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 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 central eclipses of Saros 163 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 163 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2448 Jul 01 | 02m26s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2791 Jan 26 | 00m15s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 3061 Jul 09 | 06m20s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 2881 Mar 21 | 01m49s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2863 Mar 10 | 01m21s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2809 Feb 05 | 00m06s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2430 Jun 21 | - | 0.94384 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3566 May 13 | - | 0.02936 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 163. 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 163.
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
10180 -33 2286 Mar 25 20:37:48 674 3540 Pb 1.5392 0.0472 61.0N 141.1E 0
10225 -32 2304 Apr 06 04:00:21 729 3763 P 1.4957 0.1189 61.2N 22.1E 0
10270 -31 2322 Apr 17 11:14:23 786 3986 P 1.4446 0.2041 61.5N 94.9W 0
10315 -30 2340 Apr 27 18:21:32 844 4209 P 1.3873 0.3005 62.0N 149.8E 0
10361 -29 2358 May 09 01:21:14 905 4432 P 1.3231 0.4097 62.6N 36.2E 0
10405 -28 2376 May 19 08:14:44 968 4655 P 1.2528 0.5304 63.3N 76.1W 0
10449 -27 2394 May 30 15:03:03 1033 4878 P 1.1775 0.6609 64.1N 172.7E 0
10493 -26 2412 Jun 09 21:48:04 1100 5101 P 1.0988 0.7983 65.0N 62.1E 0
10536 -25 2430 Jun 21 04:29:26 1170 5324 P 1.0160 0.9438 66.0N 48.0W 0
10579 -24 2448 Jul 01 11:10:16 1241 5547 A 0.9316 0.9620 87.6N 135.3W 21 389 02m26s
10622 -23 2466 Jul 12 17:50:51 1314 5770 A 0.8461 0.9676 79.5N 65.8W 32 221 02m18s
10664 -22 2484 Jul 23 00:34:35 1390 5993 A 0.7619 0.9720 68.9N 166.0W 40 156 02m10s
10706 -21 2502 Aug 04 07:19:53 1467 6216 A 0.6779 0.9756 58.9N 91.6E 47 119 02m03s
10747 -20 2520 Aug 14 14:11:41 1547 6439 A 0.5984 0.9784 49.7N 12.9W 53 96 01m57s
10788 -19 2538 Aug 25 21:08:14 1628 6662 A 0.5217 0.9806 40.7N 119.1W 58 81 01m52s
10828 -18 2556 Sep 05 04:13:26 1712 6885 A 0.4511 0.9823 32.2N 132.5E 63 70 01m48s
10868 -17 2574 Sep 16 11:25:01 1798 7108 A 0.3848 0.9835 24.0N 22.4E 67 63 01m45s
10908 -16 2592 Sep 26 18:47:01 1886 7331 A 0.3261 0.9844 16.4N 90.2W 71 58 01m42s
10950 -15 2610 Oct 09 02:17:27 1975 7554 A 0.2737 0.9849 9.2N 155.4E 74 55 01m41s
10991 -14 2628 Oct 19 09:57:24 2067 7777 A 0.2284 0.9854 2.7N 39.0E 77 53 01m39s
11031 -13 2646 Oct 30 17:46:59 2161 8000 A 0.1902 0.9857 3.2S 79.4W 79 51 01m38s
11071 -12 2664 Nov 10 01:46:10 2258 8223 A 0.1591 0.9861 8.2S 160.4E 81 50 01m36s
11112 -11 2682 Nov 21 09:54:31 2356 8446 A 0.1351 0.9866 12.2S 38.4E 82 48 01m32s
11154 -10 2700 Dec 02 18:09:37 2456 8669 A 0.1159 0.9874 15.3S 84.8W 83 45 01m26s
11196 -09 2718 Dec 14 02:32:46 2558 8892 A 0.1027 0.9885 17.3S 150.5E 84 41 01m17s
11238 -08 2736 Dec 24 11:00:57 2663 9115 A 0.0927 0.9900 18.2S 24.7E 85 35 01m06s
11281 -07 2755 Jan 04 19:33:47 2769 9338 A 0.0860 0.9920 17.9S 102.2W 85 28 00m52s
11326 -06 2773 Jan 15 04:08:33 2878 9561 A 0.0801 0.9945 16.8S 130.4E 86 19 00m35s
11372 -05 2791 Jan 26 12:45:16 2988 9784 A 0.0751 0.9975 14.8S 2.3E 86 9 00m15s
11417 -04 2809 Feb 05 21:20:58 3101 10007 H 0.0684 1.0011 12.1S 125.8W 86 4 00m06s
