Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 179

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 179

Solar eclipses of Saros 179 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 2731 Apr 28. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3993 Jun 03. The total duration of Saros series 179 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   2731 Apr 28   13:11:25 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   3993 Jun 03   20:38:13 TD

                      Duration of Saros 179  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 179 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 179
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PartialP 27 38.0%
AnnularA 0 0.0%
TotalT 44 62.0%
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 179 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 179
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 44100.0%
Central (two limits) 44100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 179: 8P 44T 19P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 179 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 179
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 3434 Jun 2906m29s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 3650 Nov 0700m19s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 3668 Nov 17 - 0.93920
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 2731 Apr 28 - 0.05177

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 179

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 179. 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 179.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 179

                         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

11226 -36  2731 Apr 28  13:11:25   2630   9045   Pb   1.5160  0.0518  62.1N 125.4W   0             
11269 -35  2749 May 08  20:49:43   2736   9268   P    1.4607  0.1506  62.7N 111.5E   0             
11314 -34  2767 May 20  04:23:19   2844   9491   P    1.4007  0.2593  63.4N  10.7W   0             
11358 -33  2785 May 30  11:50:35   2954   9714   P    1.3346  0.3806  64.2N 131.5W   0             
11403 -32  2803 Jun 10  19:15:11   3066   9937   P    1.2654  0.5091  65.1N 108.1E   0             
11448 -31  2821 Jun 21  02:35:50   3180  10160   P    1.1922  0.6463  66.1N  11.6W   0             
11493 -30  2839 Jul 02  09:56:30   3296  10383   P    1.1177  0.7870  67.1N 131.8W   0             
11539 -29  2857 Jul 12  17:14:23   3414  10606   P    1.0403  0.9341  68.1N 108.3E   0             
11585 -28  2875 Jul 24  00:34:50   3535  10829   T    0.9640  1.0388  81.5N  47.8W  15  514  02m04s
11632 -27  2893 Aug 03  07:55:25   3657  11052   T    0.8874  1.0448  76.0N 120.7E  27  328  02m40s

11679 -26  2911 Aug 15  15:20:21   3781  11275   T    0.8136  1.0488  65.5N   5.9W  35  280  03m10s
11724 -25  2929 Aug 25  22:47:43   3908  11498   T    0.7413  1.0515  55.6N 124.4W  42  254  03m37s
11768 -24  2947 Sep 06  06:21:54   4037  11721   T    0.6740  1.0534  46.5N 117.8E  47  238  04m01s
11812 -23  2965 Sep 16  14:01:24   4167  11944   T    0.6110  1.0543  37.9N   0.5W  52  225  04m20s
11856 -22  2983 Sep 27  21:47:41   4300  12167   T    0.5531  1.0547  30.0N 120.0W  56  216  04m36s
----- -21  3001 Oct 09  05:41:17   4435  12390   T    0.5010  1.0544  22.6N 119.2E  60  207  04m47s
----- -20  3019 Oct 20  13:42:54   4572  12613   T    0.4551  1.0537  16.0N   3.2W  63  199  04m54s
----- -19  3037 Oct 30  21:52:52   4711  12836   T    0.4161  1.0527  10.1N 127.2W  65  191  04m56s
----- -18  3055 Nov 11  06:09:53   4852  13059   T    0.3826  1.0515   5.0N 107.5E  67  184  04m56s
----- -17  3073 Nov 21  14:35:32   4995  13282   T    0.3561  1.0502   0.8N  19.5W  69  178  04m52s

----- -16  3091 Dec 02  23:07:55   5140  13505   T    0.3347  1.0490   2.4S 147.7W  70  173  04m47s
----- -15  3109 Dec 14  07:47:00   5287  13728   T    0.3188  1.0479   4.5S  82.7E  71  168  04m40s
----- -14  3127 Dec 25  16:30:49   5437  13951   T    0.3066  1.0471   5.6S  47.8W  72  165  04m33s
----- -13  3146 Jan 05  01:19:18   5588  14174   T    0.2981  1.0466   5.6S 179.3W  73  162  04m26s
----- -12  3164 Jan 16  10:09:49   5742  14397   T    0.2913  1.0465   4.7S  48.6E  73  162  04m20s
----- -11  3182 Jan 26  19:01:19   5897  14620   T    0.2853  1.0468   3.0S  83.9W  73  162  04m15s
----- -10  3200 Feb 07  03:52:28   6055  14843   T    0.2788  1.0476   0.6S 143.7E  74  164  04m12s
----- -09  3218 Feb 17  12:42:24   6215  15066   T    0.2712  1.0488   2.4N  11.4E  74  168  04m12s
----- -08  3236 Feb 28  21:27:53   6376  15289   T    0.2599  1.0504   5.6N 119.7W  75  173  04m15s
----- -07  3254 Mar 11  06:09:24   6540  15512   T    0.2456  1.0523   8.9N 110.2E  76  178  04m19s

