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 169 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 2333 Sep 10. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3595 Oct 16. The total duration of Saros series 169 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2333 Sep 10 05:41:60 TD Last Eclipse = 3595 Oct 16 18:28:32 TD Duration of Saros 169 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 169 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 169 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 27 | 38.0% |
| Annular | A | 13 | 18.3% |
| Total | T | 15 | 21.1% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 16 | 22.5% |
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 169 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 169 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 42 | 95.5% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 169: 19P 13A 16H 15T 8P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 169 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 169 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2676 Apr 05 | 04m25s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2892 Aug 13 | 00m08s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 3397 Jun 17 | 05m28s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 3199 Feb 17 | 01m35s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 3181 Feb 06 | 01m18s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2910 Aug 26 | 00m06s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2658 Mar 26 | - | 0.90024 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3595 Oct 16 | - | 0.02847 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 169. 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 169.
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
10300 -33 2333 Sep 10 05:42:00 823 4127 Pb 1.5299 0.0592 72.0N 157.1W 0
10346 -32 2351 Sep 21 12:33:27 883 4350 P 1.4664 0.1680 72.2N 86.2E 0
10391 -31 2369 Oct 01 19:33:31 945 4573 P 1.4094 0.2651 72.1N 32.7W 0
10434 -30 2387 Oct 13 02:41:04 1009 4796 P 1.3579 0.3523 71.8N 153.3W 0
10478 -29 2405 Oct 23 09:58:55 1076 5019 P 1.3142 0.4261 71.3N 83.8E 0
10521 -28 2423 Nov 03 17:24:51 1144 5242 P 1.2769 0.4887 70.5N 40.5W 0
10564 -27 2441 Nov 14 00:59:17 1214 5465 P 1.2459 0.5404 69.6N 166.3W 0
10607 -26 2459 Nov 25 08:41:41 1287 5688 P 1.2211 0.5818 68.6N 66.5E 0
10649 -25 2477 Dec 05 16:32:05 1362 5911 P 1.2019 0.6136 67.5N 62.0W 0
10691 -24 2495 Dec 17 00:27:39 1438 6134 P 1.1867 0.6389 66.4N 168.8E 0
10733 -23 2513 Dec 28 08:28:05 1517 6357 P 1.1748 0.6587 65.4N 38.8E 0
10773 -22 2532 Jan 08 16:31:05 1598 6580 P 1.1645 0.6760 64.4N 91.4W 0
10813 -21 2550 Jan 19 00:36:25 1681 6803 P 1.1554 0.6914 63.5N 138.2E 0
10853 -20 2568 Jan 30 08:39:47 1766 7026 P 1.1442 0.7106 62.7N 8.6E 0
10893 -19 2586 Feb 09 16:42:36 1853 7249 P 1.1318 0.7319 62.0N 120.6W 0
10934 -18 2604 Feb 22 00:40:35 1942 7472 P 1.1150 0.7609 61.5N 111.5E 0
10975 -17 2622 Mar 04 08:34:43 2033 7695 P 1.0946 0.7963 61.2N 15.3W 0
11016 -16 2640 Mar 14 16:21:09 2127 7918 P 1.0672 0.8439 61.0N 140.1W 0
11056 -15 2658 Mar 26 00:02:23 2222 8141 P 1.0350 0.9002 61.0N 96.4E 0
11097 -14 2676 Apr 05 07:35:27 2319 8364 An 0.9952 0.9336 61.9N 17.3W 4 - 04m25s
11139 -13 2694 Apr 16 15:01:10 2419 8587 A 0.9489 0.9422 63.2N 105.8W 18 679 04m05s
11181 -12 2712 Apr 27 22:19:08 2521 8810 A 0.8956 0.9492 64.2N 156.8E 26 417 03m41s
11223 -11 2730 May 09 05:30:52 2624 9033 A 0.8363 0.9560 65.0N 60.6E 33 291 03m16s
11266 -10 2748 May 19 12:36:24 2730 9256 A 0.7709 0.9624 65.1N 33.2W 39 213 02m53s
11311 -09 2766 May 30 19:36:02 2838 9479 A 0.6996 0.9686 63.8N 125.4W 45 158 02m29s
11355 -08 2784 Jun 10 02:32:16 2948 9702 A 0.6245 0.9744 60.9N 141.7E 51 118 02m07s
