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 179 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 2731 Apr 28. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3993 Jun 03. The total duration of Saros series 179 is 1262.11 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = 2731 Apr 28 13:11:25 TD Last Eclipse = 3993 Jun 03 20:38:13 TD Duration of Saros 179 = 1262.11 Years
Saros 179 is composed of 71 solar eclipses as follows:
| Solar Eclipses of Saros 179 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 71 | 100.0% |
| Partial | P | 27 | 38.0% |
| Annular | A | 0 | 0.0% |
| Total | T | 44 | 62.0% |
| 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 179 appears in the following table.
| Umbral Eclipses of Saros 179 | ||
| 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 71 eclipses in Saros 179: 8P 44T 19P
The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 179 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses are listed in the below.
| Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 179 | |||
| Extrema Type | Date | Duration | Magnitude |
| Longest Total Solar Eclipse | 3434 Jun 29 | 06m29s | - |
| Shortest Total Solar Eclipse | 3650 Nov 07 | 00m19s | - |
| Largest Partial Solar Eclipse | 3668 Nov 17 | - | 0.93920 |
| Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse | 2731 Apr 28 | - | 0.05177 |
The catalog below lists concise details and local circumstances at greatest eclipse[5] for every solar eclipse in Saros 179. 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 179.
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
11226 -36 2731 Apr 28 13:11:25 2630 9045 Pb 1.5160 0.0518 62.1N 125.4W 0
11269 -35 2749 May 08 20:49:43 2736 9268 P 1.4607 0.1506 62.7N 111.5E 0
11314 -34 2767 May 20 04:23:19 2844 9491 P 1.4007 0.2593 63.4N 10.7W 0
11358 -33 2785 May 30 11:50:35 2954 9714 P 1.3346 0.3806 64.2N 131.5W 0
11403 -32 2803 Jun 10 19:15:11 3066 9937 P 1.2654 0.5091 65.1N 108.1E 0
11448 -31 2821 Jun 21 02:35:50 3180 10160 P 1.1922 0.6463 66.1N 11.6W 0
11493 -30 2839 Jul 02 09:56:30 3296 10383 P 1.1177 0.7870 67.1N 131.8W 0
11539 -29 2857 Jul 12 17:14:23 3414 10606 P 1.0403 0.9341 68.1N 108.3E 0
11585 -28 2875 Jul 24 00:34:50 3535 10829 T 0.9640 1.0388 81.5N 47.8W 15 514 02m04s
11632 -27 2893 Aug 03 07:55:25 3657 11052 T 0.8874 1.0448 76.0N 120.7E 27 328 02m40s
11679 -26 2911 Aug 15 15:20:21 3781 11275 T 0.8136 1.0488 65.5N 5.9W 35 280 03m10s
11724 -25 2929 Aug 25 22:47:43 3908 11498 T 0.7413 1.0515 55.6N 124.4W 42 254 03m37s
11768 -24 2947 Sep 06 06:21:54 4037 11721 T 0.6740 1.0534 46.5N 117.8E 47 238 04m01s
11812 -23 2965 Sep 16 14:01:24 4167 11944 T 0.6110 1.0543 37.9N 0.5W 52 225 04m20s
11856 -22 2983 Sep 27 21:47:41 4300 12167 T 0.5531 1.0547 30.0N 120.0W 56 216 04m36s
----- -21 3001 Oct 09 05:41:17 4435 12390 T 0.5010 1.0544 22.6N 119.2E 60 207 04m47s
----- -20 3019 Oct 20 13:42:54 4572 12613 T 0.4551 1.0537 16.0N 3.2W 63 199 04m54s
----- -19 3037 Oct 30 21:52:52 4711 12836 T 0.4161 1.0527 10.1N 127.2W 65 191 04m56s
----- -18 3055 Nov 11 06:09:53 4852 13059 T 0.3826 1.0515 5.0N 107.5E 67 184 04m56s
----- -17 3073 Nov 21 14:35:32 4995 13282 T 0.3561 1.0502 0.8N 19.5W 69 178 04m52s
----- -16 3091 Dec 02 23:07:55 5140 13505 T 0.3347 1.0490 2.4S 147.7W 70 173 04m47s
----- -15 3109 Dec 14 07:47:00 5287 13728 T 0.3188 1.0479 4.5S 82.7E 71 168 04m40s
----- -14 3127 Dec 25 16:30:49 5437 13951 T 0.3066 1.0471 5.6S 47.8W 72 165 04m33s
----- -13 3146 Jan 05 01:19:18 5588 14174 T 0.2981 1.0466 5.6S 179.3W 73 162 04m26s
----- -12 3164 Jan 16 10:09:49 5742 14397 T 0.2913 1.0465 4.7S 48.6E 73 162 04m20s
----- -11 3182 Jan 26 19:01:19 5897 14620 T 0.2853 1.0468 3.0S 83.9W 73 162 04m15s
