Saros 78

Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 78

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 78

The table below lists the concise characteristics of every solar eclipse belonging to Saros 78 . 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 78
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
1-36 -0463-Jun-0914:14:24 16447 417 -30458 Pb t- -1.5422 0.0171 67S 39E 0 - -
2-35 -0445-Jun-2020:59:26 16142 410 -30235 P t- -1.4591 0.1640 66S 74W 0 - -
3-34 -0427-Jul-0103:49:29 15853 404 -30012 P t- -1.3786 0.3069 65S 172E 0 - -
4-33 -0409-Jul-1210:45:40 15565 397 -29789 P t- -1.3016 0.4441 64S 57E 0 - -
5-32 -0391-Jul-2217:49:54 15286 391 -29566 P t- -1.2298 0.5726 64S 60W 0 - -
6-31 -0373-Aug-0301:02:55 15018 385 -29343 P t- -1.1637 0.6910 63S 179W 0 - -
7-30 -0355-Aug-1308:24:23 14749 378 -29120 P t- -1.1033 0.7993 62S 60E 0 - -
8-29 -0337-Aug-2415:56:28 14493 372 -28897 P t- -1.0505 0.8940 61S 63W 0 - -
9-28 -0319-Sep-0323:38:28 14242 366 -28674 P t- -1.0051 0.9754 61S 172E 0 - -
10-27 -0301-Sep-1507:31:23 13991 360 -28451 A t- -0.9676 0.9823 56S 69E 14 25001m16s
11-26 -0283-Sep-2515:32:51 13754 354 -28228 A t- -0.9363 0.9841 55S 50W 20 15801m08s
12-25 -0265-Oct-0623:44:38 13516 348 -28005 A t- -0.9127 0.9855 56S 174W 24 12401m01s
13-24 -0247-Oct-1708:04:16 13281 342 -27782 A p- -0.8948 0.9867 58S 59E 26 10400m55s
14-23 -0229-Oct-2816:31:19 13057 336 -27559 A p- -0.8824 0.9882 61S 70W 28 8800m47s
15-22 -0211-Nov-0801:04:08 12832 330 -27336 A p- -0.8741 0.9898 65S 159E 29 7400m40s
16-21 -0193-Nov-1909:41:34 12613 324 -27113 A p- -0.8691 0.9919 69S 28E 29 5800m31s
17-20 -0175-Nov-2918:21:49 12402 318 -26890 A p- -0.8656 0.9944 73S 103W 30 3900m21s
18-19 -0157-Dec-1103:02:18 12190 312 -26667 A p- -0.8618 0.9976 77S 131E 30 1700m09s
19-18 -0139-Dec-2111:43:02 11986 307 -26444 H p- -0.8576 1.0012 81S 15E 31 800m05s
20-17 -0120-Jan-0120:20:57 11786 301 -26221 H p- -0.8510 1.0055 82S 86W 31 3700m21s
21-16 -0102-Jan-1204:55:02 11585 296 -25998 T p- -0.8405 1.0104 80S 170E 32 6700m39s
22-15 -0084-Jan-2313:23:21 11391 290 -25775 T p- -0.8247 1.0158 75S 53E 34 9701m01s
23-14 -0066-Feb-0221:46:12 11197 285 -25552 T p- -0.8041 1.0217 69S 71W 36 12501m26s
24-13 -0048-Feb-1406:02:15 11005 279 -25329 T p- -0.7774 1.0279 63S 163E 39 15001m54s
25-12 -0030-Feb-2414:10:17 10819 274 -25106 T p- -0.7437 1.0343 56S 38E 42 17202m27s
26-11 -0012-Mar-0622:11:23 10632 268 -24883 T p- -0.7037 1.0407 48S 87W 45 19103m03s
27-10 0006-Mar-1806:04:50 10449 263 -24660 T p- -0.6567 1.0470 41S 150E 49 20603m42s
28 -9 0024-Mar-2813:52:00 10272 258 -24437 T p- -0.6040 1.0531 33S 29E 53 21904m24s
29 -8 0042-Apr-0821:32:12 10095 253 -24214 T p- -0.5451 1.0588 25S 90W 57 22905m05s
30 -7 0060-Apr-1905:07:56 9920 248 -23991 T p- -0.4816 1.0640 17S 152E 61 23805m45s
31 -6 0078-Apr-3012:39:15 9746 243 -23768 T p- -0.4138 1.0685 10S 35E 65 24506m19s
32 -5 0096-May-1020:06:45 9572 238 -23545 T n- -0.3422 1.0723 2S 80W 70 25006m47s
33 -4 0114-May-2203:32:27 9400 233 -23322 T n- -0.2685 1.0753 5N 166E 74 25307m06s
34 -3 0132-Jun-0110:56:58 9228 228 -23099 T n- -0.1934 1.0775 11N 53E 79 25507m14s
