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 177 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 2655 May 27. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3881 Jun 10. The total duration of Saros series 177 is 1226.05 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2655 May 27 22:51:50 TD
Last Eclipse = 3881 Jun 10 06:01:02 TD
Duration of Saros 177 = 1226.05 Years
Saros 177 is composed of 69 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 177 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 69 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 26 | 37.7% |
| Annular | A | 37 | 53.6% |
| Total | T | 3 | 4.3% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.3% |
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 177 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 177 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 43 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 41 | 95.3% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 69 eclipses in Saros 177: 8P 3T 3H 37A 18P
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 177 as well as other eclipse extrema are listed below.
Longest Total Solar Eclipse: 2817 Sep 02 Duration = 01m14s
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse: 2835 Sep 14 Duration = 01m07s
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse: 3412 Aug 30 Duration = 06m37s
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse: 2907 Oct 28 Duration = 00m31s
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2853 Sep 24 Duration = 00m52s
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse: 2889 Oct 15 Duration = 00m02s
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse: 2781 Aug 12 Magnitude = 0.9353
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse: 2655 May 27 Magnitude = 0.0543
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[4] for every eclipse of Saros 177 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 177 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 -36 2655 May 27 22:51:50 2207 8106 Pb 1.5050 0.0543 64.1N 62.4E 0 34
02 -35 2673 Jun 07 06:25:46 2304 8329 P 1.4460 0.1665 64.9N 60.3W 0 24
03 -34 2691 Jun 18 13:52:32 2403 8552 P 1.3818 0.2885 65.9N 178.4E 0 15
04 -33 2709 Jun 29 21:16:23 2504 8775 P 1.3157 0.4139 66.8N 57.5E 0 4
05 -32 2727 Jul 11 04:36:05 2608 8998 P 1.2468 0.5441 67.8N 62.7W 0 354
06 -31 2745 Jul 21 11:53:46 2713 9221 P 1.1767 0.6759 68.8N 177.0E 0 343
07 -30 2763 Aug 01 19:10:33 2821 9444 P 1.1066 0.8069 69.7N 56.5E 0 332
08 -29 2781 Aug 12 02:27:38 2930 9667 P 1.0373 0.9353 70.6N 64.8W 0 320
09 -28 2799 Aug 23 09:46:32 3042 9890 T 0.9698 1.0204 75.2N 127.2E 13 263 300 01m11s
10 -27 2817 Sep 02 17:07:37 3155 10113 T 0.9047 1.0186 66.5N 23.1W 25 225 150 01m14s
11 -26 2835 Sep 14 00:33:18 3271 10336 T 0.8441 1.0151 56.9N 147.8W 32 213 96 01m07s
12 -25 2853 Sep 24 08:03:33 3389 10559 H3 0.7880 1.0107 48.1N 92.4E 38 207 59 00m52s
13 -24 2871 Oct 05 15:39:10 3509 10782 H 0.7370 1.0057 40.2N 26.4W 42 203 29 00m30s
14 -23 2889 Oct 15 23:21:08 3631 11005 H 0.6918 1.0004 33.1N 145.6W 46 199 2 00m02s
15 -22 2907 Oct 28 07:09:47 3755 11228 A 0.6527 0.9949 26.8N 94.3E 49 195 23 00m31s
16 -21 2925 Nov 07 15:05:14 3881 11451 A 0.6202 0.9894 21.4N 26.9W 52 192 47 01m08s
17 -20 2943 Nov 18 23:06:18 4009 11674 A 0.5931 0.9840 17.0N 148.9W 54 188 70 01m48s
18 -19 2961 Nov 29 07:14:06 4140 11897 A 0.5722 0.9789 13.5N 87.7E 55 184 92 02m28s
19 -18 2979 Dec 10 15:27:25 4272 12120 A 0.5563 0.9740 11.1N 36.6W 56 179 112 03m07s
20 -17 2997 Dec 20 23:45:15 4406 12343 A 0.5449 0.9696 9.6N 161.9W 57 175 130 03m40s
21 -16 3016 Jan 02 08:06:22 4543 12566 A 0.5367 0.9657 9.2N 72.1E 57 170 146 04m08s
22 -15 3034 Jan 12 16:29:17 4681 12789 A 0.5306 0.9624 9.6N 54.2W 58 166 160 04m28s
23 -14 3052 Jan 24 00:53:13 4822 13012 A 0.5259 0.9595 10.9N 179.2E 58 162 171 04m42s
