The periodicity and recurrence of solar (and lunar) 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.
Solar eclipses of Saros 160 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 2181 May 13. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3443 Jun 20. The total duration of Saros series 160 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2181 May 13 14:55:43 TD
Last Eclipse = 3443 Jun 20 14:48:56 TD
Duration of Saros 160 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 160 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 160 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 26 | 36.6% |
| Annular | A | 20 | 28.2% |
| Total | T | 22 | 31.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.2% |
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 160 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 160 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 45 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 44 | 97.8% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.2% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 160: 7P 20A 3H 22T 19P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 160 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 2866 Jul 03 Duration = 04m59s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 2722 Apr 08 Duration = 02m06s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2307 Jul 30 Duration = 03m37s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2650 Feb 22 Duration = 00m09s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2704 Mar 27 Duration = 01m29s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2668 Mar 05 Duration = 00m21s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 3118 Dec 05 Magnitude = 0.9677
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 3443 Jun 20 Magnitude = 0.0482
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 160 are presented in the following catalog. The sequence number in the first column links to a global map showing regions of eclipse visibility. A detailed key and additional information about the catalog can be found at: Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series.
For an animation showing how the eclipse path changes with each member of the series, see Saros 160 Animation.
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
01 -34 2181 May 13 14:55:43 397 2243 Pb -1.5323 0.0510 69.4S 16.9W 0 335
02 -33 2199 May 24 21:42:07 440 2466 P -1.4596 0.1742 68.5S 130.1W 0 347
03 -32 2217 Jun 05 04:22:20 485 2689 P -1.3807 0.3094 67.5S 118.9E 0 357
04 -31 2235 Jun 16 11:00:36 531 2912 P -1.2990 0.4502 66.5S 8.8E 0 8
05 -30 2253 Jun 26 17:36:11 580 3135 P -1.2139 0.5981 65.5S 100.1W 0 18
06 -29 2271 Jul 08 00:13:02 631 3358 P -1.1284 0.7474 64.5S 151.1E 0 27
07 -28 2289 Jul 18 06:50:58 684 3581 P -1.0426 0.8980 63.6S 42.3E 0 37
08 -27 2307 Jul 30 13:31:16 739 3804 A -0.9574 0.9602 50.0S 48.7W 16 30 501 03m37s
