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 171 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 2391 Aug 01. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3617 Aug 14. The total duration of Saros series 171 is 1226.05 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2391 Aug 01 11:14:32 TD Last Eclipse = 3617 Aug 14 17:45:23 TD Duration of Saros 171 = 1226.05 Years
Saros 171 is composed of 69 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 171 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 69 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 21 | 30.4% |
| Annular | A | 48 | 69.6% |
| Total | T | 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 171 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 171 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 48 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 89.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 3 | 6.2% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 2 | 4.2% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 69 eclipses in Saros 171: 14P 48A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 171 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 171 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3275 Jan 18 | 08m12s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2860 May 12 | 02m33s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2625 Dec 21 | - | 0.97103 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2391 Aug 01 | - | 0.07662 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 171. 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 171.
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
10443 -35 2391 Aug 01 11:14:32 1023 4843 Pb 1.4925 0.0766 69.6N 167.9E 0
10487 -34 2409 Aug 11 18:38:31 1090 5066 P 1.4271 0.2021 70.4N 44.8E 0
10530 -33 2427 Aug 23 02:04:51 1159 5289 P 1.3642 0.3222 71.1N 79.4W 0
10573 -32 2445 Sep 02 09:35:13 1230 5512 P 1.3049 0.4344 71.7N 154.9E 0
10616 -31 2463 Sep 13 17:10:28 1303 5735 P 1.2504 0.5367 72.0N 27.6E 0
10658 -30 2481 Sep 24 00:49:51 1378 5958 P 1.1997 0.6307 72.1N 101.0W 0
10700 -29 2499 Oct 05 08:36:23 1455 6181 P 1.1554 0.7119 71.9N 128.6E 0
10741 -28 2517 Oct 16 16:28:59 1534 6404 P 1.1165 0.7823 71.6N 3.1W 0
10782 -27 2535 Oct 28 00:29:34 1615 6627 P 1.0847 0.8388 70.9N 136.3W 0
10822 -26 2553 Nov 07 08:35:22 1699 6850 P 1.0577 0.8858 70.2N 89.7E 0
10862 -25 2571 Nov 18 16:49:14 1784 7073 P 1.0379 0.9196 69.2N 45.7W 0
10902 -24 2589 Nov 29 01:08:10 1872 7296 P 1.0227 0.9447 68.2N 178.3E 0
10943 -23 2607 Dec 11 09:32:40 1961 7519 P 1.0127 0.9607 67.1N 41.5E 0
10984 -22 2625 Dec 21 18:00:12 2053 7742 P 1.0058 0.9710 66.1N 95.5W 0
11024 -21 2644 Jan 02 02:31:07 2147 7965 A+ 1.0021 0.9759 65.0N 127.1E 0
11064 -20 2662 Jan 12 11:02:26 2242 8188 A+ 0.9996 0.9787 64.1N 10.0W 0
11105 -19 2680 Jan 23 19:32:56 2340 8411 An 0.9970 0.9636 62.1N 144.2W 2 - 02m46s
11147 -18 2698 Feb 03 04:01:19 2440 8634 An 0.9933 0.9625 59.1N 85.7E 5 - 02m52s
11189 -17 2716 Feb 15 12:26:26 2542 8857 An 0.9874 0.9617 57.4N 43.8W 8 - 02m55s
11232 -16 2734 Feb 25 20:45:26 2646 9080 A 0.9774 0.9615 56.2N 170.5W 11 674 02m55s
11275 -15 2752 Mar 08 04:57:54 2752 9303 A 0.9627 0.9618 55.6N 65.5E 15 511 02m52s
11320 -14 2770 Mar 19 13:02:32 2861 9526 A 0.9422 0.9624 55.6N 55.5W 19 401 02m48s
11365 -13 2788 Mar 29 20:59:26 2971 9749 A 0.9159 0.9633 56.3N 173.5W 23 326 02m43s
11410 -12 2806 Apr 10 04:45:31 3083 9972 A 0.8815 0.9643 57.3N 72.8E 28 269 02m39s
11455 -11 2824 Apr 20 12:23:21 3198 10195 A 0.8410 0.9654 58.7N 37.5W 32 228 02m35s
11500 -10 2842 May 01 19:50:36 3314 10418 A 0.7926 0.9664 59.9N 143.2W 37 197 02m33s
