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 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 central eclipses of Saros 177 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 177 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Annular Solar Eclipse | 3412 Aug 30 | 06m37s | - |
| Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse | 2907 Oct 28 | 00m31s | - |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 2817 Sep 02 | 01m14s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 2835 Sep 14 | 01m07s | - |
| Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2853 Sep 24 | 00m52s | - |
| Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse | 2889 Oct 15 | 00m02s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2781 Aug 12 | - | 0.93526 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2655 May 27 | - | 0.05432 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 177. 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 177.
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
11050 -36 2655 May 27 22:51:50 2207 8106 Pb 1.5050 0.0543 64.1N 62.4E 0
11091 -35 2673 Jun 07 06:25:46 2304 8329 P 1.4460 0.1665 64.9N 60.3W 0
11132 -34 2691 Jun 18 13:52:32 2403 8552 P 1.3818 0.2885 65.9N 178.4E 0
11174 -33 2709 Jun 29 21:16:23 2504 8775 P 1.3157 0.4139 66.8N 57.5E 0
11216 -32 2727 Jul 11 04:36:05 2608 8998 P 1.2468 0.5441 67.8N 62.7W 0
11259 -31 2745 Jul 21 11:53:46 2713 9221 P 1.1767 0.6759 68.8N 177.0E 0
11304 -30 2763 Aug 01 19:10:33 2821 9444 P 1.1066 0.8069 69.7N 56.5E 0
11348 -29 2781 Aug 12 02:27:38 2930 9667 P 1.0373 0.9353 70.6N 64.8W 0
11393 -28 2799 Aug 23 09:46:32 3042 9890 T 0.9698 1.0204 75.2N 127.2E 13 300 01m11s
11438 -27 2817 Sep 02 17:07:37 3155 10113 T 0.9047 1.0186 66.5N 23.1W 25 150 01m14s
11483 -26 2835 Sep 14 00:33:18 3271 10336 T 0.8441 1.0151 56.9N 147.8W 32 96 01m07s
11529 -25 2853 Sep 24 08:03:33 3389 10559 H3 0.7880 1.0107 48.1N 92.4E 38 59 00m52s
11575 -24 2871 Oct 05 15:39:10 3509 10782 H 0.7370 1.0057 40.2N 26.4W 42 29 00m30s
11622 -23 2889 Oct 15 23:21:08 3631 11005 H 0.6918 1.0004 33.1N 145.6W 46 2 00m02s
11669 -22 2907 Oct 28 07:09:47 3755 11228 A 0.6527 0.9949 26.8N 94.3E 49 23 00m31s
11714 -21 2925 Nov 07 15:05:14 3881 11451 A 0.6202 0.9894 21.4N 26.9W 52 47 01m08s
11759 -20 2943 Nov 18 23:06:18 4009 11674 A 0.5931 0.9840 17.0N 148.9W 54 70 01m48s
11803 -19 2961 Nov 29 07:14:06 4140 11897 A 0.5722 0.9789 13.5N 87.7E 55 92 02m28s
11847 -18 2979 Dec 10 15:27:25 4272 12120 A 0.5563 0.9740 11.1N 36.6W 56 112 03m07s
11892 -17 2997 Dec 20 23:45:15 4406 12343 A 0.5449 0.9696 9.6N 161.9W 57 130 03m40s
----- -16 3016 Jan 02 08:06:22 4543 12566 A 0.5367 0.9657 9.2N 72.1E 57 146 04m08s
----- -15 3034 Jan 12 16:29:17 4681 12789 A 0.5306 0.9624 9.6N 54.2W 58 160 04m28s
----- -14 3052 Jan 24 00:53:13 4822 13012 A 0.5259 0.9595 10.9N 179.2E 58 171 04m42s
----- -13 3070 Feb 03 09:14:42 4965 13235 A 0.5196 0.9573 12.7N 53.2E 59 179 04m49s
----- -12 3088 Feb 14 17:34:38 5109 13458 A 0.5125 0.9556 15.1N 72.4W 59 185 04m51s
----- -11 3106 Feb 26 01:49:11 5256 13681 A 0.5015 0.9546 17.8N 163.5E 60 189 04m50s
----- -10 3124 Mar 08 09:58:47 5405 13904 A 0.4870 0.9540 20.7N 40.8E 61 189 04m46s
----- -09 3142 Mar 19 17:59:30 5556 14127 A 0.4658 0.9538 23.7N 79.3W 62 188 04m41s
