July 2, 2019, Total Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 127

Summary: The July 2, 2019, total solar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 127, a series of 82 similar solar eclipses.

Partial solar eclipse of Oct. 10, 991, opened Saros 127’s lineup of 82 solar eclipses: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com, credit required, via EclipseWise website

The July 2, 2019, total solar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 127, which comprises 82 lunar eclipses with similar geometries.

The early July total solar eclipse began Tuesday, July 2, at 18:01:04.3 Universal Time (2:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). The eclipse ended Tuesday, July 2, at 20:44:44.3 UT (4:44 p.m. EDT). The month’s total solar eclipse happened 2.4 days before lunar perigee (Ancient Greek: περί, perí, “near” + γῆ, gê, “Earth”).

The year’s second of three solar eclipses especially favored the South Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand with entire visibility. Parts of Argentina and Chile in southern South America also benefited from entire visibility.

July 2019’s total solar eclipse appeared as number 58 in Saros cycle 127’s lineup of 82 solar eclipses. Retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak’s EclipseWise website notes that Saros 127 solar eclipses share the geometry of occurring at the moon’s ascending node. With each succeeding eclipse in Saros 127, the lunar movement is southward with respect to the ascending node.

The ascending node pairs with the descending node as crossing points of Earth’s orbit by the moon’s orbit. The approximately 5.1 degree tilt of the moon’s orbit with respect to Earth’s orbit accounts for the two nodes. The ascending node marks the lunar crossing to the north of Earth’s orbit. The descending node indicates the lunar crossing to the south of Earth’s orbit.

A Saros cycle equates to approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Saros series 127 has a total duration of 1,460.44 years.

Total solar eclipses claim the most number of Saros 127 eclipses, with a total number of 42 occurrences. Saros 127 exhibits a sequence order of 20 partial solar eclipses, 42 total solar eclipses and 20 partial solar eclipses.

Early July 2019’s total solar eclipse occurs as number 38 in Saros 127 series’ intermediate sequence of 42 total solar eclipses. Its predecessor is the total solar eclipse of June 21, 2001.

June 2001’s solar eclipse appears as number 37 in the total solar eclipse sequence and as number 57 in Saros 127’s lineup of 82 solar eclipses. This eclipse especially favored the South Atlantic Ocean and southern Africa. The June 2001 total solar eclipse happened 2.2 days before lunar apogee (Ancient Greek: ἀπό, apó, “away” + γῆ, gê, “Earth”).

The successor of the July 2, 2019, total solar eclipse in Saros 127 will appear July 13, 2037, as number 39 in the sequence of 42 total solar eclipses and as number 59 in Saros 127’s lineup of 82 solar eclipses. This eclipse happens 2.6 days before lunar perigee. The July 2037 total solar eclipse particularly favors Australia and New Zealand as well as the South Pacific Ocean’s Tasman Sea and the southeastern Indian Ocean.

Saros 127 begins and ends with a partial solar eclipse. Fred Espenak’s EclipseWise website notes that the opening eclipse began in the Northern Hemisphere while the closing eclipse will begin in the Southern Hemisphere.

The partial eclipse of Oct. 10, 991, opened Saros 127. The series’ opening eclipse especially favored the Svalbard archipelago, Finland and far northwestern Russia’s Kola Peninsula as well as the Arctic Ocean’s Norwegian and Barents Seas. The eclipse happened 6.4 days before lunar apogee, according to retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak’s EclipseWise website.

The Saros 127 series closes March 21, 2452, with a partial solar eclipse. The series’ closing eclipse particularly favors the Southern Ocean off East Antarctica and the adjacent small segment of the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. The eclipse happened 5.1 days after lunar apogee.

The takeaway for the July 2, 2019, total solar eclipse is that event occurs as number 38 in Saros 127’s intermediate sequence of 42 total solar eclipses and as number 58 in the series’ lineup of 82 solar eclipses.

Partial solar eclipse of March 21, 2452, occurs as the closing eclipse in Saros 127’s lineup of 82 solar eclipses: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com, credit required, via EclipseWise website

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Partial solar eclipse of Oct. 10, 991, opened Saros 127’s lineup of 82 solar eclipses: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com, credit required, via EclipseWise website @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/0901-1000/SE0991Oct10Pprime.html

Partial solar eclipse of March 21, 2452, occurs as the closing eclipse in Saros 127’s lineup of 82 solar eclipses: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com, credit required, via EclipseWise website @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2401-2500/SE2452Mar21Pprime.html

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses and the Saros.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0-180.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros.html

Espenak, Fred. “Key to Global Maps of Solar Eclipses.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Preview: 2018 Through 2030 > Key to Solar Eclipse Maps.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEpingkey.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 0991 Oct 10.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Six Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses > 0901 to 1100.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/0901-1000/SE0991Oct10Pprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2452 Mar 21.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Six Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses > 2401 to 2500.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2401-2500/SE2452Mar21Pprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Saros 127.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses > Saros -33 to 190 > Summary of Saros Series 121 to 150.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEsaros/SEsaros127.html

Espenak, Fred. “Saros Series 127.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses: 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros127.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Solar Eclipse of 2001 Jun 21.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses > Saros -33 to 190 > Summary of Saros Series 121 to 150.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2001Jun21Tprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Solar Eclipse of 2019 Jul 02.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Eclipses of the Sun > Decade Solar Eclipse Tables > 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2019Jul02T.GIF

Espenak, Fred. “Total Solar Eclipse of 2037 Jul 13.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses > Saros -33 to 190 > Summary of Saros Series 121 to 150.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2037Jul13Tprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Solar Eclipse of July 02.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Recent and Upcoming Solar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2019.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2019.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Jan. 20-21, 2019, Total Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 134.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/jan-20-21-2019-total-lunar-eclipse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Partial Solar Eclipse Jan. 5-6 Is First of Three 2019 Solar Eclipses.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, January 2, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/partial-solar-eclipse-jan-5-6-is-first.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Total Lunar Eclipse Jan. 20-21 Is First of Two 2019 Lunar Eclipses.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/01/total-lunar-eclipse-jan-20-21-is-first.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Total Solar Eclipse July 2 Is Second of Three 2019 Solar Eclipses." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 26, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/06/total-solar-eclipse-july-2-is-second-of.html