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 162 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 2257 Apr 15. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 3501 May 10. The total duration of Saros series 162 is 1244.08 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2257 Apr 15 12:05:15 TD Last Eclipse = 3501 May 10 21:46:54 TD Duration of Saros 162 = 1244.08 Years
Saros 162 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 162 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 70 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 31 | 44.3% |
| Annular | A | 39 | 55.7% |
| Total | T | 0 | 0.0% |
| 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 162 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 162 | ||
| Classification | Number | Percent |
| All Umbral Eclipses | 39 | 100.0% |
| Central (two limits) | 38 | 97.4% |
| Central (one limit) | 1 | 2.6% |
| Non-Central (one limit) | 0 | 0.0% |
The following string illustrates the sequence of the 70 eclipses in Saros 162: 9P 39A 22P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 162 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 162 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2762 Feb 16 | 10m04s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2419 Jul 23 | 02m17s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2401 Jul 11 | - | 0.96198 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3501 May 10 | - | 0.01330 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 162. 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 162.
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
10107 -34 2257 Apr 15 12:05:15 591 3182 Pb -1.5121 0.0633 71.3S 60.1E 0
10152 -33 2275 Apr 26 19:41:41 642 3405 P -1.4684 0.1423 70.7S 67.0W 0
10198 -32 2293 May 07 03:09:47 696 3628 P -1.4186 0.2323 69.9S 168.5E 0
10243 -31 2311 May 19 10:28:46 751 3851 P -1.3621 0.3345 69.0S 46.9E 0
10288 -30 2329 May 29 17:41:09 809 4074 P -1.3009 0.4449 68.1S 72.5W 0
10334 -29 2347 Jun 10 00:44:42 868 4297 P -1.2329 0.5670 67.1S 170.8E 0
10379 -28 2365 Jun 20 07:44:13 930 4520 P -1.1623 0.6935 66.1S 55.7E 0
10423 -27 2383 Jul 01 14:37:42 994 4743 P -1.0870 0.8276 65.1S 57.5W 0
10467 -26 2401 Jul 11 21:29:20 1060 4966 P -1.0111 0.9620 64.2S 169.9W 0
10510 -25 2419 Jul 23 04:16:45 1128 5189 A -0.9322 0.9753 45.6S 98.2E 21 242 02m17s
10553 -24 2437 Aug 02 11:06:01 1198 5412 A -0.8553 0.9741 37.4S 2.8W 31 175 02m33s
10596 -23 2455 Aug 13 17:54:37 1270 5635 A -0.7781 0.9716 32.3S 104.2W 39 158 02m52s
10638 -22 2473 Aug 24 00:46:32 1344 5858 A -0.7043 0.9684 29.3S 153.6E 45 156 03m12s
10680 -21 2491 Sep 04 07:41:15 1420 6081 A -0.6332 0.9646 27.7S 50.9E 51 161 03m34s
10722 -20 2509 Sep 15 14:42:15 1498 6304 A -0.5679 0.9604 27.3S 53.4W 55 171 03m58s
10763 -19 2527 Sep 26 21:48:45 1579 6527 A -0.5074 0.9559 27.9S 158.9W 59 183 04m25s
10804 -18 2545 Oct 07 05:01:15 1661 6750 A -0.4523 0.9514 29.1S 94.4E 63 197 04m54s
10844 -17 2563 Oct 18 12:21:39 1746 6973 A -0.4042 0.9467 30.7S 14.2W 66 213 05m26s
10884 -16 2581 Oct 28 19:49:23 1832 7196 A -0.3627 0.9422 32.6S 124.3W 69 228 06m00s
10925 -15 2599 Nov 09 03:25:06 1921 7419 A -0.3282 0.9379 34.5S 123.9E 71 244 06m35s
10966 -14 2617 Nov 20 11:07:13 2012 7642 A -0.2995 0.9339 36.2S 11.0E 72 258 07m11s
11007 -13 2635 Dec 01 18:56:55 2104 7865 A -0.2774 0.9302 37.4S 103.5W 74 272 07m47s
11046 -12 2653 Dec 12 02:51:33 2199 8088 A -0.2599 0.9271 38.0S 141.1E 75 284 08m21s
11087 -11 2671 Dec 23 10:50:32 2296 8311 A -0.2466 0.9246 37.8S 24.7E 76 294 08m52s
11128 -10 2690 Jan 02 18:52:25 2395 8534 A -0.2360 0.9226 36.6S 92.6W 76 301 09m17s
