Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 169

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 169

Solar eclipses of Saros 169 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 2333 Sep 10. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3595 Oct 16. The total duration of Saros series 169 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   2333 Sep 10   05:41:60 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   3595 Oct 16   18:28:32 TD

                      Duration of Saros 169  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 169 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 169
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PartialP 27 38.0%
AnnularA 13 18.3%
TotalT 15 21.1%
Hybrid[3]H 16 22.5%

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 169 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 169
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 44100.0%
Central (two limits) 42 95.5%
Central (one limit) 1 2.3%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.3%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 169: 19P 13A 16H 15T 8P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 169 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 169
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 2676 Apr 0504m25s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 2892 Aug 1300m08s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 3397 Jun 1705m28s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 3199 Feb 1701m35s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 3181 Feb 0601m18s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 2910 Aug 2600m06s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 2658 Mar 26 - 0.90024
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 3595 Oct 16 - 0.02847

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 169

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 169. 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 169.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 169

                         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

10300 -33  2333 Sep 10  05:42:00    823   4127   Pb   1.5299  0.0592  72.0N 157.1W   0             
10346 -32  2351 Sep 21  12:33:27    883   4350   P    1.4664  0.1680  72.2N  86.2E   0             
10391 -31  2369 Oct 01  19:33:31    945   4573   P    1.4094  0.2651  72.1N  32.7W   0             
10434 -30  2387 Oct 13  02:41:04   1009   4796   P    1.3579  0.3523  71.8N 153.3W   0             
10478 -29  2405 Oct 23  09:58:55   1076   5019   P    1.3142  0.4261  71.3N  83.8E   0             
10521 -28  2423 Nov 03  17:24:51   1144   5242   P    1.2769  0.4887  70.5N  40.5W   0             
10564 -27  2441 Nov 14  00:59:17   1214   5465   P    1.2459  0.5404  69.6N 166.3W   0             
10607 -26  2459 Nov 25  08:41:41   1287   5688   P    1.2211  0.5818  68.6N  66.5E   0             
10649 -25  2477 Dec 05  16:32:05   1362   5911   P    1.2019  0.6136  67.5N  62.0W   0             
10691 -24  2495 Dec 17  00:27:39   1438   6134   P    1.1867  0.6389  66.4N 168.8E   0             

10733 -23  2513 Dec 28  08:28:05   1517   6357   P    1.1748  0.6587  65.4N  38.8E   0             
10773 -22  2532 Jan 08  16:31:05   1598   6580   P    1.1645  0.6760  64.4N  91.4W   0             
10813 -21  2550 Jan 19  00:36:25   1681   6803   P    1.1554  0.6914  63.5N 138.2E   0             
10853 -20  2568 Jan 30  08:39:47   1766   7026   P    1.1442  0.7106  62.7N   8.6E   0             
10893 -19  2586 Feb 09  16:42:36   1853   7249   P    1.1318  0.7319  62.0N 120.6W   0             
10934 -18  2604 Feb 22  00:40:35   1942   7472   P    1.1150  0.7609  61.5N 111.5E   0             
10975 -17  2622 Mar 04  08:34:43   2033   7695   P    1.0946  0.7963  61.2N  15.3W   0             
11016 -16  2640 Mar 14  16:21:09   2127   7918   P    1.0672  0.8439  61.0N 140.1W   0             
11056 -15  2658 Mar 26  00:02:23   2222   8141   P    1.0350  0.9002  61.0N  96.4E   0             
11097 -14  2676 Apr 05  07:35:27   2319   8364   An   0.9952  0.9336  61.9N  17.3W   4   -   04m25s

11139 -13  2694 Apr 16  15:01:10   2419   8587   A    0.9489  0.9422  63.2N 105.8W  18  679  04m05s
11181 -12  2712 Apr 27  22:19:08   2521   8810   A    0.8956  0.9492  64.2N 156.8E  26  417  03m41s
11223 -11  2730 May 09  05:30:52   2624   9033   A    0.8363  0.9560  65.0N  60.6E  33  291  03m16s
11266 -10  2748 May 19  12:36:24   2730   9256   A    0.7709  0.9624  65.1N  33.2W  39  213  02m53s
11311 -09  2766 May 30  19:36:02   2838   9479   A    0.6996  0.9686  63.8N 125.4W  45  158  02m29s
11355 -08  2784 Jun 10  02:32:16   2948   9702   A    0.6245  0.9744  60.9N 141.7E  51  118  02m07s
11400 -07  2802 Jun 21  09:25:30   3060   9925   A    0.5461  0.9798  56.5N  46.9E  57   86  01m46s
11445 -06  2820 Jul 01  16:17:03   3174  10148   A    0.4652  0.9847  50.8N  50.3W  62   61  01m24s
11490 -05  2838 Jul 12  23:08:16   3290  10371   A    0.3828  0.9891  44.3N 149.7W  67   42  01m03s
11536 -04  2856 Jul 23  06:01:10   3408  10594   A    0.3009  0.9929  37.2N 108.7E  72   26  00m43s

