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 17 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on -2427 Jul 03. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -1111 Sep 01. The total duration of Saros series 17 is 1316.20 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -2427 Jul 03 05:12:57 TD
Last Eclipse = -1111 Sep 01 05:29:52 TD
Duration of Saros 17 = 1316.20 Years
Saros 17 is composed of 74 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 17 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 74 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 30 | 40.5% |
| Annular | A | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | T | 44 | 59.5% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 0 | 0.0% |
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 17 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 17 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 44 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 74 eclipses in Saros 17: 21P 44T 9P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 17 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 17 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | -1796 Jul 16 | 06m01s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | -2048 Feb 16 | 00m37s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | -2066 Feb 04 | - | 0.96491 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | -1111 Sep 01 | - | 0.04528 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 17. 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 17.
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
----- -35 -2427 Jul 03 05:12:57 57436 -54749 Pb 1.4983 0.1028 64.4N 176.3W 0
----- -34 -2409 Jul 14 12:06:10 56950 -54526 P 1.4288 0.2238 65.4N 68.4E 0
----- -33 -2391 Jul 24 19:10:59 56465 -54303 P 1.3674 0.3308 66.4N 50.3W 0
----- -32 -2373 Aug 05 02:25:34 55982 -54080 P 1.3129 0.4258 67.5N 171.8W 0
----- -31 -2355 Aug 15 09:51:10 55501 -53857 P 1.2662 0.5070 68.5N 63.3E 0
----- -30 -2337 Aug 26 17:28:03 55023 -53634 P 1.2275 0.5743 69.4N 64.9W 0
----- -29 -2319 Sep 06 01:16:07 54546 -53411 P 1.1967 0.6278 70.3N 163.3E 0
----- -28 -2301 Sep 17 09:14:27 54072 -53188 P 1.1736 0.6680 71.0N 28.4E 0
----- -27 -2283 Sep 27 17:20:55 53599 -52965 P 1.1562 0.6984 71.5N 109.0W 0
----- -26 -2265 Oct 09 01:36:31 53129 -52742 P 1.1455 0.7171 71.7N 110.9E 0
----- -25 -2247 Oct 19 09:58:08 52660 -52519 P 1.1388 0.7292 71.6N 30.7W 0
----- -24 -2229 Oct 30 18:24:58 52194 -52296 P 1.1357 0.7351 71.3N 173.5W 0
----- -23 -2211 Nov 10 02:54:05 51730 -52073 P 1.1336 0.7395 70.7N 43.5E 0
----- -22 -2193 Nov 21 11:25:11 51268 -51850 P 1.1324 0.7424 70.0N 99.3W 0
----- -21 -2175 Dec 01 19:54:57 50808 -51627 P 1.1294 0.7487 69.0N 118.8E 0
----- -20 -2157 Dec 13 04:22:27 50350 -51404 P 1.1239 0.7598 68.0N 21.8W 0
----- -19 -2139 Dec 23 12:46:02 49894 -51181 P 1.1140 0.7787 66.9N 160.8W 0
----- -18 -2120 Jan 03 21:04:54 49441 -50958 P 1.0994 0.8065 65.8N 62.0E 0
----- -17 -2102 Jan 14 05:16:40 48989 -50735 P 1.0782 0.8468 64.8N 73.0W 0
----- -16 -2084 Jan 25 13:22:01 48539 -50512 P 1.0508 0.8987 63.8N 154.0E 0
----- -15 -2066 Feb 04 21:19:31 48092 -50289 P 1.0160 0.9649 62.9N 23.2E 0
----- -14 -2048 Feb 16 05:11:00 47646 -50066 T 0.9750 1.0081 53.1N 90.5W 12 130 00m37s
----- -13 -2030 Feb 26 12:53:08 47203 -49843 T 0.9255 1.0174 46.1N 154.7E 22 155 01m21s
----- -12 -2012 Mar 08 20:30:21 46761 -49620 T 0.8709 1.0256 42.0N 39.7E 29 173 02m00s
00013 -11 -1994 Mar 20 03:59:50 46322 -49397 T 0.8091 1.0333 39.4N 73.3W 36 186 02m35s
00056 -10 -1976 Mar 30 11:26:06 45885 -49174 T 0.7436 1.0404 37.9N 174.7E 42 197 03m05s
00098 -09 -1958 Apr 10 18:45:52 45450 -48951 T 0.6719 1.0468 37.0N 64.7E 48 206 03m32s
00141 -08 -1940 Apr 21 02:04:36 45017 -48728 T 0.5983 1.0524 36.8N 44.7W 53 213 03m56s
00184 -07 -1922 May 02 09:19:50 44586 -48505 T 0.5213 1.0573 36.7N 152.8W 58 219 04m18s
