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 174 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 2532 Jul 04. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3758 Jul 18. The total duration of Saros series 174 is 1226.05 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2532 Jul 04 08:54:58 TD Last Eclipse = 3758 Jul 18 15:31:56 TD Duration of Saros 174 = 1226.05 Years
Saros 174 is composed of 69 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 174 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 69 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 16 | 23.2% |
| Annular | A | 50 | 72.5% |
| Total | T | 1 | 1.4% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 2 | 2.9% |
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 174 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 174 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 53 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 51 | 96.2% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 1.9% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 69 eclipses in Saros 174: 8P 1T 2H 50A 8P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 174 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 174 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3434 Jan 03 | 10m52s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2730 Nov 02 | 00m17s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 2676 Sep 29 | 00m33s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 2676 Sep 29 | 00m33s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2694 Oct 11 | 00m21s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2712 Oct 22 | 00m03s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2658 Sep 19 | - | 0.95640 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3758 Jul 18 | - | 0.07972 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 174. 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 174.
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
10775 -35 2532 Jul 04 08:54:58 1600 6586 Pb -1.4782 0.1040 64.9S 27.8E 0
10815 -34 2550 Jul 15 16:14:58 1683 6809 P -1.4089 0.2366 64.0S 91.6W 0
10855 -33 2568 Jul 25 23:36:01 1768 7032 P -1.3408 0.3666 63.3S 149.0E 0
10895 -32 2586 Aug 06 06:55:48 1855 7255 P -1.2718 0.4975 62.6S 30.2E 0
10936 -31 2604 Aug 17 14:18:38 1945 7478 P -1.2058 0.6216 62.0S 89.1W 0
10977 -30 2622 Aug 28 21:41:59 2036 7701 P -1.1408 0.7425 61.6S 151.5E 0
11017 -29 2640 Sep 08 05:10:48 2129 7924 P -1.0807 0.8532 61.3S 30.9E 0
11057 -28 2658 Sep 19 12:42:52 2225 8147 P -1.0239 0.9564 61.1S 90.4W 0
11098 -27 2676 Sep 29 20:20:52 2322 8370 T -0.9725 1.0089 60.1S 173.0E 13 134 00m33s
11140 -26 2694 Oct 11 04:04:20 2422 8593 H -0.9263 1.0054 59.5S 67.4E 22 49 00m21s
11182 -25 2712 Oct 22 11:55:16 2523 8816 H -0.8873 1.0009 60.7S 45.3W 27 6 00m03s
11224 -24 2730 Nov 02 19:52:57 2627 9039 A -0.8541 0.9959 62.8S 160.6W 31 28 00m17s
11267 -23 2748 Nov 13 03:56:37 2733 9262 A -0.8266 0.9908 65.5S 83.1E 34 57 00m37s
11312 -22 2766 Nov 24 12:07:07 2841 9485 A -0.8054 0.9858 68.4S 33.6W 36 85 00m59s
11356 -21 2784 Dec 04 20:23:18 2951 9708 A -0.7896 0.9810 71.2S 149.1W 38 110 01m19s
11401 -20 2802 Dec 16 04:44:25 3063 9931 A -0.7785 0.9765 73.1S 97.6E 39 134 01m39s
11446 -19 2820 Dec 26 13:08:54 3177 10154 A -0.7709 0.9725 73.7S 13.7W 39 156 01m59s
11491 -18 2839 Jan 06 21:36:05 3293 10377 A -0.7660 0.9690 72.6S 126.1W 40 175 02m17s
11537 -17 2857 Jan 17 06:04:05 3411 10600 A -0.7626 0.9660 70.0S 117.8E 40 191 02m34s
11584 -16 2875 Jan 28 14:30:34 3531 10823 A -0.7588 0.9636 66.3S 2.2W 40 203 02m49s
11631 -15 2893 Feb 07 22:54:55 3654 11046 A -0.7539 0.9617 61.9S 125.1W 41 211 03m04s
11678 -14 2911 Feb 20 07:15:04 3778 11269 A -0.7465 0.9604 57.0S 110.7E 41 215 03m19s
11723 -13 2929 Mar 02 15:29:16 3905 11492 A -0.7349 0.9597 51.7S 13.5W 42 214 03m32s
