Total Solar Eclipses with Durations Exceeding 06m 00s

0001 to 1000 ( 1 CE to 1000 CE )

Introduction

Eclipses of the Sun can only occur during the New Moon phase. It is then possible for the Moon's penumbral, umbral or antumbral shadows to sweep across Earth's surface thereby producing an eclipse. Not all New Moons result in a solar eclipse because the Moon's orbit is tilted about 5 degrees to Earth's about the Sun. Consequently, the Moon's shadows miss Earth at most New Moon's. Nevertheless, there are 2 to 5 solar eclipses every calendar year. There are four types of solar eclipses: partial, annular, total and hybrid[1]. For more information, see Basic Solar Eclipse Geometry.


Solar Eclipses: 0001 to 1000

During the 10 century period 0001 to 1000 ( 1 CE to 1000 CE[2]), Earth experienced 2351 solar eclipses. The following table shows the number of eclipses of each type over this period.

Solar Eclipses: 0001 - 1000
Eclipse Type Symbol Number Percent
All Eclipses - 2351100.0%
PartialP 816 34.7%
AnnularA 809 34.4%
TotalT 652 27.7%
HybridH 74 3.1%

Annular and total eclipses can be further classified as either: 1) Central (two limits), 2) Central (one limit) or 3) Non-Central (one limit). The statistical distribution of these classes during the 10th century CE appears in the following three tables (no Hybrids are included since all are central with two limits).

Annular and Total Eclipses
Classification Number Percent
All 1461100.0%
Central (two limits) 1420 97.2%
Central (one limit) 19 1.3%
Non-Central (one limit) 22 1.5%
Annular Eclipses
Classification Number Percent
All Annular Eclipses 809100.0%
Central (two limits) 777 96.0%
Central (one limit) 15 1.9%
Non-Central (one limit) 17 2.1%
Total Eclipses
Classification Number Percent
All Total Eclipses 652100.0%
Central (two limits) 643 98.6%
Central (one limit) 4 0.6%
Non-Central (one limit) 5 0.8%

Long Total Solar Eclipses

The longest central[3] solar eclipses of this period are:

          Longest Total   Solar Eclipse:    0363 Jun 27      Duration = 07m24s
          Longest Annular Solar Eclipse:    0150 Dec 07      Duration = 12m23s
          Longest Hybrid  Solar Eclipse:    0508 Sep 11      Duration = 01m45s

Long Total Solar Eclipses are relatively rare. The following catalog lists concise details and local circumstances for all Total Solar Eclipses with durations exceeding 06m 00s. The Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipses contains a detailed description and explanation of each item listed in the catalog. For eclipses from -1999 to +3000, the Catalog Number in the first column serves as a link to a global map of Earth showing the geographic visibility of each eclipse. The date and time of the eclipse are given at the instant of greatest eclipse[4] in Terrestrial Dynamical Time. The Saros Number in the sixth column links to a table listing all eclipses in the Saros series. The Key to Solar Eclipse Maps explains the features plotted on each map.

The data presented here are based in part on the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000.



Catalog of Long Total Solar Eclipses: 0001 to 1000


                      TD of
Catalog  Calendar   Greatest          Luna Saros Ecl.           Ecl.                Sun Sun  Path Central
Number     Date      Eclipse     ΔT    Num  Num  Type  Gamma    Mag.   Lat.   Long. Alt Azm Width   Dur.
                                  s                                      °      °    °    °   km

04795  0009 Jul 10  20:53:09  10355 -24619   75   T    0.1261  1.0750  30.2N  89.8W  83 181  245  06m25s
04841  0027 Jul 22  04:29:07  10174 -24396   75   T    0.0603  1.0741  24.8N 156.1E  86 185  241  06m31s
04887  0045 Aug 01  12:10:30   9994 -24173   75   Tm  -0.0011  1.0724  18.9N  39.8E  90 169  235  06m30s
04931  0063 Aug 12  19:59:34   9815 -23950   75   T   -0.0563  1.0702  12.8N  79.0W  87  12  229  06m22s
04967  0078 Apr 30  12:39:31   9670 -23768   78   T   -0.4136  1.0685   9.7S  34.8E  66 347  244  06m19s
04975  0081 Aug 23  03:55:59   9637 -23727   75   T   -0.1052  1.0675   6.6N 160.0E  84  15  221  06m08s
05012  0096 May 10  20:07:02   9493 -23545   78   T   -0.3421  1.0723   2.3S  80.2W  70 350  250  06m47s
05057  0114 May 22  03:32:43   9318 -23322   78   T   -0.2684  1.0753   4.6N 165.8E  74 353  253  07m06s
05101  0132 Jun 01  10:57:16   9143 -23099   78   T   -0.1932  1.0775  10.9N  52.8E  79 357  255  07m14s
05145  0150 Jun 12  18:23:03   8970 -22876   78   T   -0.1187  1.0787  16.5N  59.7W  83   1  256  07m13s