11170 -09 2708 Jan 15 02:56:17 2496 8757 A -0.2277 0.9212 34.6S 149.2E 77 306 09m38s
11212 -08 2726 Jan 25 10:59:24 2599 8980 A -0.2189 0.9206 31.7S 30.7E 77 308 09m52s
11255 -07 2744 Feb 05 19:00:30 2705 9203 A -0.2086 0.9205 28.0S 88.1W 78 308 10m01s
11300 -06 2762 Feb 16 02:58:17 2812 9426 A -0.1959 0.9211 23.6S 153.3E 79 304 10m04s
11345 -05 2780 Feb 27 10:51:54 2921 9649 A -0.1801 0.9221 18.6S 35.1E 80 299 10m03s
11390 -04 2798 Mar 09 18:37:54 3033 9872 A -0.1580 0.9238 13.1S 81.7W 81 291 09m57s
11435 -03 2816 Mar 20 02:17:34 3146 10095 A -0.1307 0.9259 7.2S 162.7E 82 281 09m48s
11480 -02 2834 Mar 31 09:48:16 3262 10318 A -0.0959 0.9284 1.0S 49.1E 84 270 09m32s
11526 -01 2852 Apr 10 17:12:01 3379 10541 A -0.0555 0.9310 5.4N 62.8W 87 258 09m13s
11572 00 2870 Apr 22 00:24:56 3499 10764 A -0.0061 0.9340 12.0N 171.8W 90 246 08m47s
11619 01 2888 May 02 07:31:10 3621 10987 Am 0.0488 0.9369 18.6N 81.1E 87 235 08m17s
11666 02 2906 May 14 14:27:44 3745 11210 A 0.1121 0.9398 25.2N 23.0W 83 225 07m41s
11711 03 2924 May 24 21:17:54 3871 11433 A 0.1805 0.9426 31.5N 124.7W 79 216 07m02s
11756 04 2942 Jun 05 04:00:12 3999 11656 A 0.2556 0.9452 37.5N 136.5E 75 209 06m22s
11800 05 2960 Jun 15 10:38:45 4129 11879 A 0.3340 0.9474 42.9N 40.0E 70 205 05m45s
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
11844 06 2978 Jun 26 17:12:36 4261 12102 A 0.4165 0.9493 47.7N 53.9W 65 205 05m12s
11889 07 2996 Jul 06 23:44:03 4395 12325 A 0.5013 0.9508 51.6N 145.6W 60 208 04m44s
----- 08 3014 Jul 19 06:14:29 4532 12548 A 0.5872 0.9517 54.5N 124.3E 54 218 04m23s
----- 09 3032 Jul 29 12:45:47 4670 12771 A 0.6728 0.9522 56.5N 35.2E 47 235 04m07s
----- 10 3050 Aug 09 19:19:09 4811 12994 A 0.7568 0.9520 57.8N 53.6W 41 266 03m57s
----- 11 3068 Aug 20 01:55:43 4953 13217 A 0.8386 0.9512 58.7N 142.5W 33 324 03m50s
----- 12 3086 Aug 31 08:38:06 5098 13440 A 0.9162 0.9495 59.8N 129.3E 23 457 03m47s
----- 13 3104 Sep 11 15:26:43 5244 13663 An 0.9893 0.9456 61.6N 52.2E 7 - 03m44s
----- 14 3122 Sep 22 22:22:21 5393 13886 P 1.0569 0.8692 61.1N 44.6W 0
----- 15 3140 Oct 03 05:26:49 5544 14109 P 1.1177 0.7639 61.2N 158.7W 0
----- 16 3158 Oct 14 12:40:14 5697 14332 P 1.1716 0.6708 61.4N 84.9E 0
----- 17 3176 Oct 24 20:03:48 5852 14555 P 1.2180 0.5907 61.9N 34.1W 0
----- 18 3194 Nov 05 03:35:16 6009 14778 P 1.2585 0.5206 62.4N 155.2W 0
----- 19 3212 Nov 15 11:17:54 6168 15001 P 1.2904 0.4655 63.1N 80.7E 0
----- 20 3230 Nov 26 19:08:34 6329 15224 P 1.3162 0.4210 63.9N 45.5W 0
----- 21 3248 Dec 07 03:08:54 6492 15447 P 1.3349 0.3887 64.8N 174.5W 0
----- 22 3266 Dec 18 11:15:18 6658 15670 P 1.3492 0.3639 65.8N 54.7E 0
----- 23 3284 Dec 28 19:29:42 6825 15893 P 1.3578 0.3487 66.9N 78.6W 0
----- 24 3303 Jan 10 03:47:54 6994 16116 P 1.3640 0.3377 67.9N 146.7E 0
----- 25 3321 Jan 20 12:10:10 7166 16339 P 1.3674 0.3314 69.0N 10.4E 0
----- 26 3339 Jan 31 20:33:45 7340 16562 P 1.3705 0.3255 69.9N 126.8W 0
----- 27 3357 Feb 11 04:58:24 7515 16785 P 1.3732 0.3201 70.8N 95.0E 0
----- 28 3375 Feb 22 13:20:49 7693 17008 P 1.3785 0.3101 71.5N 43.2W 0
----- 29 3393 Mar 04 21:40:44 7873 17231 P 1.3865 0.2951 72.0N 178.8E 0
----- 30 3411 Mar 17 05:56:23 8055 17454 P 1.3984 0.2729 72.2N 41.4E 0
----- 31 3429 Mar 27 14:07:42 8239 17677 P 1.4144 0.2433 72.1N 94.9W 0
----- 32 3447 Apr 07 22:11:35 8425 17900 P 1.4369 0.2015 71.8N 130.9E 0
----- 33 3465 Apr 18 06:10:09 8613 18123 P 1.4644 0.1504 71.3N 1.6W 0
----- 34 3483 Apr 29 14:01:00 8803 18346 P 1.4987 0.0863 70.6N 131.6W 0
----- 35 3501 May 10 21:46:54 8995 18569 Pe 1.5374 0.0133 69.8N 100.3E 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)"
