Saros 26

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 26

Fred Espenak

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 26

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every solar eclipse belonging to Saros 26 . 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 26
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
1-35 -2004-Apr-0820:13:40 46481 3748 -49520 Pb t- -1.4845 0.1234 72S 160E 0 - -
2-34 -1986-Apr-2002:53:54 46044 3672 -49297 P t- -1.4036 0.2645 72S 45E 0 - -
3-33 -1968-Apr-3009:32:51 45608 3597 -49074 P t- -1.3203 0.4110 71S 71W 0 - -
4-32 -1950-May-1116:11:18 45175 3523 -48851 P t- -1.2353 0.5620 71S 175E 0 - -
5-31 -1932-May-2122:52:00 44744 3450 -48628 P t- -1.1506 0.7134 70S 60E 0 - -
6-30 -1914-Jun-0205:35:56 44314 3377 -48405 P t- -1.0670 0.8636 69S 55W 0 - -
7-29 -1896-Jun-1212:23:47 43887 3305 -48182 A t- -0.9852 0.9821 59S 175W 9 40501m29s
8-28 -1878-Jun-2319:18:21 43462 3234 -47959 A t- -0.9076 0.9881 43S 71E 24 10101m09s
9-27 -1860-Jul-0402:19:35 43039 3163 -47736 A t- -0.8341 0.9917 33S 40W 33 5300m52s
10-26 -1842-Jul-1509:30:08 42618 3093 -47513 A p- -0.7671 0.9942 26S 153W 40 3200m37s
11-25 -1824-Jul-2516:48:20 42199 3024 -47290 A p- -0.7052 0.9960 21S 94E 45 2000m26s
12-24 -1806-Aug-0600:18:18 41782 2955 -47067 A p- -0.6517 0.9971 18S 21W 49 1300m18s
13-23 -1788-Aug-1607:57:14 41367 2887 -46844 A p- -0.6044 0.9980 16S 139W 53 900m12s
14-22 -1770-Aug-2715:47:51 40954 2820 -46621 A p- -0.5660 0.9986 16S 101E 55 600m08s
15-21 -1752-Sep-0623:47:34 40544 2754 -46398 A p- -0.5342 0.9991 17S 22W 58 400m05s
16-20 -1734-Sep-1807:58:33 40135 2688 -46175 A p- -0.5108 0.9995 19S 147W 59 200m03s
17-19 -1716-Sep-2816:17:18 39728 2623 -45952 H p- -0.4931 1.0002 22S 86E 60 100m01s
18-18 -1698-Oct-1000:44:12 39324 2558 -45729 H p- -0.4813 1.0011 26S 44W 61 400m06s
19-17 -1680-Oct-2009:17:14 38921 2495 -45506 H p- -0.4739 1.0023 30S 174W 62 900m12s
20-16 -1662-Oct-3117:56:17 38521 2432 -45283 H p- -0.4714 1.0040 34S 54E 62 1500m20s
21-15 -1644-Nov-1102:37:28 38123 2369 -45060 H p- -0.4697 1.0062 39S 78W 62 2400m30s
22-14 -1626-Nov-2211:20:51 37727 2308 -44837 H p- -0.4694 1.0089 43S 151E 62 3500m43s
23-13 -1608-Dec-0220:03:19 37332 2247 -44614 H p- -0.4679 1.0122 46S 21E 62 4800m58s
24-12 -1590-Dec-1404:45:11 36940 2187 -44391 T p- -0.4653 1.0161 49S 108W 62 6201m16s
25-11 -1572-Dec-2413:21:56 36550 2127 -44168 T p- -0.4581 1.0206 50S 125E 62 7901m37s
26-10 -1553-Jan-0421:55:28 36162 2069 -43945 T p- -0.4476 1.0254 51S 0E 63 9702m01s
27 -9 -1535-Jan-1506:21:36 35777 2011 -43722 T p- -0.4306 1.0307 49S 123W 64 11502m27s
28 -8 -1517-Jan-2614:42:42 35393 1953 -43499 T n- -0.4087 1.0364 46S 114E 66 13402m56s
29 -7 -1499-Feb-0522:54:29 35011 1897 -43276 T n- -0.3786 1.0421 42S 9W 68 15203m28s
30 -6 -1481-Feb-1707:00:44 34631 1841 -43053 T n- -0.3432 1.0480 36S 131W 70 17004m01s
31 -5 -1463-Feb-2714:57:59 34254 1786 -42830 T n- -0.3001 1.0537 30S 108E 72 18604m36s
32 -4 -1445-Mar-1022:48:44 33878 1731 -42607 T n- -0.2508 1.0593 23S 13W 75 20105m10s
33 -3 -1427-Mar-2106:31:49 33505 1677 -42384 T n- -0.1947 1.0643 16S 132W 79 21405m41s
34 -2 -1409-Apr-0114:09:49 33133 1624 -42161 T n- -0.1338 1.0690 8S 110E 82 22706m09s
35 -1 -1391-Apr-1121:42:35 32764 1572 -41938 T nn -0.0682 1.0729 0S 7W 86 23706m31s
36 0 -1373-Apr-2305:10:40 32397 1521 -41715 T nn 0.0016 1.0762 8N 123W 90 24706m47s
37 1 -1355-May-0312:36:04 32032 1470 -41492 Tm nn 0.0741 1.0785 16N 122E 86 25406m53s
38 2 -1337-May-1419:59:48 31669 1420 -41269 T nn 0.1485 1.0801 23N 8E 81 26106m51s
39 3 -1319-May-2503:23:07 31307 1370 -41046 T -n 0.2234 1.0808 31N 105W 77 26706m41s
40 4 -1301-Jun-0510:46:56 30948 1322 -40823 T -n 0.2980 1.0805 38N 142E 72 27206m25s
Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 26
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 5 -1283-Jun-1518:13:31 30592 1274 -40600 T -n 0.3705 1.0793 44N 31E 68 27606m03s
42 6 -1265-Jun-2701:43:37 30237 1227 -40377 T -p 0.4403 1.0773 50N 80W 64 27905m39s
