saros

¹

[ sair-os ]

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.

Saros

²

[ sahr-ohs, -aws ]

noun

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

Saros

¹

/ ˈsɑːrɒs /

noun

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

saros

²

/ 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

Derived Forms

• saronic, adjective

Other Words From

• sa·ron·ic [s, uh, -, ron, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of saros¹

1605–15; < Greek sáros ≪ Akkadian shār

Word History and Origins

Origin of saros¹

C19: from Greek, from Babylonian šāru 3600 (years); modern astronomical use apparently based on mistaken interpretation of šāru as a period of 18 1 2 years

Example Sentences

This recurrence of eclipses after intervals of 18·03 years is called the Saros, and was known to the Chaldeans.

From Project Gutenberg

The discovery of the Saros was such as was within their power, and was certainly no small achievement.

From Project Gutenberg

But a given Saros eclipse in its successive reappearances undergoes other transformations besides that of Terrestrial longitude.

From Project Gutenberg

A new eclipse thus entering will at first be a very small one, but will be larger at every recurrence in each Saros.

From Project Gutenberg

The foregoing does not by any means exhaust all that can be said respecting the Saros even on the popular side.

From Project Gutenberg