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 166 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 2228 Oct 29. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3599 Feb 08. The total duration of Saros series 166 is 1370.29 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2228 Oct 29 00:15:43 TD
Last Eclipse = 3599 Feb 08 19:54:09 TD
Duration of Saros 166 = 1370.29 Years
Saros 166 is composed of 77 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 166 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 77 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 35 | 45.5% |
| Annular | A | 21 | 27.3% |
| Total | T | 16 | 20.8% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 5 | 6.5% |
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 166 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 166 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 42 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 77 eclipses in Saros 166: 19P 21A 5H 16T 16P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 166 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 3202 Jun 12 Duration = 04m23s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 3040 Mar 05 Duration = 01m56s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2571 May 25 Duration = 04m21s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2931 Dec 30 Duration = 00m00s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 3022 Feb 23 Duration = 01m32s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2950 Jan 09 Duration = 00m13s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 3328 Aug 27 Magnitude = 0.9339
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 3599 Feb 08 Magnitude = 0.0153
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 166 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 166 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 -32 2228 Oct 29 00:15:43 514 2830 Pb -1.5410 0.0477 61.9S 57.7E 0 119
02 -31 2246 Nov 09 07:47:03 562 3053 P -1.5082 0.1036 62.5S 63.8W 0 129
03 -30 2264 Nov 19 15:28:13 612 3276 P -1.4830 0.1464 63.2S 172.0E 0 138
04 -29 2282 Nov 30 23:15:23 664 3499 P -1.4625 0.1812 64.1S 46.1E 0 148
05 -28 2300 Dec 12 07:09:43 719 3722 P -1.4473 0.2067 65.0S 81.9W 0 158
06 -27 2318 Dec 23 15:07:26 775 3945 P -1.4346 0.2279 66.1S 148.9E 0 168
07 -26 2337 Jan 02 23:09:44 833 4168 P -1.4252 0.2434 67.2S 18.0E 0 179
08 -25 2355 Jan 14 07:12:20 894 4391 P -1.4158 0.2588 68.2S 113.4W 0 190
09 -24 2373 Jan 24 15:14:59 957 4614 P -1.4062 0.2742 69.3S 114.5E 0 202
10 -23 2391 Feb 04 23:15:06 1021 4837 P -1.3944 0.2933 70.3S 17.6W 0 215
11 -22 2409 Feb 15 07:12:30 1088 5060 P -1.3802 0.3163 71.1S 149.6W 0 228
