saros

¹ American  

[sair-os] / ˈsɛər ɒs /

noun

Astronomy.

1. the period of 223 synodic months, equaling 6585.32 days or 18 years, 11.32 days (or 10.32 days if 5 leap years occur in the interval), after which eclipses repeat but are shifted 120° west.

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Saros ² American  

[sahr-ohs, -aws] / ˈsɑr oʊs, -ɔs /

noun

1. Gulf of, an inlet of the Aegean, N of the Gallipoli Peninsula. 37 miles (60 km) long; 22 miles (35 km) wide.

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Saros ¹ British  

/ ˈsɑːrɒs /

noun

1. an inlet of the Aegean in NW Turkey, north of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Length: 59 km (37 miles). Width: 35 km (22 miles)

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saros ² British  

/ ˈseɪrɒs, səˈrɒnɪk /

noun

1. a cycle of about 18 years 11 days (6585.32 days) in which eclipses of the sun and moon occur in the same sequence and at the same intervals as in the previous such cycle

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Other Word Forms

• saronic adjective

Etymology

Origin of saros

1605–15; < Greek sáros ≪ Akkadian shār

Example Sentences

All eclipses belong to a family — called saros — that lasts centuries.

From Washington Post • Apr. 29, 2022

But in my model, the 223-tooth gear rotates very slowly to turn the pointer for the saros dial.

From Scientific American • Dec. 14, 2021

On the same fragment, Rehm found the numbers 76, a Greek refinement of the 19-year cycle, and 223, for the number of lunar months in a Babylonian eclipse-prediction cycle called the saros cycle.

From Scientific American • Dec. 14, 2021

On the back plate, the eclipse inscriptions are indexed to markings on the saros dial.

From Scientific American • Dec. 14, 2021

The saros is a period at the end of which the centers of sun and moon return very nearly to their relative positions at the beginning of the cycle.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck