Saros 55

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 55

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 55

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every solar eclipse belonging to Saros 55 . 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 55
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
1-37 -1255-Jul-0601:55:26 30040 1201 -40253 Pb t- 1.5164 0.0291 66N 107E 0 - -
2-36 -1237-Jul-1709:28:24 29689 1155 -40030 P t- 1.4591 0.1403 67N 18W 0 - -
3-35 -1219-Jul-2717:06:40 29339 1110 -39807 P t- 1.4066 0.2416 68N 145W 0 - -
4-34 -1201-Aug-0800:52:18 28992 1065 -39584 P t- 1.3605 0.3297 69N 86E 0 - -
5-33 -1183-Aug-1808:43:26 28646 1021 -39361 P t- 1.3196 0.4073 70N 45W 0 - -
6-32 -1165-Aug-2916:43:06 28303 978 -39138 P t- 1.2864 0.4696 70N 179W 0 - -
7-31 -1147-Sep-0900:49:10 27962 936 -38915 P t- 1.2591 0.5203 71N 44E 0 - -
8-30 -1129-Sep-2009:03:29 27622 895 -38692 P t- 1.2392 0.5569 71N 94W 0 - -
9-29 -1111-Sep-3017:23:28 27285 854 -38469 P t- 1.2247 0.5831 72N 125E 0 - -
10-28 -1093-Oct-1201:50:57 26950 814 -38246 P t- 1.2169 0.5970 72N 17W 0 - -
11-27 -1075-Oct-2210:22:37 26617 775 -38023 P t- 1.2134 0.6028 71N 161W 0 - -
12-26 -1057-Nov-0218:58:31 26286 736 -37800 P t- 1.2140 0.6013 71N 55E 0 - -
13-25 -1039-Nov-1303:36:19 25957 699 -37577 P t- 1.2168 0.5959 70N 88W 0 - -
14-24 -1021-Nov-2412:15:54 25631 662 -37354 P t- 1.2215 0.5873 69N 128E 0 - -
15-23 -1003-Dec-0420:53:20 25306 626 -37131 P t- 1.2253 0.5803 68N 15W 0 - -
16-22 -0985-Dec-1605:28:23 24983 616 -36908 P t- 1.2279 0.5757 67N 156W 0 - -
17-21 -0967-Dec-2613:58:22 24663 609 -36685 P t- 1.2269 0.5773 66N 64E 0 - -
18-20 -0948-Jan-0622:23:40 24344 602 -36462 P t- 1.2228 0.5847 65N 73W 0 - -
19-19 -0930-Jan-1706:39:25 24028 595 -36239 P t- 1.2117 0.6045 64N 152E 0 - -
20-18 -0912-Jan-2814:48:01 23713 589 -36016 P t- 1.1956 0.6332 63N 19E 0 - -
21-17 -0894-Feb-0722:45:33 23401 582 -35793 P t- 1.1713 0.6765 62N 111W 0 - -
22-16 -0876-Feb-1906:34:38 23091 575 -35570 P t- 1.1411 0.7303 62N 121E 0 - -
23-15 -0858-Mar-0114:11:07 22782 568 -35347 P t- 1.1012 0.8013 61N 3W 0 - -
24-14 -0840-Mar-1121:39:21 22476 561 -35124 P t- 1.0555 0.8826 61N 125W 0 - -
25-13 -0822-Mar-2304:55:58 22172 554 -34901 A+ t- 1.0011 0.9790 61N 116E 0 - -
26-12 -0804-Apr-0212:03:58 21870 547 -34678 A p- 0.9406 0.9759 56N 35E 19 25001m44s
27-11 -0786-Apr-1319:02:10 21570 541 -34455 A p- 0.8727 0.9772 55N 61W 29 16301m43s
28-10 -0768-Apr-2401:54:07 21273 534 -34232 A p- 0.8004 0.9776 54N 159W 37 13101m44s
29 -9 -0750-May-0508:39:23 20977 527 -34009 A p- 0.7232 0.9772 53N 105E 43 11601m50s
30 -8 -0732-May-1515:19:18 20683 520 -33786 A p- 0.6422 0.9761 52N 10E 50 11001m59s
31 -7 -0714-May-2621:56:18 20392 513 -33563 A p- 0.5597 0.9743 51N 83W 56 11002m14s
32 -6 -0696-Jun-0604:31:28 20102 506 -33340 A p- 0.4764 0.9720 49N 177W 61 11402m35s
33 -5 -0678-Jun-1711:06:29 19814 499 -33117 A p- 0.3935 0.9691 46N 88E 67 12103m01s
34 -4 -0660-Jun-2717:41:59 19529 492 -32894 A nn 0.3116 0.9656 42N 8W 72 13103m35s
35 -3 -0642-Jul-0900:21:02 19246 485 -32671 A nn 0.2333 0.9618 37N 106W 76 14304m14s
36 -2 -0624-Jul-1907:04:08 18964 478 -32448 A nn 0.1594 0.9575 32N 154E 81 15704m59s
37 -1 -0606-Jul-3013:52:07 18685 471 -32225 Am nn 0.0902 0.9530 26N 51E 85 17205m46s
38 0 -0588-Aug-0920:47:02 18409 464 -32002 A nn 0.0273 0.9484 20N 54W 88 19006m34s
39 1 -0570-Aug-2103:49:47 18135 457 -31779 A nn -0.0284 0.9437 13N 162W 88 20807m18s
40 2 -0552-Aug-3111:01:02 17860 450 -31556 A nn -0.0765 0.9391 7N 88E 86 22707m59s
Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 55
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 3 -0534-Sep-1118:19:44 17591 443 -31333 A nn -0.1179 0.9346 1N 24W 83 24508m34s
42 4 -0516-Sep-2201:47:33 17322 436 -31110 A nn -0.1511 0.9305 6S 138W 81 26309m04s
43 5 -0498-Oct-0309:23:32 17047 430 -30887 A nn -0.1773 0.9266 11S 105E 80 28009m29s
44 6 -0480-Oct-1317:06:55 16735 423 -30664 A nn -0.1972 0.9234 17S 13W 79 29409m49s
