Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 172

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 172

Solar eclipses of Saros 172 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 2474 Aug 13. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3718 Sep 08. The total duration of Saros series 172 is 1244.08 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   2474 Aug 13   02:43:56 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   3718 Sep 08   07:38:42 TD

                      Duration of Saros 172  =  1244.08 Years

Saros 172 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 172
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 70100.0%
PartialP 16 22.9%
AnnularA 23 32.9%
TotalT 15 21.4%
Hybrid[3]H 16 22.9%

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 172 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 172
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 54100.0%
Central (two limits) 52 96.3%
Central (one limit) 1 1.9%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 1.9%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 172: 8P 23A 16H 15T 8P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 172 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 172
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 2745 Jan 2405m58s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 3015 Jul 0800m26s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 3520 May 1003m13s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 3322 Jan 0901m33s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 3303 Dec 3001m27s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 3033 Jul 1800m02s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 3592 Jun 23 - 0.95203
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 3718 Sep 08 - 0.01653

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 172

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 172. 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 172.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 172

                         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

10642 -32  2474 Aug 13  02:43:56   1348   5870   Pb  -1.4827  0.1379  62.1S  85.2E   0             
10684 -31  2492 Aug 23  09:17:49   1424   6093   P   -1.4043  0.2723  61.6S  21.8W   0             
10726 -30  2510 Sep 04  15:56:49   1503   6316   P   -1.3292  0.4003  61.2S 130.0W   0             
10766 -29  2528 Sep 14  22:42:54   1583   6539   P   -1.2592  0.5192  61.0S 120.2E   0             
10806 -28  2546 Sep 26  05:36:28   1666   6762   P   -1.1945  0.6285  61.0S   8.5E   0             
10846 -27  2564 Oct 06  12:38:14   1750   6985   P   -1.1361  0.7266  61.1S 105.2W   0             
10886 -26  2582 Oct 17  19:49:11   1837   7208   P   -1.0846  0.8128  61.4S 138.8E   0             
10927 -25  2600 Oct 29  03:09:34   1926   7431   P   -1.0403  0.8863  61.8S  20.3E   0             
10968 -24  2618 Nov 09  10:39:32   2016   7654   A-  -1.0033  0.9474  62.4S 100.7W   0             
11009 -23  2636 Nov 19  18:16:59   2109   7877   As  -0.9719  0.9164  70.9S 163.3E  13   -   05m33s

11048 -22  2654 Dec 01  02:03:29   2204   8100   A   -0.9477  0.9165  75.8S  53.4E  18 1021  05m41s
11089 -21  2672 Dec 11  09:56:21   2301   8323   A   -0.9286  0.9165  80.5S  59.4W  21  874  05m47s
11130 -20  2690 Dec 22  17:55:30   2401   8546   A   -0.9140  0.9168  85.1S 166.7W  23  795  05m52s
11172 -19  2709 Jan 03  01:57:50   2502   8769   A   -0.9017  0.9175  87.5S 147.9E  25  737  05m55s
11214 -18  2727 Jan 14  10:03:51   2605   8992   A   -0.8920  0.9189  83.8S  75.5E  26  691  05m57s
11257 -17  2745 Jan 24  18:10:38   2710   9215   A   -0.8825  0.9207  78.8S  40.0W  28  646  05m58s
11302 -16  2763 Feb 05  02:16:47   2818   9438   A   -0.8721  0.9233  73.6S 162.2W  29  596  05m58s
11347 -15  2781 Feb 15  10:20:50   2927   9661   A   -0.8595  0.9265  68.1S  74.0E  30  543  05m57s
11392 -14  2799 Feb 26  18:21:15   3039   9884   A   -0.8432  0.9304  62.3S  49.8W  32  484  05m54s
11437 -13  2817 Mar 09  02:16:54   3152  10107   A   -0.8224  0.9348  56.2S 172.9W  34  425  05m49s

11482 -12  2835 Mar 20  10:06:06   3268  10330   A   -0.7955  0.9398  49.7S  65.6E  37  365  05m41s
11528 -11  2853 Mar 30  17:49:21   3386  10553   A   -0.7631  0.9452  43.1S  54.2W  40  309  05m29s
11574 -10  2871 Apr 11  01:25:37   3506  10776   A   -0.7242  0.9510  36.3S 172.1W  43  258  05m12s
11621 -09  2889 Apr 21  08:53:56   3628  10999   A   -0.6779  0.9570  29.3S  72.4E  47  211  04m49s
11668 -08  2907 May 03  16:15:29   3752  11222   A   -0.6251  0.9632  22.4S  40.9W  51  170  04m20s
11713 -07  2925 May 13  23:30:12   3878  11445   A   -0.5657  0.9693  15.6S 152.0W  55  133  03m45s
11758 -06  2943 May 25  06:39:59   4006  11668   A   -0.5014  0.9753   9.2S  98.8E  60  102  03m04s
11802 -05  2961 Jun 04  13:43:19   4136  11891   A   -0.4308  0.9811   3.1S   8.2W  64   74  02m21s
11846 -04  2979 Jun 15  20:44:09   4268  12114   A   -0.3570  0.9866   2.4N 113.9W  69   51  01m39s
11891 -03  2997 Jun 26  03:41:44   4403  12337   A   -0.2793  0.9916   7.2N 141.9E  74   31  01m00s

