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 59 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 -1031 Jun 19. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0249 Jul 27. The total duration of Saros series 59 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1031 Jun 19 16:52:11 TD
Last Eclipse = 0249 Jul 27 08:24:29 TD
Duration of Saros 59 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 59 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 59 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 17 | 23.6% |
| Annular | A | 23 | 31.9% |
| Total | T | 16 | 22.2% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 16 | 22.2% |
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 59 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 59 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 55 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 53 | 96.4% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 59: 9P 23A 16H 16T 8P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 59 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 0087 Apr 21 Duration = 04m34s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0166 Nov 20 Duration = 01m15s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0743 Dec 09 Duration = 09m04s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -0472 May 20 Duration = 00m17s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0346 Aug 04 Duration = 01m22s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -0454 May 31 Duration = 00m06s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0123 May 13 Magnitude = 0.9772
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 0249 Jul 27 Magnitude = 0.0341
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 59 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 059 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 -34 -1031 Jun 19 16:52:11 25054 -37483 Pb 1.5201 0.0725 64.4N 123.6W 0 25
02 -33 -1013 Jun 30 23:18:09 24738 -37260 P 1.4411 0.2084 65.3N 128.7E 0 15
03 -32 -0995 Jul 11 05:47:29 24423 -37037 P 1.3644 0.3397 66.3N 19.8E 0 5
04 -31 -0977 Jul 22 12:24:38 24111 -36814 P 1.2935 0.4606 67.4N 91.5W 0 355
05 -30 -0959 Aug 01 19:07:23 23801 -36591 P 1.2266 0.5739 68.4N 155.2E 0 344
06 -29 -0941 Aug 13 02:00:51 23493 -36368 P 1.1678 0.6727 69.4N 38.8E 0 332
07 -28 -0923 Aug 23 09:02:15 23187 -36145 P 1.1154 0.7604 70.2N 80.3W 0 320
08 -27 -0905 Sep 03 16:13:39 22882 -35922 P 1.0707 0.8345 71.0N 157.5E 0 307
09 -26 -0887 Sep 13 23:34:23 22580 -35699 P 1.0333 0.8962 71.5N 32.3E 0 293
10 -25 -0869 Sep 25 07:05:47 22280 -35476 A+ 1.0040 0.9441 71.8N 95.9W 0 279 - -
11 -24 -0851 Oct 05 14:45:26 21982 -35253 An 0.9814 0.9125 68.7N 104.9E 10 238 - 06m55s
12 -23 -0833 Oct 16 22:32:57 21686 -35030 A 0.9646 0.9123 63.2N 30.6W 15 221 1300 07m34s
13 -22 -0815 Oct 27 06:27:12 21391 -34807 A 0.9531 0.9122 58.6N 160.5W 17 211 1123 08m07s
14 -21 -0797 Nov 07 14:27:26 21099 -34584 A 0.9458 0.9124 54.8N 70.9E 18 203 1041 08m34s
15 -20 -0779 Nov 17 22:30:21 20809 -34361 A 0.9403 0.9132 51.6N 57.4W 19 196 984 08m53s
16 -19 -0761 Nov 29 06:36:00 20521 -34138 A 0.9364 0.9145 49.0N 174.3E 20 190 940 09m04s
17 -18 -0743 Dec 09 14:40:59 20235 -33915 A 0.9312 0.9166 46.6N 46.5E 21 183 881 09m04s
18 -17 -0725 Dec 20 22:45:21 19951 -33692 A 0.9249 0.9194 44.5N 80.8W 22 177 812 08m54s
19 -16 -0707 Dec 31 06:44:38 19669 -33469 A 0.9136 0.9230 42.2N 153.7E 24 171 718 08m34s
20 -15 -0688 Jan 11 14:40:44 19370 -33246 A 0.8989 0.9273 40.0N 29.4E 26 166 621 08m04s
21 -14 -0670 Jan 21 22:29:38 19067 -33023 A 0.8774 0.9323 37.8N 92.3W 28 161 521 07m27s
22 -13 -0652 Feb 02 06:12:01 18769 -32800 A 0.8498 0.9378 35.9N 148.4E 32 156 429 06m42s
23 -12 -0634 Feb 12 13:45:47 18475 -32577 A 0.8144 0.9438 34.2N 32.0E 35 152 348 05m55s
24 -11 -0616 Feb 23 21:12:39 18186 -32354 A 0.7725 0.9501 33.0N 81.9W 39 149 280 05m06s
25 -10 -0598 Mar 06 04:31:34 17902 -32131 A 0.7228 0.9565 32.2N 166.9E 44 147 223 04m19s
26 -09 -0580 Mar 16 11:42:18 17621 -31908 A 0.6657 0.9631 31.9N 58.4E 48 145 174 03m34s