12 -21 2427 Feb 26 15:03:45 1157 5283 P -1.3607 0.3484 71.7S 79.3E 0 241
13 -20 2445 Mar 08 22:49:34 1228 5506 P -1.3361 0.3891 72.1S 50.9W 0 255
14 -19 2463 Mar 20 06:27:54 1301 5729 P -1.3051 0.4410 72.3S 179.5W 0 270
15 -18 2481 Mar 30 14:00:07 1376 5952 P -1.2685 0.5027 72.1S 53.5E 0 284
16 -17 2499 Apr 10 21:22:39 1453 6175 P -1.2233 0.5797 71.8S 70.8W 0 298
17 -16 2517 Apr 22 04:39:28 1532 6398 P -1.1726 0.6669 71.2S 166.8E 0 311
18 -15 2535 May 03 11:47:37 1613 6621 P -1.1138 0.7691 70.4S 47.1E 0 324
19 -14 2553 May 13 18:51:21 1696 6844 P -1.0504 0.8800 69.5S 70.8W 0 336
20 -13 2571 May 25 01:47:00 1782 7067 A -0.9794 0.9520 57.9S 169.4E 11 351 926 04m21s
21 -12 2589 Jun 04 08:40:23 1869 7290 A -0.9054 0.9600 42.8S 58.6E 25 359 345 04m10s
22 -11 2607 Jun 16 15:28:35 1959 7513 A -0.8258 0.9664 32.6S 47.0W 34 4 216 03m47s
23 -10 2625 Jun 26 22:15:44 2050 7736 A -0.7444 0.9720 24.6S 150.9W 42 8 150 03m17s
24 -09 2643 Jul 08 05:00:57 2144 7959 A -0.6602 0.9768 18.2S 106.7E 49 12 109 02m44s
25 -08 2661 Jul 18 11:48:08 2240 8182 A -0.5766 0.9811 13.2S 4.5E 55 16 81 02m12s
26 -07 2679 Jul 29 18:37:06 2338 8405 A -0.4933 0.9846 9.5S 97.5W 60 19 62 01m44s
27 -06 2697 Aug 09 01:29:22 2437 8628 A -0.4116 0.9877 6.9S 160.1E 66 23 47 01m20s
28 -05 2715 Aug 21 08:26:53 2539 8851 A -0.3333 0.9900 5.4S 56.7E 70 25 37 01m03s
29 -04 2733 Aug 31 15:30:17 2643 9074 A -0.2587 0.9920 4.9S 48.1W 75 27 29 00m49s
30 -03 2751 Sep 11 22:41:05 2750 9297 A -0.1895 0.9934 5.2S 154.6W 79 29 24 00m40s
31 -02 2769 Sep 22 05:59:23 2858 9520 A -0.1254 0.9944 6.1S 96.9E 83 29 20 00m33s
32 -01 2787 Oct 03 13:27:29 2968 9743 A -0.0685 0.9950 7.5S 14.0W 86 29 18 00m29s
33 00 2805 Oct 13 21:04:29 3080 9966 A -0.0181 0.9954 9.1S 127.2W 89 26 16 00m27s
34 01 2823 Oct 25 04:50:58 3195 10189 A 0.0252 0.9957 10.8S 117.2E 89 207 15 00m26s
35 02 2841 Nov 04 12:47:01 3311 10412 A 0.0615 0.9959 12.4S 0.7W 87 203 14 00m25s
36 03 2859 Nov 15 20:52:40 3430 10635 A 0.0901 0.9962 13.8S 121.1W 85 200 13 00m23s
37 04 2877 Nov 26 05:06:29 3550 10858 A 0.1130 0.9967 14.8S 116.6E 84 196 12 00m21s
38 05 2895 Dec 07 13:27:23 3673 11081 A 0.1306 0.9974 15.3S 7.4W 83 191 9 00m17s
39 06 2913 Dec 18 21:55:06 3798 11304 Am 0.1430 0.9985 15.2S 133.1W 82 187 5 00m10s
40 07 2931 Dec 30 06:28:24 3925 11527 A 0.1511 1.0000 14.5S 99.7E 81 182 0 00m00s
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 08 2950 Jan 09 15:04:40 4053 11750 H 0.1574 1.0020 13.0S 28.4W 81 178 7 00m13s
42 09 2968 Jan 20 23:43:38 4184 11973 H 0.1618 1.0044 10.8S 157.3W 81 174 16 00m29s
43 10 2986 Jan 31 08:22:37 4317 12196 H 0.1669 1.0075 7.8S 73.5E 80 170 26 00m48s
44 11 3004 Feb 12 17:01:39 4453 12419 H 0.1724 1.0110 4.2S 56.1W 80 167 38 01m09s
