Solar Eclipses: 1991 - 2000

Fred Espenak

A concise summary of all solar eclipses from 1991 through 2000 is presented in the table below. The first column gives the Calendar Date of the instant on greatest eclipse. The second column TD of Greatest Eclipse is the Terrestrial Dynamical Time when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to Earth's center. The third column lists the Eclipse Type which is either Total, Annular, Hybrid[2] or Partial.

Eclipses recur over the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 18 years 11 days. Each eclipse belongs to the Saros Series shown in column 4. The Eclipse Magnitude[3] gives the fraction of the Sun's diameter obscured at the instant of greatest eclipse (column 5). For total and annular eclipses the Central Duration[4] gives the length of the eclipse as seen from the central line at greatest eclipse (column 6). Finally, the Geographic Region of Eclipse Visibility[5] provides a brief description of where each eclipse will be seen. Countries and regions within the path of total or annular eclipses are listed inside [ ] brackets.

Several fields in the summary table provide links to additional information and graphics for each eclipse. A map for an eclipse may be seen by clicking on the Calendar Date. The orthographic projection map of Earth shows the region of visibility for the eclipse. The path of the Moon's penumbral shadow (cyan and magenta) covers the region of partial eclipse. The track of the umbral or antumbral shadow (blue/red) defines the path of total or annular eclipse. These maps are described in greater detail in the Key to Solar Eclipse Maps. Each map is stored as a GIF of approximately 60 kilobytes.

Animations of the Moon's penumbral and umbral shadows across Earth are accessed by clicking on the TD of Greatest Eclipse. Each animated GIF file is 40 KB to 175 KB in size. For total, annular and hybrid eclipses, the cental path can be viewed on an interactive Google map through the Eclipse Type link. You can pan and zoom in to any location along the eclipse track. When you click on a position, a marker appears with the eclipse contact times and duration of totality (or annularity) for that location.

The Eclipse Type link opens a new window with the central eclipse path plotted on an interactive Google Map. The northern and southern limits of the eclipse path are blue while the central line red. The yellow lines crossing the path indicate the position of maximum eclipse at 10-minute intervals. You can zoom into the map and turn the satellite view on or off. When you click on a position, the eclipse circumstances and times at that location are calculated and displayed.

All eclipses belonging to a particular Saros Series are listed in a table linked through the Saros number. Tables of geographic coordinates for the paths of all central eclipses (Total, Annular or Hybrid) are accessed by through the Central Duration. The tables include the northern and southern limits of the path as well as the central line.

The Key to Solar Eclipse Decade Table contains a more detailed description of each item in the table.

For more data on solar eclipses during this period, see Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 1951 to 2050 .

Solar Eclipses: 1991 - 2000
Calendar Date TD of Greatest Eclipse Eclipse Type Saros Series Eclipse Magnitude Central Duration Geographic Region of Eclipse Visibility
(Link to Global Map) (Link to Animation) (Link to Google Map) (Link to Saros) (Link to Path Table)
1991 Jan 15 23:53:51 Annular 131 0.929 07m53s Australia, N.Z., Antarctica, s Pacific
[Annular: sw Australia, Tasmania, N.Z., s Pacific]
1991 Jul 11 19:07:00 Total 136 1.080 06m53s e Pacific, N. & S. America
[Total: Hawaii, Mexico, C. America, Colombia, Brazil]
1992 Jan 04 23:05:37 Annular 141 0.918 11m41s n Australia, Pacific, w N. America
[Annular: c Pacific, s California]
1992 Jun 30 12:11:22 Total 146 1.059 05m21s S. America, s Atlantic, w Africa
[Total: Uruguay, s Atlantic]
1992 Dec 24 00:31:41 Partial 151 0.842 - ne Asia, n Pacific, Alaska
1993 May 21 14:20:14 Partial 118 0.735 - w N. America, n Europe, nw Asia
1993 Nov 13 21:45:51 Partial 123 0.928 - s Australia, N.Z., Antarctica, s S. America
1994 May 10 17:12:26 Annular 128 0.943 06m13s e Pacific, N. America, Europe, w Africa
[Annular: Pacific, c U.S., e Canada, Morocco]
1994 Nov 03 13:40:06 Total 133 1.054 04m23s S. America, Antarctica, s Atlantic s Africa
[Total: Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil]
1995 Apr 29 17:33:20 Annular 138 0.950 06m37s s Pacific, C. & S. America, Atlantic
[Annular: s Pacific, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil]
1995 Oct 24 04:33:30 Total 143 1.021 02m10s Middle East, Asia, Indonesia, Australia
[Total: Iran, India, Thailand, se Asia]
1996 Apr 17 22:38:12 Partial 148 0.880 - N. Zealand, s Pacific Ocean
1996 Oct 12 14:03:04 Partial 153 0.757 - ne N. America, Europe, n Africa
1997 Mar 09 01:24:50 Total 120 1.042 02m50s Asia, Alaska
[Total: Mongolia, China, Siberia]
1997 Sep 02 00:04:49 Partial 125 0.899 - Australia, N. Zealand, Antarctica
1998 Feb 26 17:29:27 Total 130 1.044 04m09s N., C. & S. America
[Total: Galapagos, Colombia, Venezuela, Caribbean]
1998 Aug 22 02:07:10 Annular 135 0.973 03m14s Asia, Australia, N. Zealand
[Annular: Sumatra, Borneo, Pacific]
1999 Feb 16 06:34:38 Annular 140 0.993 00m40s s Africa, Antarctica, Australia, N. Z.
[Annular: s Indian, Australia]
1999 Aug 11 11:04:09 Total 145 1.029 02m23s e N. America, n Africa, Europe, Asia
[Total: England, Europe, Middle East, Turkey, India]
2000 Feb 05 12:50:27 Partial 150 0.579 - Antarctica
2000 Jul 01 19:33:33 Partial 117 0.477 - S Pacific Ocean, s S. America
2000 Jul 31 02:14:07 Partial 155 0.603 - n Asia, nw N. America
2000 Dec 25 17:35:57 Partial 122 0.723 - N. & C. America