09 -26 2325 Aug 09 20:16:24 796 4027 A -0.8749 0.9648 40.3S 146.1W 29 30 256 03m24s
10 -25 2343 Aug 21 03:07:05 855 4250 A -0.7957 0.9679 35.1S 112.8E 37 31 186 03m09s
11 -24 2361 Aug 31 10:04:30 917 4473 A -0.7211 0.9701 32.2S 9.7E 44 33 151 02m54s
12 -23 2379 Sep 11 17:09:32 980 4696 A -0.6518 0.9717 30.9S 95.4W 49 34 130 02m42s
13 -22 2397 Sep 22 00:23:55 1046 4919 A -0.5892 0.9728 30.9S 157.2E 54 34 118 02m34s
14 -21 2415 Oct 03 07:47:48 1113 5142 A -0.5335 0.9736 31.8S 47.4E 58 34 110 02m27s
15 -20 2433 Oct 13 15:20:16 1183 5365 A -0.4840 0.9742 33.4S 64.2W 61 33 104 02m23s
16 -19 2451 Oct 24 23:03:09 1254 5588 A -0.4424 0.9746 35.3S 178.3W 64 31 101 02m21s
17 -18 2469 Nov 04 06:55:37 1328 5811 A -0.4081 0.9750 37.5S 65.7E 66 29 97 02m19s
18 -17 2487 Nov 15 14:57:35 1404 6034 A -0.3807 0.9756 39.5S 52.3W 67 25 94 02m16s
19 -16 2505 Nov 26 23:07:04 1482 6257 A -0.3588 0.9763 41.2S 171.6W 69 20 91 02m13s
20 -15 2523 Dec 08 07:24:54 1561 6480 A -0.3431 0.9774 42.4S 67.5E 70 15 86 02m08s
21 -14 2541 Dec 18 15:48:55 1643 6703 A -0.3319 0.9788 42.8S 54.7W 70 9 80 02m01s
22 -13 2559 Dec 30 00:17:19 1728 6926 A -0.3237 0.9808 42.2S 177.9W 71 3 72 01m50s
23 -12 2578 Jan 09 08:49:00 1814 7149 A -0.3176 0.9831 40.7S 57.7E 71 357 63 01m37s
24 -11 2596 Jan 20 17:22:01 1902 7372 A -0.3119 0.9862 38.3S 67.6W 72 352 51 01m20s
25 -10 2614 Feb 01 01:55:16 1992 7595 A -0.3058 0.9897 35.0S 166.3E 72 348 38 01m00s
26 -09 2632 Feb 12 10:25:37 2085 7818 A -0.2969 0.9938 30.9S 40.1E 73 345 23 00m36s
27 -08 2650 Feb 22 18:53:59 2179 8041 A -0.2856 0.9984 26.2S 86.4W 73 343 6 00m09s
28 -07 2668 Mar 05 03:17:08 2276 8264 H -0.2697 1.0035 21.0S 147.7E 74 342 13 00m21s
29 -06 2686 Mar 16 11:34:58 2374 8487 H -0.2486 1.0090 15.4S 22.6E 76 342 32 00m54s
30 -05 2704 Mar 27 19:45:56 2475 8710 H -0.2211 1.0148 9.5S 101.1W 77 342 52 01m29s
31 -04 2722 Apr 08 03:51:03 2577 8933 T -0.1881 1.0208 3.5S 136.6E 79 343 72 02m06s
32 -03 2740 Apr 18 11:49:23 2682 9156 T -0.1487 1.0268 2.7N 15.9E 81 345 92 02m43s
33 -02 2758 Apr 29 19:40:31 2789 9379 T -0.1026 1.0328 8.9N 102.7W 84 347 111 03m18s
34 -01 2776 May 10 03:25:50 2898 9602 T -0.0507 1.0386 14.9N 140.5E 87 350 130 03m50s
35 00 2794 May 21 11:05:18 3009 9825 T 0.0070 1.0441 20.7N 25.6E 89 175 147 04m16s
36 01 2812 May 31 18:39:58 3122 10048 Tm 0.0694 1.0493 26.2N 87.3W 86 178 164 04m36s
37 02 2830 Jun 12 02:09:55 3237 10271 T 0.1365 1.0538 31.1N 161.8E 82 182 180 04m50s
38 03 2848 Jun 22 09:37:37 3355 10494 T 0.2062 1.0578 35.3N 52.3E 78 187 195 04m57s
39 04 2866 Jul 03 17:03:16 3474 10717 T 0.2785 1.0610 38.7N 55.8W 74 193 209 04m59s
40 05 2884 Jul 14 00:27:39 3595 10940 T 0.3523 1.0635 41.3N 162.8W 69 199 222 04m58s
TD of
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Ecl. Sun Sun Path Central
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num. Type Gamma Mag. Lat. Long. Alt Azm Width Dur.
