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 20 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 -2286 Jun 05. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -1006 Jul 13. The total duration of Saros series 20 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2286 Jun 05 01:55:59 TD
Last Eclipse = -1006 Jul 13 10:26:39 TD
Duration of Saros 20 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 20 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 20 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 15 | 20.8% |
| Annular | A | 12 | 16.7% |
| Total | T | 43 | 59.7% |
| 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 20 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 20 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 57 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 56 | 98.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 20: 8P 12A 2H 43T 7P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 20 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: -1673 Jun 08 Duration = 06m49s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: -1889 Jan 29 Duration = 00m54s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: -2142 Aug 30 Duration = 02m49s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: -1944 Dec 27 Duration = 00m20s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1907 Jan 18 Duration = 00m27s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: -1925 Jan 07 Duration = 00m02s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1114 May 09 Magnitude = 0.9579
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: -1006 Jul 13 Magnitude = 0.1056
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 20 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 020 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 -2286 Jun 05 01:55:59 52000 -53006 Pb -1.4860 0.1212 69.0S 32.0E 0 334
02 -34 -2268 Jun 15 08:34:46 51544 -52783 P -1.4045 0.2641 68.0S 81.4W 0 346
03 -33 -2250 Jun 26 15:20:11 51090 -52560 P -1.3266 0.4008 67.0S 164.2E 0 356
04 -32 -2232 Jul 06 22:14:06 50638 -52337 P -1.2545 0.5279 66.0S 48.1E 0 7
05 -31 -2214 Jul 18 05:16:05 50188 -52114 P -1.1876 0.6457 65.0S 69.5W 0 17
06 -30 -2196 Jul 28 12:29:22 49741 -51891 P -1.1286 0.7497 64.0S 170.4E 0 27
07 -29 -2178 Aug 08 19:52:29 49295 -51668 P -1.0763 0.8419 63.1S 48.2E 0 36
08 -28 -2160 Aug 19 03:26:23 48851 -51445 P -1.0319 0.9202 62.3S 76.4W 0 46
09 -27 -2142 Aug 30 11:10:36 48409 -51222 As -0.9947 0.9631 59.1S 163.4E 4 49 - 02m49s
10 -26 -2124 Sep 09 19:06:14 47969 -50999 A -0.9661 0.9659 52.8S 48.8E 14 46 476 02m42s
11 -25 -2106 Sep 21 03:11:14 47531 -50776 A -0.9439 0.9675 51.4S 75.1W 19 48 349 02m33s