11546 -09 2860 May 12 03:09:22 3433 10641 A 0.7377 0.9673 60.7N 114.9E 42 173 02m33s
11592 -08 2878 May 23 10:17:43 3554 10864 A 0.6749 0.9679 60.3N 17.1E 47 156 02m36s
11639 -07 2896 Jun 02 17:19:15 3676 11087 A 0.6071 0.9683 58.5N 79.0W 52 144 02m42s
11686 -06 2914 Jun 15 00:12:40 3801 11310 A 0.5337 0.9681 55.2N 174.3W 57 136 02m52s
11731 -05 2932 Jun 25 07:00:01 3928 11533 A 0.4557 0.9676 50.5N 90.0E 63 131 03m06s
11775 -04 2950 Jul 06 13:42:14 4057 11756 A 0.3743 0.9665 44.7N 6.5W 68 130 03m25s
11819 -03 2968 Jul 16 20:21:17 4188 11979 A 0.2909 0.9651 37.9N 104.0W 73 132 03m48s
11863 -02 2986 Jul 28 02:58:21 4321 12202 A 0.2064 0.9630 30.6N 157.6E 78 137 04m16s
----- -01 3004 Aug 08 09:33:55 4456 12425 Am 0.1213 0.9606 22.8N 58.5E 83 144 04m46s
----- 00 3022 Aug 19 16:11:33 4593 12648 A 0.0388 0.9577 14.7N 41.8W 88 154 05m17s
----- 01 3040 Aug 29 22:50:53 4733 12871 A -0.0419 0.9544 6.4N 143.1W 88 167 05m48s
----- 02 3058 Sep 10 05:34:54 4874 13094 A -0.1183 0.9508 1.8S 114.2E 83 181 06m16s
----- 03 3076 Sep 20 12:23:07 5018 13317 A -0.1908 0.9470 10.0S 10.4E 79 199 06m41s
----- 04 3094 Oct 01 19:19:04 5163 13540 A -0.2565 0.9429 17.9S 95.3W 75 218 07m03s
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 3112 Oct 13 02:21:06 5311 13763 A -0.3167 0.9389 25.6S 157.9E 71 239 07m21s
----- 06 3130 Oct 24 09:30:48 5460 13986 A -0.3703 0.9348 32.8S 49.8E 68 261 07m35s
----- 07 3148 Nov 03 16:48:25 5612 14209 A -0.4171 0.9310 39.4S 59.4W 65 284 07m45s
----- 08 3166 Nov 15 00:14:56 5766 14432 A -0.4565 0.9273 45.2S 169.6W 63 307 07m53s
----- 09 3184 Nov 25 07:49:01 5922 14655 A -0.4892 0.9241 50.0S 79.9E 60 329 07m58s
----- 10 3202 Dec 06 15:30:21 6080 14878 A -0.5159 0.9212 53.7S 30.7W 59 349 08m03s
----- 11 3220 Dec 16 23:18:23 6240 15101 A -0.5369 0.9188 55.8S 141.5W 57 366 08m06s
----- 12 3238 Dec 28 07:12:23 6402 15324 A -0.5531 0.9170 56.4S 106.8E 56 379 08m09s
----- 13 3257 Jan 07 15:09:29 6566 15547 A -0.5666 0.9159 55.5S 5.9W 55 388 08m11s
----- 14 3275 Jan 18 23:10:09 6732 15770 A -0.5773 0.9153 53.3S 120.7W 54 393 08m12s
----- 15 3293 Jan 29 07:11:00 6901 15993 A -0.5880 0.9154 50.4S 123.1E 54 395 08m11s
----- 16 3311 Feb 10 15:12:39 7071 16216 A -0.5981 0.9161 46.9S 5.2E 53 393 08m10s
----- 17 3329 Feb 20 23:10:12 7244 16439 A -0.6120 0.9175 43.4S 112.4W 52 390 08m07s
----- 18 3347 Mar 04 07:06:04 7418 16662 A -0.6273 0.9193 39.9S 129.5E 51 385 08m02s
----- 19 3365 Mar 14 14:55:20 7595 16885 A -0.6483 0.9217 36.9S 12.7E 49 380 07m56s
----- 20 3383 Mar 25 22:39:41 7773 17108 A -0.6736 0.9244 34.4S 103.1W 47 375 07m49s
----- 21 3401 Apr 06 06:15:19 7954 17331 A -0.7062 0.9274 32.9S 143.2E 45 374 07m39s
----- 22 3419 Apr 17 13:45:13 8137 17554 A -0.7437 0.9307 32.4S 30.8E 42 376 07m27s
----- 23 3437 Apr 27 21:06:24 8322 17777 A -0.7887 0.9339 33.4S 79.4W 38 390 07m11s
----- 24 3455 May 09 04:20:02 8509 18000 A -0.8399 0.9370 36.1S 172.3E 33 422 06m50s
----- 25 3473 May 19 11:25:43 8698 18223 A -0.8976 0.9396 41.1S 66.0E 26 501 06m23s
----- 26 3491 May 30 18:25:23 8889 18446 A -0.9603 0.9414 50.2S 38.1W 16 788 05m45s
----- 27 3509 Jun 11 01:18:38 9082 18669 P -1.0284 0.9169 65.3S 137.7W 0
----- 28 3527 Jun 22 08:07:09 9278 18892 P -1.1007 0.7935 66.2S 110.9E 0
----- 29 3545 Jul 02 14:52:13 9475 19115 P -1.1760 0.6638 67.3S 0.1W 0
----- 30 3563 Jul 13 21:35:44 9674 19338 P -1.2524 0.5310 68.3S 111.2W 0
----- 31 3581 Jul 24 04:17:26 9876 19561 P -1.3306 0.3943 69.2S 137.7E 0
----- 32 3599 Aug 04 11:00:40 10079 19784 P -1.4079 0.2583 70.1S 25.7E 0
----- 33 3617 Aug 14 17:45:23 10285 20007 Pe -1.4842 0.1235 70.9S 87.3W 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)"
