EclipseWise - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 121

Introduction

A solar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon's shadow passes across Earth's surface. At least two solar eclipses and as many as five occur every year.

The periodicity and recurrence of solar 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 with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and the same time of year due to a harmonic in three cycles of the Moon's orbit. 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 eclipses before ending with a group of partial eclipses near the opposite pole. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 121

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every solar eclipse belonging to Saros 121 . The date and time of each eclipse is given for the instant of Greatest Eclipse. For eclipses between the years -1999 to 3000, the calendar date links to a web page containing additional details and a map showing the geographic region of eclipse visibility for that eclipse. A description of each parameter in the catalog table can be found in Key to Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses.

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 121
Seq Num	Rel Num	Calendar Date	TD of Greatest Eclipse	ΔT s	ΔT Sigma s	Luna Num	Ecl Type	QLE	Gamma	Ecl Mag	Lat °	Long °	Sun Alt °	Path Width km	Central Dur
1	-36	0944-Apr-25	10:56:06	1889	61	-13057	Pb	t-	1.5045	0.0665	62N	97W	0	-	-
2	-35	0962-May-06	18:15:16	1778	59	-12834	P	t-	1.4335	0.1964	63N	144E	0	-	-
3	-34	0980-May-17	01:31:56	1670	56	-12611	P	t-	1.3593	0.3337	63N	25E	0	-	-
4	-33	0998-May-28	08:46:11	1563	54	-12388	P	t-	1.2821	0.4780	64N	94W	0	-	-
5	-32	1016-Jun-07	16:00:52	1470	52	-12165	P	t-	1.2043	0.6245	65N	147E	0	-	-
6	-31	1034-Jun-18	23:16:17	1379	49	-11942	P	t-	1.1262	0.7723	66N	28E	0	-	-
7	-30	1052-Jun-29	06:33:26	1289	47	-11719	P	t-	1.0488	0.9195	67N	92W	0	-	-
8	-29	1070-Jul-10	13:54:25	1208	45	-11496	T	t-	0.9740	1.0404	80N	134E	12	637	02m05s
9	-28	1088-Jul-20	21:20:01	1128	43	-11273	T	t-	0.9024	1.0453	81N	83W	25	356	02m36s
10	-27	1106-Aug-01	04:51:29	1052	41	-11050	T	p-	0.8348	1.0481	71N	142E	33	292	03m00s
11	-26	1124-Aug-11	12:28:45	984	39	-10827	T	p-	0.7717	1.0496	61N	20E	39	259	03m19s
12	-25	1142-Aug-22	20:14:09	916	37	-10604	T	p-	0.7148	1.0504	53N	101W	44	238	03m36s
13	-24	1160-Sep-02	04:07:26	854	35	-10381	T	p-	0.6641	1.0504	45N	137E	48	222	03m49s
14	-23	1178-Sep-13	12:08:34	797	33	-10158	T	p-	0.6196	1.0500	38N	13E	51	210	03m59s
15	-22	1196-Sep-23	20:18:43	740	31	-9935	T	p-	0.5822	1.0491	31N	112W	54	199	04m06s
16	-21	1214-Oct-05	04:37:16	689	29	-9712	T	p-	0.5513	1.0480	25N	120E	56	190	04m11s
17	-20	1232-Oct-15	13:04:35	639	28	-9489	T	p-	0.5277	1.0469	20N	9W	58	183	04m14s
18	-19	1250-Oct-26	21:37:22	589	26	-9266	T	p-	0.5086	1.0458	15N	139W	59	177	04m16s
19	-18	1268-Nov-06	06:18:13	550	24	-9043	T	p-	0.4959	1.0448	11N	89E	60	172	04m16s
20	-17	1286-Nov-17	15:03:19	511	23	-8820	T	p-	0.4866	1.0441	8N	44W	61	168	04m17s
21	-16	1304-Nov-27	23:53:22	473	21	-8597	T	p-	0.4813	1.0438	6N	178W	61	167	04m17s
22	-15	1322-Dec-09	08:44:23	441	20	-8374	T	n-	0.4768	1.0439	5N	48E	61	167	04m17s
23	-14	1340-Dec-19	17:37:47	409	20	-8151	T	n-	0.4742	1.0444	5N	86W	62	168	04m17s
24	-13	1358-Dec-31	02:29:33	379	20	-7928	T	n-	0.4702	1.0454	5N	140E	62	171	04m18s
25	-12	1377-Jan-10	11:19:29	351	20	-7705	T	n-	0.4646	1.0469	6N	7E	62	175	04m19s
26	-11	1395-Jan-21	20:05:22	322	20	-7482	T	n-	0.4555	1.0487	8N	126W	63	181	04m21s
27	-10	1413-Feb-01	04:47:04	298	20	-7259	T	n-	0.4430	1.0509	10N	103E	64	187	04m25s
28	-9	1431-Feb-12	13:21:48	275	20	-7036	T	n-	0.4246	1.0534	12N	27W	65	193	04m30s
29	-8	1449-Feb-22	21:50:07	251	20	-6813	T	n-	0.4008	1.0561	14N	155W	66	200	04m36s
30	-7	1467-Mar-06	06:10:40	232	20	-6590	T	n-	0.3706	1.0588	17N	80E	68	207	04m44s
31	-6	1485-Mar-16	14:24:21	212	20	-6367	T	n-	0.3345	1.0615	19N	44W	70	213	04m53s
32	-5	1503-Mar-27	22:28:19	193	20	-6144	T	n-	0.2905	1.0640	21N	164W	73	218	05m04s
33	-4	1521-Apr-07	06:26:04	175	20	-5921	T	n-	0.2415	1.0662	23N	77E	76	222	05m15s
34	-3	1539-Apr-18	14:15:06	158	20	-5698	T	n-	0.1854	1.0680	24N	39W	79	225	05m28s
35	-2	1557-Apr-28	21:59:03	143	20	-5475	T	nn	0.1252	1.0692	24N	153W	83	227	05m42s
36	-1	1575-May-10	05:34:44	132	20	-5252	Tm	nn	0.0584	1.0697	23N	95E	87	227	05m56s
37	0	1593-May-30	13:07:30	122	20	-5029	T	nn	-0.0106	1.0696	21N	17W	90	227	06m08s
38	1	1611-Jun-10	20:34:25	101	18	-4806	T	nn	-0.0836	1.0686	18N	128W	85	224	06m16s
39	2	1629-Jun-21	03:59:23	75	16	-4583	T	-n	-0.1580	1.0670	15N	122E	81	221	06m20s
40	3	1647-Jul-02	11:21:20	49	13	-4360	T	-n	-0.2344	1.0643	10N	11E	77	217	06m15s

