EclipseWise - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 56

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 56

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every solar eclipse belonging to Saros 56 . 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 56
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	-34	-1172-Jul-17	20:09:50	28438	995	-39226	Pb	t-	-1.5511	0.0220	64S	31W	0	-	-
2	-33	-1154-Jul-29	02:52:43	28096	953	-39003	P	t-	-1.4857	0.1348	63S	143W	0	-	-
3	-32	-1136-Aug-08	09:43:47	27756	911	-38780	P	t-	-1.4265	0.2364	63S	104E	0	-	-
4	-31	-1118-Aug-19	16:43:54	27418	870	-38557	P	t-	-1.3741	0.3256	62S	12W	0	-	-
5	-30	-1100-Aug-29	23:51:47	27082	830	-38334	P	t-	-1.3275	0.4045	61S	129W	0	-	-
6	-29	-1082-Sep-10	07:10:21	26748	790	-38111	P	t-	-1.2893	0.4687	61S	111E	0	-	-
7	-28	-1064-Sep-20	14:37:31	26417	751	-37888	P	t-	-1.2578	0.5213	61S	11W	0	-	-
8	-27	-1046-Oct-01	22:14:39	26087	714	-37665	P	t-	-1.2338	0.5612	61S	135W	0	-	-
9	-26	-1028-Oct-12	05:58:18	25759	676	-37442	P	t-	-1.2148	0.5926	61S	99E	0	-	-
10	-25	-1010-Oct-23	13:50:38	25434	640	-37219	P	t-	-1.2024	0.6130	61S	29W	0	-	-
11	-24	-0992-Nov-02	21:47:15	25110	619	-36996	P	t-	-1.1930	0.6285	61S	158W	0	-	-
12	-23	-0974-Nov-14	05:48:28	24789	612	-36773	P	t-	-1.1871	0.6382	62S	71E	0	-	-
13	-22	-0956-Nov-24	13:50:53	24470	605	-36550	P	t-	-1.1817	0.6471	63S	60W	0	-	-
14	-21	-0938-Dec-05	21:54:33	24152	598	-36327	P	t-	-1.1770	0.6550	63S	169E	0	-	-
15	-20	-0920-Dec-16	05:55:39	23837	591	-36104	P	t-	-1.1698	0.6673	64S	38E	0	-	-
16	-19	-0902-Dec-27	13:53:44	23524	584	-35881	P	t-	-1.1597	0.6846	65S	93W	0	-	-
17	-18	-0883-Jan-06	21:46:29	23213	578	-35658	P	t-	-1.1449	0.7100	66S	137E	0	-	-
18	-17	-0865-Jan-18	05:34:00	22904	571	-35435	P	t-	-1.1256	0.7430	68S	8E	0	-	-
19	-16	-0847-Jan-28	13:12:41	22597	564	-35212	P	t-	-1.0985	0.7899	69S	119W	0	-	-
20	-15	-0829-Feb-08	20:44:32	22292	557	-34989	P	t-	-1.0652	0.8478	70S	114E	0	-	-
21	-14	-0811-Feb-19	04:07:23	21989	550	-34766	P	t-	-1.0240	0.9199	70S	10W	0	-	-
22	-13	-0793-Mar-02	11:23:47	21689	543	-34543	A	t-	-0.9767	0.9399	75S	172W	12	1106	04m06s
23	-12	-0775-Mar-12	18:30:15	21390	536	-34320	A	t-	-0.9205	0.9479	67S	39E	23	494	04m01s
24	-11	-0757-Mar-24	01:31:28	21093	530	-34097	A	t-	-0.8590	0.9550	57S	83W	30	319	03m50s
25	-10	-0739-Apr-03	08:24:53	20799	523	-33874	A	p-	-0.7899	0.9617	47S	163E	38	224	03m35s
26	-9	-0721-Apr-14	15:14:51	20506	516	-33651	A	p-	-0.7169	0.9681	37S	52E	44	163	03m15s
27	-8	-0703-Apr-24	21:59:08	20216	509	-33428	A	p-	-0.6381	0.9739	28S	55W	50	120	02m51s
28	-7	-0685-May-06	04:43:04	19928	502	-33205	A	p-	-0.5577	0.9793	19S	161W	56	88	02m23s
29	-6	-0667-May-16	11:24:51	19641	495	-32982	A	p-	-0.4741	0.9841	11S	94E	62	64	01m54s
30	-5	-0649-May-27	18:07:48	19357	488	-32759	A	p-	-0.3904	0.9884	3S	10W	67	44	01m25s
31	-4	-0631-Jun-07	00:52:22	19075	480	-32536	A	p-	-0.3068	0.9920	4N	114W	72	30	00m58s
32	-3	-0613-Jun-18	07:40:51	18795	473	-32313	A	n-	-0.2253	0.9951	10N	141E	77	18	00m35s
33	-2	-0595-Jun-28	14:34:21	18517	466	-32090	A	nn	-0.1469	0.9974	15N	37E	82	9	00m18s
34	-1	-0577-Jul-09	21:33:19	18243	459	-31867	A	nn	-0.0719	0.9993	19N	68W	86	2	00m04s
35	0	-0559-Jul-20	04:40:35	17968	453	-31644	H	nn	-0.0028	1.0006	22N	175W	90	2	00m04s
36	1	-0541-Jul-31	11:55:49	17697	446	-31421	H	nn	0.0609	1.0015	24N	77E	86	5	00m09s
37	2	-0523-Aug-10	19:20:31	17428	439	-31198	H	nn	0.1174	1.0020	24N	34W	83	7	00m12s
38	3	-0505-Aug-22	02:54:37	17159	432	-30975	Hm	nn	0.1671	1.0023	23N	147W	80	8	00m13s
39	4	-0487-Sep-01	10:39:31	16858	426	-30752	H	nn	0.2088	1.0023	22N	96E	78	8	00m13s
40	5	-0469-Sep-12	18:34:11	16546	419	-30529	H	-n	0.2434	1.0023	19N	23W	76	8	00m13s

