Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 151

Introduction

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[1] with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. 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[2] eclipses before ending with a group of partial eclipses near the opposite pole. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.


Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 151

Solar eclipses of Saros 151 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 1776 Aug 14. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3056 Oct 01. The total duration of Saros series 151 is 1280.14 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   1776 Aug 14   05:22:56 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   3056 Oct 01   13:33:09 TD

                      Duration of Saros 151  =  1280.14 Years

Saros 151 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 151
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 26 36.1%
AnnularA 6 8.3%
TotalT 39 54.2%
Hybrid[3]H 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 151 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 151
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 46100.0%
Central (two limits) 44 95.7%
Central (one limit) 2 4.3%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 151: 18P 6A 1H 39T 8P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 151 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 151
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 2101 Feb 2802m44s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 2191 Apr 2300m03s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 2840 May 2205m41s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 2227 May 1600m59s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 2209 May 0500m28s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 2209 May 0500m28s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 2083 Feb 16 - 0.94325
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 3056 Oct 01 - 0.00210

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 151

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 151. A description or explanation of each parameter listed in the catalog can be found in Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.

Several fields in the catalog link to web pages or files containing additional information for each eclipse (for the years -1999 through +3000). The following gives a brief explanation of each link.


For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Animation of Saros 151.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 151

                         TD of
 Seq. Rel.   Calendar   Greatest          Luna  Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Path  Central
 Num. Num.     Date      Eclipse     ΔT   Num.  Type  Gamma    Mag.    Lat   Long  Alt Width   Dur.
                                      s                                 °      °     °    km

08981 -34  1776 Aug 14  05:22:56     17  -2763   Pb   1.5357  0.0435  70.6N 123.5W   0             
09027 -33  1794 Aug 25  12:08:56     15  -2540   P    1.4616  0.1709  71.3N 121.9E   0             
09072 -32  1812 Sep 05  19:04:10     12  -2317   P    1.3939  0.2874  71.8N   4.5E   0             
09117 -31  1830 Sep 17  02:08:12      7  -2094   P    1.3325  0.3930  72.1N 115.6W   0             
09161 -30  1848 Sep 27  09:21:19      7  -1871   P    1.2774  0.4875  72.2N 121.9E   0             
09203 -29  1866 Oct 08  16:44:22      4  -1648   P    1.2296  0.5693  71.9N   3.0W   0             
09245 -28  1884 Oct 19  00:17:42     -6  -1425   P    1.1892  0.6385  71.5N 130.2W   0             
09287 -27  1902 Oct 31  08:00:18      1  -1202   P    1.1556  0.6960  70.8N 100.8E   0             
09329 -26  1920 Nov 10  15:52:15     22   -979   P    1.1287  0.7420  69.9N  29.8W   0             
09372 -25  1938 Nov 21  23:52:25     24   -756   P    1.1077  0.7781  68.9N 162.0W   0             

09413 -24  1956 Dec 02  08:00:35     32   -533   P    1.0923  0.8047  67.9N  64.6E   0             
09453 -23  1974 Dec 13  16:13:13     45   -310   P    1.0797  0.8266  66.8N  69.4W   0             
09492 -22  1992 Dec 24  00:31:41     59    -87   P    1.0711  0.8422  65.7N 155.7E   0             
09531 -21  2011 Jan 04  08:51:42     67    136   P    1.0627  0.8576  64.7N  20.8E   0             
09571 -20  2029 Jan 14  17:13:48     77    359   P    1.0553  0.8714  63.7N 114.2W   0             
09611 -19  2047 Jan 26  01:33:18     90    582   P    1.0450  0.8907  62.9N 111.7E   0             
09652 -18  2065 Feb 05  09:52:26    124    805   P    1.0336  0.9123  62.2N  21.9W   0             
09693 -17  2083 Feb 16  18:06:36    164   1028   P    1.0170  0.9433  61.6N 154.1W   0             
09735 -16  2101 Feb 28  02:16:26    205   1251   An   0.9964  0.9609  60.5N  80.0E   3   -   02m44s
09776 -15  2119 Mar 11  10:19:19    249   1474   A    0.9693  0.9694  56.7N  29.2W  14  451  02m13s

