Aug 04 07:51:37 TD
Last Eclipse = -0384 Feb 09 05:21:47 TD
Duration of Saros 34 = 1532.56 Years
Saros 34 is composed of 86 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 34 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 86 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 46 | 53.5% |
| Annular | A | 40 | 46.5% |
| 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 34 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 34 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 40 | 100.0% |
| 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 86 eclipses in Saros 34: 23P 40A 23P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 34 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1106 Dec 03 Duration = 09m54s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0799 Jun 04 Duration = 00m38s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0781 Jun 15 Magnitude = 0.9815
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0384 Feb 09 Magnitude = 0.0332
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 34 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 034 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 -1917 Aug 04 07:51:37 43064 -48440 Pb -1.5248 0.0346 63.5S 154.7W 0 34
02 -36 -1899 Aug 14 15:31:53 42650 -48217 P -1.4863 0.1079 62.7S 79.1E 0 43
03 -35 -1881 Aug 25 23:20:13 42237 -47994 P -1.4549 0.1672 62.0S 49.0W 0 52
04 -34 -1863 Sep 05 07:16:15 41826 -47771 P -1.4302 0.2136 61.4S 178.7W 0 62
05 -33 -1845 Sep 16 15:18:31 41417 -47548 P -1.4111 0.2495 61.0S 50.2E 0 71
06 -32 -1827 Sep 26 23:28:24 41010 -47325 P -1.3988 0.2727 60.7S 82.7W 0 80
07 -31 -1809 Oct 08 07:43:56 40605 -47102 P -1.3919 0.2862 60.6S 143.0E 0 89
08 -30 -1791 Oct 18 16:05:01 40203 -46879 P -1.3898 0.2908 60.7S 7.4E 0 99
09 -29 -1773 Oct 30 00:28:20 39802 -46656 P -1.3904 0.2907 61.0S 128.8W 0 108
10 -28 -1755 Nov 09 08:54:37 39403 -46433 P -1.3940 0.2852 61.4S 94.2E 0 117
11 -27 -1737 Nov 20 17:20:19 39006 -46210 P -1.3979 0.2791 61.9S 42.8W 0 127
12 -26 -1719 Dec 01 01:44:30 38611 -45987 P -1.4014 0.2734 62.6S 179.6W 0 136
13 -25 -1701 Dec 12 10:04:20 38219 -45764 P -1.4024 0.2720 63.5S 44.4E 0 146
14 -24 -1683 Dec 22 18:19:28 37828 -45541 P -1.4005 0.2754 64.4S 90.7W 0 156
15 -23 -1664 Jan 03 02:26:41 37439 -45318 P -1.3932 0.2881 65.4S 135.9E 0 166
16 -22 -1646 Jan 13 10:25:39 37052 -45095 P -1.3800 0.3109 66.4S 4.1E 0 177
17 -21 -1628 Jan 24 18:14:58 36668 -44872 P -1.3600 0.3452 67.5S 125.8W 0 188
18 -20 -1610 Feb 04 01:55:01 36285 -44649 P -1.3337 0.3905 68.5S 106.2E 0 200
19 -19 -1592 Feb 15 09:22:30 35904 -44426 P -1.2977 0.4525 69.5S 19.3W 0 211
20 -18 -1574 Feb 25 16:40:43 35525 -44203 P -1.2549 0.5262 70.3S 143.0W 0 224
21 -17 -1556 Mar 07 23:47:10 35149 -43980 P -1.2031 0.6157 71.0S 95.6E 0 237
