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.
Solar eclipses of Saros 154 all occur at the Moons descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 1917 Jul 19. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3179 Aug 25. The total duration of Saros series 154 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 1917 Jul 19 02:42:42 TD Last Eclipse = 3179 Aug 25 03:02:28 TD Duration of Saros 154 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 154 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
Solar Eclipses of Saros 154 | |||
Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
Partial | P | 15 | 21.1% |
Annular | A | 17 | 23.9% |
Total | T | 36 | 50.7% |
Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.2% |
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 154 appears in the following table.
Umbral Eclipses of Saros 154 | ||
Classification | Number | Percent |
All Umbral Eclipses | 56 | 100.0% |
Central (two limits) | 55 | 98.2% |
Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.8% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 154: 7P 17A 3H 36T 8P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 154 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 154 | |||
Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2061 Oct 13 | 03m41s | - |
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2332 Mar 27 | 00m30s | - |
Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 2530 Jul 25 | 04m50s | - |
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 2404 May 09 | 02m14s | - |
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2386 Apr 29 | 01m30s | - |
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2350 Apr 07 | 00m06s | - |
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3053 Jun 08 | - | 0.99218 |
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3179 Aug 25 | - | 0.01731 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 154. 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 154.
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 09322 -34 1917 Jul 19 02:42:42 20 -1020 Pb -1.5101 0.0863 63.7S 101.8E 0 09365 -33 1935 Jul 30 09:16:28 24 -797 P -1.4259 0.2315 62.9S 5.9W 0 09406 -32 1953 Aug 09 15:55:03 30 -574 P -1.3440 0.3729 62.2S 114.7W 0 09446 -31 1971 Aug 20 22:39:31 42 -351 P -1.2659 0.5080 61.7S 135.4E 0 09485 -30 1989 Aug 31 05:31:47 57 -128 P -1.1928 0.6344 61.3S 23.6E 0 09524 -29 2007 Sep 11 12:32:24 66 95 P -1.1255 0.7507 61.0S 90.2W 0 09564 -28 2025 Sep 21 19:43:04 75 318 P -1.0651 0.8550 60.9S 153.5E 0 09604 -27 2043 Oct 03 03:01:49 88 541 A- -1.0102 0.9497 61.0S 35.3E 0 09645 -26 2061 Oct 13 10:32:10 117 764 A -0.9639 0.9469 62.1S 54.4W 15 743 03m41s 09686 -25 2079 Oct 24 18:11:21 156 987 A -0.9243 0.9484 63.4S 160.6W 22 495 03m39s 09727 -24 2097 Nov 04 02:01:25 197 1210 A -0.8926 0.9494 65.8S 86.8E 26 411 03m36s 09768 -23 2115 Nov 16 09:58:55 241 1433 A -0.8664 0.9503 68.7S 27.8W 30 365 03m32s 09808 -22 2133 Nov 26 18:05:55 286 1656 A -0.8473 0.9513 72.0S 143.5W 32 337 03m27s 09850 -21 2151 Dec 08 02:18:31 332 1879 A -0.8320 0.9526 75.1S 103.1E 33 314 03m22s 09892 -20 2169 Dec 18 10:37:07 371 2102 A -0.8213 0.9544 77.3S 6.1W 34 295 03m15s 09936 -19 2187 Dec 29 18:59:03 413 2325 A -0.8126 0.9565 77.7S 111.2W 35 274 03m07s 09981 -18 2206 Jan 10 03:24:08 456 2548 A -0.8060 0.9592 75.9S 140.5E 36 252 02m57s 10025 -17 2224 Jan 21 11:48:53 502 2771 A -0.7984 0.9626 72.4S 25.2E 37 227 02m46s 10069 -16 2242 Jan 31 20:12:58 549 2994 A -0.7894 0.9665 67.9S 95.8W 38 197 02m31s 10114 -15 2260 Feb 12 04:34:24 599 3217 A -0.7776 0.9711 62.7S 140.2E 39 165 02m15s 10159 -14 2278 Feb 22 12:52:48 650 3440 A -0.7628 0.9762 57.1S 14.8E 40 131 01m54s 10205 -13 2296 Mar 04 21:04:46 704 3663 A -0.7418 0.9819 51.1S 110.3W 42 95 01m31s 10250 -12 2314 Mar 17 05:11:54 760 3886 A -0.7160 0.9880 44.9S 125.1E 44 60 01m03s 10295 -11 2332 Mar 27 13:11:34 818 4109 A -0.6831 0.9944 38.3S 2.0E 47 26 00m30s 10341 -10 2350 Apr 07 21:06:03 878 4332 H -0.6452 1.0011 31.7S 119.7W 50 5 00m06s 10386 -09 2368 