09817 -14  2137 Mar 21  18:16:38    294   1697   A    0.9369  0.9769  55.6N 144.8W  20  233  01m40s
09859 -13  2155 Apr 02  02:06:34    339   1920   A    0.8975  0.9844  55.6N 101.3E  26  123  01m07s
09901 -12  2173 Apr 12  09:49:40    379   2143   A    0.8515  0.9919  56.2N  10.3W  31   53  00m35s
09945 -11  2191 Apr 23  17:26:06    420   2366   A    0.7991  0.9993  57.0N 119.2W  37    4  00m03s
09990 -10  2209 May 05  00:56:53    464   2589   H    0.7413  1.0065  57.7N 134.4E  42   34  00m28s
10033 -09  2227 May 16  08:21:31    510   2812   T    0.6774  1.0135  57.7N  30.8E  47   63  00m59s
10077 -08  2245 May 26  15:42:04    558   3035   T    0.6089  1.0201  56.7N  71.4W  52   86  01m30s
10122 -07  2263 Jun 06  22:58:57    608   3258   T    0.5366  1.0261  54.4N 173.1W  57  105  02m01s
10167 -06  2281 Jun 17  06:14:41    660   3481   T    0.4621  1.0316  50.8N  84.2E  62  121  02m32s
10213 -05  2299 Jun 28  13:27:43    714   3704   T    0.3846  1.0365  46.0N  19.5W  67  133  03m03s

10258 -04  2317 Jul 09  20:42:40    770   3927   T    0.3078  1.0406  40.4N 125.3W  72  143  03m32s
10304 -03  2335 Jul 21  03:57:49    829   4150   T    0.2306  1.0440  34.0N 127.4E  76  151  03m58s
10350 -02  2353 Jul 31  11:17:06    889   4373   T    0.1559  1.0467  27.2N  17.8E  81  158  04m20s
10395 -01  2371 Aug 11  18:38:04    951   4596   T    0.0821  1.0487  19.9N  93.0W  85  162  04m36s
10438  00  2389 Aug 22  02:05:53   1016   4819   T    0.0133  1.0500  12.5N 153.9E  89  166  04m45s
10482  01  2407 Sep 02  09:38:25   1082   5042   T   -0.0517  1.0506   5.1N  39.2E  87  168  04m48s
10525  02  2425 Sep 12  17:18:07   1151   5265   Tm  -0.1113  1.0507   2.3S  77.5W  84  169  04m47s
10568  03  2443 Sep 24  01:04:47   1222   5488   T   -0.1656  1.0502   9.6S 164.1E  80  169  04m39s
10611  04  2461 Oct 04  09:00:22   1295   5711   T   -0.2131  1.0495  16.5S  43.7E  78  168  04m30s
10653  05  2479 Oct 15  17:04:11   1369   5934   T   -0.2538  1.0484  23.0S  78.3W  75  166  04m18s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 151

                         TD of
 Seq. Rel.   Calendar   Greatest          Luna  Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Path  Central
 Num. Num.     Date      Eclipse     ΔT   Num.  Type  Gamma    Mag.    Lat   Long  Alt Width   Dur.
                                      s                                 °      °     °    km

10695  06  2497 Oct 26  01:15:23   1446   6157   T   -0.2889  1.0472  29.1S 158.5E  73  164  04m06s
10737  07  2515 Nov 07  09:35:34   1525   6380   T   -0.3169  1.0459  34.4S  33.9E  71  161  03m53s
10778  08  2533 Nov 17  18:03:10   1606   6603   T   -0.3394  1.0448  38.9S  91.5W  70  159  03m43s
10818  09  2551 Nov 29  02:38:19   1690   6826   T   -0.3559  1.0438  42.3S 142.3E  69  157  03m34s
10858  10  2569 Dec 09  11:18:32   1775   7049   T   -0.3687  1.0431  44.7S  15.8E  68  155  03m27s
10898  11  2587 Dec 20  20:04:49   1862   7272   T   -0.3767  1.0428  45.6S 111.5W  68  154  03m22s
10939  12  2606 Jan 01  04:53:56   1951   7495   T   -0.3828  1.0428  45.3S 120.5E  67  155  03m20s
10980  13  2624 Jan 12  13:45:09   2043   7718   T   -0.3874  1.0433  43.8S   8.4W  67  157  03m21s
11020  14  2642 Jan 22  22:36:33   2136   7941   T   -0.3923  1.0443  41.4S 138.1W  67  160  03m24s
11060  15  2660 Feb 03  07:27:31   2232   8164   T   -0.3977  1.0457  38.2S  91.5E  66  165  03m30s