22 -16 -1538 Mar 19 06:45:45 34774 -43757 P -1.1456 0.7152 71.4S 24.2W 0 250
23 -15 -1520 Mar 29 13:32:25 34401 -43534 P -1.0788 0.8307 71.7S 141.3W 0 263
24 -14 -1502 Apr 09 20:13:36 34031 -43311 A- -1.0080 0.9531 71.7S 102.8E 0 277 - -
25 -13 -1484 Apr 20 02:45:50 33662 -43088 A -0.9299 0.9493 57.7S 49.9W 21 326 506 04m24s
26 -12 -1466 May 01 09:14:05 33295 -42865 A -0.8490 0.9511 45.4S 161.4W 32 337 336 04m54s
27 -11 -1448 May 11 15:36:15 32930 -42642 A -0.7633 0.9518 34.5S 94.1E 40 344 271 05m26s
28 -10 -1430 May 22 21:58:08 32568 -42419 A -0.6776 0.9517 24.9S 8.0W 47 348 239 05m58s
29 -09 -1412 Jun 02 04:17:50 32207 -42196 A -0.5902 0.9509 16.1S 108.1W 54 352 222 06m30s
30 -08 -1394 Jun 13 10:39:05 31848 -41973 A -0.5042 0.9497 8.3S 152.5E 60 356 214 06m58s
31 -07 -1376 Jun 23 17:02:24 31492 -41750 A -0.4201 0.9478 1.5S 53.4E 65 1 211 07m22s
32 -06 -1358 Jul 04 23:30:55 31137 -41527 A -0.3401 0.9456 4.1N 46.0W 70 5 213 07m38s
33 -05 -1340 Jul 15 06:04:48 30784 -41304 A -0.2647 0.9430 8.4N 146.1W 75 9 218 07m50s
34 -04 -1322 Jul 26 12:45:15 30434 -41081 A -0.1947 0.9402 11.5N 112.8E 79 14 226 07m57s
35 -03 -1304 Aug 05 19:34:32 30085 -40858 A -0.1318 0.9373 13.3N 9.8E 83 18 235 08m02s
36 -02 -1286 Aug 17 02:32:37 29739 -40635 A -0.0758 0.9343 13.8N 95.2W 86 22 246 08m08s
37 -01 -1268 Aug 27 09:40:13 29394 -40412 A -0.0277 0.9313 13.1N 157.4E 88 26 257 08m15s
38 00 -1250 Sep 07 16:57:41 29051 -40189 A 0.0126 0.9285 11.4N 47.3E 89 205 268 08m24s
39 01 -1232 Sep 18 00:25:27 28711 -39966 A 0.0445 0.9261 8.8N 65.8W 87 208 278 08m36s
40 02 -1214 Sep 29 08:02:25 28372 -39743 A 0.0692 0.9239 5.7N 178.6E 86 209 287 08m49s
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 -1196 Oct 09 15:46:43 28036 -39520 A 0.0883 0.9223 2.1N 61.0E 85 209 295 09m03s
42 04 -1178 Oct 20 23:38:55 27701 -39297 A 0.1010 0.9212 1.6S 58.7W 84 209 299 09m18s
43 05 -1160 Oct 31 07:36:48 27368 -39074 A 0.1089 0.9207 5.4S 179.9W 84 207 302 09m32s
44 06 -1142 Nov 11 15:38:43 27038 -38851 Am 0.1140 0.9209 8.9S 58.1E 84 204 301 09m43s
45 07 -1124 Nov 21 23:42:19 26709 -38628 A 0.1179 0.9218 11.9S 64.0W 83 201 298 09m52s
46 08 -1106 Dec 03 07:46:45 26383 -38405 A 0.1215 0.9234 14.2S 173.9E 83 197 291 09m54s
47 09 -1088 Dec 13 15:50:10 26058 -38182 A 0.1263 0.9256 15.7S 52.2E 83 193 282 09m49s
48 10 -1070 Dec 24 23:49:37 25736 -37959 A 0.1345 0.9286 16.1S 68.2W 82 188 270 09m35s
49 11 -1051 Jan 04 07:45:10 25415 -37736 A 0.1463 0.9321 15.4S 172.2E 82 183 256 09m13s
50 12 -1033 Jan 15 15:34:09 25097 -37513 A 0.1641 0.9363 13.5S 54.1E 81 179 240 08m40s
51 13 -1015 Jan 25 23:17:06 24780 -37290 A 0.1874 0.9408 10.4S 62.9W 79 175 223 08m00s
52 14 -0997 Feb 06 06:51:15 24466 -37067 A 0.2187 0.9458 6.1S 178.3W 77 171 205 07m12s