43 7 -1247-Jul-0709:17:41 29884 1180 -40154 T -p 0.5069 1.0745 54N 170E 59 28105m14s
44 8 -1229-Jul-1816:57:26 29533 1135 -39931 T -p 0.5687 1.0709 57N 60E 55 28104m49s
45 9 -1211-Jul-2900:43:30 29185 1090 -39708 T -p 0.6252 1.0668 58N 50W 51 28004m25s
46 10 -1193-Aug-0908:37:03 28838 1046 -39485 T -p 0.6754 1.0623 58N 163W 47 27604m02s
47 11 -1175-Aug-1916:37:10 28494 1002 -39262 T -p 0.7200 1.0574 57N 81E 44 27103m42s
48 12 -1157-Aug-3100:45:56 28151 959 -39039 T -p 0.7574 1.0524 55N 39W 40 26303m23s
49 13 -1139-Sep-1009:02:18 27811 918 -38816 T -p 0.7884 1.0474 52N 163W 38 25303m05s
50 14 -1121-Sep-2117:26:25 27472 876 -38593 T -p 0.8126 1.0426 50N 70E 35 24002m50s
51 15 -1103-Oct-0201:57:30 27136 836 -38370 T -p 0.8310 1.0380 47N 61W 34 22402m36s
52 16 -1085-Oct-1310:34:59 26802 796 -38147 T -p 0.8438 1.0338 45N 166E 32 20802m24s
53 17 -1067-Oct-2319:18:05 26470 758 -37924 T -p 0.8520 1.0301 42N 31E 31 19002m13s
54 18 -1049-Nov-0404:03:58 26140 720 -37701 T -p 0.8576 1.0269 40N 105W 31 17402m04s
55 19 -1031-Nov-1412:53:41 25812 682 -37478 T -p 0.8599 1.0243 38N 117E 30 15901m57s
56 20 -1013-Nov-2521:43:37 25486 646 -37255 T -p 0.8614 1.0222 37N 20W 30 14701m51s
57 21 -0995-Dec-0606:33:31 25162 620 -37032 T -p 0.8631 1.0207 36N 158W 30 13901m47s
58 22 -0977-Dec-1715:19:25 24841 613 -36809 T -p 0.8677 1.0195 36N 66E 30 13401m43s
59 23 -0959-Dec-2800:02:39 24521 606 -36586 T -p 0.8743 1.0187 37N 70W 29 13201m39s
60 24 -0940-Jan-0808:39:24 24203 599 -36363 T -p 0.8857 1.0181 39N 155E 27 13401m36s
61 25 -0922-Jan-1817:09:32 23888 592 -36140 T -t 0.9022 1.0176 42N 22E 25 14101m31s
62 26 -0904-Jan-3001:30:59 23574 585 -35917 T -t 0.9251 1.0169 47N 110W 22 15401m24s
63 27 -0886-Feb-0909:44:17 23263 579 -35694 T -t 0.9544 1.0158 54N 118E 17 18501m13s
64 28 -0868-Feb-2017:47:38 22954 572 -35471 T -t 0.9912 1.0129 66N 21W 6 40100m53s
65 29 -0850-Mar-0301:41:26 22646 565 -35248 P -t 1.0350 0.9352 71N 165W 0 - -
66 30 -0832-Mar-1309:25:33 22341 558 -35025 P -t 1.0861 0.8407 72N 64E 0 - -
67 31 -0814-Mar-2417:01:06 22038 551 -34802 P -t 1.1432 0.7348 72N 65W 0 - -
68 32 -0796-Apr-0400:26:45 21737 544 -34579 P -t 1.2076 0.6155 72N 168E 0 - -
69 33 -0778-Apr-1507:45:44 21438 538 -34356 P -t 1.2765 0.4881 71N 43E 0 - -
70 34 -0760-Apr-2514:56:52 21141 531 -34133 P -t 1.3509 0.3509 71N 79W 0 - -
71 35 -0742-May-0622:04:01 20846 524 -33910 P -t 1.4273 0.2107 70N 160E 0 - -
72 36 -0724-May-1705:04:06 20553 517 -33687 Pe -t 1.5082 0.0631 70N 41E 0 - -

Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 26

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.

Summary of Saros 26
First Eclipse -2004 Apr 08
Last Eclipse -0724 May 17
Series Duration 1280.14 Years
No. of Eclipses 72
Sequence 6P 10A 7H 41T 8P

Saros 26 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 26
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 14 19.4%
AnnularA 10 13.9%
TotalT 41 56.9%
HybridH 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 58100.0%
Central (two limits) 58100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The 72 eclipses in Saros 26 occur in the following order : 6P 10A 7H 41T 8P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 26 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 26
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -1896 Jun 1201m29s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -1734 Sep 1800m03s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -1355 May 0306m53s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -0868 Feb 2000m53s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1608 Dec 0200m58s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -1716 Sep 2800m01s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -0850 Mar 03 - 0.93523
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0724 May 17 - 0.06309

Eclipse Publications

by Fred Espenak

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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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. 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.