The following table of solar eclipses are each associated with some historical event of note. When selected, each eclipse links to a global map of Earth showing the region of visibility for that particular eclipse. The path of the Moon's penumbral shadow (red) covers the region of partial eclipse, while the track of the umbral shadow (blue) defines the path of total or annular eclipse. These figures are described in greater detail in the Key to Solar Eclipse Maps. Each figure is stored as a GIF of 65 kilobytes. In addition, a link to a table of eclipse path coordinates permits the plotting the track on higher detail maps.
Sources and/or literary references to many of these eclipses may be found at:
Ancient and Early Medieval Eclipses in European Sources
The references at the bottom of this page are also recommended for information on solar eclipses of historical interest. Those who are unfamiliar with the basic astronomy of solar eclipses may want to visit Solar Eclipses for Beginners. A complementary web page Lunar Eclipses of Historical Interest is also available.
This web site is a work in progress. If you know of an historic eclipse of interest, please email the date and a little information or reference about the event to espenak@gsfc.nasa.gov. I will generate a map for the eclipse and add it to this page.
| Solar Eclipses: 2000 BCE to 1 BCE[3] | ||||||
| Date | Eclipse Type |
Ecl. [1] Mag. |
Central [2] Duration |
Global Map | Path | Description/Event |
| -1374 May 03 (1375 BCE) | Total | 1.029 | 02m05s | map | path | Ugarit Eclipse |
| -1301 Jun 05 (1302 BCE) | Total | 1.080 | 06m24s | map | path | Early Chinese Eclipse |
| -1177 Apr 16 (1178 BCE) | Total | 1.060 | 04m34s | map | path | Homer's 'Odyssey' |
| -0898 Apr 20 (899 BCE) | Annular | 0.959 | 03m05s | map | path | China's 'Double-Dawn' Eclipse |
| -0762 Jun 15 (763 BCE) | Total | 1.060 | 04m59s | map | path | Assyrian Eclipse |
| -0647 Apr 06 (648 BCE) | Total | 1.069 | 05m02s | map | path | Archilochus' Eclipse |
| -0584 May 28 (585 BCE) | Total | 1.080 | 06m05s | map | path | Herodotus/Thales Eclipse (Medes vs. Lydians) |
| -0556 May 19 (557 BCE) | Total | 1.026 | 02m22s | map | path | The Siege of Larisa |
| -0479 Oct 02 (480 BCE) | Annular | 0.932 | 07m58s | map | path | Xerxes' Eclipse |
| -0430 Aug 03 (431 BCE) | Annular | 0.984 | 01m04s | map | path | Peloponnesian War |
| -0423 Mar 21 (424 BCE) | Annular | 0.943 | 04m38s | map | path | 8th Year of Peloponnesian War |
| Solar Eclipses: 1 CE to 2000 CE[3] | ||||||
| Date | Eclipse Type |
Ecl. [1] Mag. |
Central [2] Duration |
Global Map | Path | Description/Event |
| 0029 Nov 24 | Total | 1.022 | 01m59s | map 1
map 2 |
path | Crucifixion of Christ? |
| 0033 Mar 19 | Total | 1.058 | 04m06s | map | path | Crucifixion of Christ? |
| 0059 Apr 30 | Total | 1.019 | 01m50s | map | path | Plinius' Eclipse |
| 0071 Mar 20 | Hybrid | 1.007 | 00m35s | map | path | Plutarch's Eclipse |
| 0346 Jun 06 | Total | 1.059 | 03m58s | map | path | - |
| 0418 Jul 19 | Total | 1.046 | 03m52s | map | path | - |
| 0569 Nov 24 | Total | 1.036 | 03m17s | map | path | Eclipse Preceding Birth of Mohammad |
| 0632 Jan 27 | Annular | 0.984 | 01m40s | map | path | Death of Mohammad's Son Ibrahim |
| 0671 Dec 07 | Annular | 0.924 | 10m18s | map | path | - |
| 0840 May 05 | Total | 1.076 | 05m46s | map | path | Emperor Louis' Eclipse (Treaty of Verdun) |
| 1230 May 14 | Total | 1.060 | 03m17s | map | path | Major European Eclipse |
| 1715 May 03 | Total | 1.063 | 04m14s | map | path | Edmund Halley's Eclipse |
| 1766 Aug 05 | Annular | 0.943 | 05m15s | map | path | Captain Cook's Eclipse |
| 1806 Jun 16 | Total | 1.060 | 04m55s | map | path | Tecumseh's Eclipse |
| 1868 Aug 18 | Total | 1.076 | 06m47s | map | path | King of Siam's Eclipse |
| 1878 Jul 29 | Total | 1.045 | 03m11s | map | path | Pike's Peak Eclipse |
| 1879 Jan 22 | Annular | 0.970 | 03m03s | map | path | Zulu War Eclipse |
| 1912 Apr 17 | Hybrid | 1.000 | 00m02s | map | path | The 'Titanic' Eclipse |
| 1919 May 29 | Total | 1.072 | 06m51s | map | path | Einstein's Eclipse (Test of General Relativity) |
| 1925 Jan 24 | Total | 1.030 | 02m32s | map | path | NYC's Winter Morning Eclipse |
| 1932 Aug 31 | Total | 1.026 | 01m45s | map | path | Great Maine Eclipse |
[1]Eclipse magnitude is the fraction of the Sun's diameter obscured by the Moon. For annular eclipses, the eclipse magnitude is always less than 1. For total eclipses, the eclipse magnitude is always greater than or equal to 1. For both annular and total eclipses, the value listed is actually the ratio of diameters between the Moon and the Sun.
[2]Central Duration is the duration of a total or annular eclipse at Greatest Eclipse. Greatest Eclipse is the instant when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to Earth's center.
[3]BCE and CE are abbreviations for "Before Common Era" and "Common Era," respectively. They are the secular equivalents to the BC and AD dating conventions. (See: Year Dating Conventions)
The solar ephemeris used for these predictions is based on the classic work of Newcomb [1895]. The lunar ephemeris was developed primarily from the work of Brown [1919] with improvements from Eckert, Jones and Clark [1954].
All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC"
For more information on eclipses of historic interest, see the following:
Brewer, B., Eclipse, Earth View, Seattle, 1991.
Humphreys, Colin J. and Waddington, W. G., "Dating the Crucifixion", Nature, Vol. 306, No. 5945, p.743-746, 22 December 1983.
Littmann, M., Willcox, K., and Espenak, F. Totality - Eclipses of the Sun, Oxford University Press, New York, 1999.
Schaefer, Bradley E., "Solar Eclipses That Changed the World", Sky and Telescope, May, 1994, p.36-39.
Schaefer, Bradley E., "Lunar Eclipses That Changed the World", Sky and Telescope, December, 1992, p.639-642.
Schaefer, Bradley E., "Dating the Crucifixion", Sky and Telescope, April, 1989, p.374.
Schaefer, Bradley E., "Lunar Visibility and the Crucifixion", Q.Jl. R. astr. Soc., 1990, 31, p.53-67.
Steel, Duncan, "Eclipse", 1999
