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 173 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 2485 Jul 12. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3729 Aug 08. The total duration of Saros series 173 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2485 Jul 12 09:35:02 TD Last Eclipse = 3729 Aug 08 08:46:50 TD Duration of Saros 173 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 173 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 173 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 14 | 20.0% |
| Annular | A | 12 | 17.1% |
| Total | T | 41 | 58.6% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.3% |
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 173 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 173 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 56 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 173: 7P 41T 3H 12A 7P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 173 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 173 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3603 May 24 | 01m40s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3405 Jan 23 | 00m02s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 3116 Aug 01 | 06m41s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 3332 Dec 10 | 01m11s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 3350 Dec 21 | 00m49s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 3387 Jan 12 | 00m13s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3621 Jun 03 | - | 0.93396 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3729 Aug 08 | - | 0.10279 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 173. 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 173.
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
10667 -35 2485 Jul 12 09:35:02 1394 6005 Pb 1.4713 0.1259 68.0N 145.3W 0
10709 -34 2503 Jul 24 16:46:37 1471 6228 P 1.3926 0.2716 69.0N 95.8E 0
10750 -33 2521 Aug 04 00:02:18 1551 6451 P 1.3160 0.4141 69.9N 24.8W 0
10791 -32 2539 Aug 15 07:21:01 1633 6674 P 1.2408 0.5548 70.8N 146.7W 0
10831 -31 2557 Aug 25 14:46:39 1717 6897 P 1.1703 0.6870 71.4N 89.1E 0
10871 -30 2575 Sep 05 22:17:41 1802 7120 P 1.1036 0.8125 71.9N 37.0W 0
10911 -29 2593 Sep 16 05:55:38 1890 7343 P 1.0418 0.9285 72.2N 165.1W 0
10952 -28 2611 Sep 28 13:41:25 1980 7566 T 0.9859 1.0280 69.6N 39.6E 9 630 01m42s
10993 -27 2629 Oct 08 21:35:29 2072 7789 T 0.9363 1.0312 59.0N 106.3W 20 302 02m10s
11033 -26 2647 Oct 20 05:38:03 2167 8012 T 0.8932 1.0324 50.5N 122.8E 26 243 02m27s
11073 -25 2665 Oct 30 13:48:30 2263 8235 T 0.8563 1.0330 43.6N 6.1W 31 215 02m40s
11114 -24 2683 Nov 10 22:07:55 2361 8458 T 0.8266 1.0331 37.9N 135.4W 34 198 02m49s
11156 -23 2701 Nov 22 06:34:43 2462 8681 T 0.8026 1.0331 33.3N 94.4E 36 187 02m56s
11198 -22 2719 Dec 03 15:08:00 2564 8904 T 0.7837 1.0331 29.9N 36.8W 38 180 03m01s
11240 -21 2737 Dec 13 23:47:43 2668 9127 T 0.7697 1.0332 27.4N 169.3W 39 176 03m03s
11283 -20 2755 Dec 25 08:32:19 2775 9350 T 0.7595 1.0335 26.0N 57.3E 40 174 03m05s
11328 -19 2774 Jan 04 17:20:31 2884 9573 T 0.7521 1.0342 25.4N 76.9W 41 174 03m07s
11374 -18 2792 Jan 16 02:09:57 2995 9796 T 0.7454 1.0353 25.6N 148.8E 42 177 03m09s
11419 -17 2810 Jan 26 11:00:54 3107 10019 T 0.7398 1.0369 26.5N 14.1E 42 182 03m11s
11464 -16 2828 Feb 06 19:50:44 3222 10242 T 0.7327 1.0388 28.0N 120.3W 43 188 03m15s
11510 -15 2846 Feb 17 04:37:38 3339 10465 T 0.7233 1.0413 29.8N 106.3E 43 196 03m20s
11556 -14 2864 Feb 28 13:20:36 3458 10688 T 0.7105 1.0442 32.0N 25.8W 45 205 03m26s
11602 -13 2882 Mar 10 21:58:32 3579 10911 T 0.6934 1.0475 34.4N 156.2W 46 215 03m34s
11649 -12 2900 Mar 22 06:30:52 3702 11134 T 0.6716 1.0510 36.9N 75.3E 48 224 03m44s
11695 -11 2918 Apr 02 14:55:22 3828 11357 T 0.6433 1.0547 39.3N 50.4W 50 233 03m55s