Apr 18 04:51:38 940 4555 H -0.5992 1.0079 24.8S 120.8E 53 34 00m47s 10430 -08 2386 Apr 29 12:32:25 1004 4778 H2 -0.5483 1.0146 18.1S 2.9E 57 60 01m30s 10474 -07 2404 May 09 20:05:45 1070 5001 T -0.4902 1.0212 11.4S 112.8W 61 83 02m14s 10517 -06 2422 May 21 03:34:51 1138 5224 T -0.4278 1.0275 5.0S 133.1E 65 103 02m56s 10560 -05 2440 May 31 10:58:15 1209 5447 T -0.3598 1.0334 1.0N 21.0E 69 121 03m33s 10603 -04 2458 Jun 11 18:19:40 1281 5670 T -0.2891 1.0388 6.3N 90.0W 73 136 04m04s 10646 -03 2476 Jun 22 01:38:29 1356 5893 T -0.2153 1.0435 11.1N 160.4E 78 149 04m25s 10688 -02 2494 Jul 03 08:56:16 1432 6116 T -0.1397 1.0477 15.0N 51.7E 82 160 04m40s 10730 -01 2512 Jul 14 16:14:11 1511 6339 T -0.0634 1.0510 18.1N 56.5W 86 170 04m47s 10770 00 2530 Jul 25 23:33:49 1591 6562 T 0.0124 1.0538 20.2N 164.6W 89 178 04m50s 10810 01 2548 Aug 05 06:56:36 1674 6785 Tm 0.0862 1.0556 21.4N 86.6E 85 184 04m49s 10850 02 2566 Aug 16 14:22:25 1759 7008 T 0.1581 1.0569 21.8N 22.8W 81 190 04m46s 10890 03 2584 Aug 26 21:54:18 1846 7231 T 0.2258 1.0573 21.4N 134.0W 77 193 04m43s 10931 04 2602 Sep 08 05:31:32 1935 7454 T 0.2895 1.0572 20.6N 113.3E 73 196 04m39s 10972 05 2620 Sep 18 13:15:47 2026 7677 T 0.3476 1.0565 19.4N 1.6W 70 198 04m35s
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 11013 06 2638 Sep 29 21:06:37 2119 7900 T 0.4007 1.0554 18.1N 118.4W 66 198 04m31s 11053 07 2656 Oct 10 05:06:01 2214 8123 T 0.4468 1.0539 16.7N 122.2E 63 197 04m28s 11094 08 2674 Oct 21 13:13:05 2312 8346 T 0.4869 1.0522 15.4N 0.5E 61 196 04m25s 11136 09 2692 Oct 31 21:27:40 2411 8569 T 0.5212 1.0503 14.4N 123.3W 58 193 04m23s 11178 10 2710 Nov 13 05:50:18 2512 8792 T 0.5489 1.0486 13.6N 110.5E 57 191 04m20s 11220 11 2728 Nov 23 14:20:46 2616 9015 T 0.5701 1.0468 13.1N 17.8W 55 188 04m17s 11263 12 2746 Dec 04 22:57:39 2721 9238 T 0.5864 1.0454 13.0N 147.9W 54 186 04m15s 11308 13 2764 Dec 15 07:40:02 2829 9461 T 0.5984 1.0443 13.3N 80.4E 53 184 04m12s 11352 14 2782 Dec 26 16:26:47 2939 9684 T 0.6070 1.0435 14.1N 52.4W 53 183 04m10s 11397 15 2801 Jan 06 01:17:30 3050 9907 T 0.6127 1.0432 15.5N 173.7E 52 182 04m07s 11442 16 2819 Jan 17 10:08:37 3164 10130 T 0.6180 1.0433 17.4N 39.6E 52 184 04m04s 11487 17 2837 Jan 27 19:01:17 3280 10353 T 0.6223 1.0438 20.0N 95.0W 51 187 04m02s 11533 18 2855 Feb 08 03:51:22 3398 10576 T 0.6288 1.0448 23.2N 131.0E 51 191 04m00s 11580 19 2873 Feb 18 12:39:50 3518 10799 T 0.6369 1.0461 27.1N 2.8W 50 198 03m59s 11627 20 2891 Mar 01 21:22:05 3640 11022 T 0.6501 1.0477 31.7N 135.2W 49 207 03m58s 11674 21 2909 Mar 13 06:00:58 3765 11245 T 0.6663 1.0495 36.8N 93.1E 48 219 03m56s 11719 22 2927 Mar 24 14:32:03 3891 11468 T 0.6886 1.0514 42.6N 36.8W 46 233 03m54s 11763 23 2945 Apr 03 22:56:50 4019 11691 T 0.7164 1.0532 49.0N 165.4W 44 251 03m50s 11807 24 2963 Apr 15 07:12:58 4150 11914 T 0.7513 1.0547 55.9N 68.0E 41 273 03m44s 11851 25 2981 Apr 25 15:22:39 4282 12137 T 0.7917 1.0560 63.3N 57.6W 37 303 03m36s 11895 26 2999 May 06 23:23:57 4417 12360 T 0.8388 1.0566 71.5N 177.3E 33 345 03m25s ----- 27 3017 May 18 07:17:56 4553 12583 T 0.8919 1.0564 80.3N 46.1E 26 417 03m11s ----- 28 3035 May 29 15:04:56 4692 12806 T 0.9507 1.0548 84.8N 167.7W 17 605 02m50s ----- 29 3053 Jun 08 22:46:25 4833 13029 P 1.0142 0.9922 67.1N 36.8E 0 ----- 30 3071 Jun 20 06:21:51 4976 13252 P 1.0823 0.8613 66.1N 87.0W 0 ----- 31 3089 Jun 30 13:53:21 5121 13475 P 1.1533 0.7248 65.2N 150.7E 0 ----- 32 3107 Jul 12 21:21:18 5268 13698 P 1.2269 0.5833 64.3N 29.6E 0 ----- 33 3125 Jul 23 04:47:58 5417 13921 P 1.3012 0.4409 63.5N 90.9W 0 ----- 34 3143 Aug 03 12:11:53 5568 14144 P 1.3771 0.2960 62.8N 149.6E 0 ----- 35 3161 Aug 13 19:37:05 5721 14367 P 1.4513 0.1553 62.2N 29.9E 0 ----- 36 3179 Aug 25 03:02:28 5876 14590 Pe 1.5246 0.0173 61.8N 89.7W 0
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..
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:
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.
[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.
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)"