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 26 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 -2004 Apr 08. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -0724 May 17. The total duration of Saros series 26 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2004 Apr 08 20:14:58 TD
Last Eclipse = -0724 May 17 05:04:34 TD
Duration of Saros 26 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 26 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 26 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 19.4% |
| Annular | A | 10 | 13.9% |
| Total | T | 41 | 56.9% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 7 | 9.7% |
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 26 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 26 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 58 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 26: 6P 10A 7H 41T 8P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 26 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -1355 May 03 Duration = 06m53s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -0868 Feb 20 Duration = 00m53s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1896 Jun 12 Duration = 01m29s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1734 Sep 18 Duration = 00m03s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1608 Dec 02 Duration = 00m59s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1716 Sep 28 Duration = 00m01s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0850 Mar 03 Magnitude = 0.9348
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -0724 May 17 Magnitude = 0.0628
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 26 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 026 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 -2004 Apr 08 20:14:58 45102 -49520 Pb -1.4845 0.1235 71.6S 154.3E 0 271
02 -34 -1986 Apr 20 02:55:09 44678 -49297 P -1.4035 0.2645 71.5S 38.6E 0 285
03 -33 -1968 Apr 30 09:34:02 44255 -49074 P -1.3203 0.4110 71.2S 76.6W 0 298
04 -32 -1950 May 11 16:12:21 43834 -48851 P -1.2352 0.5621 70.6S 168.7E 0 311
05 -31 -1932 May 21 22:52:55 43416 -48628 P -1.1505 0.7135 69.9S 54.0E 0 323
06 -30 -1914 Jun 02 05:36:42 42999 -48405 P -1.0668 0.8639 69.0S 61.0W 0 335
07 -29 -1896 Jun 12 12:24:24 42585 -48182 A -0.9851 0.9821 59.4S 179.4E 9 350 402 01m29s
08 -28 -1878 Jun 23 19:18:52 42172 -47959 A -0.9074 0.9881 42.6S 65.3E 24 358 101 01m09s
09 -27 -1860 Jul 04 02:20:00 41762 -47736 A -0.8339 0.9917 32.9S 45.9W 33 3 53 00m52s
10 -26 -1842 Jul 15 09:30:31 41353 -47513 A -0.7668 0.9941 26.0S 158.0W 40 8 32 00m38s
11 -25 -1824 Jul 25 16:48:41 40947 -47290 A -0.7049 0.9959 21.1S 88.8E 45 12 20 00m26s
12 -24 -1806 Aug 06 00:18:42 40542 -47067 A -0.6514 0.9971 17.9S 26.7W 49 16 13 00m18s
13 -23 -1788 Aug 16 07:57:40 40140 -46844 A -0.6041 0.9980 16.2S 144.2W 53 20 9 00m12s
14 -22 -1770 Aug 27 15:48:22 39739 -46621 A -0.5657 0.9986 16.0S 95.5E 55 24 6 00m08s
15 -21 -1752 Sep 06 23:48:10 39341 -46398 A -0.5338 0.9991 17.0S 26.9W 58 27 4 00m05s
16 -20 -1734 Sep 18 07:59:14 38944 -46175 A -0.5105 0.9995 19.1S 152.2W 59 30 2 00m03s
17 -19 -1716 Sep 28 16:18:00 38550 -45952 H -0.4927 1.0002 22.0S 80.6E 60 32 1 00m01s
18 -18 -1698 Oct 10 00:44:55 38157 -45729 H -0.4809 1.0011 25.6S 48.6W 61 33 4 00m06s
19 -17 -1680 Oct 20 09:17:56 37767 -45506 H -0.4736 1.0023 29.7S 179.2W 62 34 9 00m12s
20 -16 -1662 Oct 31 17:56:59 37378 -45283 H -0.4710 1.0040 34.1S 49.1E 62 33 15 00m20s
21 -15 -1644 Nov 11 02:38:09 36992 -45060 H -0.4694 1.0062 38.5S 82.6W 62 32 24 00m30s
22 -14 -1626 Nov 22 11:21:31 36607 -44837 H -0.4691 1.0089 42.6S 145.9E 62 30 35 00m43s
23 -13 -1608 Dec 02 20:03:58 36225 -44614 H -0.4676 1.0122 46.2S 15.8E 62 26 48 00m59s
24 -12 -1590 Dec 14 04:45:51 35845 -44391 T -0.4650 1.0161 49.0S 112.9W 62 21 62 01m16s
25 -11 -1572 Dec 24 13:22:36 35466 -44168 T -0.4577 1.0206 50.4S 120.7E 63 14 79 01m37s
26 -10 -1553 Jan 04 21:56:12 35090 -43945 T -0.4474 1.0254 50.5S 4.4W 63 7 97 02m01s