12 -24 -2088 Oct 01 11:24:50 47095 -50553 A -0.9278 0.9688 51.9S 157.4E 21 52 295 02m23s
13 -23 -2070 Oct 12 19:46:23 46661 -50330 A -0.9173 0.9703 53.8S 27.0E 23 56 263 02m11s
14 -22 -2052 Oct 23 04:14:46 46229 -50107 A -0.9119 0.9721 56.6S 105.9W 24 61 240 01m59s
15 -21 -2034 Nov 03 12:46:47 45800 -49884 A -0.9084 0.9744 60.0S 120.0E 24 66 217 01m45s
16 -20 -2016 Nov 13 21:21:51 45372 -49661 A -0.9068 0.9771 63.8S 15.1W 25 70 193 01m30s
17 -19 -1998 Nov 25 05:57:03 44946 -49438 A -0.9045 0.9806 67.8S 149.9W 25 74 162 01m14s
18 -18 -1980 Dec 05 14:32:25 44522 -49215 A -0.9018 0.9845 72.0S 76.1E 25 77 127 00m58s
19 -17 -1962 Dec 16 23:03:15 44100 -48992 A -0.8949 0.9893 76.3S 53.3W 26 77 85 00m39s
20 -16 -1944 Dec 27 07:31:39 43680 -48769 A -0.8854 0.9946 80.4S 174.9W 27 69 41 00m20s
21 -15 -1925 Jan 07 15:52:48 43262 -48546 H -0.8696 1.0006 83.1S 85.6E 29 41 4 00m02s
22 -14 -1907 Jan 18 00:08:49 42847 -48323 H -0.8487 1.0071 81.7S 1.1W 32 1 47 00m27s
23 -13 -1889 Jan 29 08:15:48 42433 -48100 T -0.8198 1.0140 76.7S 107.2W 35 342 85 00m54s
24 -12 -1871 Feb 08 16:17:25 42021 -47877 T -0.7858 1.0210 70.3S 135.4E 38 336 117 01m24s
25 -11 -1853 Feb 20 00:10:17 41611 -47654 T -0.7440 1.0282 63.0S 15.3E 42 335 143 01m57s
26 -10 -1835 Mar 02 07:56:34 41203 -47431 T -0.6959 1.0353 55.3S 105.0W 46 335 165 02m34s
27 -09 -1817 Mar 13 15:35:24 40798 -47208 T -0.6407 1.0421 47.2S 135.6E 50 336 183 03m14s
28 -08 -1799 Mar 23 23:09:16 40394 -46985 T -0.5805 1.0485 38.9S 17.1E 54 337 197 03m55s
29 -07 -1781 Apr 04 06:37:38 39992 -46762 T -0.5149 1.0545 30.4S 100.1W 59 339 209 04m36s
30 -06 -1763 Apr 14 14:01:43 39592 -46539 T -0.4451 1.0598 21.9S 143.8E 63 341 218 05m15s
31 -05 -1745 Apr 25 21:23:14 39195 -46316 T -0.3724 1.0644 13.6S 28.5E 68 343 226 05m50s
32 -04 -1727 May 06 04:43:17 38799 -46093 T -0.2975 1.0681 5.4S 86.0W 73 345 232 06m18s
33 -03 -1709 May 17 12:02:25 38405 -45870 T -0.2214 1.0711 2.5N 160.2E 77 347 237 06m38s
34 -02 -1691 May 27 19:22:45 38013 -45647 T -0.1459 1.0731 9.8N 46.6E 82 350 240 06m48s
35 -01 -1673 Jun 08 02:45:01 37624 -45424 T -0.0714 1.0742 16.6N 66.7W 86 353 241 06m49s
36 00 -1655 Jun 18 10:11:15 37236 -45201 T 0.0000 1.0745 22.6N 179.9E 90 180 242 06m41s
37 01 -1637 Jun 29 17:40:22 36850 -44978 Tm 0.0694 1.0740 27.7N 66.7E 86 182 241 06m27s
38 02 -1619 Jul 10 01:16:28 36467 -44755 T 0.1332 1.0727 31.7N 47.3W 82 187 238 06m08s
39 03 -1601 Jul 21 08:58:04 36085 -44532 T 0.1927 1.0707 34.4N 162.0W 79 192 235 05m47s
40 04 -1583 Jul 31 16:48:13 35705 -44309 T 0.2452 1.0683 35.7N 81.6E 76 197 230 05m26s
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 -1565 Aug 12 00:44:52 35327 -44086 T 0.2924 1.0653 35.8N 36.5W 73 202 223 05m05s
