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 178 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 2738 Jun 09. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3982 Jul 04. The total duration of Saros series 178 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2738 Jun 09 15:23:02 TD Last Eclipse = 3982 Jul 04 19:16:58 TD Duration of Saros 178 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 178 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 178 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 27 | 38.6% |
| Annular | A | 28 | 40.0% |
| Total | T | 11 | 15.7% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 4 | 5.7% |
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 178 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 178 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 43 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 42 | 97.7% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.3% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 178: 6P 28A 4H 11T 21P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 178 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 178 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3081 Jan 02 | 06m49s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3333 Jun 04 | 00m13s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 3495 Sep 11 | 01m59s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 3603 Nov 16 | 01m17s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 3405 Jul 19 | 01m28s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 3351 Jun 16 | 00m21s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3621 Nov 26 | - | 0.98207 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3982 Jul 04 | - | 0.02981 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 178. 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 178.
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
11242 -32 2738 Jun 09 15:23:02 2671 9133 Pb -1.5105 0.0905 67.1S 41.3W 0
11285 -31 2756 Jun 19 21:57:07 2778 9356 P -1.4326 0.2230 66.1S 149.9W 0
11330 -30 2774 Jul 01 04:24:54 2887 9579 P -1.3490 0.3657 65.1S 103.6E 0
11375 -29 2792 Jul 11 10:53:02 2998 9802 P -1.2650 0.5092 64.2S 2.8W 0
11420 -28 2810 Jul 22 17:18:37 3110 10025 P -1.1780 0.6579 63.4S 108.1W 0
11465 -27 2828 Aug 01 23:45:36 3225 10248 P -1.0917 0.8055 62.6S 146.4E 0
11511 -26 2846 Aug 13 06:14:04 3342 10471 A- -1.0057 0.9522 62.0S 40.8E 0
11557 -25 2864 Aug 23 12:47:18 3461 10694 A -0.9231 0.9378 48.1S 34.4W 22 586 05m47s
11603 -24 2882 Sep 03 19:25:39 3583 10917 A -0.8438 0.9390 42.7S 129.0W 32 408 05m52s
11650 -23 2900 Sep 15 02:09:43 3706 11140 A -0.7686 0.9394 40.1S 133.1E 40 340 05m52s
11696 -22 2918 Sep 26 09:02:12 3831 11363 A -0.6997 0.9391 39.2S 32.5E 45 308 05m54s
11741 -21 2936 Oct 06 16:02:39 3958 11586 A -0.6368 0.9385 39.4S 70.1W 50 290 05m57s
11785 -20 2954 Oct 17 23:12:15 4088 11809 A -0.5810 0.9377 40.4S 175.0W 54 280 06m03s
11829 -19 2972 Oct 28 06:30:35 4219 12032 A -0.5318 0.9369 41.9S 78.3E 58 274 06m10s
11873 -18 2990 Nov 08 13:59:19 4353 12255 A -0.4905 0.9360 43.5S 30.7W 60 272 06m19s
----- -17 3008 Nov 19 21:36:51 4489 12478 A -0.4560 0.9353 45.0S 141.3W 63 270 06m28s
----- -16 3026 Dec 01 05:22:50 4626 12701 A -0.4279 0.9348 46.1S 106.4E 64 269 06m37s
----- -15 3044 Dec 11 13:17:03 4766 12924 A -0.4061 0.9347 46.6S 7.5W 66 267 06m44s
----- -14 3062 Dec 22 21:18:40 4908 13147 A -0.3902 0.9350 46.4S 123.2W 67 264 06m48s
----- -13 3081 Jan 02 05:25:13 5052 13370 A -0.3775 0.9358 45.2S 119.8E 68 259 06m49s
----- -12 3099 Jan 13 13:35:31 5198 13593 A -0.3671 0.9371 43.1S 1.2E 68 252 06m45s
----- -11 3117 Jan 24 21:48:12 5346 13816 A -0.3584 0.9391 40.1S 118.7W 69 242 06m37s
----- -10 3135 Feb 05 06:02:16 5496 14039 A -0.3503 0.9416 36.4S 120.1E 69 231 06m25s
