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 161 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 2174 Apr 01. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3454 May 20. The total duration of Saros series 161 is 1280.14 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2174 Apr 01 22:39:09 TD Last Eclipse = 3454 May 20 04:17:52 TD Duration of Saros 161 = 1280.14 Years
Saros 161 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 161 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 72 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 29 | 40.3% |
| Annular | A | 5 | 6.9% |
| Total | T | 35 | 48.6% |
| Hybrid[3] | H | 3 | 4.2% |
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 161 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 161 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 43 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 43 | 100.0% |
| Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 72 eclipses in Saros 161: 9P 35T 3H 5A 20P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 161 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 161 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3093 Oct 12 | 02m06s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3021 Aug 30 | 00m11s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 2462 Sep 24 | 05m28s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 2949 Jul 17 | 02m06s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2967 Jul 28 | 01m37s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 3003 Aug 20 | 00m26s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2318 Jun 29 | - | 0.95827 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3454 May 20 | - | 0.00508 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 161. 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 161.
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
09904 -37 2174 Apr 01 22:39:09 381 2155 Pb 1.5107 0.0470 61.2N 103.8E 0
09948 -36 2192 Apr 12 06:41:56 423 2378 P 1.4678 0.1260 61.5N 25.4W 0
09993 -35 2210 Apr 24 14:39:19 467 2601 P 1.4202 0.2148 61.9N 153.4W 0
10036 -34 2228 May 04 22:28:44 513 2824 P 1.3659 0.3173 62.4N 80.4E 0
10080 -33 2246 May 16 06:14:10 561 3047 P 1.3077 0.4284 63.1N 44.9W 0
10125 -32 2264 May 26 13:52:07 611 3270 P 1.2430 0.5526 63.9N 168.5W 0
10170 -31 2282 Jun 06 21:28:19 663 3493 P 1.1764 0.6815 64.8N 68.1E 0
10216 -30 2300 Jun 18 04:59:29 717 3716 P 1.1056 0.8189 65.7N 54.5W 0
10261 -29 2318 Jun 29 12:30:22 773 3939 P 1.0340 0.9583 66.7N 177.3W 0
10306 -28 2336 Jul 09 19:58:22 832 4162 T 0.9598 1.0657 83.2N 49.4E 16 800 03m17s
10352 -27 2354 Jul 21 03:28:22 892 4385 T 0.8870 1.0697 81.4N 171.7E 27 499 03m51s
10397 -26 2372 Jul 31 10:58:30 955 4608 T 0.8144 1.0717 71.0N 45.5E 35 404 04m18s
10440 -25 2390 Aug 11 18:31:27 1019 4831 T 0.7441 1.0724 61.3N 72.5W 42 353 04m41s
10484 -24 2408 Aug 22 02:07:39 1086 5054 T 0.6766 1.0720 52.3N 170.0E 47 317 05m00s
10527 -23 2426 Sep 02 09:48:47 1155 5277 T 0.6133 1.0709 43.8N 51.6E 52 291 05m14s
10570 -22 2444 Sep 12 17:35:35 1226 5500 T 0.5548 1.0688 35.7N 67.9W 56 268 05m23s
10613 -21 2462 Sep 24 01:28:08 1299 5723 T 0.5014 1.0662 28.1N 171.4E 60 249 05m28s
10655 -20 2480 Oct 04 09:27:58 1374 5946 T 0.4543 1.0631 21.1N 49.2E 63 231 05m26s
10697 -19 2498 Oct 15 17:34:44 1451 6169 T 0.4131 1.0597 14.6N 74.5W 66 215 05m21s
10739 -18 2516 Oct 27 01:48:46 1530 6392 T 0.3782 1.0560 8.8N 160.5E 68 199 05m11s
10780 -17 2534 Nov 07 10:10:07 1611 6615 T 0.3495 1.0522 3.9N 34.0E 70 184 04m58s
10820 -16 2552 Nov 17 18:38:45 1694 6838 T 0.3269 1.0485 0.3S 93.9W 71 170 04m42s
10860 -15 2570 Nov 29 03:13:44 1779 7061 T 0.3100 1.0449 3.4S 137.1E 72 158 04m25s
10900 -14 2588 Dec 09 11:53:28 1867 7284 T 0.2973 1.0416 5.6S 7.2E 73 146 04m07s
10941 -13 2606 Dec 21 20:37:56 1956 7507 T 0.2888 1.0387 6.7S 123.7W 73 135 03m50s