----- -02  3015 Jul 08  10:38:31   4539  12560   A   -0.2000  0.9962  11.1N  38.6E  79   13  00m26s
----- -01  3033 Jul 18  17:34:19   4678  12783   H   -0.1189  1.0002  14.2N  63.9W  83    1  00m02s
-----  00  3051 Jul 30  00:32:40   4818  13006   H   -0.0389  1.0038  16.4N 166.7W  88   13  00m23s
-----  01  3069 Aug 09  07:33:40   4961  13229   H    0.0402  1.0066  17.7N  90.1E  88   23  00m39s
-----  02  3087 Aug 20  14:38:16   5105  13452   H    0.1173  1.0090  18.2N  13.9W  83   31  00m52s
-----  03  3105 Aug 31  21:48:37   5252  13675   Hm   0.1905  1.0107  18.1N 119.4W  79   37  01m00s
-----  04  3123 Sep 12  05:05:12   5401  13898   H    0.2593  1.0119  17.5N 133.2E  75   42  01m06s
-----  05  3141 Sep 22  12:29:56   5552  14121   H    0.3222  1.0127  16.6N  23.5E  71   46  01m10s
-----  06  3159 Oct 03  20:01:00   5705  14344   H    0.3806  1.0131  15.6N  88.1W  68   48  01m12s
-----  07  3177 Oct 14  03:42:10   5860  14567   H    0.4314  1.0131  14.6N 157.4E  64   49  01m13s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 172

                         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

-----  08  3195 Oct 25  11:30:55   6017  14790   H    0.4766  1.0130  13.7N  40.7E  61   50  01m14s
-----  09  3213 Nov 04  19:29:34   6176  15013   H    0.5140  1.0128  13.1N  78.9W  59   51  01m15s
-----  10  3231 Nov 16  03:35:54   6338  15236   H    0.5457  1.0125  12.8N 159.4E  57   51  01m15s
-----  11  3249 Nov 26  11:52:09   6501  15459   H    0.5697  1.0124  12.7N  34.9E  55   52  01m16s
-----  12  3267 Dec 07  20:15:14   6667  15682   H    0.5886  1.0126  13.0N  91.5W  54   53  01m18s
-----  13  3285 Dec 18  04:45:16   6834  15905   H    0.6025  1.0131  13.7N 140.1E  53   56  01m22s
-----  14  3303 Dec 30  13:20:44   7004  16128   H2   0.6124  1.0139  14.8N  10.3E  52   60  01m27s
-----  15  3322 Jan 09  22:01:36   7175  16351   T    0.6181  1.0152  16.3N 120.9W  52   66  01m33s
-----  16  3340 Jan 21  06:44:20   7349  16574   T    0.6231  1.0169  18.5N 107.2E  51   74  01m42s
-----  17  3358 Jan 31  15:28:59   7525  16797   T    0.6271  1.0191  21.2N  25.1W  51   84  01m52s

-----  18  3376 Feb 12  00:12:54   7703  17020   T    0.6320  1.0219  24.5N 157.4W  51   96  02m03s
-----  19  3394 Feb 22  08:56:29   7883  17243   T    0.6379  1.0250  28.3N  70.4E  50  110  02m15s
-----  20  3412 Mar 05  17:35:08   8065  17466   T    0.6481  1.0286  32.8N  60.8W  49  126  02m28s
-----  21  3430 Mar 17  02:11:09   8249  17689   T    0.6611  1.0324  37.8N 168.7E  48  145  02m40s
-----  22  3448 Mar 27  10:40:10   8435  17912   T    0.6803  1.0364  43.4N  39.9E  47  166  02m50s
-----  23  3466 Apr 07  19:04:43   8623  18135   T    0.7036  1.0405  49.4N  87.8W  45  190  03m00s
-----  24  3484 Apr 18  03:20:27   8813  18358   T    0.7345  1.0446  56.0N 146.6E  42  219  03m07s
-----  25  3502 Apr 30  11:31:27   9006  18581   T    0.7698  1.0484  63.0N  22.5E  39  253  03m12s
-----  26  3520 May 10  19:33:57   9200  18804   T    0.8125  1.0519  70.5N  99.7W  35  297  03m13s
-----  27  3538 May 22  03:30:38   9397  19027   T    0.8605  1.0548  78.6N 138.8E  30  359  03m11s

-----  28  3556 Jun 01  11:20:04   9595  19250   T    0.9150  1.0567  87.7N   3.9W  23  473  03m03s
-----  29  3574 Jun 12  19:05:04   9796  19473   T    0.9734  1.0568  79.2N 102.9E  12  873  02m48s
-----  30  3592 Jun 23  02:44:56   9999  19696   P    1.0364  0.9520  65.9N  15.2W   0             
-----  31  3610 Jul 04  10:20:54  10203  19919   P    1.1029  0.8244  64.9N 138.2W   0             
-----  32  3628 Jul 14  17:54:19  10410  20142   P    1.1719  0.6911  64.1N  99.7E   0             
-----  33  3646 Jul 26  01:26:24  10619  20365   P    1.2422  0.5547  63.3N  21.8W   0             
-----  34  3664 Aug 05  08:57:22  10830  20588   P    1.3134  0.4164  62.7N 142.8W   0             
-----  35  3682 Aug 16  16:28:48  11043  20811   P    1.3841  0.2790  62.1N  96.2E   0             
-----  36  3700 Aug 28  00:02:14  11259  21034   P    1.4532  0.1451  61.8N  25.1W   0             
-----  37  3718 Sep 08  07:38:42  11476  21257   Pe   1.5198  0.0165  61.5N 147.1W   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