35 -2 0150-Jun-1218:22:45 9056 223 -22876 T nn -0.1189 1.0787 17N 59W 83 25607m13s
36 -1 0168-Jun-2301:48:35 8884 218 -22653 T nn -0.0442 1.0792 21N 171W 88 25607m03s
37 0 0186-Jul-0409:18:37 8713 213 -22430 Tm nn 0.0273 1.0787 25N 77E 88 25406m47s
38 1 0204-Jul-1416:51:30 8541 209 -22207 T nn 0.0967 1.0774 28N 35W 84 25206m27s
39 2 0222-Jul-2600:30:10 8369 204 -21984 T -n 0.1611 1.0754 29N 148W 81 24806m06s
40 3 0240-Aug-0508:13:00 8197 200 -21761 T -n 0.2219 1.0727 29N 97E 77 24205m45s
Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 78
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 4 0258-Aug-1616:04:02 8025 195 -21538 T -n 0.2759 1.0696 29N 19W 74 23505m25s
42 5 0276-Aug-2700:01:11 7853 191 -21315 T -n 0.3248 1.0660 27N 138W 71 22705m06s
43 6 0294-Sep-0708:06:17 7681 186 -21092 T -n 0.3670 1.0621 25N 101E 68 21804m49s
44 7 0312-Sep-1716:18:44 7508 182 -20869 T -n 0.4030 1.0581 23N 23W 66 20704m33s
45 8 0330-Sep-2900:40:06 7334 177 -20646 T -n 0.4312 1.0540 20N 149W 64 19604m19s
46 9 0348-Oct-0909:08:27 7160 173 -20423 T -n 0.4538 1.0501 17N 83E 63 18504m07s
47 10 0366-Oct-2017:43:18 6983 169 -20200 T -p 0.4708 1.0464 14N 47W 62 17303m56s
48 11 0384-Oct-3102:24:05 6805 165 -19977 T -p 0.4830 1.0431 12N 179W 61 16303m47s
49 12 0402-Nov-1111:10:20 6627 161 -19754 T -p 0.4903 1.0401 10N 47E 61 15303m39s
50 13 0420-Nov-2119:59:03 6448 157 -19531 T -p 0.4954 1.0377 8N 87W 60 14503m33s
51 14 0438-Dec-0304:50:26 6269 153 -19308 T -p 0.4980 1.0357 7N 138E 60 13803m27s
52 15 0456-Dec-1313:41:16 6091 149 -19085 T -p 0.5009 1.0342 6N 4E 60 13303m23s
53 16 0474-Dec-2422:31:40 5915 145 -18862 T -p 0.5038 1.0332 7N 130W 60 12903m20s
54 17 0493-Jan-0407:17:11 5740 141 -18639 T -p 0.5103 1.0326 8N 96E 59 12803m16s
55 18 0511-Jan-1515:59:54 5564 137 -18416 T -p 0.5188 1.0323 10N 36W 59 12803m14s
56 19 0529-Jan-2600:35:22 5388 133 -18193 T -p 0.5326 1.0323 14N 168W 58 12903m10s
57 20 0547-Feb-0609:04:36 5212 130 -17970 T -p 0.5514 1.0325 18N 62E 56 13103m07s
58 21 0565-Feb-1617:24:29 5040 126 -17747 T -p 0.5776 1.0327 23N 66W 55 13403m02s
59 22 0583-Feb-2801:37:20 4867 122 -17524 T -p 0.6091 1.0329 29N 168E 52 13902m55s
60 23 0601-Mar-1009:40:26 4695 119 -17301 T -p 0.6482 1.0327 35N 43E 49 14402m47s
61 24 0619-Mar-2117:34:29 4527 115 -17078 T -p 0.6943 1.0323 43N 80W 46 15002m36s
62 25 0637-Apr-0101:19:44 4358 112 -16855 T -p 0.7472 1.0312 51N 158E 41 15802m21s
63 26 0655-Apr-1208:56:50 4191 109 -16632 T -p 0.8064 1.0296 60N 37E 36 16902m05s
64 27 0673-Apr-2216:26:09 4026 105 -16409 T -t 0.8713 1.0270 70N 88W 29 18801m45s
65 28 0691-May-0323:48:03 3861 102 -16186 T -t 0.9414 1.0229 79N 123E 19 23801m20s
66 29 0709-May-1407:04:26 3700 99 -15963 P -t 1.0153 0.9738 69N 69W 0 - -
67 30 0727-May-2514:15:48 3544 95 -15740 P -t 1.0924 0.8297 68N 171E 0 - -
68 31 0745-Jun-0421:22:33 3388 92 -15517 P -t 1.1723 0.6811 67N 53E 0 - -
69 32 0763-Jun-1604:27:21 3237 89 -15294 P -t 1.2525 0.5328 66N 64W 0 - -
70 33 0781-Jun-2611:30:36 3089 86 -15071 P -t 1.3329 0.3851 65N 179E 0 - -
71 34 0799-Jul-0718:35:00 2940 83 -14848 P -t 1.4111 0.2429 64N 62E 0 - -
72 35 0817-Jul-1801:39:33 2798 80 -14625 Pe -t 1.4879 0.1045 63N 54W 0 - -

Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 78

Solar eclipses of Saros 78 all occur at the Moon’s descending node and the Moon moves northward with each eclipse. The series began with a partial eclipse in the southern hemisphere on -0463 Jun 09. The series ended with a partial eclipse in the northern hemisphere on 0817 Jul 18. The total duration of Saros series 78 is 1280.14 years.

Summary of Saros 78
First Eclipse -0463 Jun 09
Last Eclipse 0817 Jul 18
Series Duration 1280.14 Years
No. of Eclipses 72
Sequence 9P 9A 2H 45T 7P

Saros 78 is composed of 72 solar eclipses as follows:

Solar Eclipses of Saros 78
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 72100.0%
PartialP 16 22.2%
AnnularA 9 12.5%
TotalT 45 62.5%
HybridH 2 2.8%

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 78 appears in the following table.

Umbral Eclipses of Saros 78
Classification Number Percent
All Umbral Eclipses 56100.0%
Central (two limits) 56100.0%
Central (one limit) 0 0.0%
Non-Central (one limit) 0 0.0%

The 72 eclipses in Saros 78 occur in the following order : 9P 9A 2H 45T 7P

The longest and shortest central eclipses of Saros 78 as well as largest and smallest partial eclipses appear below.

Extreme Durations and Magnitudes of Solar Eclipses of Saros 78
Extrema Type Date Duration Magnitude
Longest Annular Solar Eclipse -0301 Sep 1501m16s -
Shortest Annular Solar Eclipse -0157 Dec 1100m09s -
Longest Total Solar Eclipse 0132 Jun 0107m14s -
Shortest Total Solar Eclipse -0102 Jan 1200m39s -
Longest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0120 Jan 0100m21s -
Shortest Hybrid Solar Eclipse -0139 Dec 2100m05s -
Largest Partial Solar Eclipse -0319 Sep 03 - 0.97540
Smallest Partial Solar Eclipse -0463 Jun 09 - 0.01712

Eclipse Publications

by Fred Espenak

jpeg jpeg
jpeg jpeg
jpeg jpeg

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.