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 56
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	6	-0451-Sep-23	02:38:19	16234	412	-30306	H	-n	0.2711	1.0024	16N	145W	74	9	00m13s
42	7	-0433-Oct-04	10:51:58	15945	406	-30083	H	-n	0.2918	1.0026	13N	90E	73	9	00m15s
43	8	-0415-Oct-14	19:14:34	15657	399	-29860	H	-n	0.3055	1.0031	9N	38W	72	11	00m17s
44	9	-0397-Oct-26	03:44:05	15372	393	-29637	H	-n	0.3145	1.0040	6N	167W	72	14	00m23s
45	10	-0379-Nov-05	12:19:34	15103	387	-29414	H	-n	0.3192	1.0052	2N	63E	71	19	00m31s
46	11	-0361-Nov-16	20:59:19	14834	380	-29191	H	-n	0.3211	1.0071	0S	69W	71	26	00m42s
47	12	-0343-Nov-27	05:42:27	14573	374	-28968	H	-n	0.3208	1.0094	3S	159E	71	34	00m57s
48	13	-0325-Dec-08	14:25:21	14322	368	-28745	H	-n	0.3210	1.0123	4S	26E	71	45	01m16s
49	14	-0307-Dec-18	23:08:33	14071	362	-28522	H	-n	0.3216	1.0156	5S	106W	71	57	01m38s
50	15	-0289-Dec-30	07:48:11	13829	355	-28299	T	-n	0.3256	1.0196	5S	123E	71	71	02m04s
51	16	-0270-Jan-09	16:25:14	13592	349	-28076	T	-n	0.3322	1.0240	3S	7W	71	86	02m30s
52	17	-0252-Jan-21	00:55:23	13354	343	-27853	T	-n	0.3451	1.0287	1S	136W	70	104	02m57s
53	18	-0234-Jan-31	09:21:18	13128	337	-27630	T	-n	0.3621	1.0337	2N	95E	69	122	03m24s
54	19	-0216-Feb-11	17:39:01	12903	332	-27407	T	-n	0.3862	1.0389	7N	31W	67	141	03m48s
55	20	-0198-Feb-22	01:50:19	12680	326	-27184	T	-n	0.4164	1.0441	12N	157W	65	161	04m10s
56	21	-0180-Mar-04	09:53:02	12469	320	-26961	T	-p	0.4544	1.0492	18N	79E	63	182	04m27s
57	22	-0162-Mar-15	17:49:52	12258	314	-26738	T	-p	0.4978	1.0540	25N	43W	60	205	04m40s
58	23	-0144-Mar-26	01:39:15	12050	308	-26515	T	-p	0.5480	1.0584	32N	164W	57	229	04m47s
59	24	-0126-Apr-06	09:22:18	11849	303	-26292	T	-p	0.6039	1.0623	40N	76E	53	255	04m48s
60	25	-0108-Apr-16	16:59:28	11649	297	-26069	T	-p	0.6653	1.0654	49N	43W	48	286	04m43s
61	26	-0090-Apr-28	00:32:29	11452	292	-25846	T	-p	0.7307	1.0677	58N	161W	43	324	04m32s
62	27	-0072-May-08	08:01:32	11259	286	-25623	T	-p	0.7996	1.0690	67N	80E	37	376	04m16s
63	28	-0054-May-19	15:28:01	11066	281	-25400	T	-p	0.8707	1.0691	77N	45W	29	463	03m55s
64	29	-0036-May-29	22:53:24	10878	275	-25177	T	-t	0.9431	1.0674	85N	123E	19	682	03m29s
65	30	-0018-Jun-10	06:19:15	10692	270	-24954	P	-t	1.0153	0.9957	67N	50W	0	-	-
66	31	0000-Jun-20	13:45:14	10506	265	-24731	P	-t	1.0874	0.8554	66N	173W	0	-	-
67	32	0018-Jul-01	21:14:23	10329	260	-24508	P	-t	1.1570	0.7200	65N	64E	0	-	-
68	33	0036-Jul-12	04:46:16	10151	254	-24285	P	-t	1.2244	0.5892	64N	60W	0	-	-
69	34	0054-Jul-23	12:24:11	9975	249	-24062	P	-t	1.2869	0.4680	63N	176E	0	-	-
70	35	0072-Aug-02	20:05:55	9801	244	-23839	P	-t	1.3462	0.3536	63N	50E	0	-	-
71	36	0090-Aug-14	03:55:54	9628	239	-23616	P	-t	1.3991	0.2524	62N	77W	0	-	-
72	37	0108-Aug-24	11:51:55	9455	234	-23393	P	-t	1.4471	0.1612	62N	154E	0	-	-
73	38	0126-Sep-04	19:56:36	9283	229	-23170	P	-t	1.4881	0.0842	61N	23E	0	-	-
74	39	0144-Sep-15	04:07:53	9111	225	-22947	Pe	-t	1.5237	0.0180	61N	109W	0	-	-

Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 56

Solar eclipses of Saros 56 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 -1172 Jul 17. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0144 Sep 15. The total duration of Saros series 56 is 1316.20 years.

Summary of Saros 56

First Eclipse	-1172 Jul 17
Last Eclipse	0144 Sep 15
Series Duration	1316.20 Years
No. of Eclipses	74
Sequence	21P 13A 15H 15T 10P

Saros 56 is composed of 74 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 56
Eclipse Type	Symbol	Number	Percent
All Eclipses	-	74	100.0%
Partial	P	31	41.9%
Annular	A	13	17.6%
Total	T	15	20.3%
Hybrid	H	15	20.3%

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 56 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 56
Classification	Number	Percent
All Umbral Eclipses	43	100.0%
Central (two limits)	43	100.0%
Central (one limit)	0	0.0%
Non-Central (one limit)	0	0.0%

The 74 eclipses in Saros 56 occur in the following order : 21P 13A 15H 15T 10P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 56 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 56
Extrema Type	Date	Duration	Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse	-0793 Mar 02	04m06s	-
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse	-0577 Jul 09	00m04s	-
Longest Total Solar Eclipse	-0126 Apr 06	04m48s	-
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse	-0289 Dec 30	02m04s	-
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse	-0307 Dec 18	01m38s	-
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse	-0559 Jul 20	00m04s	-
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse	-0018 Jun 10	-	0.99571
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse	0144 Sep 15	-	0.01797

Panorama of Solar Eclipses of Saros 56

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.