Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 159

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 159

Solar eclipses of Saros 159 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series will begin with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 2134 May 23. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3378 Jun 17. The total duration of Saros series 159 is 1244.08 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   2134 May 23   23:01:18 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   3378 Jun 17   08:27:56 TD

                      Duration of Saros 159  =  1244.08 Years

Saros 159 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 159
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 70100.0%
PartialP 29 41.4%
AnnularA 41 58.6%
TotalT 0 0.0%
Hybrid[3]H 0 0.0%

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 159 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 159
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 41100.0%
Central (two limits) 40 97.6%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.4%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 159: 8P 41A 21P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 159 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 2513 Jan 0810m25s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 2278 Aug 1901m53s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 2260 Aug 07 - 0.92935
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 2134 May 23 - 0.03082

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 159. 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 159.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159

                         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

09810 -34  2134 May 23  23:01:18    287   1662   Pb   1.5285  0.0308  63.7N  55.3E   0             
09852 -33  2152 Jun 03  06:11:19    333   1885   P    1.4645  0.1478  64.5N  61.5W   0             
09894 -32  2170 Jun 14  13:15:10    372   2108   P    1.3963  0.2719  65.4N 177.1W   0             
09938 -31  2188 Jun 24  20:14:39    414   2331   P    1.3252  0.4008  66.4N  68.0E   0             
09983 -30  2206 Jul 07  03:10:26    457   2554   P    1.2516  0.5335  67.4N  46.3W   0             
10026 -29  2224 Jul 17  10:03:58    503   2777   P    1.1767  0.6677  68.4N 160.6W   0             
10070 -28  2242 Jul 28  16:57:12    550   3000   P    1.1020  0.8004  69.3N  84.8E   0             
10115 -27  2260 Aug 07  23:51:13    600   3223   P    1.0287  0.9293  70.2N  30.7W   0             
10160 -26  2278 Aug 19  06:46:23    652   3446   A    0.9569  0.9712  75.8N 155.8E  16  367  01m53s
10206 -25  2296 Aug 29  13:45:40    706   3669   A    0.8888  0.9689  66.6N  15.0E  27  245  02m20s

10251 -24  2314 Sep 10  20:49:11    761   3892   A    0.8247  0.9654  56.8N 103.3W  34  220  02m54s
10296 -23  2332 Sep 21  03:59:10    819   4115   A    0.7666  0.9613  47.9N 142.3E  40  217  03m34s
10342 -22  2350 Oct 02  11:14:07    879   4338   A    0.7131  0.9568  39.8N  28.7E  44  222  04m22s
10387 -21  2368 Oct 12  18:37:20    942   4561   A    0.6672  0.9522  32.5N  85.8W  48  233  05m13s
10431 -20  2386 Oct 24  02:06:43   1006   4784   A    0.6268  0.9475  26.1N 158.8E  51  246  06m09s
10475 -19  2404 Nov 03  09:44:07   1072   5007   A    0.5935  0.9430  20.5N  42.0E  53  260  07m05s
10518 -18  2422 Nov 14  17:27:40   1140   5230   A    0.5657  0.9386  15.9N  75.8W  55  275  08m01s
10561 -17  2440 Nov 25  01:18:39   1211   5453   A    0.5445  0.9347  12.2N 164.9E  57  290  08m51s
10604 -16  2458 Dec 06  09:14:46   1283   5676   A    0.5280  0.9311   9.5N  44.7E  58  303  09m34s
10647 -15  2476 Dec 16  17:15:18   1358   5899   A    0.5154  0.9282   7.7N  76.3W  59  314  10m04s

10689 -14  2494 Dec 28  01:19:28   1434   6122   A    0.5061  0.9257   6.9N 161.8E  60  323  10m22s
10731 -13  2513 Jan 08  09:25:23   1513   6345   A    0.4982  0.9240   7.0N  39.7E  60  329  10m25s
10771 -12  2531 Jan 19  17:31:19   1594   6568   A    0.4908  0.9228   7.9N  82.4W  61  332  10m17s
10811 -11  2549 Jan 30  01:34:51   1676   6791   A    0.4815  0.9223   9.4N 156.1E  61  331  10m00s
10851 -10  2567 Feb 10  09:35:51   1761   7014   A    0.4703  0.9223  11.4N  35.2E  62  328  09m37s
10891 -09  2585 Feb 20  17:31:56   1848   7237   A    0.4550  0.9230  13.8N  84.3W  63  321  09m11s
10932 -08  2603 Mar 05  01:21:16   1937   7460   A    0.4345  0.9243  16.3N 158.1E  64  312  08m45s
10973 -07  2621 Mar 15  09:03:08   2028   7683   A    0.4080  0.9260  18.9N  42.7E  66  301  08m20s
11014 -06  2639 Mar 26  16:36:39   2122   7906   A    0.3749  0.9281  21.4N  70.2W  68  288  07m58s
11054 -05  2657 Apr 06  00:01:46   2217   8129   A    0.3350  0.9305  23.6N 179.4E  70  274  07m38s