----- -09 3153 Feb 15 14:13:56 5649 14262 A -0.3396 0.9449 32.0S 1.4W 70 216 06m08s
----- -08 3171 Feb 26 22:24:07 5803 14485 A -0.3272 0.9486 27.1S 123.3W 71 199 05m47s
----- -07 3189 Mar 09 06:29:05 5959 14708 A -0.3097 0.9530 21.8S 115.5E 72 180 05m22s
----- -06 3207 Mar 20 14:30:31 6118 14931 A -0.2888 0.9578 16.2S 5.3W 73 160 04m53s
----- -05 3225 Mar 30 22:23:58 6278 15154 A -0.2606 0.9631 10.3S 124.4W 75 138 04m19s
----- -04 3243 Apr 11 06:12:49 6441 15377 A -0.2279 0.9687 4.3S 117.5E 77 115 03m42s
----- -03 3261 Apr 21 13:53:24 6605 15600 A -0.1874 0.9745 1.8N 1.6E 79 93 03m01s
----- -02 3279 May 02 21:28:15 6772 15823 A -0.1415 0.9805 7.8N 112.7W 82 70 02m18s
----- -01 3297 May 13 04:55:21 6941 16046 A -0.0880 0.9864 13.7N 135.3E 85 48 01m35s
----- 00 3315 May 25 12:17:52 7112 16269 A -0.0298 0.9923 19.3N 25.1E 88 27 00m52s
----- 01 3333 Jun 04 19:34:34 7285 16492 A 0.0342 0.9980 24.6N 83.0W 88 7 00m13s
----- 02 3351 Jun 16 02:47:00 7460 16715 H 0.1028 1.0033 29.2N 170.7E 84 12 00m21s
----- 03 3369 Jun 26 09:56:15 7637 16938 Hm 0.1750 1.0082 33.3N 66.1E 80 29 00m49s
----- 04 3387 Jul 07 17:03:52 7816 17161 H 0.2498 1.0126 36.5N 37.4W 75 45 01m11s
----- 05 3405 Jul 19 00:10:40 7997 17384 H2 0.3259 1.0165 38.8N 140.0W 71 60 01m28s
----- 06 3423 Jul 30 07:17:37 8181 17607 T 0.4028 1.0197 40.4N 117.7E 66 73 01m40s
----- 07 3441 Aug 09 14:26:58 8366 17830 T 0.4785 1.0222 41.2N 14.8E 61 86 01m49s
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
----- 08 3459 Aug 20 21:39:17 8554 18053 T 0.5527 1.0241 41.4N 89.0W 56 97 01m55s
----- 09 3477 Aug 31 04:54:55 8743 18276 T 0.6247 1.0253 41.5N 166.0E 51 109 01m58s
----- 10 3495 Sep 11 12:16:29 8935 18499 T 0.6924 1.0258 41.4N 58.9E 46 119 01m59s
----- 11 3513 Sep 22 19:43:55 9128 18722 T 0.7557 1.0258 41.7N 50.2W 41 131 01m58s
----- 12 3531 Oct 04 03:19:37 9324 18945 T 0.8130 1.0252 42.3N 161.9W 35 144 01m55s
----- 13 3549 Oct 14 11:01:23 9522 19168 T 0.8659 1.0241 43.9N 84.5E 30 160 01m50s
----- 14 3567 Oct 25 18:53:18 9722 19391 T 0.9110 1.0225 46.2N 32.2W 24 183 01m43s
----- 15 3585 Nov 05 02:52:23 9924 19614 T 0.9509 1.0205 49.9N 150.8W 18 225 01m32s
----- 16 3603 Nov 16 11:01:07 10128 19837 T 0.9834 1.0179 55.8N 89.0E 10 357 01m17s
----- 17 3621 Nov 26 19:16:50 10334 20060 P 1.0109 0.9821 64.0N 31.2W 0
----- 18 3639 Dec 08 03:41:46 10542 20283 P 1.0314 0.9437 64.9N 166.1W 0
----- 19 3657 Dec 18 12:12:50 10752 20506 P 1.0475 0.9137 65.9N 57.1E 0
----- 20 3675 Dec 29 20:50:09 10965 20729 P 1.0589 0.8926 66.9N 81.7W 0
----- 21 3694 Jan 09 05:32:23 11179 20952 P 1.0669 0.8778 68.0N 137.8E 0
----- 22 3712 Jan 21 14:18:35 11396 21175 P 1.0717 0.8691 69.0N 4.3W 0
----- 23 3730 Jan 31 23:06:06 11614 21398 P 1.0763 0.8611 70.0N 147.4W 0
----- 24 3748 Feb 12 07:53:57 11835 21621 P 1.0808 0.8533 70.9N 68.8E 0
----- 25 3766 Feb 22 16:40:53 12058 21844 P 1.0864 0.8436 71.6N 75.4W 0
----- 26 3784 Mar 05 01:25:57 12282 22067 P 1.0937 0.8308 72.1N 140.3E 0
----- 27 3802 Mar 17 10:06:07 12509 22290 P 1.1055 0.8096 72.3N 3.0W 0
----- 28 3820 Mar 27 18:42:18 12738 22513 P 1.1208 0.7816 72.2N 145.4W 0
----- 29 3838 Apr 08 03:11:57 12969 22736 P 1.1421 0.7422 71.9N 74.0E 0
----- 30 3856 Apr 18 11:36:14 13202 22959 P 1.1680 0.6939 71.4N 64.8W 0
----- 31 3874 Apr 29 19:52:15 13437 23182 P 1.2010 0.6318 70.7N 159.0E 0
----- 32 3892 May 10 04:02:47 13674 23405 P 1.2389 0.5598 69.8N 24.9E 0
----- 33 3910 May 22 12:05:28 13914 23628 P 1.2837 0.4740 68.9N 106.6W 0
----- 34 3928 Jun 01 20:02:12 14155 23851 P 1.3335 0.3780 67.9N 123.9E 0
----- 35 3946 Jun 13 03:51:58 14398 24074 P 1.3893 0.2700 66.9N 3.3W 0
----- 36 3964 Jun 23 11:36:53 14644 24297 P 1.4490 0.1540 65.9N 128.8W 0
----- 37 3982 Jul 04 19:16:58 14891 24520 Pe 1.5127 0.0298 65.0N 107.3E 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)"