s ° ° ° ° km
41 06 2902 Jul 26 07:52:48 3719 11163 T 0.4260 1.0651 42.9N 90.4E 65 205 235 04m54s
42 07 2920 Aug 05 15:19:10 3844 11386 T 0.4991 1.0660 43.8N 16.6W 60 210 248 04m48s
43 08 2938 Aug 16 22:49:03 3972 11609 T 0.5697 1.0660 43.9N 124.7W 55 215 261 04m42s
44 09 2956 Aug 27 06:20:57 4101 11832 T 0.6387 1.0653 43.8N 126.2E 50 218 274 04m34s
45 10 2974 Sep 07 13:59:21 4233 12055 T 0.7028 1.0638 43.5N 14.9E 45 220 289 04m25s
46 11 2992 Sep 17 21:42:08 4367 12278 T 0.7636 1.0617 43.5N 98.1W 40 221 307 04m16s
47 12 3010 Sep 30 05:32:38 4503 12501 T 0.8180 1.0589 43.8N 146.3E 35 221 330 04m05s
48 13 3028 Oct 10 13:28:55 4641 12724 T 0.8679 1.0556 44.9N 28.8E 29 221 362 03m53s
49 14 3046 Oct 21 21:34:28 4781 12947 T 0.9104 1.0520 46.7N 91.6W 24 219 409 03m38s
50 15 3064 Nov 01 05:46:35 4923 13170 T 0.9478 1.0479 49.8N 146.2E 18 217 497 03m20s
51 16 3082 Nov 12 14:06:37 5067 13393 T 0.9789 1.0433 54.7N 22.5E 11 216 734 02m57s
52 17 3100 Nov 23 22:33:38 5213 13616 T+ 1.0045 1.0050 63.6N 98.5W 0 219 - -
53 18 3118 Dec 05 07:08:23 5362 13839 P 1.0236 0.9677 64.5N 123.9E 0 209
54 19 3136 Dec 15 15:48:20 5512 14062 P 1.0390 0.9376 65.5N 15.2W 0 199
55 20 3154 Dec 27 00:33:10 5664 14285 P 1.0503 0.9153 66.5N 156.0W 0 188
56 21 3173 Jan 06 09:21:40 5819 14508 P 1.0588 0.8987 67.6N 61.8E 0 177
57 22 3191 Jan 17 18:13:12 5976 14731 P 1.0647 0.8871 68.7N 81.7W 0 166
58 23 3209 Jan 28 03:04:14 6134 14954 P 1.0711 0.8749 69.7N 134.3E 0 154
59 24 3227 Feb 08 11:55:28 6295 15177 P 1.0772 0.8632 70.6N 10.4W 0 141
60 25 3245 Feb 18 20:43:30 6458 15400 P 1.0861 0.8465 71.4N 154.9W 0 128
61 26 3263 Mar 02 05:29:09 6623 15623 P 1.0969 0.8265 71.9N 60.6E 0 114
62 27 3281 Mar 12 14:08:09 6790 15846 P 1.1129 0.7964 72.2N 82.6W 0 100
63 28 3299 Mar 23 22:43:04 6959 16069 P 1.1324 0.7600 72.3N 135.0E 0 85
64 29 3317 Apr 04 07:09:55 7130 16292 P 1.1584 0.7111 72.0N 5.2W 0 71
65 30 3335 Apr 15 15:30:11 7303 16515 P 1.1899 0.6518 71.6N 143.4W 0 57
66 31 3353 Apr 25 23:41:33 7478 16738 P 1.2286 0.5786 70.9N 81.1E 0 44
67 32 3371 May 07 07:46:17 7655 16961 P 1.2726 0.4952 70.1N 52.0W 0 32
68 33 3389 May 17 15:42:38 7835 17184 P 1.3232 0.3991 69.2N 177.6E 0 20
69 34 3407 May 29 23:31:28 8016 17407 P 1.3796 0.2919 68.2N 49.7E 0 9
70 35 3425 Jun 09 07:13:18 8200 17630 P 1.4414 0.1744 67.2N 76.0W 0 358
71 36 3443 Jun 20 14:48:56 8385 17853 Pe 1.5079 0.0482 66.2N 160.5E 0 348
[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 the Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is virtually identical 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 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.
Special thanks to Dan McGlaun for extracting the individual eclipse maps from the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 for use in this catalog and for preparing the Saros series animations from these maps.
The Besselian elements used in the predictions were kindly provided by Jean Meeus. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Some of the information presented on this web site is based on data originally published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)"