45 7 -0462-Oct-2500:57:02 16423 416 -30441 A nn -0.2113 0.9206 22S 132W 78 30710m05s
46 8 -0444-Nov-0408:52:23 16120 410 -30218 A nn -0.2210 0.9185 27S 108E 77 31710m16s
47 9 -0426-Nov-1516:52:19 15831 403 -29995 A nn -0.2268 0.9170 31S 13W 77 32410m23s
48 10 -0408-Nov-2600:52:51 15543 397 -29772 A nn -0.2321 0.9163 34S 133W 76 32710m22s
49 11 -0390-Dec-0708:55:07 15266 390 -29549 A nn -0.2359 0.9162 36S 108E 76 32810m16s
50 12 -0372-Dec-1716:54:46 14997 384 -29326 A nn -0.2422 0.9169 38S 10W 76 32610m02s
51 13 -0354-Dec-2900:51:56 14728 378 -29103 A nn -0.2503 0.9182 38S 128W 75 32109m42s
52 14 -0335-Jan-0808:42:26 14474 372 -28880 A nn -0.2641 0.9201 38S 116E 74 31409m16s
53 15 -0317-Jan-1916:28:15 14223 365 -28657 A -n -0.2817 0.9225 37S 2E 73 30508m47s
54 16 -0299-Jan-3000:05:42 13973 359 -28434 A -n -0.3067 0.9254 36S 111W 72 29508m15s
55 17 -0281-Feb-1007:34:59 13736 353 -28211 A -p -0.3383 0.9286 34S 137E 70 28307m43s
56 18 -0263-Feb-2014:54:47 13498 347 -27988 A -p -0.3780 0.9321 32S 28E 68 27207m12s
57 19 -0245-Mar-0322:06:36 13264 341 -27765 A -p -0.4244 0.9358 30S 79W 65 26106m44s
58 20 -0227-Mar-1405:09:21 13039 335 -27542 A -p -0.4786 0.9395 29S 175E 61 25206m18s
59 21 -0209-Mar-2512:04:04 12815 329 -27319 A -p -0.5399 0.9431 28S 72E 57 24505m55s
60 22 -0191-Apr-0418:51:40 12597 323 -27096 A -p -0.6073 0.9464 28S 30W 52 24205m35s
61 23 -0173-Apr-1601:33:29 12386 318 -26873 A -p -0.6797 0.9494 29S 131W 47 24605m18s
62 24 -0155-Apr-2608:09:15 12174 312 -26650 A -p -0.7575 0.9520 32S 131E 41 26105m02s
63 25 -0137-May-0714:42:19 11971 306 -26427 A -p -0.8379 0.9538 37S 32E 33 30104m46s
64 26 -0119-May-1721:12:45 11770 301 -26204 A -t -0.9206 0.9546 44S 64W 23 41804m28s
65 27 -0101-May-2903:44:12 11570 295 -25981 A- -t -1.0030 0.9658 63S 150W 0 - -
66 28 -0083-Jun-0810:14:36 11376 290 -25758 P -t -1.0865 0.8212 64S 102E 0 - -
67 29 -0065-Jun-1916:49:58 11183 284 -25535 P -t -1.1660 0.6826 65S 7W 0 - -
68 30 -0047-Jun-2923:27:47 10991 279 -25312 P -t -1.2438 0.5465 66S 118W 0 - -
69 31 -0029-Jul-1106:12:45 10804 273 -25089 P -t -1.3162 0.4194 67S 130E 0 - -
70 32 -0011-Jul-2113:02:36 10618 268 -24866 P -t -1.3851 0.2982 68S 15E 0 - -
71 33 0007-Aug-0120:02:42 10436 263 -24643 P -t -1.4462 0.1906 69S 102W 0 - -
72 34 0025-Aug-1203:10:31 10259 258 -24420 P -t -1.5015 0.0932 70S 138E 0 - -
73 35 0043-Aug-2310:28:39 10081 252 -24197 Pe -t -1.5491 0.0094 71S 15E 0 - -

Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 55

Solar eclipses of Saros 55 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 -1255 Jul 06. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 0043 Aug 23. The total duration of Saros series 55 is 1298.17 years.

Summary of Saros 55
First Eclipse -1255 Jul 06
Last Eclipse 0043 Aug 23
Series Duration 1298.17 Years
No. of Eclipses 73
Sequence 24P 41A 8P

Saros 55 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 55
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 73100.0%
PartialP 32 43.8%
AnnularA 41 56.2%
TotalT 0 0.0%
HybridH 0 0.0%

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 55 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 55
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 41100.0%
Central (two limits) 39 95.1%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 2 4.9%

The 73 eclipses in Saros 55 occur in the following order : 24P 41A 8P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 55 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 55
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -0426 Nov 1510m23s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -0786 Apr 1301m43s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -0840 Mar 11 - 0.88258
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 0043 Aug 23 - 0.00942

Panorama of Solar Eclipses of Saros 55

Catalog of Saros Series of Solar Eclipses

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.