11462 -03 2827 Feb 17 05:54:44 3216 10230 H 0.0594 1.0052 9.0S 106.3E 87 18 00m30s
11508 -02 2845 Feb 27 14:25:03 3333 10453 H 0.0467 1.0098 5.7S 20.8W 87 34 00m55s
11554 -01 2863 Mar 10 22:51:08 3452 10676 H 0.0299 1.0147 2.3S 146.9W 88 50 01m21s
11600 00 2881 Mar 21 07:10:48 3573 10899 T 0.0071 1.0201 0.9N 88.6E 90 68 01m49s
11647 01 2899 Apr 01 15:24:34 3696 11122 T -0.0212 1.0255 3.8N 34.3W 89 87 02m17s
11693 02 2917 Apr 12 23:31:15 3821 11345 T -0.0560 1.0312 6.2N 155.2W 87 106 02m48s
11738 03 2935 Apr 24 07:32:14 3948 11568 Tm -0.0964 1.0368 7.9N 85.5E 85 124 03m20s
11782 04 2953 May 04 15:24:35 4077 11791 T -0.1443 1.0424 8.6N 31.5W 82 143 03m54s
11826 05 2971 May 15 23:12:11 4209 12014 T -0.1967 1.0476 8.4N 147.3W 79 161 04m27s
11870 06 2989 May 26 06:52:44 4342 12237 T -0.2555 1.0525 7.0N 98.6E 75 179 05m00s
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
----- 07 3007 Jun 07 14:29:56 4478 12460 T -0.3177 1.0568 4.5N 15.0W 72 197 05m30s
----- 08 3025 Jun 17 22:01:13 4615 12683 T -0.3855 1.0606 0.8N 127.6W 67 216 05m56s
----- 09 3043 Jun 29 05:31:36 4755 12906 T -0.4545 1.0636 4.0S 119.4E 63 234 06m13s
----- 10 3061 Jul 09 12:58:57 4897 13129 T -0.5262 1.0659 9.7S 6.5E 58 253 06m20s
----- 11 3079 Jul 20 20:26:23 5040 13352 T -0.5984 1.0673 16.4S 107.2W 53 274 06m16s
----- 12 3097 Jul 31 03:53:09 5186 13575 T -0.6716 1.0678 23.9S 138.5E 48 298 06m02s
----- 13 3115 Aug 12 11:22:49 5334 13798 T -0.7426 1.0674 32.2S 22.4E 42 327 05m38s
----- 14 3133 Aug 22 18:54:45 5484 14021 T -0.8120 1.0661 41.2S 95.7W 35 368 05m07s
----- 15 3151 Sep 03 02:30:19 5636 14244 T -0.8784 1.0637 50.9S 142.9E 28 435 04m30s
----- 16 3169 Sep 13 10:10:50 5790 14467 T -0.9408 1.0600 61.6S 14.5E 19 588 03m49s
----- 17 3187 Sep 24 17:57:12 5947 14690 T- -0.9984 1.0234 72.2S 158.4W 0
----- 18 3205 Oct 05 01:49:54 6105 14913 P -1.0510 0.9212 72.1S 69.9E 0
----- 19 3223 Oct 16 09:48:58 6265 15136 P -1.0983 0.8295 71.7S 63.0W 0
----- 20 3241 Oct 26 17:55:44 6428 15359 P -1.1394 0.7500 71.1S 162.5E 0
----- 21 3259 Nov 07 02:10:00 6592 15582 P -1.1745 0.6826 70.3S 26.8E 0
----- 22 3277 Nov 17 10:30:51 6759 15805 P -1.2043 0.6253 69.3S 110.0W 0
----- 23 3295 Nov 28 18:59:32 6927 16028 P -1.2281 0.5799 68.3S 111.9E 0
----- 24 3313 Dec 10 03:34:32 7098 16251 P -1.2471 0.5437 67.3S 27.3W 0
----- 25 3331 Dec 21 12:15:55 7271 16474 P -1.2610 0.5174 66.2S 167.5W 0
----- 26 3349 Dec 31 21:00:17 7446 16697 P -1.2728 0.4953 65.2S 52.1E 0
----- 27 3368 Jan 12 05:49:25 7623 16920 P -1.2809 0.4802 64.3S 89.2W 0
----- 28 3386 Jan 22 14:39:48 7802 17143 P -1.2885 0.4660 63.4S 129.5E 0
----- 29 3404 Feb 03 23:31:04 7983 17366 P -1.2954 0.4531 62.7S 11.7W 0
----- 30 3422 Feb 14 08:20:23 8166 17589 P -1.3040 0.4370 62.1S 152.2W 0
----- 31 3440 Feb 25 17:07:57 8351 17812 P -1.3140 0.4182 61.6S 67.9E 0
----- 32 3458 Mar 08 01:51:07 8538 18035 P -1.3276 0.3926 61.4S 70.8W 0
----- 33 3476 Mar 18 10:28:45 8728 18258 P -1.3457 0.3586 61.3S 152.0E 0
----- 34 3494 Mar 29 19:00:19 8919 18481 P -1.3687 0.3152 61.3S 16.2E 0
----- 35 3512 Apr 10 03:24:55 9113 18704 P -1.3969 0.2618 61.6S 117.8W 0
----- 36 3530 Apr 21 11:41:23 9308 18927 P -1.4317 0.1959 61.9S 110.1E 0
----- 37 3548 May 01 19:49:58 9506 19150 P -1.4726 0.1185 62.5S 20.1W 0
----- 38 3566 May 13 03:50:29 9706 19373 Pe -1.5196 0.0294 63.1S 148.5W 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)"