11095 -04  2675 Apr 17  07:16:48   2314   8352   A    0.2868  0.9331  25.3N  72.2E  73  259  07m23s
11137 -03  2693 Apr 27  14:23:45   2414   8575   A    0.2320  0.9359  26.4N  32.5W  76  245  07m12s
11179 -02  2711 May 09  21:21:41   2515   8798   A    0.1701  0.9385  26.5N 134.7W  80  231  07m05s
11221 -01  2729 May 20  04:11:51   2619   9021   A    0.1017  0.9412  25.6N 125.3E  84  219  07m01s
11264  00  2747 May 31  10:54:36   2724   9244   A    0.0271  0.9436  23.5N  27.0E  88  208  07m01s
11309  01  2765 Jun 10  17:31:59   2832   9467   Am  -0.0520  0.9459  20.2N  70.4W  87  200  07m02s
11353  02  2783 Jun 22  00:05:19   2942   9690   A   -0.1347  0.9477  15.7N 167.4W  82  194  07m04s
11398  03  2801 Jul 02  06:34:26   3053   9913   A   -0.2210  0.9492  10.2N  95.8E  77  191  07m03s
11443  04  2819 Jul 13  13:03:16   3167  10136   A   -0.3075  0.9502   3.8N   1.7W  72  192  06m58s
11488  05  2837 Jul 23  19:31:12   3283  10359   A   -0.3949  0.9508   3.5S  99.8W  67  196  06m47s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159

                         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

11534  06  2855 Aug 04  02:02:02   3401  10582   A   -0.4802  0.9510  11.3S 160.5E  61  204  06m32s
11581  07  2873 Aug 14  08:34:15   3521  10805   A   -0.5646  0.9506  19.8S  59.8E  55  218  06m12s
11628  08  2891 Aug 25  15:12:39   3644  11028   A   -0.6441  0.9498  28.6S  43.3W  50  238  05m52s
11675  09  2909 Sep 05  21:55:40   3768  11251   A   -0.7198  0.9486  37.7S 148.5W  44  269  05m31s
11720  10  2927 Sep 17  04:46:05   3894  11474   A   -0.7897  0.9470  47.1S 103.2E  38  314  05m10s
11764  11  2945 Sep 27  11:43:51   4023  11697   A   -0.8539  0.9451  56.6S   9.2W  31  387  04m50s
11808  12  2963 Oct 08  18:51:34   4153  11920   A   -0.9105  0.9428  66.0S 129.0W  24  514  04m32s
11852  13  2981 Oct 19  02:08:17   4286  12143   A   -0.9600  0.9400  74.1S  93.7E  16  820  04m14s
11896  14  2999 Oct 30  09:34:33   4420  12366   A-  -1.0023  0.9586  70.9S  84.7W   0             
-----  15  3017 Nov 10  17:10:26   4557  12589   P   -1.0372  0.8987  70.0S 149.2E   0             

-----  16  3035 Nov 22  00:56:10   4696  12812   P   -1.0649  0.8511  69.1S  21.3E   0             
-----  17  3053 Dec 02  08:50:05   4837  13035   P   -1.0866  0.8142  68.0S 108.0W   0             
-----  18  3071 Dec 13  16:52:15   4979  13258   P   -1.1023  0.7874  66.9S 121.2E   0             
-----  19  3089 Dec 24  01:00:48   5124  13481   P   -1.1136  0.7683  65.9S  10.7W   0             
-----  20  3108 Jan 05  09:15:32   5272  13704   P   -1.1207  0.7566  64.9S 143.7W   0             
-----  21  3126 Jan 15  17:32:44   5421  13927   P   -1.1266  0.7472  63.9S  83.0E   0             
-----  22  3144 Jan 27  01:53:36   5572  14150   P   -1.1302  0.7416  63.1S  50.9W   0             
-----  23  3162 Feb 06  10:13:36   5725  14373   P   -1.1352  0.7337  62.4S 175.7E   0             
-----  24  3180 Feb 17  18:33:35   5880  14596   P   -1.1408  0.7250  61.9S  42.5E   0             
-----  25  3198 Feb 28  02:49:03   6038  14819   P   -1.1507  0.7087  61.5S  89.4W   0             

-----  26  3216 Mar 10  11:02:26   6197  15042   P   -1.1629  0.6883  61.2S 139.3E   0             
-----  27  3234 Mar 21  19:09:35   6359  15265   P   -1.1811  0.6574  61.2S   9.5E   0             
-----  28  3252 Apr 01  03:11:27   6523  15488   P   -1.2039  0.6178  61.3S 118.9W   0             
-----  29  3270 Apr 12  11:05:55   6688  15711   P   -1.2333  0.5662  61.6S 114.5E   0             
-----  30  3288 Apr 22  18:54:48   6856  15934   P   -1.2678  0.5048  62.0S  10.8W   0             
-----  31  3306 May 05  02:36:34   7026  16157   P   -1.3088  0.4309  62.6S 134.5W   0             
-----  32  3324 May 15  10:12:08   7198  16380   P   -1.3555  0.3458  63.3S 103.1E   0             
-----  33  3342 May 26  17:41:58   7372  16603   P   -1.4075  0.2501  64.1S  18.0W   0             
-----  34  3360 Jun 06  01:07:24   7548  16826   P   -1.4633  0.1464  65.0S 138.3W   0             
-----  35  3378 Jun 17  08:27:56   7726  17049   Pe  -1.5236  0.0332  65.9S 102.2E   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