Geographic abbreviations (used above): n = north, s = south, e = east, w = west, c = central


[1] Greatest Eclipse is the instant when the distance between the Moon's shadow axis and Earth's center reaches a minimum.

[2] Hybrid eclipses are also known as annular/total eclipses. Such an eclipse is both total and annular along different sections of its umbral path.

[3] 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.

[4] 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.

[5] Geographic Region of Eclipse Visibility is the portion of Earth's surface where a partial eclipse can be seen. The central path of a total or annular eclipse covers a much smaller region of Earth and is described in brackets [].


Decade Tables of Solar Eclipses

Each link in the following table displays a page containing 10 years of eclipses. Every eclipse has links of global maps, interactive Google maps, animations, path coordinate tables, and saros tables.

Decade Tables of Solar Eclipses
Decades
1901-1910 1911-1920 1921-1930 1931-1940 1941-1950
1951-1960 1961-1970 1971-1980 1981-1990 1991-2000
2001-2010 2011-2020 2021-2030 2031-2040 2041-2050
2051-2060 2061-2070 2071-2080 2081-2090 2091-2100

Twenty Year Solar Eclipse Path Tables (w/Google Maps)

Each of the following links displays a table containing 20 years of total, annular and hybrid eclipses. Each eclipse offers links to a global map, shadow animation, interactive Google map, path coordinates table, and saros table.

Twenty Year Solar Eclipse Path Tables (w/Google Maps)
Years
1901-1920 1921-1940 1941-1960 1961-1980 1981-2000
2001-2020 2021-2040 2041-2060 2061-2080 2081-2100

Century Catologs of Solar Eclipses

Each link in the following table displays a catalog containing 100 years of eclipses. Every eclipse has links of global maps and saros tables.

Century Catalogs of Solar Eclipses
Centuries
1001-1100 1101-1200 1201-1300 1301-1400 1401-1500
1501-1600 1601-1700 1701-1800 1801-1900 1901-2000
2001-2100 2101-2200 2201-2300 2301-2400 2401-2500
2501-2600 2601-2700 2701-2800 2801-2900 2901-3000

For other centuries, see Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000


Maps of Solar Eclipse Paths

The World Atlas of Solar Eclipse Paths features maps showing the paths of all total, annular and hybrid eclipses. Each map in the atlas covers a 20-year period. The atlas spans five millennia from -1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE).

World Atlas of Solar Eclipse Paths
19th Century 1801-1820 1821-1840 1841-1860 1861-1880 1881-1900
20th Century 1901-1920 1921-1940 1941-1960 1961-1980 1981-2000
21st Century 2001-2020 2021-2040 2041-2060 2061-2080 2081-2100
22nd Century 2101-2120 2121-2140 2141-2160 2161-2180 2181-2200

For eclipse maps covering other decades, see World Atlas of Solar Eclipse Paths.


Solar Eclipse Catalogs

Reproduction of Eclipse Data

Special thanks to National Space Club summer intern Christopher Barrow for his valuable assistance in preparing the geographic visibility data (July 2004).

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:

Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986 - 2035
and
Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE)

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

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC"

For more information, see: NASA Copyright Information

2013 Dec 09