11101  16  2678 Feb 13  16:14:59   2330   8387   T   -0.4062  1.0475  34.8S  38.7W  66  172  03m38s
11143  17  2696 Feb 25  00:58:48   2429   8610   T   -0.4179  1.0496  31.1S 168.7W  65  180  03m48s
11185  18  2714 Mar 08  09:37:13   2531   8833   T   -0.4342  1.0520  27.6S  62.3E  64  189  04m01s
11228  19  2732 Mar 18  18:10:35   2635   9056   T   -0.4552  1.0544  24.4S  65.8W  63  200  04m15s
11271  20  2750 Mar 30  02:35:25   2741   9279   T   -0.4832  1.0570  21.8S 168.1E  61  212  04m31s
11316  21  2768 Apr 09  10:54:27   2849   9502   T   -0.5162  1.0595  19.9S  43.4E  59  225  04m48s
11361  22  2786 Apr 20  19:04:46   2959   9725   T   -0.5565  1.0617  18.9S  79.1W  56  240  05m05s
11406  23  2804 May 01  03:09:24   3071   9948   T   -0.6018  1.0636  19.0S 159.6E  53  257  05m21s
11451  24  2822 May 12  11:04:34   3185  10171   T   -0.6549  1.0650  20.4S  40.6E  49  278  05m34s
11496  25  2840 May 22  18:55:22   3302  10394   T   -0.7118  1.0657  23.1S  77.7W  44  303  05m41s

11542  26  2858 Jun 03  02:37:58   3420  10617   T   -0.7750  1.0656  27.6S 165.7E  39  338  05m38s
11588  27  2876 Jun 13  10:16:45   3541  10840   T   -0.8414  1.0645  33.8S  49.4E  32  391  05m25s
11635  28  2894 Jun 24  17:49:14   3663  11063   T   -0.9127  1.0620  42.9S  66.3W  24  502  04m55s
11681  29  2912 Jul 06  01:20:07   3788  11286   Ts  -0.9849  1.0568  58.5S 176.0E   9   -   03m59s
11726  30  2930 Jul 17  08:47:32   3914  11509   P   -1.0593  0.9063  68.5S  53.0E   0             
11770  31  2948 Jul 27  16:14:08   4043  11732   P   -1.1339  0.7620  69.5S  69.8W   0             
11814  32  2966 Aug 07  23:40:32   4174  11955   P   -1.2079  0.6193  70.3S 166.9E   0             
11858  33  2984 Aug 18  07:08:25   4307  12178   P   -1.2800  0.4810  71.1S  42.6E   0             
-----  34  3002 Aug 30  14:38:31   4442  12401   P   -1.3497  0.3480  71.6S  82.8W   0             
-----  35  3020 Sep 09  22:11:39   4579  12624   P   -1.4162  0.2224  72.0S 150.7E   0             

-----  36  3038 Sep 21  05:49:43   4718  12847   P   -1.4781  0.1069  72.2S  22.7E   0             
-----  37  3056 Oct 01  13:33:09   4859  13070   Pe  -1.5349  0.0021  72.1S 106.6W   0             


Calendar

The Gregorian calendar is used for all 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..


Predictions

The coordinates of the Sun used in these predictions are based on the VSOP87 theory [Bretagnon and Francou, 1988]. The Moon's coordinates are based on the ELP-2000/82 theory [Chapront-Touze and Chapront, 1983]. For more information, see: Solar and Lunar Ephemerides. The revised value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot = -25.858 arc-sec/cy*cy, as deduced from the Apollo lunar laser ranging experiment (Chapront, Chapront-Touze, and Francou, 2002).

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 -1999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.


Footnotes

[1] The Moon's orbit is inclined about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. The points where the lunar orbit intersects the plane of Earth's orbit are known as the nodes. The Moon moves from south to north of Earth's orbit at the ascending node, and from north to south at the descending node.

[2]Central solar eclipses are eclipses in which the central axis of the Moon's shadow strikes the Earth's surface. All partial (penumbral) eclipses are non-central eclipses since the shadow axis misses Earth. However, umbral eclipses (total, annular and hybrid) may be either central (usually) or non-central (rarely).

[3]Hybrid eclipses are also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is both total and annular along different sections of its umbral path. For more information, see Five Millennium Catalog of Hybrid Solar Eclipses .

[4]Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is nearly equal to the instants of greatest magnitude and greatest duration. However, for annular eclipses, the instant of greatest duration may occur at either the time of greatest eclipse or near the sunrise and sunset points of the eclipse path.


Acknowledgments

The information presented on this web page is based on data published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. The individual global maps appearing in links (both GIF an animation) were extracted from full page plates appearing in Five Millennium Canon by Dan McGlaun. The Besselian elements were provided by Jean Meeus. Fred Espenak assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all eclipse calculations.

Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26