05187  0168 Jun 23  01:48:53   8797 -22653   78   T   -0.0441  1.0792  21.3N 171.4W  88   6  256  07m03s
05227  0186 Jul 04  09:18:54   8625 -22430   78   Tm   0.0275  1.0787  25.0N  76.5E  88 189  254  06m47s
05268  0204 Jul 14  16:51:47   8453 -22207   78   T    0.0968  1.0774  27.6N  35.6W  84 195  252  06m27s
05309  0222 Jul 26  00:30:26   8283 -21984   78   T    0.1612  1.0754  29.0N 148.9W  81 200  248  06m06s
05425  0273 May 04  08:30:52   7804 -21356   81   T    0.1800  1.0753  25.5N  78.8E  79 155  248  06m02s
05465  0291 May 15  16:00:04   7634 -21133   81   T    0.1081  1.0781  24.7N  32.2W  84 159  254  06m24s
05504  0309 May 25  23:26:08   7465 -20910   81   T    0.0334  1.0799  23.1N 142.7W  88 164  258  06m45s
05543  0327 Jun 06  06:52:21   7295 -20687   81   Tm  -0.0413  1.0810  20.5N 106.6E  88 347  261  07m03s
05583  0345 Jun 16  14:18:48   7126 -20464   81   T   -0.1162  1.0811  17.0N   4.8W  83 352  263  07m17s
05623  0363 Jun 27  21:46:29   6956 -20241   81   T   -0.1899  1.0804  12.7N 117.1W  79 357  264  07m24s

05664  0381 Jul 08  05:17:09   6787 -20018   81   T   -0.2612  1.0788   7.6N 129.1E  75   1  264  07m22s
05705  0399 Jul 19  12:51:41   6617 -19795   81   T   -0.3290  1.0764   2.0N  13.7E  71   5  262  07m11s
05739  0414 Apr 06  05:35:10   6478 -19613   84   T   -0.1457  1.0696   1.4S 126.1E  82 343  229  06m16s
05747  0417 Jul 29  20:31:08   6446 -19572   81   T   -0.3928  1.0734   4.1S 103.5W  67   9  259  06m50s
05780  0432 Apr 16  13:17:57   6307 -19390   84   T   -0.0858  1.0734   5.9N   7.7E  85 344  239  06m37s
05788  0435 Aug 10  04:16:06   6275 -19349   81   T   -0.4516  1.0697  10.6S 137.3E  63  12  254  06m22s
05820  0450 Apr 27  20:55:28   6136 -19167   84   T   -0.0211  1.0765  13.2N 109.1W  89 346  248  06m50s
05862  0468 May 08  04:28:58   5964 -18944   84   Tm   0.0474  1.0789  20.2N 135.6E  87 170  255  06m56s
05905  0486 May 19  11:58:26   5791 -18721   84   T    0.1193  1.0806  27.0N  22.0E  83 173  262  06m54s
05949  0504 May 29  19:26:16   5617 -18498   84   T    0.1927  1.0813  33.3N  90.3W  79 177  267  06m44s

