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 163 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 2286 Mar 25. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3566 May 13. The total duration of Saros series 163 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2286 Mar 25 20:37:48 TD
Last Eclipse = 3566 May 13 03:50:29 TD
Duration of Saros 163 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 163 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 163 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 30 | 41.7% |
| Annular | A | 20 | 27.8% |
| Total | T | 18 | 25.0% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.6% |
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 163 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 163 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 97.6% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.4% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 163: 9P 20A 4H 18T 21P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 163 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 3061 Jul 09 Duration = 06m20s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 2881 Mar 21 Duration = 01m49s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2448 Jul 01 Duration = 02m26s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2791 Jan 26 Duration = 00m15s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2863 Mar 10 Duration = 01m21s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2809 Feb 05 Duration = 00m06s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 2430 Jun 21 Magnitude = 0.9438
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 3566 May 13 Magnitude = 0.0294
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 163 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 163 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 -33 2286 Mar 25 20:37:48 674 3540 Pb 1.5392 0.0472 61.0N 141.1E 0 86
02 -32 2304 Apr 06 04:00:21 729 3763 P 1.4957 0.1189 61.2N 22.1E 0 77
03 -31 2322 Apr 17 11:14:23 786 3986 P 1.4446 0.2041 61.5N 94.9W 0 68
04 -30 2340 Apr 27 18:21:32 844 4209 P 1.3873 0.3005 62.0N 149.8E 0 59
05 -29 2358 May 09 01:21:14 905 4432 P 1.3231 0.4097 62.6N 36.2E 0 50
06 -28 2376 May 19 08:14:44 968 4655 P 1.2528 0.5304 63.3N 76.1W 0 41
07 -27 2394 May 30 15:03:03 1033 4878 P 1.1775 0.6609 64.1N 172.7E 0 32
08 -26 2412 Jun 09 21:48:04 1100 5101 P 1.0988 0.7983 65.0N 62.1E 0 22
09 -25 2430 Jun 21 04:29:26 1170 5324 P 1.0160 0.9438 66.0N 48.0W 0 13
10 -24 2448 Jul 01 11:10:16 1241 5547 A 0.9316 0.9620 87.6N 135.3W 21 25 389 02m26s
11 -23 2466 Jul 12 17:50:51 1314 5770 A 0.8461 0.9676 79.5N 65.8W 32 196 221 02m18s
12 -22 2484 Jul 23 00:34:35 1390 5993 A 0.7619 0.9720 68.9N 166.0W 40 198 156 02m10s
13 -21 2502 Aug 04 07:19:53 1467 6216 A 0.6779 0.9756 58.9N 91.6E 47 199 119 02m03s
14 -20 2520 Aug 14 14:11:41 1547 6439 A 0.5984 0.9784 49.7N 12.9W 53 200 96 01m57s
15 -19 2538 Aug 25 21:08:14 1628 6662 A 0.5217 0.9806 40.7N 119.1W 58 200 81 01m52s
16 -18 2556 Sep 05 04:13:26 1712 6885 A 0.4511 0.9823 32.2N 132.5E 63 200 70 01m48s
17 -17 2574 Sep 16 11:25:01 1798 7108 A 0.3848 0.9835 24.0N 22.4E 67 199 63 01m45s
18 -16 2592 Sep 26 18:47:01 1886 7331 A 0.3261 0.9844 16.4N 90.2W 71 198 58 01m42s
19 -15 2610 Oct 09 02:17:27 1975 7554 A 0.2737 0.9849 9.2N 155.4E 74 197 55 01m41s
20 -14 2628 Oct 19 09:57:24 2067 7777 A 0.2284 0.9854 2.7N 39.0E 77 195 53 01m39s
21 -13 2646 Oct 30 17:46:59 2161 8000 A 0.1902 0.9857 3.2S 79.4W 79 193 51 01m38s
22 -12 2664 Nov 10 01:46:10 2258 8223 A 0.1591 0.9861 8.2S 160.4E 81 190 50 01m36s
23 -11 2682 Nov 21 09:54:31 2356 8446 A 0.1351 0.9866 12.2S 38.4E 82 187 48 01m32s
24 -10 2700 Dec 02 18:09:37 2456 8669 A 0.1159 0.9874 15.3S 84.8W 83 183 45 01m26s
25 -09 2718 Dec 14 02:32:46 2558 8892 A 0.1027 0.9885 17.3S 150.5E 84 178 41 01m17s