24 -13 3070 Feb 03 09:14:42 4965 13235 A 0.5196 0.9573 12.7N 53.2E 59 158 179 04m49s
25 -12 3088 Feb 14 17:34:38 5109 13458 A 0.5125 0.9556 15.1N 72.4W 59 155 185 04m51s
26 -11 3106 Feb 26 01:49:11 5256 13681 A 0.5015 0.9546 17.8N 163.5E 60 152 189 04m50s
27 -10 3124 Mar 08 09:58:47 5405 13904 A 0.4870 0.9540 20.7N 40.8E 61 150 189 04m46s
28 -09 3142 Mar 19 17:59:30 5556 14127 A 0.4658 0.9538 23.7N 79.3W 62 148 188 04m41s
29 -08 3160 Mar 30 01:53:34 5709 14350 A 0.4397 0.9540 26.5N 162.7E 64 148 185 04m36s
30 -07 3178 Apr 10 09:37:44 5864 14573 A 0.4060 0.9545 29.0N 47.9E 66 149 180 04m33s
31 -06 3196 Apr 20 17:12:30 6022 14796 A 0.3652 0.9551 31.0N 64.0W 68 150 175 04m31s
32 -05 3214 May 02 00:37:04 6181 15019 A 0.3169 0.9558 32.3N 172.6W 71 153 169 04m32s
33 -04 3232 May 12 07:52:46 6342 15242 A 0.2620 0.9565 32.7N 81.5E 75 157 164 04m36s
34 -03 3250 May 23 14:59:10 6506 15465 A 0.1999 0.9570 31.9N 21.8W 78 162 160 04m43s
35 -02 3268 Jun 02 21:56:25 6671 15688 Am 0.1308 0.9573 29.8N 123.0W 82 167 157 04m54s
36 -01 3286 Jun 14 04:46:34 6839 15911 A 0.0565 0.9574 26.5N 137.1E 87 172 155 05m09s
37 00 3304 Jun 25 11:30:12 7008 16134 A -0.0224 0.9570 22.0N 38.2E 89 356 157 05m27s
38 01 3322 Jul 06 18:08:16 7180 16357 A -0.1054 0.9564 16.4N 60.2W 84 1 160 05m45s
39 02 3340 Jul 17 00:42:38 7354 16580 A -0.1910 0.9552 9.9N 158.6W 79 5 167 06m03s
40 03 3358 Jul 28 07:14:42 7530 16803 A -0.2780 0.9536 2.6N 102.7E 74 8 176 06m18s
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 04 3376 Aug 07 13:46:52 7707 17026 A -0.3642 0.9515 5.3S 3.3E 69 11 190 06m30s
42 05 3394 Aug 18 20:17:57 7887 17249 A -0.4510 0.9490 13.8S 96.5W 63 14 208 06m35s
43 06 3412 Aug 30 02:52:38 8070 17472 A -0.5340 0.9461 22.6S 162.1E 58 17 233 06m37s
44 07 3430 Sep 10 09:29:23 8254 17695 A -0.6148 0.9428 31.7S 59.6E 52 20 265 06m34s
45 08 3448 Sep 20 16:12:43 8440 17918 A -0.6899 0.9392 40.9S 45.2W 46 23 308 06m27s
46 09 3466 Oct 01 23:00:02 8628 18141 A -0.7612 0.9353 50.4S 152.1W 40 27 368 06m17s
47 10 3484 Oct 12 05:56:32 8819 18364 A -0.8246 0.9313 59.7S 97.2E 34 33 453 06m06s
48 11 3502 Oct 24 12:59:22 9011 18587 A -0.8824 0.9270 69.0S 19.3W 28 43 586 05m54s
49 12 3520 Nov 03 20:11:29 9205 18810 A -0.9325 0.9227 77.3S 151.2W 21 66 824 05m42s
50 13 3538 Nov 15 03:31:09 9402 19033 As -0.9763 0.9179 79.2S 36.6E 12 128 - 05m29s
51 14 3556 Nov 25 11:00:41 9601 19256 A- -1.0122 0.9310 68.7S 114.1W 0 166 - -
52 15 3574 Dec 06 18:37:39 9801 19479 P -1.0419 0.8807 67.7S 121.3E 0 178
53 16 3592 Dec 17 02:22:09 10004 19702 P -1.0658 0.8404 66.6S 4.7W 0 188
54 17 3610 Dec 28 10:13:14 10209 19925 P -1.0844 0.8091 65.5S 131.8W 0 199
55 18 3629 Jan 07 18:10:31 10416 20148 P -1.0987 0.7853 64.5S 100.0E 0 209
56 19 3647 Jan 19 02:11:07 10625 20371 P -1.1102 0.7662 63.6S 28.7W 0 219
57 20 3665 Jan 29 10:14:28 10836 20594 P -1.1198 0.7505 62.8S 157.8W 0 228
58 21 3683 Feb 09 18:18:02 11049 20817 P -1.1295 0.7347 62.2S 73.3E 0 238
59 22 3701 Feb 21 02:21:52 11264 21040 P -1.1393 0.7188 61.7S 55.5W 0 247
60 23 3719 Mar 04 10:21:32 11482 21263 P -1.1528 0.6968 61.3S 176.8E 0 256
61 24 3737 Mar 14 18:18:50 11701 21486 P -1.1685 0.6711 61.2S 49.8E 0 265
62 25 3755 Mar 26 02:09:40 11922 21709 P -1.1895 0.6364 61.2S 75.5W 0 274
63 26 3773 Apr 05 09:55:38 12146 21932 P -1.2147 0.5944 61.4S 160.3E 0 283
64 27 3791 Apr 16 17:33:03 12372 22155 P -1.2472 0.5397 61.7S 38.2E 0 292
65 28 3809 Apr 28 01:04:59 12599 22378 P -1.2842 0.4766 62.2S 82.6W 0 301
66 29 3827 May 09 08:28:51 12829 22601 P -1.3282 0.4009 62.8S 158.4E 0 311
67 30 3845 May 19 15:45:54 13061 22824 P -1.3779 0.3146 63.6S 40.9E 0 320
68 31 3863 May 30 22:55:59 13295 23047 P -1.4333 0.2176 64.5S 75.1W 0 329
69 32 3881 Jun 10 06:01:02 13531 23270 Pe -1.4930 0.1120 65.4S 169.8E 0 339
[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)"