11740 -10 2936 Apr 12 23:13:37 3955 11580 T 0.6097 1.0584 41.6N 173.6W 52 240 04m08s
11784 -09 2954 Apr 24 07:23:39 4084 11803 T 0.5696 1.0622 43.6N 66.2E 55 246 04m23s
11828 -08 2972 May 04 15:26:42 4216 12026 T 0.5235 1.0657 45.0N 51.1W 58 251 04m40s
11872 -07 2990 May 15 23:22:03 4349 12249 T 0.4710 1.0689 45.4N 165.7W 62 254 04m58s
----- -06 3008 May 27 07:11:30 4485 12472 T 0.4136 1.0716 44.8N 81.7E 65 256 05m18s
----- -05 3026 Jun 07 14:55:11 4623 12695 T 0.3514 1.0738 43.0N 29.6W 69 256 05m38s
----- -04 3044 Jun 17 22:33:14 4762 12918 T 0.2846 1.0754 39.9N 140.0W 73 255 05m58s
----- -03 3062 Jun 29 06:07:48 4904 13141 T 0.2150 1.0762 35.7N 109.4E 77 253 06m16s
----- -02 3080 Jul 09 13:38:50 5048 13364 T 0.1427 1.0762 30.4N 1.3W 82 249 06m31s
----- -01 3098 Jul 20 21:08:34 5194 13587 T 0.0692 1.0755 24.3N 112.8W 86 245 06m40s
----- 00 3116 Aug 01 04:36:29 5342 13810 Tm -0.0053 1.0739 17.5N 135.3E 90 240 06m41s
----- 01 3134 Aug 12 12:05:48 5492 14033 T -0.0784 1.0715 10.4N 22.3E 86 233 06m35s
----- 02 3152 Aug 22 19:36:07 5644 14256 T -0.1499 1.0683 2.9N 91.5W 81 225 06m19s
----- 03 3170 Sep 03 03:09:08 5799 14479 T -0.2189 1.0646 4.8S 153.6E 77 216 05m56s
----- 04 3188 Sep 13 10:45:34 5955 14702 T -0.2844 1.0601 12.6S 37.8E 73 205 05m27s
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 3206 Sep 24 18:26:50 6113 14925 T -0.3455 1.0551 20.2S 79.3W 70 193 04m54s
----- 06 3224 Oct 05 02:13:39 6274 15148 T -0.4010 1.0497 27.7S 162.4E 66 180 04m18s
----- 07 3242 Oct 16 10:05:20 6436 15371 T -0.4519 1.0441 35.0S 43.3E 63 164 03m42s
----- 08 3260 Oct 26 18:04:36 6601 15594 T -0.4959 1.0382 41.8S 76.8W 60 147 03m06s
----- 09 3278 Nov 07 02:09:51 6768 15817 T -0.5346 1.0324 48.0S 162.7E 57 129 02m33s
----- 10 3296 Nov 17 10:23:03 6936 16040 T -0.5661 1.0266 53.4S 41.8E 55 110 02m03s
----- 11 3314 Nov 29 18:41:23 7107 16263 T -0.5930 1.0211 57.9S 78.2W 53 90 01m35s
----- 12 3332 Dec 10 03:07:09 7280 16486 T -0.6132 1.0159 60.8S 162.1E 52 69 01m11s
----- 13 3350 Dec 21 11:36:58 7455 16709 H -0.6297 1.0111 62.3S 43.0E 51 49 00m49s
----- 14 3368 Dec 31 20:11:34 7632 16932 H -0.6419 1.0067 61.9S 77.0W 50 31 00m30s
----- 15 3387 Jan 12 04:48:21 7811 17155 H -0.6520 1.0029 60.2S 161.1E 49 13 00m13s
----- 16 3405 Jan 23 13:27:37 7993 17378 A -0.6597 0.9996 57.2S 36.7E 48 2 00m02s
----- 17 3423 Feb 03 22:05:50 8176 17601 A -0.6677 0.9969 53.7S 89.4W 48 15 00m14s
----- 18 3441 Feb 14 06:42:33 8361 17824 A -0.6765 0.9946 50.0S 143.5E 47 25 00m25s
----- 19 3459 Feb 25 15:15:44 8549 18047 A -0.6877 0.9928 46.2S 16.3E 46 34 00m34s
----- 20 3477 Mar 07 23:45:07 8738 18270 A -0.7016 0.9913 42.8S 110.6W 45 42 00m42s
----- 21 3495 Mar 19 08:06:50 8930 18493 A -0.7213 0.9901 39.9S 124.1E 44 49 00m49s
----- 22 3513 Mar 30 16:22:23 9123 18716 A -0.7452 0.9891 37.7S 0.1E 42 56 00m56s
----- 23 3531 Apr 11 00:28:48 9319 18939 A -0.7761 0.9881 36.7S 121.5W 39 65 01m02s
----- 24 3549 Apr 21 08:28:09 9517 19162 A -0.8122 0.9870 36.8S 118.6E 35 76 01m10s
----- 25 3567 May 02 16:15:57 9717 19385 A -0.8570 0.9856 38.8S 1.7E 31 96 01m18s
----- 26 3585 May 12 23:56:47 9918 19608 A -0.9069 0.9838 42.8S 113.2W 25 135 01m28s
----- 27 3603 May 24 07:26:42 10122 19831 A -0.9647 0.9806 51.1S 136.0E 15 265 01m40s
----- 28 3621 Jun 03 14:49:36 10328 20054 P -1.0275 0.9340 64.7S 30.6E 0
----- 29 3639 Jun 14 22:02:41 10537 20277 P -1.0975 0.8085 65.7S 86.6W 0
----- 30 3657 Jun 25 05:10:20 10747 20500 P -1.1707 0.6774 66.7S 157.1E 0
----- 31 3675 Jul 06 12:10:48 10959 20723 P -1.2486 0.5385 67.7S 42.2E 0
----- 32 3693 Jul 16 19:06:25 11173 20946 P -1.3292 0.3951 68.7S 72.0W 0
----- 33 3711 Jul 29 01:57:44 11390 21169 P -1.4119 0.2489 69.7S 174.3E 0
----- 34 3729 Aug 08 08:46:50 11608 21392 Pe -1.4950 0.1028 70.5S 60.6E 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)"
