Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Saros Series 176

Introduction

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.


Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 176

Solar eclipses of Saros 176 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 2608 Jun 04. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3870 Jul 12. The total duration of Saros series 176 is 1262.11 years. In summary:

                      First Eclipse =   2608 Jun 04   23:55:35 TD
                       Last Eclipse =   3870 Jul 12   06:29:59 TD

                      Duration of Saros 176  =  1262.11 Years

Saros 176 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 176
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 71100.0%
PartialP 16 22.5%
AnnularA 10 14.1%
TotalT 43 60.6%
Hybrid[3]H 2 2.8%

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 176 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 176
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 55100.0%
Central (two limits) 53 96.4%
Central (one limit) 1 1.8%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 1.8%

The following string illustrates the sequence of the 71 eclipses in Saros 176: 7P 43T 2H 10A 9P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 176 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 176
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 3690 Mar 2401m51s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 3545 Dec 2700m21s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 3221 Jun 1206m40s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse 3491 Nov 2401m11s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 3509 Dec 0500m39s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse 3527 Dec 1600m07s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 3726 Apr 15 - 0.91529
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 2608 Jun 04 - 0.02939

Description of the Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 176

The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 176. 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 176.



Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 176

                         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

10945 -36  2608 Jun 04  23:55:35   1964   7525   Pb  -1.5249  0.0294  67.5S 168.1W   0             
10986 -35  2626 Jun 16  07:13:26   2055   7748   P   -1.4523  0.1621  66.5S  72.1E   0             
11026 -34  2644 Jun 26  14:29:01   2149   7971   P   -1.3767  0.3016  65.5S  46.7W   0             
11066 -33  2662 Jul 07  21:43:23   2245   8194   P   -1.2992  0.4460  64.6S 164.8W   0             
11107 -32  2680 Jul 18  04:58:41   2343   8417   P   -1.2212  0.5923  63.7S  77.3E   0             
11149 -31  2698 Jul 29  12:15:55   2443   8640   P   -1.1437  0.7385  63.0S  40.9W   0             
11191 -30  2716 Aug 09  19:35:30   2545   8863   P   -1.0674  0.8829  62.3S 159.5W   0             
11233 -29  2734 Aug 21  02:59:13   2649   9086   Ts  -0.9937  1.0332  59.4S  89.8E   5   -   02m08s
11276 -28  2752 Aug 31  10:28:18   2755   9309   T   -0.9236  1.0394  49.4S   6.1W  22  339  02m46s
11321 -27  2770 Sep 11  18:04:10   2864   9532   T   -0.8583  1.0422  45.8S 115.7W  31  269  03m00s

11366 -26  2788 Sep 22  01:45:51   2974   9755   T   -0.7971  1.0439  44.4S 131.7E  37  238  03m08s
11411 -25  2806 Oct 03  09:36:12   3086   9978   T   -0.7426  1.0447  44.5S  16.3E  42  219  03m10s
11456 -24  2824 Oct 13  17:34:17   3201  10201   T   -0.6942  1.0449  45.7S 101.0W  46  205  03m10s
11501 -23  2842 Oct 25  01:41:24   3317  10424   T   -0.6527  1.0447  47.5S 139.8E  49  195  03m09s
11547 -22  2860 Nov 04  09:55:28   3436  10647   T   -0.6168  1.0441  49.6S  19.3E  52  186  03m07s
11593 -21  2878 Nov 15  18:18:28   3557  10870   T   -0.5879  1.0435  51.7S 102.6W  54  179  03m04s
11640 -20  2896 Nov 26  02:48:19   3680  11093   T   -0.5647  1.0427  53.6S 134.7E  55  173  03m02s
11687 -19  2914 Dec 08  11:24:42   3805  11316   T   -0.5469  1.0422  55.0S  11.2E  57  169  03m02s
11732 -18  2932 Dec 18  20:06:44   3931  11539   T   -0.5336  1.0418  55.4S 113.0W  57  166  03m01s
11776 -17  2950 Dec 30  04:53:21   4060  11762   T   -0.5243  1.0417  54.9S 121.7E  58  164  03m03s

11820 -16  2969 Jan 09  13:43:10   4192  11985   T   -0.5176  1.0420  53.3S   4.9W  59  164  03m06s
11864 -15  2987 Jan 20  22:33:24   4325  12208   T   -0.5111  1.0427  50.6S 132.7W  59  166  03m13s
----- -14  3005 Feb 01  07:24:50   4460  12431   T   -0.5057  1.0439  47.1S  97.9E  59  170  03m21s
----- -13  3023 Feb 12  16:14:22   4597  12654   T   -0.4990  1.0455  42.9S  32.4W  60  175  03m32s
----- -12  3041 Feb 23  01:01:12   4737  12877   T   -0.4898  1.0475  38.2S 163.1W  60  181  03m47s
----- -11  3059 Mar 06  09:43:13   4878  13100   T   -0.4765  1.0499  33.0S  66.5E  61  188  04m04s
----- -10  3077 Mar 16  18:20:47   5022  13323   T   -0.4596  1.0526  27.6S  63.4W  62  195  04m24s
----- -09  3095 Mar 28  02:51:53   5167  13546   T   -0.4371  1.0555  21.9S 167.8E  64  203  04m47s
----- -08  3113 Apr 08  11:15:45   5315  13769   T   -0.4088  1.0585  16.1S  40.6E  66  210  05m11s
----- -07  3131 Apr 19  19:32:35   5465  13992   T   -0.3744  1.0616  10.2S  84.9W  68  217  05m35s