26 -08 2736 Dec 24 11:00:57 2663 9115 A 0.0927 0.9900 18.2S 24.7E 85 173 35 01m06s
27 -07 2755 Jan 04 19:33:47 2769 9338 A 0.0860 0.9920 17.9S 102.2W 85 169 28 00m52s
28 -06 2773 Jan 15 04:08:33 2878 9561 A 0.0801 0.9945 16.8S 130.4E 86 164 19 00m35s
29 -05 2791 Jan 26 12:45:16 2988 9784 A 0.0751 0.9975 14.8S 2.3E 86 160 9 00m15s
30 -04 2809 Feb 05 21:20:58 3101 10007 H 0.0684 1.0011 12.1S 125.8W 86 157 4 00m06s
31 -03 2827 Feb 17 05:54:44 3216 10230 H 0.0594 1.0052 9.0S 106.3E 87 154 18 00m30s
32 -02 2845 Feb 27 14:25:03 3333 10453 H 0.0467 1.0098 5.7S 20.8W 87 152 34 00m55s
33 -01 2863 Mar 10 22:51:08 3452 10676 H 0.0299 1.0147 2.3S 146.9W 88 151 50 01m21s
34 00 2881 Mar 21 07:10:48 3573 10899 T 0.0071 1.0201 0.9N 88.6E 90 151 68 01m49s
35 01 2899 Apr 01 15:24:34 3696 11122 T -0.0212 1.0255 3.8N 34.3W 89 331 87 02m17s
36 02 2917 Apr 12 23:31:15 3821 11345 T -0.0560 1.0312 6.2N 155.2W 87 333 106 02m48s
37 03 2935 Apr 24 07:32:14 3948 11568 Tm -0.0964 1.0368 7.9N 85.5E 85 335 124 03m20s
38 04 2953 May 04 15:24:35 4077 11791 T -0.1443 1.0424 8.6N 31.5W 82 338 143 03m54s
39 05 2971 May 15 23:12:11 4209 12014 T -0.1967 1.0476 8.4N 147.3W 79 341 161 04m27s
40 06 2989 May 26 06:52:44 4342 12237 T -0.2555 1.0525 7.0N 98.6E 75 345 179 05m00s
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 07 3007 Jun 07 14:29:56 4478 12460 T -0.3177 1.0568 4.5N 15.0W 72 350 197 05m30s
42 08 3025 Jun 17 22:01:13 4615 12683 T -0.3855 1.0606 0.8N 127.6W 67 354 216 05m56s
43 09 3043 Jun 29 05:31:36 4755 12906 T -0.4545 1.0636 4.0S 119.4E 63 358 234 06m13s
44 10 3061 Jul 09 12:58:57 4897 13129 T -0.5262 1.0659 9.7S 6.5E 58 2 253 06m20s
45 11 3079 Jul 20 20:26:23 5040 13352 T -0.5984 1.0673 16.4S 107.2W 53 6 274 06m16s
46 12 3097 Jul 31 03:53:09 5186 13575 T -0.6716 1.0678 23.9S 138.5E 48 10 298 06m02s
47 13 3115 Aug 12 11:22:49 5334 13798 T -0.7426 1.0674 32.2S 22.4E 42 14 327 05m38s
48 14 3133 Aug 22 18:54:45 5484 14021 T -0.8120 1.0661 41.2S 95.7W 35 19 368 05m07s
49 15 3151 Sep 03 02:30:19 5636 14244 T -0.8784 1.0637 50.9S 142.9E 28 26 435 04m30s
50 16 3169 Sep 13 10:10:50 5790 14467 T -0.9408 1.0600 61.6S 14.5E 19 39 588 03m49s
51 17 3187 Sep 24 17:57:12 5947 14690 T- -0.9984 1.0234 72.2S 158.4W 0 92 - -
52 18 3205 Oct 05 01:49:54 6105 14913 P -1.0510 0.9212 72.1S 69.9E 0 106
53 19 3223 Oct 16 09:48:58 6265 15136 P -1.0983 0.8295 71.7S 63.0W 0 120
54 20 3241 Oct 26 17:55:44 6428 15359 P -1.1394 0.7500 71.1S 162.5E 0 133
55 21 3259 Nov 07 02:10:00 6592 15582 P -1.1745 0.6826 70.3S 26.8E 0 146
56 22 3277 Nov 17 10:30:51 6759 15805 P -1.2043 0.6253 69.3S 110.0W 0 158
57 23 3295 Nov 28 18:59:32 6927 16028 P -1.2281 0.5799 68.3S 111.9E 0 170
58 24 3313 Dec 10 03:34:32 7098 16251 P -1.2471 0.5437 67.3S 27.3W 0 181
59 25 3331 Dec 21 12:15:55 7271 16474 P -1.2610 0.5174 66.2S 167.5W 0 192
60 26 3349 Dec 31 21:00:17 7446 16697 P -1.2728 0.4953 65.2S 52.1E 0 202
61 27 3368 Jan 12 05:49:25 7623 16920 P -1.2809 0.4802 64.3S 89.2W 0 212
62 28 3386 Jan 22 14:39:48 7802 17143 P -1.2885 0.4660 63.4S 129.5E 0 222
63 29 3404 Feb 03 23:31:04 7983 17366 P -1.2954 0.4531 62.7S 11.7W 0 232
64 30 3422 Feb 14 08:20:23 8166 17589 P -1.3040 0.4370 62.1S 152.2W 0 241
65 31 3440 Feb 25 17:07:57 8351 17812 P -1.3140 0.4182 61.6S 67.9E 0 250
66 32 3458 Mar 08 01:51:07 8538 18035 P -1.3276 0.3926 61.4S 70.8W 0 259
67 33 3476 Mar 18 10:28:45 8728 18258 P -1.3457 0.3586 61.3S 152.0E 0 269
68 34 3494 Mar 29 19:00:19 8919 18481 P -1.3687 0.3152 61.3S 16.2E 0 278
69 35 3512 Apr 10 03:24:55 9113 18704 P -1.3969 0.2618 61.6S 117.8W 0 287
70 36 3530 Apr 21 11:41:23 9308 18927 P -1.4317 0.1959 61.9S 110.1E 0 296
71 37 3548 May 01 19:49:58 9506 19150 P -1.4726 0.1185 62.5S 20.1W 0 305
72 38 3566 May 13 03:50:29 9706 19373 Pe -1.5196 0.0294 63.1S 148.5W 0 314
[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)"
