Saros 159

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159

Fred Espenak

Introduction

A solar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon's shadow passes across Earth's surface. At least two solar eclipses and as many as five occur every year.

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 with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and the same time of year due to a harmonic in three cycles of the Moon's orbit. 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 eclipses before ending with a group of partial eclipses near the opposite pole. For more information, see Periodicity of Solar Eclipses.

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every solar eclipse belonging to Saros 159 . The date and time of each eclipse is given for the instant of Greatest Eclipse. For eclipses between the years -1999 to 3000, the calendar date links to a web page containing additional details and a map showing the geographic region of eclipse visibility for that eclipse. A description of each parameter in the catalog table can be found in Key to Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses.

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159
Seq Num Rel Num Calendar Date TD of Greatest Eclipse ΔT

s		 ΔT Sigma
s		 Luna Num Ecl Type QLE Gamma Ecl Mag Lat

°		 Long

°		 Sun Alt
°		 Path Width km Central Dur
1-34 2134-May-2323:01:18 158 64 1662 Pb t- 1.5285 0.0309 64N 55E 0 - -
2-33 2152-Jun-0306:11:19 182 80 1885 P t- 1.4644 0.1479 65N 62W 0 - -
3-32 2170-Jun-1413:15:10 208 97 2108 P t- 1.3963 0.2719 65N 178W 0 - -
4-31 2188-Jun-2420:14:38 236 116 2331 P t- 1.3252 0.4008 66N 67E 0 - -
5-30 2206-Jul-0703:10:26 267 135 2554 P t- 1.2516 0.5335 67N 47W 0 - -
6-29 2224-Jul-1710:03:58 301 156 2777 P t- 1.1767 0.6678 68N 161W 0 - -
7-28 2242-Jul-2816:57:12 337 177 3000 P t- 1.1020 0.8005 69N 84E 0 - -
8-27 2260-Aug-0723:51:13 376 200 3223 P t- 1.0287 0.9294 70N 32W 0 - -
9-26 2278-Aug-1906:46:22 418 223 3446 A t- 0.9568 0.9712 76N 155E 16 36701m53s
10-25 2296-Aug-2913:45:39 462 248 3669 A p- 0.8888 0.9689 67N 14E 27 24502m20s
11-24 2314-Sep-1020:49:10 508 273 3892 A p- 0.8247 0.9654 57N 104W 34 22002m54s
12-23 2332-Sep-2103:59:09 557 299 4115 A p- 0.7666 0.9613 48N 141E 40 21603m34s
13-22 2350-Oct-0211:14:06 609 327 4338 A p- 0.7131 0.9568 40N 28E 44 22204m21s