27 -08 -0562 Mar 27 18:46:43 17346 -31685 A 0.6023 0.9695 31.8N 47.9W 53 145 134 02m53s
28 -07 -0544 Apr 07 01:45:15 17074 -31462 A 0.5332 0.9758 32.0N 152.2W 58 145 100 02m15s
29 -06 -0526 Apr 18 08:39:23 16807 -31239 A 0.4593 0.9818 32.2N 105.2E 62 147 72 01m41s
30 -05 -0508 Apr 28 15:29:32 16544 -31016 A 0.3809 0.9874 32.1N 4.0E 67 150 48 01m11s
31 -04 -0490 May 09 22:18:35 16285 -30793 A 0.3004 0.9924 31.6N 96.7W 72 153 28 00m43s
32 -03 -0472 May 20 05:06:50 16029 -30570 A 0.2182 0.9970 30.5N 162.9E 77 157 11 00m17s
33 -02 -0454 May 31 11:55:38 15778 -30347 H 0.1354 1.0010 28.6N 62.2E 82 162 3 00m06s
34 -01 -0436 Jun 10 18:47:03 15530 -30124 H 0.0536 1.0043 25.8N 39.6W 87 167 15 00m27s
35 00 -0418 Jun 22 01:42:32 15286 -29901 H -0.0257 1.0071 22.3N 142.9W 89 351 25 00m46s
36 01 -0400 Jul 02 08:43:41 15046 -29678 H -0.1015 1.0092 18.0N 111.6E 84 356 32 01m01s
37 02 -0382 Jul 13 15:50:17 14809 -29455 Hm -0.1735 1.0107 13.0N 4.0E 80 1 38 01m12s
38 03 -0364 Jul 23 23:05:36 14575 -29232 H -0.2391 1.0118 7.6N 106.3W 76 5 42 01m19s
39 04 -0346 Aug 04 06:28:34 14345 -29009 H -0.2990 1.0123 1.9N 140.8E 73 8 44 01m22s
40 05 -0328 Aug 14 14:00:58 14118 -28786 H -0.3519 1.0126 4.1S 25.1E 69 12 46 01m21s
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 06 -0310 Aug 25 21:42:10 13894 -28563 H -0.3981 1.0124 10.2S 93.1W 66 14 47 01m18s
42 07 -0292 Sep 05 05:33:58 13673 -28340 H -0.4363 1.0123 16.2S 145.9E 64 17 47 01m14s
43 08 -0274 Sep 16 13:35:23 13455 -28117 H -0.4671 1.0120 22.2S 22.5E 62 19 46 01m09s
44 09 -0256 Sep 26 21:45:25 13240 -27894 H -0.4915 1.0119 27.9S 102.8W 60 20 47 01m06s
45 10 -0238 Oct 08 06:05:19 13027 -27671 H -0.5085 1.0118 33.4S 129.9E 59 21 47 01m03s
46 11 -0220 Oct 18 14:32:51 12818 -27448 H -0.5201 1.0122 38.6S 1.3E 58 21 49 01m03s
47 12 -0202 Oct 29 23:07:46 12611 -27225 H -0.5261 1.0129 43.3S 128.1W 58 20 52 01m05s
48 13 -0184 Nov 09 07:46:40 12406 -27002 H -0.5296 1.0140 47.6S 102.6E 58 17 57 01m08s
49 14 -0166 Nov 20 16:31:00 12204 -26779 T -0.5293 1.0157 51.1S 26.6W 58 12 64 01m15s
50 15 -0148 Dec 01 01:16:43 12005 -26556 T -0.5288 1.0179 53.7S 154.7W 58 7 72 01m23s
51 16 -0130 Dec 12 10:03:40 11807 -26333 T -0.5279 1.0206 55.3S 78.0E 58 359 83 01m35s
52 17 -0112 Dec 22 18:48:32 11612 -26110 T -0.5295 1.0238 55.7S 48.1W 58 352 96 01m47s
53 18 -0093 Jan 03 03:31:36 11419 -25887 T -0.5331 1.0275 55.0S 173.9W 58 344 110 02m02s
54 19 -0075 Jan 13 12:09:37 11227 -25664 T -0.5414 1.0315 53.4S 60.9E 57 337 127 02m19s
55 20 -0057 Jan 24 20:42:31 11038 -25441 T -0.5546 1.0359 51.1S 64.0W 56 331 145 02m36s
56 21 -0039 Feb 04 05:08:41 10851 -25218 T -0.5739 1.0404 48.5S 171.7E 55 327 164 02m54s
57 22 -0021 Feb 15 13:28:32 10665 -24995 T -0.5991 1.0450 45.8S 48.2E 53 324 186 03m13s
58 23 -0003 Feb 25 21:39:39 10481 -24772 T -0.6319 1.0495 43.4S 73.8W 51 322 209 03m31s
59 24 0015 Mar 09 05:44:12 10298 -24549 T -0.6707 1.0537 41.3S 165.4E 48 321 236 03m49s
60 25 0033 Mar 19 13:40:16 10117 -24326 T -0.7168 1.0576 40.1S 46.6E 44 321 267 04m06s
61 26 0051 Mar 30 21:31:07 9938 -24103 T -0.7681 1.0609 39.8S 71.1W 40 321 305 04m21s
62 27 0069 Apr 10 05:13:17 9759 -23880 T -0.8268 1.0633 41.0S 173.7E 34 322 361 04m31s
63 28 0087 Apr 21 12:52:07 9582 -23657 T -0.8888 1.0647 44.1S 59.8E 27 323 453 04m34s
64 29 0105 May 01 20:24:44 9406 -23434 T -0.9559 1.0643 50.7S 50.0W 17 321 716 04m21s
65 30 0123 May 13 03:55:44 9231 -23211 P -1.0248 0.9772 62.4S 150.3W 0 311
66 31 0141 May 23 11:22:17 9057 -22988 P -1.0973 0.8366 63.2S 88.1E 0 321
67 32 0159 Jun 03 18:49:41 8884 -22765 P -1.1694 0.6964 64.0S 34.0W 0 330
68 33 0177 Jun 14 02:15:28 8711 -22542 P -1.2424 0.5543 64.9S 156.0W 0 339
69 34 0195 Jun 25 09:43:24 8539 -22319 P -1.3136 0.4157 65.9S 81.1E 0 349
70 35 0213 Jul 05 17:12:35 8368 -22096 P -1.3835 0.2801 66.9S 42.5W 0 359
71 36 0231 Jul 17 00:46:30 8198 -21873 P -1.4492 0.1531 67.9S 167.7W 0 10
72 37 0249 Jul 27 08:24:29 8028 -21650 Pe -1.5113 0.0341 68.8S 65.5E 0 21
[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)"
