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 170 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series will begin with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 2344 Aug 09. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3606 Sep 15. The total duration of Saros series 170 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2344 Aug 09 11:59:05 TD Last Eclipse = 3606 Sep 15 18:02:18 TD Duration of Saros 170 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 170 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 170 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 18 | 25.4% |
| Annular | A | 6 | 8.5% |
| Total | T | 36 | 50.7% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 11 | 15.5% |
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 170 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 170 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 53 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 52 | 98.1% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 170: 11P 36T 11H 6A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 170 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 170 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3480 Jun 30 | 00m52s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3390 May 07 | 00m05s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 2885 Jul 03 | 07m11s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 2560 Dec 18 | 00m55s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 3192 Jan 07 | 01m36s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 3372 Apr 25 | 00m00s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2524 Nov 26 | - | 0.97775 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3606 Sep 15 | - | 0.03678 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 170. 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 170.
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
10327 -35 2344 Aug 09 11:59:05 859 4262 Pb -1.4974 0.0788 62.3S 52.2W 0
10373 -34 2362 Aug 20 19:18:10 920 4485 P -1.4239 0.2148 61.8S 170.7W 0
10417 -33 2380 Aug 31 02:44:39 984 4708 P -1.3553 0.3422 61.4S 69.2E 0
10461 -32 2398 Sep 11 10:16:34 1049 4931 P -1.2902 0.4632 61.2S 52.3W 0
10504 -31 2416 Sep 21 17:57:51 1117 5154 P -1.2321 0.5716 61.1S 176.0W 0
10547 -30 2434 Oct 03 01:46:03 1186 5377 P -1.1789 0.6705 61.1S 58.6E 0
10590 -29 2452 Oct 13 09:44:05 1258 5600 P -1.1334 0.7553 61.3S 69.3W 0
10632 -28 2470 Oct 24 17:49:29 1332 5823 P -1.0933 0.8298 61.7S 160.9E 0
10674 -27 2488 Nov 04 02:04:56 1408 6046 P -1.0609 0.8898 62.3S 28.4E 0
10716 -26 2506 Nov 16 10:27:38 1486 6269 P -1.0340 0.9396 63.0S 106.0W 0
10757 -25 2524 Nov 26 18:58:09 1566 6492 P -1.0134 0.9778 63.8S 117.4E 0
10798 -24 2542 Dec 08 03:35:01 1648 6715 T- -0.9975 1.0072 64.7S 21.0W 0
10838 -23 2560 Dec 18 12:17:54 1732 6938 T -0.9868 1.0184 73.6S 153.6W 8 444 00m55s
10878 -22 2578 Dec 29 21:04:04 1818 7161 T -0.9781 1.0201 77.9S 61.6E 11 357 01m02s
10918 -21 2597 Jan 09 05:52:34 1907 7384 T -0.9713 1.0219 80.8S 94.3W 13 334 01m08s
10959 -20 2615 Jan 21 14:42:02 1997 7607 T -0.9651 1.0241 81.6S 99.5E 14 328 01m17s
11000 -19 2633 Jan 31 23:31:25 2090 7830 T -0.9592 1.0266 79.9S 64.6W 16 332 01m27s
11040 -18 2651 Feb 12 08:17:28 2184 8053 T -0.9502 1.0298 76.6S 139.9E 18 332 01m41s
11081 -17 2669 Feb 22 17:00:38 2281 8276 T -0.9390 1.0333 72.2S 7.0W 20 333 01m58s
11122 -16 2687 Mar 06 01:38:13 2379 8499 T -0.9230 1.0374 66.9S 148.6W 22 330 02m19s
11164 -15 2705 Mar 17 10:10:57 2480 8722 T -0.9031 1.0419 61.0S 74.0E 25 327 02m44s
11206 -14 2723 Mar 28 18:35:42 2583 8945 T -0.8766 1.0465 54.6S 59.8W 28 321 03m13s
11249 -13 2741 Apr 08 02:54:50 2688 9168 T -0.8453 1.0513 47.9S 169.2E 32 317 03m46s
11292 -12 2759 Apr 19 11:05:50 2795 9391 T -0.8071 1.0560 41.0S 41.2E 36 311 04m22s
11337 -11 2777 Apr 29 19:10:09 2904 9614 T -0.7632 1.0607 34.1S 84.2W 40 307 05m00s