11400 -07 2802 Jun 21 09:25:30 3060 9925 A 0.5461 0.9798 56.5N 46.9E 57 86 01m46s
11445 -06 2820 Jul 01 16:17:03 3174 10148 A 0.4652 0.9847 50.8N 50.3W 62 61 01m24s
11490 -05 2838 Jul 12 23:08:16 3290 10371 A 0.3828 0.9891 44.3N 149.7W 67 42 01m03s
11536 -04 2856 Jul 23 06:01:10 3408 10594 A 0.3009 0.9929 37.2N 108.7E 72 26 00m43s
11583 -03 2874 Aug 03 12:56:53 3528 10817 A 0.2203 0.9961 29.7N 5.1E 77 14 00m24s
11630 -02 2892 Aug 13 19:55:10 3650 11040 A 0.1410 0.9988 21.9N 100.0W 82 4 00m08s
11677 -01 2910 Aug 26 02:59:33 3775 11263 H 0.0660 1.0009 14.0N 152.8E 86 3 00m06s
11722 00 2928 Sep 05 10:09:23 3901 11486 H -0.0052 1.0024 6.1N 43.8E 90 8 00m16s
11766 01 2946 Sep 16 17:27:21 4030 11709 H -0.0706 1.0036 1.6S 67.3W 86 12 00m23s
11810 02 2964 Sep 27 00:52:08 4160 11932 Hm -0.1310 1.0043 9.2S 179.9E 82 15 00m27s
11854 03 2982 Oct 08 08:26:58 4293 12155 H -0.1838 1.0047 16.4S 65.0E 79 17 00m29s
11898 04 3000 Oct 19 16:10:16 4428 12378 H -0.2303 1.0049 23.1S 51.6W 77 17 00m29s
----- 05 3018 Oct 31 00:02:35 4564 12601 H -0.2700 1.0050 29.2S 169.8W 74 18 00m29s
----- 06 3036 Nov 10 08:04:14 4703 12824 H -0.3029 1.0050 34.6S 70.6E 72 18 00m28s
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 3054 Nov 21 16:14:51 4844 13047 H -0.3292 1.0052 39.1S 50.2W 71 19 00m29s
----- 08 3072 Dec 02 00:34:04 4987 13270 H -0.3490 1.0055 42.5S 172.0W 69 20 00m30s
----- 09 3090 Dec 13 08:59:13 5132 13493 H -0.3647 1.0062 44.6S 65.6E 68 23 00m32s
----- 10 3108 Dec 24 17:32:05 5280 13716 H -0.3747 1.0071 45.3S 58.1W 68 27 00m37s
----- 11 3127 Jan 05 02:09:01 5429 13939 H -0.3824 1.0086 44.8S 177.1E 67 32 00m44s
----- 12 3145 Jan 15 10:49:51 5580 14162 H -0.3872 1.0105 43.0S 50.8E 67 39 00m53s
----- 13 3163 Jan 26 19:31:05 5733 14385 H -0.3923 1.0129 40.3S 76.4W 67 48 01m04s
----- 14 3181 Feb 06 04:13:46 5889 14608 H2 -0.3968 1.0158 37.0S 155.3E 66 59 01m18s
----- 15 3199 Feb 17 12:54:11 6046 14831 T -0.4039 1.0192 33.3S 26.7E 66 71 01m35s
----- 16 3217 Feb 27 21:32:10 6206 15054 T -0.4135 1.0230 29.5S 101.8W 65 85 01m54s
----- 17 3235 Mar 11 06:05:34 6368 15277 T -0.4275 1.0272 25.9S 130.4E 65 101 02m15s
----- 18 3253 Mar 21 14:34:33 6531 15500 T -0.4454 1.0316 22.5S 3.5E 63 118 02m38s
----- 19 3271 Apr 01 22:56:37 6697 15723 T -0.4697 1.0363 19.8S 121.7W 62 137 03m04s
----- 20 3289 Apr 12 07:12:48 6865 15946 T -0.4995 1.0410 17.7S 114.4E 60 156 03m30s
----- 21 3307 Apr 24 15:21:41 7035 16169 T -0.5358 1.0457 16.7S 7.7W 57 178 03m58s
----- 22 3325 May 04 23:25:06 7207 16392 T -0.5774 1.0501 16.6S 128.5W 55 201 04m26s
----- 23 3343 May 16 07:20:08 7381 16615 T -0.6263 1.0542 17.8S 112.7E 51 228 04m51s
----- 24 3361 May 26 15:10:43 7557 16838 T -0.6793 1.0578 20.3S 5.3W 47 258 05m12s
----- 25 3379 Jun 06 22:54:10 7736 17061 T -0.7386 1.0608 24.3S 122.0W 42 295 05m25s
----- 26 3397 Jun 17 06:34:43 7916 17284 T -0.8009 1.0630 29.9S 121.4E 37 345 05m28s
----- 27 3415 Jun 29 14:08:58 8098 17507 T -0.8684 1.0641 37.5S 5.4E 29 425 05m17s
----- 28 3433 Jul 09 21:42:46 8283 17730 T -0.9367 1.0637 48.0S 112.2W 20 605 04m50s
----- 29 3451 Jul 21 05:12:54 8469 17953 T- -1.0077 1.0088 68.9S 121.7E 0
----- 30 3469 Jul 31 12:43:56 8658 18176 P -1.0783 0.8723 69.8S 2.2W 0
----- 31 3487 Aug 11 20:13:46 8849 18399 P -1.1498 0.7335 70.7S 126.3W 0
----- 32 3505 Aug 23 03:46:55 9041 18622 P -1.2186 0.5999 71.3S 108.1E 0
----- 33 3523 Sep 03 11:21:40 9236 18845 P -1.2858 0.4695 71.8S 18.3W 0
----- 34 3541 Sep 13 19:00:20 9433 19068 P -1.3498 0.3455 72.1S 146.0W 0
----- 35 3559 Sep 25 02:43:37 9632 19291 P -1.4099 0.2297 72.2S 84.9E 0
----- 36 3577 Oct 05 10:32:49 9833 19514 P -1.4652 0.1237 72.0S 45.6W 0
----- 37 3595 Oct 16 18:28:32 10036 19737 Pe -1.5153 0.0285 71.6S 177.4W 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)"
