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Date Posted: 05:11:55 04/28/08 Mon
Author: Organ Morgan
Subject: Re: Russian total eclipse
In reply to: Roger 's message, "Re: Russian total eclipse" on 22:31:43 04/27/08 Sun

>>This will be my second Saros 126 eclipse. Cool!
>>And next year's 136 is an excellent vintage.
>><a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros136.html">http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros136.html</a>
>
>Can you explain the Saros numbers in 100 words?

Given that the moon's synodic, sidereal and anomalistic cycles are 27.321, 29.530 and 27.554 days, it takes about 18 years to do a complete combination of cycles, bringing the moon back into the same place. Therefore, if there's an eclipse, there will also be one 18 years later. These series of 18-yearly eclipses are given a Saros (probably Babylonian) number. Since the whole cycle is not an exact day but to a third of a day, the next eclipse in the same Saros will be shifted 120 degrees round the earth but have a similar path. Even numbered Saros eclipses work their way up from the Antarctic over their cycle, odd ones start at the top and work down.

Here's an animation of the Saros 136 eclipse cycle:
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsarosanimate/136.gif">http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsarosanimate/136.gif</a>

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