53 15 -0979 Feb 16 14:18:54 24153 -36844 A 0.2559 0.9509 0.9S 67.5E 75 168 186 06m22s
54 16 -0961 Feb 27 21:37:59 23843 -36621 A 0.3008 0.9562 5.2N 45.3W 72 165 167 05m29s
55 17 -0943 Mar 10 04:49:16 23534 -36398 A 0.3529 0.9616 12.0N 156.5W 69 163 148 04m37s
56 18 -0925 Mar 21 11:53:19 23228 -36175 A 0.4117 0.9668 19.6N 93.5E 66 161 131 03m47s
57 19 -0907 Mar 31 18:51:35 22923 -35952 A 0.4761 0.9718 27.7N 15.3W 61 160 114 03m01s
58 20 -0889 Apr 12 01:45:06 22621 -35729 A 0.5451 0.9765 36.2N 123.3W 57 158 100 02m21s
59 21 -0871 Apr 22 08:33:40 22320 -35506 A 0.6188 0.9806 45.3N 129.6E 52 157 87 01m47s
60 22 -0853 May 03 15:20:43 22022 -35283 A 0.6946 0.9842 54.7N 22.5E 46 155 78 01m20s
61 23 -0835 May 13 22:06:10 21725 -35060 A 0.7727 0.9870 64.7N 85.3W 39 152 72 00m59s
62 24 -0817 May 25 04:52:07 21431 -34837 A 0.8508 0.9891 75.2N 162.5E 31 145 74 00m45s
63 25 -0799 Jun 04 11:39:33 21138 -34614 A 0.9286 0.9897 85.1N 2.1E 21 89 100 00m38s
64 26 -0781 Jun 15 18:31:09 20848 -34391 P 1.0037 0.9815 67.1N 170.2E 0 3
65 27 -0763 Jun 26 01:27:44 20560 -34168 P 1.0758 0.8521 66.1N 54.2E 0 352
66 28 -0745 Jul 07 08:29:47 20273 -33945 P 1.1442 0.7287 65.1N 62.7W 0 343
67 29 -0727 Jul 17 15:40:03 19989 -33722 P 1.2069 0.6153 64.2N 178.7E 0 333
68 30 -0709 Jul 28 22:58:08 19706 -33499 P 1.2640 0.5116 63.4N 58.4E 0 324
69 31 -0691 Aug 08 06:26:10 19411 -33276 P 1.3141 0.4206 62.6N 64.1W 0 314
70 32 -0673 Aug 19 14:02:13 19108 -33053 P 1.3585 0.3398 62.0N 171.5E 0 305
71 33 -0655 Aug 29 21:50:00 18809 -32830 P 1.3946 0.2742 61.5N 44.3E 0 296
72 34 -0637 Sep 10 05:46:18 18514 -32607 P 1.4247 0.2194 61.1N 84.8W 0 287
73 35 -0619 Sep 20 13:53:27 18225 -32384 P 1.4468 0.1791 60.9N 143.4E 0 278
74 36 -0601 Oct 01 22:08:38 17940 -32161 P 1.4634 0.1489 60.8N 9.7E 0 269
75 37 -0583 Oct 12 06:33:42 17659 -31938 P 1.4728 0.1316 61.0N 126.4W 0 260
76 38 -0565 Oct 23 15:04:39 17383 -31715 P 1.4784 0.1212 61.2N 96.0E 0 250
77 39 -0547 Nov 02 23:41:55 17111 -31492 P 1.4798 0.1182 61.7N 43.3W 0 241
78 40 -0529 Nov 14 08:23:11 16843 -31269 P 1.4787 0.1195 62.2N 176.3E 0 231
79 41 -0511 Nov 24 17:08:19 16579 -31046 P 1.4749 0.1257 63.0N 34.7E 0 222
80 42 -0493 Dec 06 01:53:20 16319 -30823 P 1.4722 0.1296 63.8N 107.1W 0 212
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
81 43 -0475 Dec 16 10:38:23 16064 -30600 P 1.4701 0.1323 64.8N 110.9E 0 202
82 44 -0457 Dec 27 19:20:31 15812 -30377 P 1.4710 0.1292 65.8N 30.8W 0 191
83 45 -0438 Jan 07 04:00:16 15563 -30154 P 1.4745 0.1211 66.8N 172.4W 0 180
84 46 -0420 Jan 18 12:33:13 15319 -29931 P 1.4838 0.1019 67.8N 47.3E 0 169
85 47 -0402 Jan 28 21:01:43 15078 -29708 P 1.4974 0.0746 68.8N 92.5W 0 157
86 48 -0384 Feb 09 05:21:47 14840 -29485 Pe 1.5182 0.0332 69.7N 129.2E 0 145
[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)"