00228 -06 -1904 May 12 16:35:44 44157 -48282 T 0.4441 1.0613 36.6N 99.2E 63 223 04m39s
00272 -05 -1886 May 23 23:51:15 43730 -48059 T 0.3658 1.0644 36.1N 8.4W 68 226 04m59s
00318 -04 -1868 Jun 03 07:10:24 43305 -47836 T 0.2900 1.0667 35.3N 116.9W 73 227 05m17s
00365 -03 -1850 Jun 14 14:32:21 42883 -47613 T 0.2160 1.0680 33.7N 133.8E 77 227 05m33s
00411 -02 -1832 Jun 24 21:59:15 42462 -47390 T 0.1456 1.0685 31.5N 22.9E 81 226 05m46s
00456 -01 -1814 Jul 06 05:31:47 42043 -47167 T 0.0796 1.0682 28.5N 90.0W 85 223 05m56s
00502 00 -1796 Jul 16 13:11:22 41627 -46944 T 0.0193 1.0673 25.0N 154.7E 89 220 06m01s
00548 01 -1778 Jul 27 20:58:21 41213 -46721 T -0.0353 1.0658 20.8N 37.0E 88 215 06m01s
00593 02 -1760 Aug 07 04:53:14 40800 -46498 Tm -0.0834 1.0638 16.3N 83.4W 85 210 05m54s
00638 03 -1742 Aug 18 12:56:59 40390 -46275 T -0.1242 1.0614 11.4N 153.6E 83 203 05m43s
00684 04 -1724 Aug 28 21:09:28 39982 -46052 T -0.1577 1.0589 6.3N 28.0E 81 196 05m28s
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
00730 05 -1706 Sep 09 05:29:48 39576 -45829 T -0.1846 1.0563 1.1N 99.8W 79 189 05m11s
00774 06 -1688 Sep 19 13:58:44 39172 -45606 T -0.2045 1.0537 4.1S 130.1E 78 181 04m53s
00818 07 -1670 Sep 30 22:34:46 38770 -45383 T -0.2186 1.0513 9.2S 1.7W 77 174 04m37s
00859 08 -1652 Oct 11 07:17:32 38370 -45160 T -0.2268 1.0492 14.2S 134.9W 77 167 04m22s
00900 09 -1634 Oct 22 16:04:12 37972 -44937 T -0.2317 1.0474 19.0S 91.1E 76 162 04m10s
00941 10 -1616 Nov 02 00:55:43 37576 -44714 T -0.2327 1.0461 23.4S 43.6W 76 158 04m01s
00982 11 -1598 Nov 13 09:49:09 37183 -44491 T -0.2322 1.0452 27.5S 178.2W 76 155 03m55s
01023 12 -1580 Nov 23 18:43:19 36791 -44268 T -0.2312 1.0450 31.1S 47.6E 76 154 03m51s
01064 13 -1562 Dec 05 03:35:56 36401 -44045 T -0.2314 1.0450 34.0S 85.5W 76 154 03m50s
01104 14 -1544 Dec 15 12:26:09 36014 -43822 T -0.2338 1.0457 36.3S 142.5E 76 157 03m51s
01144 15 -1526 Dec 26 21:12:07 35629 -43599 T -0.2397 1.0466 37.7S 12.1E 76 160 03m54s
01184 16 -1507 Jan 06 05:51:53 35245 -43376 T -0.2508 1.0479 38.4S 116.6W 75 165 03m57s
01224 17 -1489 Jan 17 14:25:23 34864 -43153 T -0.2673 1.0493 38.4S 116.4E 74 170 04m00s
01264 18 -1471 Jan 27 22:50:49 34485 -42930 T -0.2904 1.0508 37.7S 8.7W 73 176 04m04s
01304 19 -1453 Feb 08 07:07:43 34108 -42707 T -0.3204 1.0523 36.5S 132.0W 71 183 04m07s
01346 20 -1435 Feb 18 15:15:25 33733 -42484 T -0.3579 1.0536 35.0S 106.7E 69 189 04m10s
01387 21 -1417 Mar 01 23:14:30 33360 -42261 T -0.4023 1.0546 33.4S 12.8W 66 196 04m12s
01428 22 -1399 Mar 12 07:05:11 32989 -42038 T -0.4535 1.0551 31.9S 130.5W 63 203 04m14s
01469 23 -1381 Mar 23 14:46:27 32620 -41815 T -0.5121 1.0551 30.8S 114.0E 59 209 04m14s
01511 24 -1363 Apr 02 22:20:58 32253 -41592 T -0.5757 1.0543 30.2S 0.0E 55 216 04m13s
01553 25 -1345 Apr 14 05:48:09 31889 -41369 T -0.6448 1.0528 30.5S 112.2W 50 224 04m08s
01596 26 -1327 Apr 24 13:10:37 31526 -41146 T -0.7174 1.0504 31.9S 136.6E 44 235 04m00s
01639 27 -1309 May 05 20:27:00 31165 -40923 T -0.7942 1.0469 34.8S 27.0E 37 251 03m45s
01682 28 -1291 May 16 03:41:12 30807 -40700 T -0.8723 1.0422 39.8S 81.8W 29 283 03m21s
01727 29 -1273 May 27 10:52:41 30451 -40477 T -0.9513 1.0356 48.6S 171.8E 17 389 02m43s
01771 30 -1255 Jun 06 18:03:43 30096 -40254 P -1.0300 0.9518 63.2S 72.5E 0
01817 31 -1237 Jun 18 01:14:59 29744 -40031 P -1.1075 0.8047 64.0S 46.4W 0
01862 32 -1219 Jun 28 08:28:45 29394 -39808 P -1.1819 0.6646 65.0S 166.2W 0
01907 33 -1201 Jul 09 15:45:55 29046 -39585 P -1.2523 0.5332 66.0S 72.9E 0
01952 34 -1183 Jul 19 23:06:27 28700 -39362 P -1.3189 0.4103 67.0S 49.4W 0
01998 35 -1165 Jul 31 06:32:53 28356 -39139 P -1.3793 0.3003 68.0S 173.5W 0
02044 36 -1147 Aug 10 14:04:50 28014 -38916 P -1.4341 0.2018 69.0S 60.3E 0
02090 37 -1129 Aug 21 21:44:25 27674 -38693 P -1.4816 0.1178 69.9S 68.3W 0
02135 38 -1111 Sep 01 05:29:52 27336 -38470 Pe -1.5234 0.0453 70.6S 161.1E 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)"
