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| London |
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| Latitude: 51°30.0'N |
| Longitude: 000°10.0'W |
| Time Zone: 0.0 h |
Two to five eclipses of the Sun occur every year. Each of these events is only visible within the 7,000 kilometer wide track of the Moon's penumbral shadow as it sweeps across a portion of the Earth. If the dark core of the Moon's shadow (umbra) also crosses the Earth, then either an annular or total eclipse will be seen within its very narrow path. The umbral path is typically about 100 to 200 kilometers wide. For any given location, a partial eclipse occurs about once every two or three years. In comparison, annular and total eclipses are far rarer events. Eclipses for Beginners examines the geometry of solar eclipses in greater detail. Please note that extreme care must be taken when viewing a solar eclipse.
The table below summarizes the types and numbers of eclipses visible each century from London during the period 0001 CE to 3000 CE . The last two columns list the years in which annular and total eclipses are visible from this location. During this interval, 15 annular eclipses are visible from London ( 0004, 0536, 0698, 0733, 0852, 0934, 1290, 1310, 1409, 1547, 1847*, 2393*, 2437, 2639 a ). For the same period, 6 total eclipses are visible from London ( 0158, 0228, 0319, 0878, 1715 and 2726 ). Annular and total eclipses are extraordinarily uncommon events when viewed from a single place. On average, an annular eclipse is seen once every 224 years, while a total eclipse is seen once every 375 years. However, there can be significant variations in these averages.
The geographic coordinates used in these predictions are for a single position in central London . But cities are not simply singular points on the surface of the Earth. They cover geographic regions many tens of square kilometers in area. An eclipse path may miss the center of a city yet still be visible from within the city limits. To cover for this possibility, any partial eclipse seen from the city's center is counted as annular or total if some portion of its umbral path passes within 15 km of the city's coordinates.
| Solar Eclipses Visible from London, England | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Eclipses | Dates of Eclipses | |||||
| Date Interval | All Eclipses | Partial Eclipses | Annular Eclipses |
Total Eclipses | Dates of Annular Eclipses | Dates of Total Eclipses |
| 0001 CE - 0100 CE | 45 | 44 | 1 | 0 | 0004 | - |
| 0101 CE - 0200 CE | 42 | 41 | 0 | 1 | - | 0158 |
| 0201 CE - 0300 CE | 40 | 39 | 0 | 1 | - | 0228 |
| 0301 CE - 0400 CE | 43 | 42 | 0 | 1 | - | 0319 |
| 0401 CE - 0500 CE | 41 | 41 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 0501 CE - 0600 CE | 43 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0536 | - |
| 0601 CE - 0700 CE | 43 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0698 | - |
| 0701 CE - 0800 CE | 37 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0733 | - |
| 0801 CE - 0900 CE | 37 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0852 | 0878 |
| 0901 CE - 1000 CE | 43 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0934 | - |
| 1001 CE - 1100 CE | 45 | 45 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 1101 CE - 1200 CE | 38 | 38 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 1201 CE - 1300 CE | 41 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 1290 | - |
| 1301 CE - 1400 CE | 40 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 1310 | - |
| 1401 CE - 1500 CE | 42 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 1409 | - |
| 1501 CE - 1600 CE | 40 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 1547 | - |
| 1601 CE - 1700 CE | 38 | 38 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 1701 CE - 1800 CE | 44 | 43 | 0 | 1 | - | 1715 |
| 1801 CE - 1900 CE | 40 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 1847* | - |
| 1901 CE - 2000 CE | 40 | 40 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 2001 CE - 2100 CE | 42 | 42 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 2101 CE - 2200 CE | 44 | 44 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 2201 CE - 2300 CE | 41 | 41 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 2301 CE - 2400 CE | 38 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 2393* | - |
| 2401 CE - 2500 CE | 43 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 2437 | - |
| 2501 CE - 2600 CE | 44 | 44 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
| 2601 CE - 2700 CE | 40 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 2639 | - |
| 2701 CE - 2800 CE | 40 | 39 | 0 | 1 | - | 2726 |
| 2801 CE - 2900 CE | 44 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 2878* | - |
| 2901 CE - 3000 CE | 39 | 39 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) are secular alternatives for the terms BC and AD, respectively. For more information, see Year Dating Conventions.
