Saturday, Dec. 4, Total Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 152

Summary: The Saturday, Dec. 4, total solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 152, a family of 70 similar solar eclipses.

A partial eclipse on Friday, July 26, 1805, opened solar Saros series 152's lineup of 70 similar eclipses; credit: Eclipse map/figure/table/predictions courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, from eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov: no copyright, via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Saturday, Dec. 4, total solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 152, which comprises 70 similar solar eclipses.

The solar Saros cycle associates solar eclipses with similar geometries into families, known as series. For example, all solar eclipses in a particular Saros series share the same lunar nodal occurrence. The ascending and descending lunar nodes mark the two points of the lunar orbit that intersect with Earth's orbit. The ascending node concerns the southward movement of each succeeding eclipse in the ascending node-occurring series. The descending node pertains to the northward movement of each subsequent eclipse in an ascending node-occurring series.

Saros 152 solar eclipses have the shared geometry of occurrence at the moon's descending node. The moon moves northward with each Saros 152 solar eclipse.

A Saros cycle lasts approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Specifically, Saros series 152 endures for 1,244.08 years, according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Eclipse Web Site's eclipse predictions by NASA astrophysicist, now retired, Fred Espenak. Saros series 152 spans 13 centuries, from the 18th to the 31st centuries.

Saros series 152 comprises 15 partial solar eclipses, 30 total solar eclipses, three hybrid solar eclipses and 22 annular solar eclipses. The cycle's 70 eclipses sequence as five sets. The first set comprises nine partial solar eclipses. The second set contains 30 total solar eclipses. The third set is composed of the cycle's three hybrid solar eclipses. The fourth of the cycle's five sets features 22 annular solar eclipses. The cycle's fifth and last set contains the last six of the cycle's 15 partial solar eclipses.

Saros series 152 opened with a partial solar eclipse on Friday, July 26, 1805. The series closes with a partial solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 20, 3049. Consistent with the Saros 152 cycle's characteristic northward movement from the descending node, the opening solar eclipse was a Southern Hemisphere event while the closing solar eclipse will be a Northern Hemisphere happening.

The Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, total solar eclipse numbers as 13 in the Saros series 152 lineup of 70 eclipses. December's solar eclipse occurs as fourth in the Saros 152 cycle's set of 30 total solar eclipses. December's predecessor in the set appeared Sunday, Nov. 23, 2003, as third in the total solar eclipse set and as 12th in Saros series 152's overall lineup of 70 eclipses.

The Saros 152 cycle's successor to the Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, total solar eclipse will appear Thursday, Dec. 15, 2039. The December 2039 total solar eclipse will take place as fifth in the Saros 152 cycle's set of total solar eclipses and as 14th in Saros series 152's overall lineup of 70 eclipses.

The Saros 152 cycle's second set, of which the December 2021 total solar eclipse is a member, spans six centuries, from the 20th to the 25th centuries. The set of 30 total solar eclipses opened Thursday, Nov. 2, 1967. Saros 152 cycle's first total solar eclipse numbered as 10th in the cycle's overall lineup of 70 eclipses. The total solar eclipse set will close Thursday, Sept. 14, 2490. Saros 152 cycle's last total solar eclipse will number as 39th in the cycle's overall lineup of 70 eclipses.

The extreme durations predicted by Fred Espenak on the NASA Eclipse Web Site for Saros series 152 spotlight the cycle's 21st total solar eclipse as having Saros 152 cycle's longest duration. The total solar eclipse of Saturday, June 9, 2328, which lasts for 5 minutes 15 seconds, numbers as 30th in the cycle's overall lineup of 70 eclipses. The total solar eclipse set's closer, which occurs Thursday, Sept. 14, 2490, qualifies as Saros 152 cycle's shortest total solar eclipse, with a duration of 1 minute 47 seconds.

The takeaways for the Saturday, Dec. 4, total solar eclipse belonging to Saros series 152 are that the event occurs as fourth in Saros series 152's set of 30 total solar eclipses and as 13th in Saros series 152's overall lineup of 70 eclipses; that December 2021's Saros series 152 predecessor was the total solar eclipse of Sunday, Nov. 23, 2003; and that December 2021's Saros series 152 successor will be the total solar eclipse of Thursday, Dec. 15, 2039.

The Saturday, June 9, 2328, total solar eclipse's duration of 5 minutes 15 seconds, which muchly exceeds the Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, total solar eclipse's duration of 1 minute 54 seconds, qualifies as Saros series 152's longest total solar eclipse: Eclipse map/figure/table/predictions courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, from eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov: no copyright, via NASA Eclipse Web Site

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

A partial eclipse on Friday, July 26, 1805, opened solar Saros series 152's lineup of 70 similar eclipses; credit: Eclipse map/figure/table/predictions courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, from eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov: no copyright, via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1801-1900/1805-07-26.gif

The Saturday, June 9, 2328, total solar eclipse's duration of 5 minutes 15 seconds, which muchly exceeds the Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, total solar eclipse's duration of 1 minute 54 seconds, qualifies as Saros series 152's longest total solar eclipse: Eclipse map/figure/table/predictions courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, from eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov: no copyright, via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2301-2400/2328-06-09.gif

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. "Partial 1805 Jul 26." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0 to 180 > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1801-1900/1805-07-26.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Saros Series 152." EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Saros -33 to 190 > Summary of Saros 147 to 176.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEsaros/SEsaros152.html

Espenak, Fred. "Saros Series 152." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0 to 180 > Summary of Saros Series 150 to 175.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros152.html

Espenak, Fred. "Total 1867 Nov 02." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0 to 180 > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1967-11-02.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Total 2003 Nov 23." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0 to 180 > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2003-11-23.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Total 2039 Dec 15." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0 to 180 > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2039-12-15.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Total 2328 Jun 09." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0 to 180 > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2301-2400/2328-06-09.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Total 2490 Sep 14." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0 to 180 > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2401-2500/2490-09-14.gif

Espenak, Fred. “Total Solar Eclipse of 2021 Dec 4.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Recent and Upcoming Solar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2021.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2021Dec04Tprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Solar Eclipse of 2021 Dec 4.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses: Past and Future > Decade Solar Eclipse Tables > Solar Eclipses: 2021-2030.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2021Dec04T.GIF

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday, Dec. 4, Total Solar Eclipse Closes 2021 Eclipse Quartet." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/11/saturday-dec-4-total-solar-eclipse.html