----- -10 3200 Feb 07 03:52:28 6055 14843 T 0.2788 1.0476 0.6S 143.7E 74 164 04m12s
----- -09 3218 Feb 17 12:42:24 6215 15066 T 0.2712 1.0488 2.4N 11.4E 74 168 04m12s
----- -08 3236 Feb 28 21:27:53 6376 15289 T 0.2599 1.0504 5.6N 119.7W 75 173 04m15s
----- -07 3254 Mar 11 06:09:24 6540 15512 T 0.2456 1.0523 8.9N 110.2E 76 178 04m19s
----- -06 3272 Mar 21 14:44:38 6706 15735 T 0.2260 1.0545 12.2N 18.2W 77 184 04m27s
----- -05 3290 Apr 01 23:14:46 6874 15958 T 0.2020 1.0568 15.4N 145.0W 78 191 04m36s
----- -04 3308 Apr 13 07:35:50 7044 16181 T 0.1705 1.0593 18.0N 90.8E 80 198 04m48s
----- -03 3326 Apr 24 15:51:23 7216 16404 T 0.1344 1.0616 20.1N 31.6W 82 204 05m02s
----- -02 3344 May 04 23:57:51 7391 16627 T 0.0910 1.0637 21.3N 151.3W 85 210 05m18s
----- -01 3362 May 16 07:58:26 7567 16850 Tm 0.0426 1.0656 21.6N 90.6E 87 215 05m35s
----- 00 3380 May 26 15:49:54 7745 17073 T -0.0133 1.0670 20.7N 25.1W 89 219 05m53s
----- 01 3398 Jun 06 23:36:42 7926 17296 T -0.0731 1.0680 18.7N 139.9W 86 222 06m09s
----- 02 3416 Jun 18 07:16:16 8108 17519 T -0.1383 1.0683 15.4N 106.7E 82 225 06m21s
----- 03 3434 Jun 29 14:51:32 8293 17742 T -0.2070 1.0679 11.1N 6.2W 78 226 06m29s
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 3452 Jul 09 22:21:45 8479 17965 T -0.2794 1.0668 5.7N 118.5W 74 227 06m28s
----- 05 3470 Jul 21 05:49:57 8668 18188 T -0.3529 1.0649 0.5S 128.9E 69 227 06m18s
----- 06 3488 Jul 31 13:15:49 8859 18411 T -0.4279 1.0622 7.5S 16.2E 65 225 05m59s
----- 07 3506 Aug 12 20:40:32 9052 18634 T -0.5031 1.0587 15.1S 96.9W 60 223 05m30s
----- 08 3524 Aug 23 04:05:48 9247 18857 T -0.5771 1.0544 23.2S 149.2E 55 219 04m54s
----- 09 3542 Sep 03 11:32:45 9444 19080 T -0.6490 1.0493 31.7S 34.2E 49 214 04m14s
----- 10 3560 Sep 13 19:02:16 9643 19303 T -0.7181 1.0437 40.5S 82.3W 44 208 03m32s
----- 11 3578 Sep 25 02:35:28 9844 19526 T -0.7834 1.0374 49.6S 159.2E 38 201 02m49s
----- 12 3596 Oct 05 10:13:49 10047 19749 T -0.8439 1.0306 58.8S 37.4E 32 192 02m08s
----- 13 3614 Oct 16 17:58:11 10252 19972 T -0.8986 1.0232 67.9S 90.6W 26 181 01m30s
----- 14 3632 Oct 27 01:47:21 10460 20195 T -0.9487 1.0153 75.9S 124.8E 18 171 00m55s
----- 15 3650 Nov 07 09:44:01 10669 20418 T -0.9920 1.0060 74.8S 58.9W 6 210 00m19s
----- 16 3668 Nov 17 17:46:43 10881 20641 P -1.0299 0.9392 69.4S 157.2E 0
----- 17 3686 Nov 29 01:57:01 11094 20864 P -1.0609 0.8805 68.3S 23.9E 0
----- 18 3704 Dec 10 10:11:46 11310 21087 P -1.0876 0.8303 67.3S 109.9W 0
----- 19 3722 Dec 21 18:33:25 11528 21310 P -1.1082 0.7918 66.2S 115.0E 0
----- 20 3741 Jan 01 02:58:57 11748 21533 P -1.1251 0.7602 65.2S 20.5W 0
----- 21 3759 Jan 12 11:28:24 11969 21756 P -1.1382 0.7358 64.2S 156.6W 0
----- 22 3777 Jan 22 19:59:09 12193 21979 P -1.1497 0.7146 63.3S 67.3E 0
----- 23 3795 Feb 03 04:31:17 12419 22202 P -1.1596 0.6965 62.6S 68.9W 0
----- 24 3813 Feb 14 13:02:06 12647 22425 P -1.1699 0.6778 62.0S 155.5E 0
----- 25 3831 Feb 25 21:30:08 12878 22648 P -1.1822 0.6558 61.6S 20.7E 0
----- 26 3849 Mar 08 05:54:27 13110 22871 P -1.1969 0.6297 61.3S 113.0W 0
----- 27 3867 Mar 19 14:13:48 13344 23094 P -1.2152 0.5973 61.2S 114.5E 0
----- 28 3885 Mar 29 22:25:48 13581 23317 P -1.2389 0.5556 61.3S 16.1W 0
----- 29 3903 Apr 11 06:30:16 13819 23540 P -1.2680 0.5044 61.5S 144.8W 0
----- 30 3921 Apr 21 14:26:09 14060 23763 P -1.3034 0.4421 61.9S 88.5E 0
----- 31 3939 May 02 22:13:52 14302 23986 P -1.3449 0.3692 62.4S 36.3W 0
----- 32 3957 May 13 05:50:35 14547 24209 P -1.3943 0.2824 63.1S 158.5W 0
----- 33 3975 May 24 13:19:28 14794 24432 P -1.4490 0.1863 63.9S 81.0E 0
----- 34 3993 Jun 03 20:38:13 15042 24655 Pe -1.5105 0.0782 64.8S 37.2W 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)"
