Saros 66

Panorama of Solar Eclipses of Saros 66

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.

Panorama of Solar Eclipses of Saros 66

A panorama of all solar eclipses belonging to Saros 66 is presented here. Each map depicts the geographic region of visibility for a single eclipse. For central eclipses, the total or annular path is plotted in either blue (total) or red (annular). The date and time is given for the instant of Greatest Eclipse. Every map serves as a hyperlink to the EclipseWise Prime page for that eclipse where a larger map and complete details for the eclipse can be found. Visit the Key to Solar Eclipse Maps for a detailed explanation of these maps. Near the bottom of the page are a series of hyperlinks for more on solar eclipses.

The exeligmos is a period of three Saros cycles and is equal to approximately 54 years 33 days. Because it is nearly an integral number of days in length, two eclipses separated by 1 exeligmos (= 3 Saroses) not only share all the characterists of a Saros, but also take place in approximately the same geographic location.

The Saros panorama below is arranged in horizontal rows of 3 eclipses. So one eclipse to the left or right is a difference of 1 Saros cycle, and one eclipse above or below is a difference of 1 exeligmos. By scanning a column of the table, it reveals how the geographic visibility of eclipses separated by an exeligmos slowly changes.

  • Click on any global map to go directly to the EclipseWise Prime Page for more information, tables, diagrams and maps. Key to Solar Eclipse Maps explains the features in these maps.
  • Beneath each global eclipse map is a link Google Eclipse Map, that takes you to an interactive Google Map with the eclipse path plotted.

For more information on this series see Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 66 .

Panorama of Solar Eclipses of Saros 66
Partial Solar Eclipse
-0756 Mar 12

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
-0738 Mar 23

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
-0720 Apr 02

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
-0702 Apr 14

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
-0684 Apr 24

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
-0666 May 05

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
-0648 May 16

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
-0630 May 27

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0612 Jun 06

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0594 Jun 18

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0576 Jun 28

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0558 Jul 09

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0540 Jul 20

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0522 Jul 31

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0504 Aug 10

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0486 Aug 22

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0468 Sep 01

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0450 Sep 12

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0432 Sep 23

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0414 Oct 04

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0396 Oct 14

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0378 Oct 26

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0360 Nov 05

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0342 Nov 16

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0324 Nov 27

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0306 Dec 08

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0288 Dec 18

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0270 Dec 30

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0251 Jan 09

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0233 Jan 21

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0215 Jan 31

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0197 Feb 11

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0179 Feb 22

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0161 Mar 05

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0143 Mar 15

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0125 Mar 27

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0107 Apr 06

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0089 Apr 17

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0071 Apr 28

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0053 May 09

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0035 May 19

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
-0017 May 30

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0001 Jun 10

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0019 Jun 21

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0037 Jul 01

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0055 Jul 13

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0073 Jul 23

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0091 Aug 03

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0109 Aug 14

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0127 Aug 25

Google Eclipse Map
Total Solar Eclipse
0145 Sep 04

Google Eclipse Map
Hybrid Solar Eclipse
0163 Sep 16

Google Eclipse Map
Annular Solar Eclipse
0181 Sep 26

Google Eclipse Map
Annular Solar Eclipse
0199 Oct 07

Google Eclipse Map
Annular Solar Eclipse
0217 Oct 18

Google Eclipse Map
Annular Solar Eclipse
0235 Oct 29

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0253 Nov 08

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0271 Nov 20

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0289 Nov 30

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0307 Dec 11

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0325 Dec 22

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0344 Jan 02

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0362 Jan 12

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0380 Jan 24

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0398 Feb 03

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0416 Feb 14

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0434 Feb 25

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0452 Mar 07

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0470 Mar 18

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0488 Mar 29

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0506 Apr 09

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0524 Apr 19

Google Eclipse Map
Partial Solar Eclipse
0542 May 01

Google Eclipse Map

Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 66

Solar eclipses of Saros 66 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 -0756 Mar 12. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0542 May 01. The total duration of Saros series 66 is 1298.17 years.

Summary of Saros 66
First Eclipse -0756 Mar 12
Last Eclipse 0542 May 01
Series Duration 1298.17 Years
No. of Eclipses 73
Sequence 8P 43T 1H 4A 17P

Saros 66 is composed of 73 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 66
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 73100.0%
PartialP 25 34.2%
AnnularA 4 5.5%
TotalT 43 58.9%
HybridH 1 1.4%

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 66 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 66
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 48100.0%
Central (two limits) 47 97.9%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.1%

The 73 eclipses in Saros 66 occur in the following order : 8P 43T 1H 4A 17P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 66 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 66
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 0217 Oct 1801m10s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 0181 Sep 2600m09s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse -0089 Apr 1706m15s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 0145 Sep 0400m52s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0163 Sep 1600m22s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 0163 Sep 1600m22s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 0253 Nov 08 - 0.95732
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0756 Mar 12 - 0.00447

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.