----- -06  3149 Apr 30  03:41:55   5616  14215   T   -0.3337  1.0645   4.3S 151.6E  70  223  05m58s
----- -05  3167 May 11  11:43:44   5770  14438   T   -0.2868  1.0672   1.4N  30.3E  73  229  06m18s
----- -04  3185 May 21  19:38:05   5926  14661   T   -0.2338  1.0694   6.9N  88.8W  77  232  06m32s
----- -03  3203 Jun 02  03:26:13   6084  14884   T   -0.1756  1.0713  12.1N 154.2E  80  235  06m40s
----- -02  3221 Jun 12  11:08:26   6244  15107   T   -0.1125  1.0724  16.7N  39.3E  84  237  06m40s
----- -01  3239 Jun 23  18:44:34   6406  15330   Tm  -0.0445  1.0730  20.8N  73.5W  88  237  06m34s
-----  00  3257 Jul 04  02:17:24   6571  15553   T    0.0260  1.0728  24.2N 175.2E  88  237  06m22s
-----  01  3275 Jul 15  09:46:23   6737  15776   T    0.0997  1.0719  26.8N  65.5E  84  235  06m05s
-----  02  3293 Jul 25  17:14:44   6905  15999   T    0.1736  1.0701  28.5N  43.8W  80  232  05m46s
-----  03  3311 Aug 07  00:40:32   7076  16222   T    0.2492  1.0676  29.6N 152.2W  75  228  05m26s


Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 176

                         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

-----  04  3329 Aug 17  08:08:47   7248  16445   T    0.3225  1.0643  29.9N  98.8E  71  222  05m04s
-----  05  3347 Aug 28  15:37:09   7423  16668   T    0.3954  1.0602  29.8N  10.5W  67  214  04m43s
-----  06  3365 Sep 07  23:09:08   7600  16891   T    0.4647  1.0556  29.4N 121.0W  62  205  04m21s
-----  07  3383 Sep 19  06:43:36   7778  17114   T    0.5314  1.0503  29.0N 127.4E  58  194  03m58s
-----  08  3401 Sep 30  14:24:12   7959  17337   T    0.5924  1.0445  28.6N  13.8E  54  181  03m35s
-----  09  3419 Oct 11  22:09:26   8142  17560   T    0.6490  1.0384  28.5N 101.4W  49  166  03m09s
-----  10  3437 Oct 22  06:00:44   8327  17783   T    0.6999  1.0320  28.8N 141.4E  45  148  02m42s
-----  11  3455 Nov 02  13:58:22   8514  18006   T    0.7449  1.0256  29.5N  22.0E  42  128  02m13s
-----  12  3473 Nov 12  22:03:21   8703  18229   T    0.7827  1.0192  30.6N  99.8W  38  104  01m43s
-----  13  3491 Nov 24  06:14:27   8894  18452   T    0.8153  1.0129  32.2N 136.2E  35   76  01m11s

-----  14  3509 Dec 05  14:31:38   9087  18675   H    0.8419  1.0069  34.1N  10.2E  32   44  00m39s
-----  15  3527 Dec 16  22:54:31   9283  18898   H    0.8634  1.0013  36.3N 117.8W  30    9  00m07s
-----  16  3545 Dec 27  07:22:46   9480  19121   A    0.8797  0.9962  38.7N 112.3E  28   28  00m21s
-----  17  3564 Jan 07  15:53:54   9680  19344   A    0.8930  0.9917  41.3N  18.8W  26   65  00m46s
-----  18  3582 Jan 18  00:28:30   9881  19567   A    0.9029  0.9877  44.1N 151.1W  25  102  01m07s
-----  19  3600 Jan 29  09:03:39  10085  19790   A    0.9118  0.9842  47.2N  76.0E  24  137  01m24s
-----  20  3618 Feb 08  17:39:17  10290  20013   A    0.9198  0.9813  50.6N  57.4W  23  170  01m35s
-----  21  3636 Feb 20  02:11:09  10498  20236   A    0.9304  0.9788  54.8N 169.3E  21  207  01m44s
-----  22  3654 Mar 02  10:41:11  10708  20459   A    0.9419  0.9767  59.3N  35.1E  19  250  01m48s
-----  23  3672 Mar 12  19:05:03  10920  20682   A    0.9577  0.9747  64.6N 100.6W  16  321  01m50s

-----  24  3690 Mar 24  03:23:13  11134  20905   A    0.9777  0.9726  70.2N 116.6E  11  497  01m51s
-----  25  3708 Apr 04  11:32:40  11350  21128   A+   1.0042  0.9715  72.2N  54.0W   0             
-----  26  3726 Apr 15  19:35:03  11568  21351   P    1.0359  0.9153  71.7N 172.3E   0             
-----  27  3744 Apr 26  03:27:43  11788  21574   P    1.0746  0.8466  71.0N  41.7E   0             
-----  28  3762 May 07  11:10:54  12010  21797   P    1.1202  0.7657  70.2N  85.9W   0             
-----  29  3780 May 17  18:44:41  12235  22020   P    1.1727  0.6728  69.2N 149.6E   0             
-----  30  3798 May 29  02:09:38  12461  22243   P    1.2317  0.5683  68.2N  27.8E   0             
-----  31  3816 Jun 09  09:25:38  12690  22466   P    1.2968  0.4530  67.1N  91.1W   0             
-----  32  3834 Jun 20  16:33:34  12920  22689   P    1.3675  0.3280  66.1N 152.5E   0             
-----  33  3852 Jun 30  23:34:40  13153  22912   P    1.4427  0.1955  65.2N  38.2E   0             

-----  34  3870 Jul 12  06:29:59  13387  23135   Pe   1.5216  0.0569  64.3N  74.3W   0             


Calendar

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..


Predictions

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

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.


Footnotes

[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.


Acknowledgments

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)"


Return to:

Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Periodicity of Solar Eclipses

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

2009 Sep 26