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 159 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 2134 May 23. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3378 Jun 17. The total duration of Saros series 159 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2134 May 23 23:01:18 TD Last Eclipse = 3378 Jun 17 08:27:56 TD Duration of Saros 159 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 159 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 159 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 41.4% |
| Annular | A | 41 | 58.6% |
| 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 159 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 159 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 41 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 40 | 97.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 159: 8P 41A 21P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 159 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2513 Jan 08 | 10m25s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2278 Aug 19 | 01m53s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2260 Aug 07 | - | 0.92935 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2134 May 23 | - | 0.03082 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 159. 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 159.
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
09810 -34 2134 May 23 23:01:18 287 1662 Pb 1.5285 0.0308 63.7N 55.3E 0
09852 -33 2152 Jun 03 06:11:19 333 1885 P 1.4645 0.1478 64.5N 61.5W 0
09894 -32 2170 Jun 14 13:15:10 372 2108 P 1.3963 0.2719 65.4N 177.1W 0
09938 -31 2188 Jun 24 20:14:39 414 2331 P 1.3252 0.4008 66.4N 68.0E 0
09983 -30 2206 Jul 07 03:10:26 457 2554 P 1.2516 0.5335 67.4N 46.3W 0
10026 -29 2224 Jul 17 10:03:58 503 2777 P 1.1767 0.6677 68.4N 160.6W 0
10070 -28 2242 Jul 28 16:57:12 550 3000 P 1.1020 0.8004 69.3N 84.8E 0
10115 -27 2260 Aug 07 23:51:13 600 3223 P 1.0287 0.9293 70.2N 30.7W 0
10160 -26 2278 Aug 19 06:46:23 652 3446 A 0.9569 0.9712 75.8N 155.8E 16 367 01m53s
10206 -25 2296 Aug 29 13:45:40 706 3669 A 0.8888 0.9689 66.6N 15.0E 27 245 02m20s
10251 -24 2314 Sep 10 20:49:11 761 3892 A 0.8247 0.9654 56.8N 103.3W 34 220 02m54s
10296 -23 2332 Sep 21 03:59:10 819 4115 A 0.7666 0.9613 47.9N 142.3E 40 217 03m34s
10342 -22 2350 Oct 02 11:14:07 879 4338 A 0.7131 0.9568 39.8N 28.7E 44 222 04m22s
10387 -21 2368 Oct 12 18:37:20 942 4561 A 0.6672 0.9522 32.5N 85.8W 48 233 05m13s
10431 -20 2386 Oct 24 02:06:43 1006 4784 A 0.6268 0.9475 26.1N 158.8E 51 246 06m09s
10475 -19 2404 Nov 03 09:44:07 1072 5007 A 0.5935 0.9430 20.5N 42.0E 53 260 07m05s
10518 -18 2422 Nov 14 17:27:40 1140 5230 A 0.5657 0.9386 15.9N 75.8W 55 275 08m01s
10561 -17 2440 Nov 25 01:18:39 1211 5453 A 0.5445 0.9347 12.2N 164.9E 57 290 08m51s
10604 -16 2458 Dec 06 09:14:46 1283 5676 A 0.5280 0.9311 9.5N 44.7E 58 303 09m34s
10647 -15 2476 Dec 16 17:15:18 1358 5899 A 0.5154 0.9282 7.7N 76.3W 59 314 10m04s
10689 -14 2494 Dec 28 01:19:28 1434 6122 A 0.5061 0.9257 6.9N 161.8E 60 323 10m22s
10731 -13 2513 Jan 08 09:25:23 1513 6345 A 0.4982 0.9240 7.0N 39.7E 60 329 10m25s
10771 -12 2531 Jan 19 17:31:19 1594 6568 A 0.4908 0.9228 7.9N 82.4W 61 332 10m17s
10811 -11 2549 Jan 30 01:34:51 1676 6791 A 0.4815 0.9223 9.4N 156.1E 61 331 10m00s
10851 -10 2567 Feb 10 09:35:51 1761 7014 A 0.4703 0.9223 11.4N 35.2E 62 328 09m37s
10891 -09 2585 Feb 20 17:31:56 1848 7237 A 0.4550 0.9230 13.8N 84.3W 63 321 09m11s