The following catalog features the primary details for all annular and total eclipses visible from London during the period 0001 CE to 3000 CE . For convenience, all dates and times are given in local standard time (=GMT) . Note that if daylight savings time is in effect, then one hour must be added to the times. In addition to the date and the type of eclipse visible from London , the local times for the beginning, maximum and end of the eclipse are given. For maximum eclipse, each catalog lists the Sun's altitude and azimuth as well as the magnitude (fraction of Sun's diameter covered) and obscuration (fraction of Sun's area covered). A magnitude of 1.0 or greater is a total eclipse while a magnitude less than 1.0 is either an annular or partial eclipse. Next, the distances (km) from London to the center line and path edge are provided. If the city coordinates are inside the umbral eclipse path, then the tabulated distance to the path edge is negative. Positive values imply that the geographic coordinates are just outside the path, but that an annular or total eclipse is still visible from some portions of the city. Finally, the last column provides special comments about the eclipse. If the central coordinates of London are within the path, then the duration of annularity or totality is given. For a complete description of each item in the catalog, please see Key to Solar Eclipse Viewing Circumstances.
BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) are secular alternatives for the terms BC and AD, respectively. For more information, see Year Dating Conventions.
Since
Eclipse Eclipse Maximum Eclipse Sun Sun Eclip. Eclip. Last Dist. Dist. Special
Date Type Begins Eclipse Ends Alt Azm Mag. Obs. Eclipse Center Edge Notes
h m h m h m ° ° yrs km km
0004 Apr 08 A:a 06:56 08:10 09:31 25 112 0.963 0.898 - 90 -117 ANNULAR - 03m45s
0158 Jul 13 T:t 06:13 07:14 08:22 28 89 1.007 1.000 154.3 4 -39 TOTAL - 01m01s
0228 Mar 23 T:t 06:01r 06:44 07:43 6 96 1.010 1.000 69.7 155 -98 TOTAL - 02m17s
0319 May 06 T:t 14:18 15:29 16:35 35 251 1.013 1.000 91.1 42 -51 TOTAL - 02m46s
0536 Sep 01 A:a 11:26 12:55 14:20 45 200 0.946 0.895 217.3 125 -2 ANNULAR - 00m53s
0698 Dec 08 A:a 09:10 10:41 12:20 14 162 0.926 0.825 162.3 193 -131 ANNULAR - 07m17s
0733 Aug 14 A:p 07:30 08:46 10:08 35 115 0.974 0.949 34.7 55 0 ANNULAR - 0 km to path
0852 Mar 24 A:a 13:57 15:23 16:42 27 238 0.954 0.864 118.6 44 -98 ANNULAR - 05m46s
0878 Oct 29 T:t 12:10 13:27 14:41 20 206 1.004 1.000 26.6 84 -41 TOTAL - 01m22s
0934 Apr 16 A:a 15:56 17:08 18:13 17 268 0.983 0.943 55.5 11 -53 ANNULAR - 01m57s
1290 Sep 05 A:a 05:34r 06:33 07:46 9 95 0.962 0.870 356.4 21 -132 ANNULAR - 04m52s
1310 Jan 31 A:a 12:05 13:38 15:06 21 201 0.942 0.870 19.4 140 -57 ANNULAR - 04m25s
1409 Apr 15 A:a 13:39 15:05 16:25 36 242 0.961 0.909 99.2 62 -30 ANNULAR - 02m56s
1547 Nov 12 A:a 11:23 13:03 14:37 17 198 0.928 0.830 138.6 389 -205 ANNULAR - 07m13s
1715 May 03 T:t 08:03 09:07 10:17 41 121 1.013 1.000 167.4 86 -65 TOTAL - 03m20s
1847 Oct 09 A:p 06:17r 07:28 08:49 10 114 0.917 0.845 132.4 190 11 ANNULAR - 11 km to path
2393 Jun 10 A:p 13:20 14:53 16:17 46 246 0.942 0.889 545.7 124 3 ANNULAR - 3 km to path
2437 Feb 05 A:a 15:14 16:25 16:53s 4 239 0.975 0.937 43.7 37 -29 ANNULAR - 01m50s
2639 Mar 26 A:a 16:40 17:52 18:19s 4 269 0.955 0.839 202.1 12 -188 ANNULAR - 06m06s
2726 Jul 21 T:p 10:03 11:16 12:31 57 157 1.000 1.000 87.3 144 0 TOTAL - 0 km to path
2878 May 23 A:p 07:37 08:50 10:10 42 112 0.965 0.934 151.8 94 8 ANNULAR - 8 km to path
The following two catalogs provide more details for solar eclipses visible from London during the period 0001 CE to 3000 CE . The first catalog lists the local circumstances (times, magnitude, etc.) for every eclipse visible from the city. The second catalog includes only major eclipses (magnitude greater than 0.75, including nearby annular and total eclipses). The catalogs should prove useful for historical research or for planning future observations.
Eclipse Predictions & WebMaster: Fred Espenak e-mail: espenak@gsfc.nasa.gov Planetary Systems Branch - Code 693
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