11767 -12 2947 Mar 13 23:36:01 4033 11715 A -0.7178 0.9594 46.1S 137.0W 44 210 03m46s
11811 -11 2965 Mar 24 07:35:07 4164 11938 A -0.6953 0.9595 40.2S 100.9E 46 202 03m58s
11855 -10 2983 Apr 04 15:25:41 4296 12161 A -0.6666 0.9599 34.1S 19.3W 48 193 04m11s
----- -09 3001 Apr 15 23:05:33 4431 12384 A -0.6296 0.9606 27.8S 136.9W 51 183 04m22s
----- -08 3019 Apr 27 06:36:40 4568 12607 A -0.5861 0.9612 21.4S 107.8E 54 172 04m34s
----- -07 3037 May 07 13:57:30 4707 12830 A -0.5345 0.9619 15.0S 4.5W 58 163 04m42s
----- -06 3055 May 18 21:10:11 4848 13053 A -0.4769 0.9625 8.7S 114.4W 61 154 04m50s
----- -05 3073 May 29 04:12:32 4991 13276 A -0.4112 0.9629 2.6S 138.8E 66 147 04m54s
----- -04 3091 Jun 09 11:08:43 5136 13499 A -0.3409 0.9629 3.0N 34.2E 70 143 04m56s
----- -03 3109 Jun 20 17:57:04 5283 13722 A -0.2644 0.9626 8.1N 67.7W 75 140 04m55s
----- -02 3127 Jul 02 00:39:48 5433 13945 A -0.1839 0.9620 12.5N 167.6W 79 140 04m52s
----- -01 3145 Jul 12 07:17:33 5584 14168 Am -0.0997 0.9608 16.3N 94.5E 84 143 04m50s
----- 00 3163 Jul 23 13:52:56 5738 14391 A -0.0141 0.9593 19.1N 2.3W 89 148 04m50s
----- 01 3181 Aug 02 20:26:50 5893 14614 A 0.0723 0.9572 21.2N 98.3W 86 156 04m53s
----- 02 3199 Aug 14 02:59:58 6051 14837 A 0.1588 0.9547 22.5N 166.1E 81 167 05m00s
----- 03 3217 Aug 24 09:35:12 6210 15060 A 0.2430 0.9519 23.2N 70.0E 76 181 05m13s
----- 04 3235 Sep 04 16:13:17 6372 15283 A 0.3244 0.9486 23.4N 27.0W 71 198 05m30s
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 3253 Sep 14 22:55:41 6536 15506 A 0.4016 0.9451 23.3N 125.3W 66 218 05m52s
----- 06 3271 Sep 26 05:43:07 6702 15729 A 0.4743 0.9413 23.2N 134.7E 62 243 06m21s
----- 07 3289 Oct 06 12:37:52 6870 15952 A 0.5408 0.9375 23.1N 32.5E 57 270 06m54s
----- 08 3307 Oct 18 19:40:05 7040 16175 A 0.6008 0.9335 23.3N 72.0W 53 303 07m33s
----- 09 3325 Oct 29 02:49:39 7212 16398 A 0.6545 0.9297 23.8N 178.9W 49 340 08m14s
----- 10 3343 Nov 09 10:08:29 7386 16621 A 0.7003 0.9259 24.7N 71.3E 45 381 08m56s
----- 11 3361 Nov 19 17:35:39 7562 16844 A 0.7389 0.9225 26.0N 41.1W 42 426 09m36s
----- 12 3379 Dec 01 01:11:52 7740 17067 A 0.7703 0.9195 27.5N 156.3W 39 473 10m11s
----- 13 3397 Dec 11 08:53:43 7921 17290 A 0.7971 0.9169 29.5N 86.6E 37 520 10m36s
----- 14 3415 Dec 23 16:44:00 8103 17513 A 0.8167 0.9149 31.5N 33.0W 35 562 10m51s
----- 15 3434 Jan 03 00:38:28 8288 17736 A 0.8327 0.9134 33.9N 154.1W 33 599 10m52s
----- 16 3452 Jan 14 08:38:04 8474 17959 A 0.8446 0.9126 36.5N 83.2E 32 625 10m42s
----- 17 3470 Jan 24 16:38:42 8663 18182 A 0.8554 0.9124 39.5N 40.1W 31 646 10m19s
----- 18 3488 Feb 05 00:41:42 8854 18405 A 0.8645 0.9129 42.8N 164.1W 30 659 09m48s
----- 19 3506 Feb 16 08:42:57 9047 18628 A 0.8749 0.9140 46.7N 71.8E 29 674 09m09s
----- 20 3524 Feb 27 16:42:15 9241 18851 A 0.8870 0.9156 51.1N 52.3W 27 692 08m26s
----- 21 3542 Mar 10 00:37:10 9438 19074 A 0.9028 0.9176 56.2N 176.4W 25 725 07m40s
----- 22 3560 Mar 20 08:27:58 9637 19297 A 0.9221 0.9200 61.9N 58.6E 22 784 06m54s
----- 23 3578 Mar 31 16:11:32 9839 19520 A 0.9475 0.9225 68.3N 70.2W 18 930 06m07s
----- 24 3596 Apr 10 23:48:56 10042 19743 An 0.9784 0.9246 74.0N 145.6E 11 - 05m21s
----- 25 3614 Apr 22 07:18:30 10247 19966 A+ 1.0159 0.9309 71.3N 17.2W 0
----- 26 3632 May 02 14:41:58 10454 20189 P 1.0588 0.8600 70.5N 140.1W 0
----- 27 3650 May 13 21:55:59 10664 20412 P 1.1096 0.7748 69.6N 100.0E 0
----- 28 3668 May 24 05:04:56 10875 20635 P 1.1650 0.6810 68.6N 18.0W 0
----- 29 3686 Jun 04 12:06:06 11089 20858 P 1.2272 0.5745 67.6N 133.4W 0
----- 30 3704 Jun 15 19:03:50 11304 21081 P 1.2922 0.4620 66.5N 112.5E 0
----- 31 3722 Jun 27 01:54:49 11522 21304 P 1.3630 0.3384 65.6N 0.5E 0
----- 32 3740 Jul 07 08:45:11 11742 21527 P 1.4346 0.2124 64.7N 110.9W 0
----- 33 3758 Jul 18 15:31:56 11963 21750 Pe 1.5095 0.0797 63.8N 138.9E 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)"
