The primary function of NASA Reference Publication 1178 - Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986 - 2035 is to provide a source of moderately detailed eclipse predictions and maps for use by the astronomical community. As such, it permits the identification of the most favorable eclipse opportunities, taking into account the celestial mechanics and geographic locations which are paramount in addressing the scientific goals, the issue of funding and the logistical problems of organizing an expedition to remote destinations.

The Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986 - 2035 is composed of four major sections and two appendices. Section 1 is a catalog which lists the general characteristics of every solar eclipse from 1901 through 2100. Section 2 presents a detailed set of cylindrical projection world maps which show the umbral paths of every solar eclipse from 1901 through 2100. Section 3 gives geodetic path coordinates and local circumstances on the center line for every central eclipse from 1986 through 2035. Finally, section 4 consists of a series of orthographic projection maps which show the regions of visibility of both partial and central phases for every solar eclipse from 1986 through 2035. Appendix A provides some general background on solar eclipses and covers eclipse geometry, eclipse frequency and recurrence, modern eclipse prediction, geometry of the umbral shadow and time determination. Appendix B is a listing of a very simple Fortran program which can be used to predict the occurrence and general characteristics of solar eclipses. It makes use of many approximations while maintaining a reasonable level of accuracy and reliability. The program is based on algorithms devised by Meeus [1982] and the ample comments should make the program self- explanatory.