11382 -10 2795 May 11 03:06:46 3015 9837 T -0.7126 1.0649 27.2S 153.0E 44 302 05m37s
11427 -09 2813 May 21 10:57:38 3128 10060 T -0.6571 1.0688 20.7S 32.4E 49 297 06m11s
11472 -08 2831 Jun 01 18:42:34 3244 10283 T -0.5964 1.0720 14.6S 86.0W 53 292 06m39s
11518 -07 2849 Jun 12 02:21:56 3361 10506 T -0.5310 1.0747 9.0S 157.7E 58 286 07m00s
11564 -06 2867 Jun 23 09:57:35 3480 10729 T -0.4622 1.0766 4.1S 43.0E 62 279 07m10s
11611 -05 2885 Jul 03 17:29:55 3602 10952 T -0.3905 1.0777 0.1N 70.2W 67 272 07m11s
11658 -04 2903 Jul 16 01:00:45 3725 11175 T -0.3177 1.0780 3.4N 177.5E 71 265 07m04s
11704 -03 2921 Jul 26 08:29:29 3851 11398 T -0.2434 1.0775 5.8N 66.2E 76 258 06m50s
11749 -02 2939 Aug 06 15:59:27 3979 11621 T -0.1702 1.0761 7.3N 45.1W 80 250 06m33s
11793 -01 2957 Aug 16 23:30:11 4108 11844 T -0.0978 1.0739 8.0N 156.4W 84 241 06m13s
11837 00 2975 Aug 28 07:03:32 4240 12067 Tm -0.0279 1.0709 8.0N 91.8E 88 231 05m53s
11881 01 2993 Sep 07 14:40:11 4374 12290 T 0.0387 1.0673 7.4N 21.0W 88 220 05m33s
----- 02 3011 Sep 19 22:22:01 4510 12513 T 0.1006 1.0631 6.4N 135.2W 84 208 05m13s
----- 03 3029 Sep 30 06:09:34 4648 12736 T 0.1575 1.0585 5.0N 109.1E 81 195 04m53s
----- 04 3047 Oct 11 14:02:28 4788 12959 T 0.2094 1.0534 3.7N 8.2W 78 180 04m34s
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
----- 05 3065 Oct 21 22:02:28 4931 13182 T 0.2550 1.0482 2.3N 127.4W 75 165 04m14s
----- 06 3083 Nov 02 06:09:18 5075 13405 T 0.2944 1.0428 1.1N 111.5E 73 149 03m53s
----- 07 3101 Nov 13 14:23:09 5221 13628 T 0.3276 1.0375 0.1N 11.4W 71 133 03m32s
----- 08 3119 Nov 24 22:43:30 5370 13851 T 0.3548 1.0323 0.4S 136.1W 69 116 03m09s
----- 09 3137 Dec 05 07:10:06 5520 14074 T 0.3765 1.0274 0.6S 97.5E 68 100 02m46s
----- 10 3155 Dec 16 15:42:37 5673 14297 T 0.3927 1.0228 0.2S 30.4W 67 84 02m22s
----- 11 3173 Dec 27 00:18:29 5827 14520 T 0.4054 1.0186 0.7N 159.3W 66 70 01m58s
----- 12 3192 Jan 07 08:58:32 5984 14743 H 0.4142 1.0149 2.2N 70.7E 66 56 01m36s
----- 13 3210 Jan 17 17:39:31 6143 14966 H 0.4213 1.0117 4.3N 59.7W 65 45 01m15s
----- 14 3228 Jan 29 02:21:39 6304 15189 H 0.4273 1.0091 7.0N 169.5E 65 35 00m58s
----- 15 3246 Feb 08 11:00:42 6467 15412 H 0.4351 1.0069 10.5N 39.2E 64 26 00m43s
----- 16 3264 Feb 19 19:38:39 6632 15635 H 0.4433 1.0051 14.4N 90.9W 64 20 00m32s
----- 17 3282 Mar 02 04:11:21 6799 15858 H 0.4550 1.0038 19.0N 140.2E 63 15 00m23s
----- 18 3300 Mar 13 12:38:49 6968 16081 H 0.4708 1.0028 24.1N 12.4E 62 11 00m17s
----- 19 3318 Mar 24 20:58:34 7139 16304 H 0.4924 1.0020 29.8N 113.4W 60 8 00m11s
----- 20 3336 Apr 04 05:11:35 7312 16527 H 0.5192 1.0014 35.8N 122.5E 59 6 00m08s
----- 21 3354 Apr 15 13:15:34 7488 16750 H 0.5527 1.0008 42.2N 0.9E 56 3 00m04s
----- 22 3372 Apr 25 21:10:41 7665 16973 H 0.5929 1.0000 49.0N 118.1W 53 0 00m00s
----- 23 3390 May 07 04:56:31 7845 17196 A 0.6403 0.9991 56.0N 126.0E 50 4 00m05s
----- 24 3408 May 18 12:34:04 8026 17419 A 0.6939 0.9978 63.2N 13.6E 46 11 00m10s
----- 25 3426 May 29 20:01:37 8210 17642 A 0.7550 0.9960 70.8N 93.3W 41 22 00m17s
----- 26 3444 Jun 09 03:21:41 8395 17865 A 0.8213 0.9935 78.4N 170.0E 34 40 00m26s
----- 27 3462 Jun 20 10:33:39 8583 18088 A 0.8934 0.9901 84.0N 116.7E 26 78 00m37s
----- 28 3480 Jun 30 17:40:21 8773 18311 A 0.9687 0.9850 76.8N 85.2E 14 225 00m52s
----- 29 3498 Jul 12 00:39:45 8965 18534 P 1.0491 0.8967 64.2N 5.2W 0
----- 30 3516 Jul 23 07:36:43 9159 18757 P 1.1302 0.7507 63.4N 118.0W 0
----- 31 3534 Aug 03 14:29:30 9355 18980 P 1.2138 0.6009 62.7N 130.5E 0
----- 32 3552 Aug 13 21:22:23 9553 19203 P 1.2959 0.4548 62.1N 19.1E 0
----- 33 3570 Aug 25 04:13:00 9754 19426 P 1.3788 0.3085 61.7N 91.5W 0
----- 34 3588 Sep 04 11:07:03 9956 19649 P 1.4577 0.1702 61.4N 157.0E 0
----- 35 3606 Sep 15 18:02:18 10160 19872 Pe 1.5347 0.0368 61.2N 45.4E 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)"
