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Solar Eclipses of Historical Interest

Fred Espenak

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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

Eclipse Quotations

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. 

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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 mailto:espenak@gsfc.nasa.gov. I will generate a map for the eclipse and add it to this page. 
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Solar Eclipses: 2000 BCE to 1 BCE3
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 
      CE3 
  

    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 
  




1Eclipse 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. 
  
2Central 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. 
  
3BCE 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 ) 




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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"




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References 


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 

    

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    NASA logo 
      
    Eclipse Predictions & WebMaster: Fred Espenak 
    Planetary 
      Systems Branch - Code 693 
    e-mail: mailto:espenak@gsfc.nasa.gov
      
    NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 USA 
    

    

    Last revised: 2003 Jan 30 - F. 
Espenak
    

    
  
  
   
  
  

    
  
  
  


    

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