42 06 -1547 Aug 22 08:51:29 34952 -43863 T 0.3316 1.0622 34.6N 157.4W 70 207 216 04m46s
43 07 -1529 Sep 02 17:05:29 34578 -43640 T 0.3648 1.0588 32.5N 79.1E 68 210 207 04m29s
44 08 -1511 Sep 13 01:28:05 34206 -43417 T 0.3910 1.0555 29.6N 47.2W 67 212 198 04m15s
45 09 -1493 Sep 24 09:58:07 33837 -43194 T 0.4111 1.0522 26.2N 176.1W 66 212 188 04m03s
46 10 -1475 Oct 04 18:35:57 33469 -42971 T 0.4246 1.0492 22.4N 52.5E 65 212 179 03m53s
47 11 -1457 Oct 16 03:19:31 33104 -42748 T 0.4335 1.0465 18.6N 80.7W 64 211 170 03m46s
48 12 -1439 Oct 26 12:07:11 32740 -42525 T 0.4389 1.0443 14.8N 144.8E 64 209 163 03m41s
49 13 -1421 Nov 06 20:58:56 32378 -42302 T 0.4408 1.0425 11.2N 9.2E 64 206 157 03m39s
50 14 -1403 Nov 17 05:52:19 32019 -42079 T 0.4410 1.0412 8.1N 126.8W 64 203 152 03m40s
51 15 -1385 Nov 28 14:45:32 31661 -41856 T 0.4414 1.0404 5.5N 97.4E 64 199 150 03m43s
52 16 -1367 Dec 08 23:36:35 31305 -41633 T 0.4432 1.0401 3.8N 37.7W 64 195 149 03m48s
53 17 -1349 Dec 20 08:24:42 30952 -41410 T 0.4473 1.0402 2.9N 172.0W 63 190 150 03m54s
54 18 -1331 Dec 30 17:08:09 30600 -41187 T 0.4551 1.0406 3.1N 54.9E 63 186 153 04m00s
55 19 -1312 Jan 11 01:44:54 30251 -40964 T 0.4680 1.0413 4.4N 76.7W 62 182 156 04m06s
56 20 -1294 Jan 21 10:14:58 29903 -40741 T 0.4862 1.0422 6.8N 153.2E 61 177 161 04m11s
57 21 -1276 Feb 01 18:36:42 29557 -40518 T 0.5111 1.0430 10.3N 24.8E 59 173 167 04m13s
58 22 -1258 Feb 12 02:49:50 29214 -40295 T 0.5430 1.0438 15.0N 102.0W 57 169 174 04m11s
59 23 -1240 Feb 23 10:53:38 28872 -40072 T 0.5822 1.0442 20.6N 133.1E 54 166 181 04m06s
60 24 -1222 Mar 05 18:48:58 28533 -39849 T 0.6280 1.0444 27.2N 9.7E 51 162 189 03m56s
61 25 -1204 Mar 16 02:35:36 28195 -39626 T 0.6804 1.0439 34.6N 112.4W 47 159 198 03m41s
62 26 -1186 Mar 27 10:13:06 27860 -39403 T 0.7399 1.0429 43.0N 126.8E 42 155 211 03m23s
63 27 -1168 Apr 06 17:43:29 27526 -39180 T 0.8047 1.0409 52.2N 6.0E 36 150 229 02m59s
64 28 -1150 Apr 18 01:06:16 27195 -38957 T 0.8751 1.0378 62.5N 117.6W 29 140 263 02m31s
65 29 -1132 Apr 28 08:24:17 26865 -38734 T 0.9484 1.0331 72.9N 102.8E 18 114 360 01m58s
66 30 -1114 May 09 15:35:44 26538 -38511 P 1.0262 0.9579 70.4N 79.5W 0 44
67 31 -1096 May 19 22:45:34 26212 -38288 P 1.1043 0.8104 69.6N 159.1E 0 32
68 32 -1078 May 31 05:51:56 25889 -38065 P 1.1844 0.6600 68.7N 39.2E 0 20
69 33 -1060 Jun 10 12:58:45 25567 -37842 P 1.2630 0.5134 67.7N 80.3W 0 9
70 34 -1042 Jun 21 20:05:00 25248 -37619 P 1.3408 0.3695 66.7N 160.8E 0 359
71 35 -1024 Jul 02 03:14:33 24930 -37396 P 1.4149 0.2339 65.7N 41.6E 0 349
72 36 -1006 Jul 13 10:26:39 24615 -37173 Pe 1.4859 0.1056 64.7N 77.8W 0 339
[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)"