----- -06  3272 Mar 21  14:44:38   6706  15735   T    0.2260  1.0545  12.2N  18.2W  77  184  04m27s
----- -05  3290 Apr 01  23:14:46   6874  15958   T    0.2020  1.0568  15.4N 145.0W  78  191  04m36s
----- -04  3308 Apr 13  07:35:50   7044  16181   T    0.1705  1.0593  18.0N  90.8E  80  198  04m48s
----- -03  3326 Apr 24  15:51:23   7216  16404   T    0.1344  1.0616  20.1N  31.6W  82  204  05m02s
----- -02  3344 May 04  23:57:51   7391  16627   T    0.0910  1.0637  21.3N 151.3W  85  210  05m18s
----- -01  3362 May 16  07:58:26   7567  16850   Tm   0.0426  1.0656  21.6N  90.6E  87  215  05m35s
-----  00  3380 May 26  15:49:54   7745  17073   T   -0.0133  1.0670  20.7N  25.1W  89  219  05m53s
-----  01  3398 Jun 06  23:36:42   7926  17296   T   -0.0731  1.0680  18.7N 139.9W  86  222  06m09s
-----  02  3416 Jun 18  07:16:16   8108  17519   T   -0.1383  1.0683  15.4N 106.7E  82  225  06m21s
-----  03  3434 Jun 29  14:51:32   8293  17742   T   -0.2070  1.0679  11.1N   6.2W  78  226  06m29s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 179

                         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

-----  04  3452 Jul 09  22:21:45   8479  17965   T   -0.2794  1.0668   5.7N 118.5W  74  227  06m28s
-----  05  3470 Jul 21  05:49:57   8668  18188   T   -0.3529  1.0649   0.5S 128.9E  69  227  06m18s
-----  06  3488 Jul 31  13:15:49   8859  18411   T   -0.4279  1.0622   7.5S  16.2E  65  225  05m59s
-----  07  3506 Aug 12  20:40:32   9052  18634   T   -0.5031  1.0587  15.1S  96.9W  60  223  05m30s
-----  08  3524 Aug 23  04:05:48   9247  18857   T   -0.5771  1.0544  23.2S 149.2E  55  219  04m54s
-----  09  3542 Sep 03  11:32:45   9444  19080   T   -0.6490  1.0493  31.7S  34.2E  49  214  04m14s
-----  10  3560 Sep 13  19:02:16   9643  19303   T   -0.7181  1.0437  40.5S  82.3W  44  208  03m32s
-----  11  3578 Sep 25  02:35:28   9844  19526   T   -0.7834  1.0374  49.6S 159.2E  38  201  02m49s
-----  12  3596 Oct 05  10:13:49  10047  19749   T   -0.8439  1.0306  58.8S  37.4E  32  192  02m08s
-----  13  3614 Oct 16  17:58:11  10252  19972   T   -0.8986  1.0232  67.9S  90.6W  26  181  01m30s

-----  14  3632 Oct 27  01:47:21  10460  20195   T   -0.9487  1.0153  75.9S 124.8E  18  171  00m55s
-----  15  3650 Nov 07  09:44:01  10669  20418   T   -0.9920  1.0060  74.8S  58.9W   6  210  00m19s
-----  16  3668 Nov 17  17:46:43  10881  20641   P   -1.0299  0.9392  69.4S 157.2E   0             
-----  17  3686 Nov 29  01:57:01  11094  20864   P   -1.0609  0.8805  68.3S  23.9E   0             
-----  18  3704 Dec 10  10:11:46  11310  21087   P   -1.0876  0.8303  67.3S 109.9W   0             
-----  19  3722 Dec 21  18:33:25  11528  21310   P   -1.1082  0.7918  66.2S 115.0E   0             
-----  20  3741 Jan 01  02:58:57  11748  21533   P   -1.1251  0.7602  65.2S  20.5W   0             
-----  21  3759 Jan 12  11:28:24  11969  21756   P   -1.1382  0.7358  64.2S 156.6W   0             
-----  22  3777 Jan 22  19:59:09  12193  21979   P   -1.1497  0.7146  63.3S  67.3E   0             
-----  23  3795 Feb 03  04:31:17  12419  22202   P   -1.1596  0.6965  62.6S  68.9W   0             

-----  24  3813 Feb 14  13:02:06  12647  22425   P   -1.1699  0.6778  62.0S 155.5E   0             
-----  25  3831 Feb 25  21:30:08  12878  22648   P   -1.1822  0.6558  61.6S  20.7E   0             
-----  26  3849 Mar 08  05:54:27  13110  22871   P   -1.1969  0.6297  61.3S 113.0W   0             
-----  27  3867 Mar 19  14:13:48  13344  23094   P   -1.2152  0.5973  61.2S 114.5E   0             
-----  28  3885 Mar 29  22:25:48  13581  23317   P   -1.2389  0.5556  61.3S  16.1W   0             
-----  29  3903 Apr 11  06:30:16  13819  23540   P   -1.2680  0.5044  61.5S 144.8W   0             
-----  30  3921 Apr 21  14:26:09  14060  23763   P   -1.3034  0.4421  61.9S  88.5E   0             
-----  31  3939 May 02  22:13:52  14302  23986   P   -1.3449  0.3692  62.4S  36.3W   0             
-----  32  3957 May 13  05:50:35  14547  24209   P   -1.3943  0.2824  63.1S 158.5W   0             
-----  33  3975 May 24  13:19:28  14794  24432   P   -1.4490  0.1863  63.9S  81.0E   0             

-----  34  3993 Jun 03  20:38:13  15042  24655   Pe  -1.5105  0.0782  64.8S  37.2W   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