This is a list of selected solar eclipses from antiquity, in particular those with historical significance. Eclipses on this list were not only recorded, but sometimes would have large effects such as ending a war.
Historically significant solar eclipses
Date of eclipse | Type | Saros | Magnitude | Gamma | Time (UTC) | Central Duration | Eclipse Path | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | Mid | End | ||||||||
22 Oct 2137 BC | Annular | 9 | 0.9736 | 0.3842 | – | 03:25:29 | 02m52s | It is said that Ho and Hi, the Drunk Astronomers failed to predict this eclipse. (story may be fictitious or misinterpreted) [2] [3] | ||
3 May 1375 BC | Total | 16 | 1.0295 | 0.7755 | – | 04:51:04 | 02m07s | Ugarit eclipse. [4] | ||
June 24, 1312 BC | Total | 35 | – | 10:44 | – | 04m33s | Anatolia | Known as Mursili's eclipse, could provide an absolute chronology of the ancient Near East.[1][2][3] | ||
5 June 1302 BC | Total | 26 | 1.0805 | 0.2982 | 02:10:48 | 00:06:25 | Early Chinese eclipse. [5] | |||
16 Apr 1178 BC | Total | 39 | 1.0599 | 0.5187 | 10:00:58 | 00:04:33 | Odyssey Eclipse. [6] [7] | |||
21 Apr 899 BC | Annular | 53 | 0.9591 | 0.8964 | 22:21:56 | 00:03:04 | China's 'Double-Dawn' Eclipse. [8] [9] | |||
June 15, 763 BC | Total | 44 | – | 08:23 | – | 04m59s | Attested in Assyrian sources and providing an absolute chronology of the ancient Near East.[4] | |||
6 Apr 648 BC | Total | 38 | 1.0689 | 0.6898 | 08:31:03 | 00:05:02 | Archilochus' Eclipse. [10] [11] | |||
May 28, 585 BC | Total | 57 | – | 14:28 | – | 06m05s | Allegedly predicted by Thales; occurred during the Battle of the Eclipse.[5][6] | |||
19 May 557 BC | Total | 48 | 1.0258 | 0.3145 | 12:52:26 | 00:02:22 | The Siege of Larisa, firstly recorded by Xenophon. [12] | |||
February 17, 478 BC or October 2, 480 BC | Annular | 42/65 | – | 9:58:51/11:51:0 | – | 06m00s/07m57s | Greece | Eclipse occurring prior to Xerxes' first march against Greece. The exact dating has been debated, as the writings of Herodotus (who chronicled the eclipse) give a date for which there was no eclipse visible in that area of the world.[7] | ||
August 3, 431 BC | Annular | 48 | – | 14:54:51:8 | – | 01m04.5s | Greece, Mediterranean Sea | Recorded by Thucydides;[8] Pericles shows his Greek Army that the eclipse was not much more than a covering of the sun by something bigger than his cloak.[9] | ||
21 Mar 424 BC | Annular | 42 | 0.9430 | 0.9433 | 07:54:29 | 00:04:39 | 8th year of the Peloponnesian War. [13] | |||
May 6, 319 | Total | 72 | – | 14:24:49 | – | 03m56s | Georgia, Europe, Mexico, United States | Thought by astronomers to be the eclipse preceding the Christianization of Iberia by Mirian III of Iberia.[10] | ||
July 17, 334 | Annular | 80 | 0.9759 | 0.3268 | – | 11:21:41 | – | 02m23s | Rome, Mediterranean Sea | Recorded by Firmicus Maternus in his Mathesos.[11] [14] |
Statistics
Longest total eclipses
Below is a list of the 10 longest total eclipses between the 30th century BC and the 4th century.
Date of eclipse | Central Duration | Reference |
---|---|---|
30 May 2585 BC | 07m17s | [12] |
10 June 2567 BC | 07m21s | [12] |
6 May 2249 BC | 07m20s | [12] |
17 May 2231 BC | 07m21s | [12] |
5 June 762 BC | 07m25s | [13] |
15 June 744 BC | 07m28s | [13] |
26 June 726 BC | 07m18s | [13] |
16 June 345 | 07m17s | [14] |
27 June 363 | 07m24s | [14] |
8 July 381 | 07m22s | [14] |
Solar eclipses by century
Century | No. | Eclipse type | Longest eclipse[a] | Two-eclipse months[b] | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Partial (P) | Annular (A) | Total (T) | Hybrid (H) | Length | Date | ||||
20th BC | 239 | 84 | 71 | 62 | 22 | 11m38s | 28 December 1983 BC | March 1958 BC | [15] |
19th BC | 253 | 93 | 80 | 63 | 17 | 08m57s | 28 October 1896 BC | January 1806 BC | [16] |
18th BC | 254 | 95 | 74 | 64 | 21 | 11m10s | 10 November 1710 BC | [17] | |
17th BC | 230 | 75 | 71 | 60 | 24 | 12m07s | 12 December 1656 BC | July 1611 BC | [18] |
16th BC | 225 | 78 | 67 | 59 | 21 | 10m07s | 25 January 1583 BC | June 1535 BC, May 1524 BC | [19] |
15th BC | 226 | 77 | 69 | 62 | 18 | 10m00s | 25 September 1410 BC | April 1448 BC | [20] |
14th BC | 234 | 76 | 84 | 68 | 6 | 11m29s | 18 November 1320 BC | [21] | |
13th BC | 250 | 93 | 86 | 64 | 7 | 11m11s | 9 December 1284 BC | December 1210 BC | [22] |
12th BC | 252 | 93 | 89 | 63 | 7 | 10m27s | 14 December 1108 BC | October 1123 BC, September 1112 BC | [23] |
11th BC | 238 | 79 | 91 | 68 | 0 | 10m34s | 25 December 1090 BC | August 1036 BC, July 1025 BC, June 1014 BC | [24] |
10th BC | 226 | 84 | 75 | 61 | 6 | 09m01s | 24 October 984 BC | [25] | |
9th BC | 225 | 80 | 75 | 66 | 4 | 10m21s | 7 November 817 BC | [26] | |
8th BC | 234 | 79 | 88 | 64 | 3 | 11m29s | 10 December 763 BC | [13] | |
7th BC | 253 | 96 | 87 | 63 | 7 | 10m06s | 22 November 604 BC | December 689 BC, November 678 BC, October 602 BC | [27] |
6th BC | 255 | 96 | 86 | 65 | 8 | 10m50s | 4 January 531 BC | September 591 BC, August 515 BC, July 504 BC | [28] |
5th BC | 241 | 84 | 78 | 62 | 17 | 10m24s | 26 January 495 BC | May 417 BC | [29] |
4th BC | 225 | 83 | 63 | 56 | 23 | 10m16s | 7 December 391 BC | [30] | |
3rd BC | 226 | 83 | 62 | 57 | 24 | 11m47s | 30 November 214 BC | [31] | |
2nd BC | 237 | 80 | 73 | 63 | 21 | 12m08s | 22 December 178 BC | [32] | |
1st BC | 251 | 92 | 77 | 65 | 17 | 08m51s | 14 February 87 BC | [33] | |
1st AD | 248 | 90 | 75 | 58 | 25 | 11m18s | 4 November 96 | August 7, July 18, April 97 | [34] |
2nd AD | 237 | 80 | 77 | 64 | 16 | 12m23s[c] | 7 December 150 | [36] | |
3rd AD | 227 | 79 | 74 | 69 | 5 | 11m09s | 8 January 205 | [37] | |
4th AD | 222 | 73 | 76 | 66 | 7 | 10m44s | 2 January 363 | [14] |
References
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