11583 -03  2874 Aug 03  12:56:53   3528  10817   A    0.2203  0.9961  29.7N   5.1E  77   14  00m24s
11630 -02  2892 Aug 13  19:55:10   3650  11040   A    0.1410  0.9988  21.9N 100.0W  82    4  00m08s
11677 -01  2910 Aug 26  02:59:33   3775  11263   H    0.0660  1.0009  14.0N 152.8E  86    3  00m06s
11722  00  2928 Sep 05  10:09:23   3901  11486   H   -0.0052  1.0024   6.1N  43.8E  90    8  00m16s
11766  01  2946 Sep 16  17:27:21   4030  11709   H   -0.0706  1.0036   1.6S  67.3W  86   12  00m23s
11810  02  2964 Sep 27  00:52:08   4160  11932   Hm  -0.1310  1.0043   9.2S 179.9E  82   15  00m27s
11854  03  2982 Oct 08  08:26:58   4293  12155   H   -0.1838  1.0047  16.4S  65.0E  79   17  00m29s
11898  04  3000 Oct 19  16:10:16   4428  12378   H   -0.2303  1.0049  23.1S  51.6W  77   17  00m29s
-----  05  3018 Oct 31  00:02:35   4564  12601   H   -0.2700  1.0050  29.2S 169.8W  74   18  00m29s
-----  06  3036 Nov 10  08:04:14   4703  12824   H   -0.3029  1.0050  34.6S  70.6E  72   18  00m28s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 169

                         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

-----  07  3054 Nov 21  16:14:51   4844  13047   H   -0.3292  1.0052  39.1S  50.2W  71   19  00m29s
-----  08  3072 Dec 02  00:34:04   4987  13270   H   -0.3490  1.0055  42.5S 172.0W  69   20  00m30s
-----  09  3090 Dec 13  08:59:13   5132  13493   H   -0.3647  1.0062  44.6S  65.6E  68   23  00m32s
-----  10  3108 Dec 24  17:32:05   5280  13716   H   -0.3747  1.0071  45.3S  58.1W  68   27  00m37s
-----  11  3127 Jan 05  02:09:01   5429  13939   H   -0.3824  1.0086  44.8S 177.1E  67   32  00m44s
-----  12  3145 Jan 15  10:49:51   5580  14162   H   -0.3872  1.0105  43.0S  50.8E  67   39  00m53s
-----  13  3163 Jan 26  19:31:05   5733  14385   H   -0.3923  1.0129  40.3S  76.4W  67   48  01m04s
-----  14  3181 Feb 06  04:13:46   5889  14608   H2  -0.3968  1.0158  37.0S 155.3E  66   59  01m18s
-----  15  3199 Feb 17  12:54:11   6046  14831   T   -0.4039  1.0192  33.3S  26.7E  66   71  01m35s
-----  16  3217 Feb 27  21:32:10   6206  15054   T   -0.4135  1.0230  29.5S 101.8W  65   85  01m54s

-----  17  3235 Mar 11  06:05:34   6368  15277   T   -0.4275  1.0272  25.9S 130.4E  65  101  02m15s
-----  18  3253 Mar 21  14:34:33   6531  15500   T   -0.4454  1.0316  22.5S   3.5E  63  118  02m38s
-----  19  3271 Apr 01  22:56:37   6697  15723   T   -0.4697  1.0363  19.8S 121.7W  62  137  03m04s
-----  20  3289 Apr 12  07:12:48   6865  15946   T   -0.4995  1.0410  17.7S 114.4E  60  156  03m30s
-----  21  3307 Apr 24  15:21:41   7035  16169   T   -0.5358  1.0457  16.7S   7.7W  57  178  03m58s
-----  22  3325 May 04  23:25:06   7207  16392   T   -0.5774  1.0501  16.6S 128.5W  55  201  04m26s
-----  23  3343 May 16  07:20:08   7381  16615   T   -0.6263  1.0542  17.8S 112.7E  51  228  04m51s
-----  24  3361 May 26  15:10:43   7557  16838   T   -0.6793  1.0578  20.3S   5.3W  47  258  05m12s
-----  25  3379 Jun 06  22:54:10   7736  17061   T   -0.7386  1.0608  24.3S 122.0W  42  295  05m25s
-----  26  3397 Jun 17  06:34:43   7916  17284   T   -0.8009  1.0630  29.9S 121.4E  37  345  05m28s

-----  27  3415 Jun 29  14:08:58   8098  17507   T   -0.8684  1.0641  37.5S   5.4E  29  425  05m17s
-----  28  3433 Jul 09  21:42:46   8283  17730   T   -0.9367  1.0637  48.0S 112.2W  20  605  04m50s
-----  29  3451 Jul 21  05:12:54   8469  17953   T-  -1.0077  1.0088  68.9S 121.7E   0             
-----  30  3469 Jul 31  12:43:56   8658  18176   P   -1.0783  0.8723  69.8S   2.2W   0             
-----  31  3487 Aug 11  20:13:46   8849  18399   P   -1.1498  0.7335  70.7S 126.3W   0             
-----  32  3505 Aug 23  03:46:55   9041  18622   P   -1.2186  0.5999  71.3S 108.1E   0             
-----  33  3523 Sep 03  11:21:40   9236  18845   P   -1.2858  0.4695  71.8S  18.3W   0             
-----  34  3541 Sep 13  19:00:20   9433  19068   P   -1.3498  0.3455  72.1S 146.0W   0             
-----  35  3559 Sep 25  02:43:37   9632  19291   P   -1.4099  0.2297  72.2S  84.9E   0             
-----  36  3577 Oct 05  10:32:49   9833  19514   P   -1.4652  0.1237  72.0S  45.6W   0             

-----  37  3595 Oct 16  18:28:32  10036  19737   Pe  -1.5153  0.0285  71.6S 177.4W   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