45 12 3022 Feb 23 01:36:38 4590 12642 H 0.1817 1.0150 0.0N 175.1E 80 165 52 01m32s
46 13 3040 Mar 05 10:09:38 4729 12865 T 0.1933 1.0194 4.8N 46.6E 79 163 68 01m56s
47 14 3058 Mar 16 18:36:24 4870 13088 T 0.2107 1.0242 10.1N 80.6W 78 162 84 02m21s
48 15 3076 Mar 27 02:58:45 5014 13311 T 0.2323 1.0292 15.7N 153.2E 76 162 102 02m46s
49 16 3094 Apr 07 11:13:06 5159 13534 T 0.2614 1.0344 21.6N 29.1E 75 162 120 03m10s
50 17 3112 Apr 18 19:22:29 5307 13757 T 0.2951 1.0396 27.7N 93.6W 73 163 139 03m32s
51 18 3130 Apr 30 03:24:00 5456 13980 T 0.3361 1.0448 33.9N 146.2E 70 165 158 03m50s
52 19 3148 May 10 11:19:16 5608 14203 T 0.3828 1.0497 40.1N 28.1E 67 168 179 04m05s
53 20 3166 May 21 19:07:42 5762 14426 T 0.4359 1.0542 46.1N 87.2W 64 172 199 04m15s
54 21 3184 Jun 01 02:51:09 5918 14649 T 0.4937 1.0583 51.8N 160.2E 60 177 221 04m21s
55 22 3202 Jun 12 10:29:30 6076 14872 T 0.5562 1.0617 57.1N 50.9E 56 184 245 04m23s
56 23 3220 Jun 22 18:03:29 6236 15095 T 0.6226 1.0645 61.6N 54.8W 51 193 271 04m20s
57 24 3238 Jul 04 01:34:36 6398 15318 T 0.6920 1.0664 65.0N 156.6W 46 205 301 04m15s
58 25 3256 Jul 14 09:04:09 6562 15541 T 0.7631 1.0673 67.2N 104.9E 40 219 341 04m06s
59 26 3274 Jul 25 16:32:20 6728 15764 T 0.8356 1.0672 68.0N 9.2E 33 235 400 03m55s
60 27 3292 Aug 05 00:01:29 6896 15987 T 0.9075 1.0658 67.7N 84.4W 24 253 514 03m39s
61 28 3310 Aug 17 07:32:01 7067 16210 T 0.9784 1.0619 65.7N 170.1W 11 277 1038 03m12s
62 29 3328 Aug 27 15:06:31 7239 16433 P 1.0465 0.9339 61.6N 92.2E 0 290
63 30 3346 Sep 07 22:43:18 7413 16656 P 1.1128 0.8052 61.4N 30.1W 0 281
64 31 3364 Sep 18 06:26:13 7590 16879 P 1.1742 0.6861 61.3N 153.8W 0 273
65 32 3382 Sep 29 14:13:38 7769 17102 P 1.2319 0.5743 61.3N 81.4E 0 264
66 33 3400 Oct 10 22:08:39 7949 17325 P 1.2836 0.4746 61.5N 45.3W 0 255
67 34 3418 Oct 22 06:09:00 8132 17548 P 1.3309 0.3839 61.8N 173.4W 0 246
68 35 3436 Nov 01 14:18:00 8317 17771 P 1.3714 0.3068 62.3N 56.2E 0 237
69 36 3454 Nov 12 22:33:20 8504 17994 P 1.4067 0.2400 63.0N 75.9W 0 228
70 37 3472 Nov 23 06:56:18 8693 18217 P 1.4357 0.1855 63.7N 149.9E 0 218
71 38 3490 Dec 04 15:25:29 8884 18440 P 1.4599 0.1407 64.6N 13.9E 0 209
72 39 3508 Dec 16 00:01:28 9077 18663 P 1.4783 0.1069 65.6N 124.1W 0 199
73 40 3526 Dec 27 08:42:20 9272 18886 P 1.4930 0.0801 66.6N 96.2E 0 188
74 41 3545 Jan 06 17:26:53 9469 19109 P 1.5048 0.0588 67.6N 44.8W 0 177
75 42 3563 Jan 18 02:14:51 9669 19332 P 1.5138 0.0427 68.7N 172.8E 0 166
76 43 3581 Jan 28 11:04:38 9870 19555 P 1.5211 0.0295 69.7N 29.3E 0 153
77 44 3599 Feb 08 19:54:09 10074 19778 Pe 1.5290 0.0153 70.6N 114.8W 0 141
[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)"