10932 -08 2603 Mar 05 01:21:16 1937 7460 A 0.4345 0.9243 16.3N 158.1E 64 312 08m45s
10973 -07 2621 Mar 15 09:03:08 2028 7683 A 0.4080 0.9260 18.9N 42.7E 66 301 08m20s
11014 -06 2639 Mar 26 16:36:39 2122 7906 A 0.3749 0.9281 21.4N 70.2W 68 288 07m58s
11054 -05 2657 Apr 06 00:01:46 2217 8129 A 0.3350 0.9305 23.6N 179.4E 70 274 07m38s
11095 -04 2675 Apr 17 07:16:48 2314 8352 A 0.2868 0.9331 25.3N 72.2E 73 259 07m23s
11137 -03 2693 Apr 27 14:23:45 2414 8575 A 0.2320 0.9359 26.4N 32.5W 76 245 07m12s
11179 -02 2711 May 09 21:21:41 2515 8798 A 0.1701 0.9385 26.5N 134.7W 80 231 07m05s
11221 -01 2729 May 20 04:11:51 2619 9021 A 0.1017 0.9412 25.6N 125.3E 84 219 07m01s
11264 00 2747 May 31 10:54:36 2724 9244 A 0.0271 0.9436 23.5N 27.0E 88 208 07m01s
11309 01 2765 Jun 10 17:31:59 2832 9467 Am -0.0520 0.9459 20.2N 70.4W 87 200 07m02s
11353 02 2783 Jun 22 00:05:19 2942 9690 A -0.1347 0.9477 15.7N 167.4W 82 194 07m04s
11398 03 2801 Jul 02 06:34:26 3053 9913 A -0.2210 0.9492 10.2N 95.8E 77 191 07m03s
11443 04 2819 Jul 13 13:03:16 3167 10136 A -0.3075 0.9502 3.8N 1.7W 72 192 06m58s
11488 05 2837 Jul 23 19:31:12 3283 10359 A -0.3949 0.9508 3.5S 99.8W 67 196 06m47s
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
11534 06 2855 Aug 04 02:02:02 3401 10582 A -0.4802 0.9510 11.3S 160.5E 61 204 06m32s
11581 07 2873 Aug 14 08:34:15 3521 10805 A -0.5646 0.9506 19.8S 59.8E 55 218 06m12s
11628 08 2891 Aug 25 15:12:39 3644 11028 A -0.6441 0.9498 28.6S 43.3W 50 238 05m52s
11675 09 2909 Sep 05 21:55:40 3768 11251 A -0.7198 0.9486 37.7S 148.5W 44 269 05m31s
11720 10 2927 Sep 17 04:46:05 3894 11474 A -0.7897 0.9470 47.1S 103.2E 38 314 05m10s
11764 11 2945 Sep 27 11:43:51 4023 11697 A -0.8539 0.9451 56.6S 9.2W 31 387 04m50s
11808 12 2963 Oct 08 18:51:34 4153 11920 A -0.9105 0.9428 66.0S 129.0W 24 514 04m32s
11852 13 2981 Oct 19 02:08:17 4286 12143 A -0.9600 0.9400 74.1S 93.7E 16 820 04m14s
11896 14 2999 Oct 30 09:34:33 4420 12366 A- -1.0023 0.9586 70.9S 84.7W 0
----- 15 3017 Nov 10 17:10:26 4557 12589 P -1.0372 0.8987 70.0S 149.2E 0
----- 16 3035 Nov 22 00:56:10 4696 12812 P -1.0649 0.8511 69.1S 21.3E 0
----- 17 3053 Dec 02 08:50:05 4837 13035 P -1.0866 0.8142 68.0S 108.0W 0
----- 18 3071 Dec 13 16:52:15 4979 13258 P -1.1023 0.7874 66.9S 121.2E 0
----- 19 3089 Dec 24 01:00:48 5124 13481 P -1.1136 0.7683 65.9S 10.7W 0
----- 20 3108 Jan 05 09:15:32 5272 13704 P -1.1207 0.7566 64.9S 143.7W 0
----- 21 3126 Jan 15 17:32:44 5421 13927 P -1.1266 0.7472 63.9S 83.0E 0
----- 22 3144 Jan 27 01:53:36 5572 14150 P -1.1302 0.7416 63.1S 50.9W 0
----- 23 3162 Feb 06 10:13:36 5725 14373 P -1.1352 0.7337 62.4S 175.7E 0
----- 24 3180 Feb 17 18:33:35 5880 14596 P -1.1408 0.7250 61.9S 42.5E 0
----- 25 3198 Feb 28 02:49:03 6038 14819 P -1.1507 0.7087 61.5S 89.4W 0
----- 26 3216 Mar 10 11:02:26 6197 15042 P -1.1629 0.6883 61.2S 139.3E 0
----- 27 3234 Mar 21 19:09:35 6359 15265 P -1.1811 0.6574 61.2S 9.5E 0
----- 28 3252 Apr 01 03:11:27 6523 15488 P -1.2039 0.6178 61.3S 118.9W 0
----- 29 3270 Apr 12 11:05:55 6688 15711 P -1.2333 0.5662 61.6S 114.5E 0
----- 30 3288 Apr 22 18:54:48 6856 15934 P -1.2678 0.5048 62.0S 10.8W 0
----- 31 3306 May 05 02:36:34 7026 16157 P -1.3088 0.4309 62.6S 134.5W 0
----- 32 3324 May 15 10:12:08 7198 16380 P -1.3555 0.3458 63.3S 103.1E 0
----- 33 3342 May 26 17:41:58 7372 16603 P -1.4075 0.2501 64.1S 18.0W 0
----- 34 3360 Jun 06 01:07:24 7548 16826 P -1.4633 0.1464 65.0S 138.3W 0
----- 35 3378 Jun 17 08:27:56 7726 17049 Pe -1.5236 0.0332 65.9S 102.2E 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)"