14-21 2368-Oct-1218:37:19 663 355 4561 A p- 0.6672 0.9522 33N 87W 48 23305m13s
15-20 2386-Oct-2402:06:42 720 384 4784 A p- 0.6267 0.9475 26N 158E 51 24606m09s
16-19 2404-Nov-0309:44:07 780 414 5007 A p- 0.5934 0.9430 21N 41E 53 26007m05s
17-18 2422-Nov-1417:27:39 842 444 5230 A p- 0.5657 0.9386 16N 77W 55 27508m01s
18-17 2440-Nov-2501:18:38 906 476 5453 A p- 0.5445 0.9347 12N 164E 57 29008m51s
19-16 2458-Dec-0609:14:45 973 508 5676 A p- 0.5280 0.9312 9N 43E 58 30309m34s
20-15 2476-Dec-1617:15:17 1043 541 5899 A p- 0.5153 0.9282 8N 78W 59 31410m04s
21-14 2494-Dec-2801:19:27 1115 575 6122 A p- 0.5061 0.9257 7N 161E 60 32310m22s
22-13 2513-Jan-0809:25:21 1190 610 6345 A p- 0.4981 0.9240 7N 38E 60 32910m25s
23-12 2531-Jan-1917:31:17 1268 646 6568 A p- 0.4908 0.9228 8N 84W 61 33210m17s
24-11 2549-Jan-3001:34:49 1348 682 6791 A p- 0.4814 0.9223 9N 155E 61 33109m59s
25-10 2567-Feb-1009:35:48 1430 720 7014 A p- 0.4703 0.9223 11N 34E 62 32809m37s
26 -9 2585-Feb-2017:31:54 1516 758 7237 A p- 0.4549 0.9230 14N 86W 63 32109m11s
27 -8 2603-Mar-0501:21:14 1603 796 7460 A p- 0.4344 0.9243 16N 157E 64 31208m45s
28 -7 2621-Mar-1509:03:05 1694 836 7683 A p- 0.4079 0.9260 19N 41E 66 30108m20s
29 -6 2639-Mar-2616:36:36 1787 876 7906 A p- 0.3749 0.9281 21N 72W 68 28807m58s
30 -5 2657-Apr-0600:01:43 1882 917 8129 A n- 0.3349 0.9305 24N 178E 70 27407m38s
31 -4 2675-Apr-1707:16:45 1980 959 8352 A nn 0.2867 0.9331 25N 71E 73 25907m23s
32 -3 2693-Apr-2714:23:42 2081 1002 8575 A nn 0.2319 0.9359 26N 34W 76 24507m12s
33 -2 2711-May-0921:21:38 2184 1045 8798 A nn 0.1700 0.9385 26N 136W 80 23107m05s
34 -1 2729-May-2004:11:48 2290 1090 9021 A nn 0.1016 0.9412 26N 124E 84 21907m01s
35 0 2747-May-3110:54:33 2398 1135 9244 A nn 0.0270 0.9436 23N 26E 88 20807m01s
36 1 2765-Jun-1017:31:56 2509 1180 9467 Am nn -0.0521 0.9459 20N 72W 87 20007m02s
37 2 2783-Jun-2200:05:16 2622 1227 9690 A nn -0.1348 0.9477 16N 169W 82 19407m04s
38 3 2801-Jul-0206:34:22 2738 1274 9913 A nn -0.2211 0.9492 10N 95E 77 19107m03s
39 4 2819-Jul-1313:03:12 2857 1322 10136 A np -0.3076 0.9502 4N 3W 72 19206m58s
40 5 2837-Jul-2319:31:07 2978 1370 10359 A -p -0.3950 0.9508 3S 101W 67 19606m47s
Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159
Seq Num Rel Num Calendar Date TD of Greatest Eclipse ΔT