27 -09 -1535 Jan 15 06:22:23 34715 -43722 T -0.4303 1.0308 49.0S 127.9W 64 0 115 02m27s
28 -08 -1517 Jan 26 14:43:34 34343 -43499 T -0.4084 1.0364 46.0S 108.9E 66 354 134 02m56s
29 -07 -1499 Feb 05 22:55:25 33973 -43276 T -0.3784 1.0421 41.7S 13.3W 68 350 152 03m28s
30 -06 -1481 Feb 17 07:01:44 33604 -43053 T -0.3430 1.0480 36.3S 135.5W 70 346 170 04m01s
31 -05 -1463 Feb 27 14:59:01 33238 -42830 T -0.2999 1.0537 30.1S 103.3E 72 344 186 04m35s
32 -04 -1445 Mar 10 22:49:45 32873 -42607 T -0.2507 1.0593 23.2S 17.0W 75 342 201 05m10s
33 -03 -1427 Mar 21 06:32:50 32511 -42384 T -0.1946 1.0643 15.9S 136.2W 79 342 214 05m41s
34 -02 -1409 Apr 01 14:10:45 32151 -42161 T -0.1337 1.0690 8.2S 105.6E 82 342 227 06m09s
35 -01 -1391 Apr 11 21:43:28 31792 -41938 T -0.0681 1.0729 0.3S 11.4W 86 342 237 06m31s
36 00 -1373 Apr 23 05:11:28 31436 -41715 T 0.0018 1.0762 7.7N 127.2W 90 169 247 06m47s
37 01 -1355 May 03 12:36:48 31082 -41492 Tm 0.0743 1.0785 15.7N 117.8E 86 165 254 06m53s
38 02 -1337 May 14 20:00:27 30729 -41269 T 0.1487 1.0801 23.5N 3.8E 81 166 261 06m51s
39 03 -1319 May 25 03:23:45 30379 -41046 T 0.2236 1.0807 31.0N 109.4W 77 169 267 06m41s
40 04 -1301 Jun 05 10:47:32 30031 -40823 T 0.2982 1.0805 38.1N 138.3E 72 172 272 06m25s
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 -1283 Jun 15 18:14:09 29684 -40600 T 0.3708 1.0793 44.5N 26.6E 68 177 276 06m03s
42 06 -1265 Jun 27 01:44:15 29340 -40377 T 0.4405 1.0773 49.9N 84.2W 64 183 279 05m39s
43 07 -1247 Jul 07 09:18:23 28998 -40154 T 0.5071 1.0744 54.3N 165.9E 59 190 281 05m14s
44 08 -1229 Jul 18 16:58:10 28657 -39931 T 0.5689 1.0709 57.1N 56.2E 55 199 281 04m49s
45 09 -1211 Jul 29 00:44:16 28319 -39708 T 0.6254 1.0668 58.4N 54.2W 51 208 280 04m25s
46 10 -1193 Aug 09 08:37:50 27983 -39485 T 0.6756 1.0623 58.2N 167.0W 47 216 276 04m02s
47 11 -1175 Aug 19 16:37:58 27649 -39262 T 0.7202 1.0574 56.9N 77.2E 44 223 271 03m41s
48 12 -1157 Aug 31 00:46:43 27316 -39039 T 0.7576 1.0524 54.8N 42.8W 40 227 263 03m23s
49 13 -1139 Sep 10 09:03:02 26986 -38816 T 0.7886 1.0474 52.3N 166.5W 38 228 253 03m05s
50 14 -1121 Sep 21 17:27:06 26658 -38593 T 0.8129 1.0426 49.7N 66.2E 35 228 240 02m50s
51 15 -1103 Oct 02 01:58:07 26332 -38370 T 0.8312 1.0379 47.2N 64.2W 33 226 224 02m36s
52 16 -1085 Oct 13 10:35:33 26007 -38147 T 0.8441 1.0338 44.7N 162.8E 32 223 208 02m24s
53 17 -1067 Oct 23 19:18:36 25685 -37924 T 0.8522 1.0301 42.3N 27.7E 31 219 190 02m13s
54 18 -1049 Nov 04 04:04:27 25365 -37701 T 0.8579 1.0269 40.3N 108.4W 31 214 174 02m04s
55 19 -1031 Nov 14 12:54:08 25047 -37478 T 0.8602 1.0243 38.4N 114.1E 30 209 159 01m57s
56 20 -1013 Nov 25 21:44:04 24731 -37255 T 0.8617 1.0222 37.0N 23.4W 30 204 147 01m51s
57 21 -0995 Dec 06 06:33:58 24416 -37032 T 0.8634 1.0207 36.2N 161.0W 30 198 139 01m47s
58 22 -0977 Dec 17 15:19:54 24104 -36809 T 0.8680 1.0195 36.3N 62.6E 29 193 134 01m43s
59 23 -0959 Dec 28 00:03:08 23794 -36586 T 0.8746 1.0187 37.1N 73.3W 29 187 132 01m39s
60 24 -0940 Jan 08 08:39:54 23486 -36363 T 0.8860 1.0181 39.2N 152.2E 27 182 134 01m36s
61 25 -0922 Jan 18 17:10:02 23180 -36140 T 0.9024 1.0176 42.5N 19.0E 25 176 141 01m31s
62 26 -0904 Jan 30 01:31:29 22875 -35917 T 0.9253 1.0169 47.4N 113.1W 22 170 154 01m23s
63 27 -0886 Feb 09 09:44:46 22573 -35694 T 0.9546 1.0157 54.2N 114.7E 17 162 185 01m13s
64 28 -0868 Feb 20 17:48:07 22273 -35471 T 0.9914 1.0129 65.7N 24.5W 6 146 407 00m53s
65 29 -0850 Mar 03 01:41:53 21975 -35248 P 1.0352 0.9348 71.1N 167.8W 0 123
66 30 -0832 Mar 13 09:25:58 21679 -35025 P 1.0862 0.8403 71.5N 61.2E 0 110
67 31 -0814 Mar 24 17:01:29 21385 -34802 P 1.1434 0.7344 71.8N 67.9W 0 96
68 32 -0796 Apr 04 00:27:08 21093 -34579 P 1.2078 0.6151 71.7N 165.4E 0 83
69 33 -0778 Apr 15 07:46:06 20803 -34356 P 1.2767 0.4878 71.5N 40.5E 0 69
70 34 -0760 Apr 25 14:57:16 20514 -34133 P 1.3511 0.3506 71.0N 82.0W 0 56
71 35 -0742 May 06 22:04:25 20228 -33910 P 1.4275 0.2104 70.4N 156.9E 0 44
72 36 -0724 May 17 05:04:34 19944 -33687 Pe 1.5084 0.0628 69.5N 38.2E 0 32
[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)"