05993  0522 Jun 10  02:52:34   5443 -18275   84   T    0.2675  1.0812  38.9N 159.0E  74 181  272  06m28s
06038  0540 Jun 20  10:19:58   5268 -18052   84   T    0.3414  1.0801  43.7N  49.3E  70 187  275  06m07s
06258  0627 Apr 21  09:16:52   4459 -16978   87   T   -0.1462  1.0758   5.0N  62.3E  82 335  248  06m19s
06303  0645 May 01  16:55:24   4315 -16755   87   T   -0.2115  1.0779   4.7N  52.3W  78 338  257  06m38s
06350  0663 May 13  00:27:42   4145 -16532   87   T   -0.2818  1.0792   3.4N 165.6W  74 341  266  06m56s
06396  0681 May 23  07:58:17   3965 -16309   87   T   -0.3538  1.0797   1.2N  81.3E  69 345  274  07m10s
06440  0699 Jun 03  15:24:55   3785 -16086   87   T   -0.4291  1.0792   2.2S  31.3W  65 349  282  07m17s
06462  0708 Jun 22  22:25:31   3712 -15974  106   T   -0.7933  1.0737  28.8S 147.5W  37   8  393  06m18s
06483  0717 Jun 13  22:52:28   3641 -15863   87   T   -0.5035  1.0779   6.5S 144.6W  60 353  291  07m15s
06504  0726 Jul 04  05:53:59   3568 -15751  106   T   -0.7206  1.0745  22.6S  97.7E  44  12  347  06m31s

06526  0735 Jun 25  06:19:09   3497 -15640   87   T   -0.5781  1.0756  11.9S 101.7E  55 357  300  07m02s
06546  0744 Jul 14  13:26:41   3425 -15528  106   T   -0.6512  1.0741  18.0S  17.4W  49  16  314  06m30s
06568  0753 Jul 05  13:47:40   3353 -15417   87   T   -0.6509  1.0725  18.1S  13.2W  49   1  310  06m38s
06588  0762 Jul 25  21:02:22   3281 -15305  106   T   -0.5842  1.0729  14.8S 132.7W  54  19  289  06m20s
06609  0771 Jul 16  21:18:26   3210 -15194   87   T   -0.7214  1.0684  25.2S 129.6W  44   6  322  06m04s
06629  0780 Aug 05  04:43:27   3137 -15082  106   T   -0.5220  1.0708  13.0S 111.0E  58  23  267  06m03s
06642  0786 Apr 03  13:51:28   3092 -15012   90   T    0.2552  1.0709  21.0N  19.1W  75 162  238  06m02s
06684  0804 Apr 13  21:39:23   2949 -14789   90   T    0.3118  1.0732  28.3N 138.3W  72 163  250  06m03s


Calendar

The Gregorian calendar is used for all dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates. The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions ). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..


Predictions

The coordinates of the Sun used in these predictions are based on the VSOP87 theory [Bretagnon and Francou, 1988]. The Moon's coordinates are based on the ELP-2000/82 theory [Chapront-Touze and Chapront, 1983]. For more information, see: Solar and Lunar Ephemerides. The revised value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot = -25.858 arc-sec/cy*cy, as deduced from the Apollo lunar laser ranging experiment (Chapront, Chapront-Touze, and Francou, 2002).

The largest uncertainty in the eclipse predictions is caused by fluctuations in Earth's rotation due primarily to tidal friction of the Moon. The resultant drift in apparent clock time is expressed as ΔT and is determined as follows:

  1. pre-1950's: ΔT calculated from empirical fits to historical records derived by Morrison and Stephenson (2004)
  2. 1955-present: ΔT obtained from published observations
  3. future: ΔT is extrapolated from current values weighted by the long term trend from tidal effects

A series of polynomial expressions have been derived to simplify the evaluation of ΔT for any time from -1999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.


Footnotes

[1] Hybrid eclipses are also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is both total and annular along different sections of its umbral path. (See: Five Millennium Catalog of Hybrid Solar Eclipses)

[2] The terms 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 )

[3] Central solar eclipses are eclipses in which the central axis of the Moon's shadow strikes the Earth's surface. All partial (penumbral) eclipses are non-central eclipses since the shadow axis misses Earth. However, umbral eclipses (total, annular and hybrid) may be either central (usually) or non-central (rarely).

[4] Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to the Earth's center. For total eclipses, the instant of greatest eclipse is virtually identical to the instants of greatest magnitude and greatest duration. However, for annular eclipses, the instant of greatest duration may occur at either the time of greatest eclipse or near the sunrise and sunset points of the eclipse path.


Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Dan McGlaun for extracting the individual eclipse maps from the Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 for use in this catalog.

The Besselian elements used in the predictions were kindly provided by Jean Meeus. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Some of the information presented on this web site is based on data originally published in Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000

Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)"


Eclipse Links

Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses

Ten Millennium Catalog of Long Solar Eclipses

Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series

World Atlas of Solar Eclipse Paths

2007 May 11