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 121
Seq Num	Rel Num	Calendar Date	TD of Greatest Eclipse	ΔT s	ΔT Sigma s	Luna Num	Ecl Type	QLE	Gamma	Ecl Mag	Lat °	Long °	Sun Alt °	Path Width km	Central Dur
41	4	1665-Jul-12	18:44:05	30	10	-4137	T	-n	-0.3095	1.0611	4N	101W	72	211	06m02s
42	5	1683-Jul-24	02:06:59	12	7	-3914	T	-p	-0.3838	1.0569	2S	147E	67	203	05m38s
43	6	1701-Aug-04	09:31:44	8	5	-3691	T	-p	-0.4558	1.0521	9S	34E	63	193	05m06s
44	7	1719-Aug-15	16:59:51	10	4	-3468	T	-p	-0.5243	1.0466	17S	81W	58	181	04m27s
45	8	1737-Aug-26	00:32:08	11	3	-3245	T	-p	-0.5885	1.0407	24S	163E	54	167	03m44s
46	9	1755-Sep-06	08:09:45	13	3	-3022	T	-p	-0.6478	1.0342	32S	44E	49	150	03m00s
47	10	1773-Sep-16	15:52:23	16	2	-2799	T	-p	-0.7020	1.0275	40S	76W	45	130	02m18s
48	11	1791-Sep-27	23:42:29	16	1	-2576	T	-p	-0.7492	1.0206	48S	162E	41	106	01m38s
49	12	1809-Oct-09	07:38:42	12	1	-2353	T	-p	-0.7904	1.0137	55S	38E	37	77	01m02s
50	13	1827-Oct-20	15:42:05	8	1	-2130	H	-p	-0.8251	1.0070	62S	88W	34	43	00m30s
51	14	1845-Oct-30	23:51:57	6	1	-1907	H	-p	-0.8537	1.0005	69S	145E	31	3	00m02s
52	15	1863-Nov-11	08:09:03	6	0	-1684	A	-p	-0.8759	0.9943	75S	15E	28	42	00m22s
53	16	1881-Nov-21	16:31:10	-5	0	-1461	A	-p	-0.8930	0.9887	81S	115W	26	90	00m43s
54	17	1899-Dec-03	00:57:28	-3	0	-1238	A	-p	-0.9061	0.9836	87S	121E	25	140	01m01s
55	18	1917-Dec-14	09:27:20	20	0	-1015	A	-t	-0.9157	0.9791	88S	125E	23	189	01m17s
56	19	1935-Dec-25	17:59:52	24	0	-792	A	-t	-0.9228	0.9753	84S	9E	22	234	01m30s
57	20	1954-Jan-05	02:32:01	31	0	-569	A	-t	-0.9296	0.9720	79S	121W	21	278	01m42s
58	21	1972-Jan-16	11:03:22	42	0	-346	A	-t	-0.9365	0.9692	75S	108E	20	321	01m53s
59	22	1990-Jan-26	19:31:24	57	0	-123	A	-t	-0.9457	0.9670	71S	22W	18	373	02m03s
60	23	2008-Feb-07	03:56:10	65	0	100	A	-t	-0.9570	0.9650	68S	151W	16	444	02m12s
61	24	2026-Feb-17	12:13:06	72	1	323	A	-t	-0.9743	0.9630	65S	87E	12	616	02m20s
62	25	2044-Feb-28	20:24:39	80	6	546	As	-t	-0.9954	0.9600	62S	26W	4	-	02m27s
63	26	2062-Mar-11	04:26:16	90	15	769	P	-t	-1.0238	0.9331	61S	147W	0	-	-
64	27	2080-Mar-21	12:20:15	103	25	992	P	-t	-1.0578	0.8734	61S	86E	0	-	-
65	28	2098-Apr-01	20:02:31	119	36	1215	P	-t	-1.1005	0.7984	61S	38W	0	-	-
66	29	2116-Apr-13	03:36:55	137	50	1438	P	-t	-1.1487	0.7138	61S	161W	0	-	-
67	30	2134-Apr-24	10:59:59	158	64	1661	P	-t	-1.2052	0.6147	62S	80E	0	-	-
68	31	2152-May-04	18:14:02	181	80	1884	P	-t	-1.2680	0.5044	62S	37W	0	-	-
69	32	2170-May-16	01:18:33	207	97	2107	P	-t	-1.3371	0.3831	63S	153W	0	-	-
70	33	2188-May-26	08:15:53	236	116	2330	P	-t	-1.4109	0.2538	64S	94E	0	-	-
71	34	2206-Jun-07	15:05:59	267	135	2553	Pe	-t	-1.4894	0.1166	65S	18W	0	-	-

Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 121

Solar eclipses of Saros 121 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 0944 Apr 25. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2206 Jun 07. The total duration of Saros series 121 is 1262.11 years.

Summary of Saros 121

First Eclipse	0944 Apr 25
Last Eclipse	2206 Jun 07
Series Duration	1262.11 Years
No. of Eclipses	71
Sequence	7P 42T 2H 11A 9P

Saros 121 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 121
Eclipse Type	Symbol	Number	Percent
All Eclipses	-	71	100.0%
Partial	P	16	22.5%
Annular	A	11	15.5%
Total	T	42	59.2%
Hybrid	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 121 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 121
Classification	Number	Percent
All Umbral Eclipses	55	100.0%
Central (two limits)	54	98.2%
Central (one limit)	1	1.8%
Non-Central (one limit)	0	0.0%

The 71 eclipses in Saros 121 occur in the following order : 7P 42T 2H 11A 9P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 121 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 121
Extrema Type	Date	Duration	Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse	2044 Feb 28	02m27s	-
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse	1863 Nov 11	00m22s	-
Longest Total Solar Eclipse	1629 Jun 21	06m20s	-
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse	1809 Oct 09	01m02s	-
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse	1827 Oct 20	00m30s	-
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse	1845 Oct 30	00m02s	-
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse	2062 Mar 11	-	0.93308
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse	0944 Apr 25	-	0.06649

Panorama of Solar Eclipses of Saros 121

Catalog of Saros Series of Solar Eclipses

Links to Additional Solar Eclipse Predictions

Home - home page of EclipseWise with predictions for both solar and lunar eclipses

Solar Eclipses - primary page for solar eclipse predictions
Solar Eclipse Links - detailed directory of links
Solar Eclipse Basics - a primer on solar eclipses

Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series - covers Saros series -30 through 190
Six Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses - from -2999 to +3000 (3000 BCE to 3000 CE)
World Atlas of Solar Eclipse Maps - index page for world eclipse maps covering 5 millennia
Javascript Solar Eclipse Explorer - calculate all solar eclipses visible from a city

Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500 - link to the publication

MrEclipse.com - eclipse resources and tips on photography
Solar Eclipses for Beginners - a primer on solar eclipse basics
How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse - instructions for imaging an eclipse of the Sun
MrEclipse Photo Index - an index of solar eclipse photographs

Eclipse Publications

by Fred Espenak

Calendar

The Gregorian calendar (also called the Western calendar) is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582. On this website, the Gregorian calendar is used for all calendar 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..

Eclipse Predictions

The eclipse predictions presented here were generated using the JPL DE406 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates have been calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass.

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:

pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

A series of polynomial expressions have been derived to simplify the evaluation of ΔT for any time from -2999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.

Acknowledgments

Some of the content on this web site is based on the books Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are NOT altered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is NOT removed or covered.