s		 ΔT Sigma
s		 Luna Num Ecl Type QLE Gamma Ecl Mag Lat

°		 Long

°		 Sun Alt
°		 Path Width km Central Dur
41 6 2855-Aug-0402:01:57 3102 1420 10582 A -p -0.4803 0.9510 11S 159E 61 20406m31s
42 7 2873-Aug-1408:34:10 3228 1470 10805 A -p -0.5647 0.9506 20S 59E 55 21806m12s
43 8 2891-Aug-2515:12:34 3357 1521 11028 A -p -0.6442 0.9498 29S 44W 50 23805m52s
44 9 2909-Sep-0521:55:35 3489 1572 11251 A -p -0.7199 0.9486 38S 150W 44 26905m31s
45 10 2927-Sep-1704:45:59 3623 1624 11474 A -p -0.7898 0.9470 47S 102E 38 31405m10s
46 11 2945-Sep-2711:43:45 3759 1677 11697 A -p -0.8540 0.9451 57S 10W 31 38704m50s
47 12 2963-Oct-0818:51:28 3899 1731 11920 A -p -0.9107 0.9428 66S 130W 24 51404m31s
48 13 2981-Oct-1902:08:11 4040 1786 12143 A -p -0.9601 0.9400 74S 93E 16 82104m14s
49 14 2999-Oct-3009:34:28 4185 1841 12366 A- -t -1.0024 0.9584 71S 86W 0 - -
50 15 3017-Nov-1017:10:21 4332 1897 12589 P -t -1.0373 0.8985 70S 148E 0 - -
51 16 3035-Nov-2200:56:04 4481 1953 12812 P -t -1.0651 0.8509 69S 20E 0 - -
52 17 3053-Dec-0208:49:59 4633 2011 13035 P -t -1.0867 0.8140 68S 109W 0 - -
53 18 3071-Dec-1316:52:08 4788 2069 13258 P -t -1.1025 0.7872 67S 120E 0 - -
54 19 3089-Dec-2401:00:41 4945 2127 13481 P -t -1.1138 0.7681 66S 11W 0 - -
55 20 3108-Jan-0509:15:24 5105 2187 13704 P -t -1.1208 0.7564 65S 144W 0 - -
56 21 3126-Jan-1517:32:36 5267 2247 13927 P -t -1.1267 0.7470 64S 82E 0 - -
57 22 3144-Jan-2701:53:27 5432 2308 14150 P -t -1.1303 0.7414 63S 51W 0 - -
58 23 3162-Feb-0610:13:28 5600 2369 14373 P -t -1.1353 0.7335 62S 175E 0 - -
59 24 3180-Feb-1718:33:26 5770 2432 14596 P -t -1.1409 0.7248 62S 42E 0 - -
60 25 3198-Feb-2802:48:54 5942 2495 14819 P -t -1.1508 0.7085 61S 90W 0 - -
61 26 3216-Mar-1011:02:17 6118 2558 15042 P -t -1.1630 0.6881 61S 139E 0 - -
62 27 3234-Mar-2119:09:27 6295 2623 15265 P -t -1.1812 0.6572 61S 9E 0 - -
63 28 3252-Apr-0103:11:19 6476 2688 15488 P -t -1.2040 0.6176 61S 119W 0 - -
64 29 3270-Apr-1211:05:48 6659 2753 15711 P -t -1.2334 0.5660 62S 114E 0 - -
65 30 3288-Apr-2218:54:40 6844 2820 15934 P -t -1.2679 0.5046 62S 11W 0 - -
66 31 3306-May-0502:36:26 7032 2887 16157 P -t -1.3089 0.4307 63S 134W 0 - -
67 32 3324-May-1510:12:00 7223 2955 16380 P -t -1.3556 0.3456 63S 103E 0 - -
68 33 3342-May-2617:41:50 7416 3024 16603 P -t -1.4076 0.2499 64S 18W 0 - -
69 34 3360-Jun-0601:07:15 7612 3093 16826 P -t -1.4634 0.1461 65S 138W 0 - -
70 35 3378-Jun-1708:27:46 7810 3163 17049 Pe -t -1.5237 0.0330 66S 103E 0 - -

Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 159

Solar eclipses of Saros 159 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 2134 May 23. The series will end with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on 3378 Jun 17. The total duration of Saros series 159 is 1244.08 years.

Summary of Saros 159
First Eclipse 2134 May 23
Last Eclipse 3378 Jun 17
Series Duration 1244.08 Years
No. of Eclipses 70
Sequence 8P 41A 21P

Saros 159 is composed of 70 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 159
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 70100.0%
PartialP 29 41.4%
AnnularA 41 58.6%
TotalT 0 0.0%
HybridH 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 159 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 159
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 41100.0%
Central (two limits) 40 97.6%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 1 2.4%

The 70 eclipses in Saros 159 occur in the following order : 8P 41A 21P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 159 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse 2513 Jan 0810m25s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse 2278 Aug 1901m53s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse 2260 Aug 07 - 0.92941
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse 2134 May 23 - 0.03088

Panorama of Solar Eclipses of Saros 159

Catalog of Saros Series of Solar Eclipses

Eclipse Publications

by Fred Espenak

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Calendar

The Gregorian calendar (also called the Western calendar) is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582. On this website, the Gregorian calendar is used for all calendar 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..

Eclipse Predictions

The eclipse predictions presented here were generated using the JPL DE406 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates have been calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass.

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:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

A series of polynomial expressions have been derived to simplify the evaluation of ΔT for any time from -2999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.

Acknowledgments

Some of the content on this web site is based on the books Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are NOT altered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is NOT removed or covered.