----- -08 3160 Mar 30 01:53:34 5709 14350 A 0.4397 0.9540 26.5N 162.7E 64 185 04m36s
----- -07 3178 Apr 10 09:37:44 5864 14573 A 0.4060 0.9545 29.0N 47.9E 66 180 04m33s
----- -06 3196 Apr 20 17:12:30 6022 14796 A 0.3652 0.9551 31.0N 64.0W 68 175 04m31s
----- -05 3214 May 02 00:37:04 6181 15019 A 0.3169 0.9558 32.3N 172.6W 71 169 04m32s
----- -04 3232 May 12 07:52:46 6342 15242 A 0.2620 0.9565 32.7N 81.5E 75 164 04m36s
----- -03 3250 May 23 14:59:10 6506 15465 A 0.1999 0.9570 31.9N 21.8W 78 160 04m43s
----- -02 3268 Jun 02 21:56:25 6671 15688 Am 0.1308 0.9573 29.8N 123.0W 82 157 04m54s
----- -01 3286 Jun 14 04:46:34 6839 15911 A 0.0565 0.9574 26.5N 137.1E 87 155 05m09s
----- 00 3304 Jun 25 11:30:12 7008 16134 A -0.0224 0.9570 22.0N 38.2E 89 157 05m27s
----- 01 3322 Jul 06 18:08:16 7180 16357 A -0.1054 0.9564 16.4N 60.2W 84 160 05m45s
----- 02 3340 Jul 17 00:42:38 7354 16580 A -0.1910 0.9552 9.9N 158.6W 79 167 06m03s
----- 03 3358 Jul 28 07:14:42 7530 16803 A -0.2780 0.9536 2.6N 102.7E 74 176 06m18s
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
----- 04 3376 Aug 07 13:46:52 7707 17026 A -0.3642 0.9515 5.3S 3.3E 69 190 06m30s
----- 05 3394 Aug 18 20:17:57 7887 17249 A -0.4510 0.9490 13.8S 96.5W 63 208 06m35s
----- 06 3412 Aug 30 02:52:38 8070 17472 A -0.5340 0.9461 22.6S 162.1E 58 233 06m37s
----- 07 3430 Sep 10 09:29:23 8254 17695 A -0.6148 0.9428 31.7S 59.6E 52 265 06m34s
----- 08 3448 Sep 20 16:12:43 8440 17918 A -0.6899 0.9392 40.9S 45.2W 46 308 06m27s
----- 09 3466 Oct 01 23:00:02 8628 18141 A -0.7612 0.9353 50.4S 152.1W 40 368 06m17s
----- 10 3484 Oct 12 05:56:32 8819 18364 A -0.8246 0.9313 59.7S 97.2E 34 453 06m06s
----- 11 3502 Oct 24 12:59:22 9011 18587 A -0.8824 0.9270 69.0S 19.3W 28 586 05m54s
----- 12 3520 Nov 03 20:11:29 9205 18810 A -0.9325 0.9227 77.3S 151.2W 21 824 05m42s
----- 13 3538 Nov 15 03:31:09 9402 19033 As -0.9763 0.9179 79.2S 36.6E 12 - 05m29s
----- 14 3556 Nov 25 11:00:41 9601 19256 A- -1.0122 0.9310 68.7S 114.1W 0
----- 15 3574 Dec 06 18:37:39 9801 19479 P -1.0419 0.8807 67.7S 121.3E 0
----- 16 3592 Dec 17 02:22:09 10004 19702 P -1.0658 0.8404 66.6S 4.7W 0
----- 17 3610 Dec 28 10:13:14 10209 19925 P -1.0844 0.8091 65.5S 131.8W 0
----- 18 3629 Jan 07 18:10:31 10416 20148 P -1.0987 0.7853 64.5S 100.0E 0
----- 19 3647 Jan 19 02:11:07 10625 20371 P -1.1102 0.7662 63.6S 28.7W 0
----- 20 3665 Jan 29 10:14:28 10836 20594 P -1.1198 0.7505 62.8S 157.8W 0
----- 21 3683 Feb 09 18:18:02 11049 20817 P -1.1295 0.7347 62.2S 73.3E 0
----- 22 3701 Feb 21 02:21:52 11264 21040 P -1.1393 0.7188 61.7S 55.5W 0
----- 23 3719 Mar 04 10:21:32 11482 21263 P -1.1528 0.6968 61.3S 176.8E 0
----- 24 3737 Mar 14 18:18:50 11701 21486 P -1.1685 0.6711 61.2S 49.8E 0
----- 25 3755 Mar 26 02:09:40 11922 21709 P -1.1895 0.6364 61.2S 75.5W 0
----- 26 3773 Apr 05 09:55:38 12146 21932 P -1.2147 0.5944 61.4S 160.3E 0
----- 27 3791 Apr 16 17:33:03 12372 22155 P -1.2472 0.5397 61.7S 38.2E 0
----- 28 3809 Apr 28 01:04:59 12599 22378 P -1.2842 0.4766 62.2S 82.6W 0
----- 29 3827 May 09 08:28:51 12829 22601 P -1.3282 0.4009 62.8S 158.4E 0
----- 30 3845 May 19 15:45:54 13061 22824 P -1.3779 0.3146 63.6S 40.9E 0
----- 31 3863 May 30 22:55:59 13295 23047 P -1.4333 0.2176 64.5S 75.1W 0
----- 32 3881 Jun 10 06:01:02 13531 23270 Pe -1.4930 0.1120 65.4S 169.8E 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)"