10982 -12 2625 Jan 01 05:25:27 2048 7730 T 0.2829 1.0361 6.8S 104.8E 74 126 03m32s
11022 -11 2643 Jan 12 14:14:06 2142 7953 T 0.2784 1.0341 6.0S 27.0W 74 119 03m18s
11062 -10 2661 Jan 22 23:02:23 2237 8176 T 0.2740 1.0324 4.4S 158.8W 74 113 03m04s
11103 -09 2679 Feb 03 07:49:00 2335 8399 T 0.2685 1.0312 2.1S 69.7E 74 109 02m54s
11145 -08 2697 Feb 13 16:33:04 2435 8622 T 0.2612 1.0305 0.7N 61.3W 75 106 02m46s
11187 -07 2715 Feb 26 01:11:19 2537 8845 T 0.2495 1.0302 3.7N 169.2E 76 105 02m42s
11230 -06 2733 Mar 08 09:44:50 2641 9068 T 0.2343 1.0301 7.0N 40.8E 76 104 02m39s
11273 -05 2751 Mar 19 18:10:35 2747 9291 T 0.2131 1.0303 10.2N 85.4W 78 105 02m38s
11318 -04 2769 Mar 30 02:29:32 2855 9514 T 0.1866 1.0307 13.2N 150.3E 79 105 02m40s
11363 -03 2787 Apr 10 10:38:57 2965 9737 T 0.1525 1.0310 15.7N 28.7E 81 106 02m43s
11408 -02 2805 Apr 20 18:41:09 3077 9960 T 0.1129 1.0313 17.7N 90.7W 83 106 02m46s
11453 -01 2823 May 02 02:34:05 3192 10183 Tm 0.0662 1.0314 18.9N 152.6E 86 106 02m51s
11498 00 2841 May 12 10:18:35 3308 10406 T 0.0129 1.0312 19.1N 38.2E 89 105 02m55s
11544 01 2859 May 23 17:54:35 3426 10629 T -0.0467 1.0305 18.2N 74.0W 87 103 02m58s
11590 02 2877 Jun 03 01:23:34 3547 10852 T -0.1114 1.0294 16.2N 175.3E 84 100 02m58s
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
11637 03 2895 Jun 14 08:45:51 3670 11075 T -0.1811 1.0278 12.9N 65.9E 80 96 02m55s
11684 04 2913 Jun 25 16:01:38 3794 11298 T -0.2551 1.0255 8.5N 42.4W 75 90 02m45s
11729 05 2931 Jul 06 23:13:24 3921 11521 T -0.3316 1.0226 3.1N 150.5W 71 81 02m30s
11773 06 2949 Jul 17 06:21:27 4050 11744 T -0.4099 1.0189 3.2S 101.6E 66 71 02m06s
11817 07 2967 Jul 28 13:27:22 4181 11967 H3 -0.4892 1.0147 10.4S 6.5W 61 58 01m37s
11861 08 2985 Aug 07 20:31:50 4314 12190 H -0.5686 1.0097 18.3S 115.0W 55 41 01m02s
----- 09 3003 Aug 20 03:37:08 4449 12413 H -0.6463 1.0042 26.8S 135.4E 50 19 00m26s
----- 10 3021 Aug 30 10:44:28 4586 12636 A -0.7210 0.9980 35.7S 24.4E 44 10 00m11s
----- 11 3039 Sep 10 17:53:36 4725 12859 A -0.7932 0.9914 45.2S 88.5W 37 49 00m46s
----- 12 3057 Sep 21 01:07:57 4867 13082 A -0.8600 0.9842 55.0S 155.0E 30 109 01m17s
----- 13 3075 Oct 02 08:26:38 5010 13305 A -0.9225 0.9765 65.0S 31.2E 22 219 01m44s
----- 14 3093 Oct 12 15:52:48 5155 13528 A -0.9778 0.9678 73.6S 116.7W 11 592 02m06s
----- 15 3111 Oct 24 23:23:27 5303 13751 P -1.0286 0.9241 71.4S 79.6E 0
----- 16 3129 Nov 04 07:02:38 5452 13974 P -1.0714 0.8469 70.6S 47.7W 0
----- 17 3147 Nov 15 14:47:14 5604 14197 P -1.1090 0.7797 69.7S 175.6W 0
----- 18 3165 Nov 25 22:39:30 5758 14420 P -1.1396 0.7254 68.7S 55.1E 0
----- 19 3183 Dec 07 06:36:48 5913 14643 P -1.1654 0.6801 67.6S 74.8W 0
----- 20 3201 Dec 17 14:40:49 6071 14866 P -1.1852 0.6456 66.5S 154.2E 0
----- 21 3219 Dec 28 22:48:15 6231 15089 P -1.2013 0.6176 65.4S 22.8E 0
----- 22 3238 Jan 08 06:58:53 6393 15312 P -1.2143 0.5952 64.4S 109.0W 0
----- 23 3256 Jan 19 15:10:37 6557 15535 P -1.2257 0.5757 63.5S 119.3E 0
----- 24 3274 Jan 29 23:23:20 6723 15758 P -1.2361 0.5580 62.8S 12.3W 0
----- 25 3292 Feb 10 07:33:12 6892 15981 P -1.2482 0.5377 62.1S 143.0W 0
----- 26 3310 Feb 21 15:40:24 7062 16204 P -1.2618 0.5147 61.6S 87.2E 0
----- 27 3328 Mar 03 23:42:09 7234 16427 P -1.2795 0.4849 61.3S 41.2W 0
----- 28 3346 Mar 15 07:39:13 7409 16650 P -1.3006 0.4495 61.1S 168.3W 0
----- 29 3364 Mar 25 15:26:47 7585 16873 P -1.3287 0.4019 61.1S 66.9E 0
----- 30 3382 Apr 05 23:07:52 7764 17096 P -1.3616 0.3464 61.3S 56.2W 0
----- 31 3400 Apr 17 06:38:31 7944 17319 P -1.4020 0.2777 61.7S 176.8W 0
----- 32 3418 Apr 28 14:01:32 8127 17542 P -1.4481 0.1994 62.2S 64.4E 0
----- 33 3436 May 08 21:13:13 8312 17765 P -1.5026 0.1065 62.8S 51.7W 0
----- 34 3454 May 20 04:17:52 8499 17988 Pe -1.5619 0.0051 63.5S 166.3W 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)"
