This is a partial list of solar eclipses visible from the British Isles between AD 1 – AD 2091.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring Earth's view of the Sun. Below is a complete list of total and annular eclipses visible anywhere within the modern extent of the United Kingdom between AD 1 and AD 2090[1] and a description of forthcoming partial solar eclipses visible in Britain in the next fifteen years or so.[2] For a complete list of solar eclipses visible from the United Kingdom between AD 1501 and AD 2500, see the Journal of the British Astronomical Association, February 2001.[3]
5th century (401-500)
16 April 413
A total eclipse was visible in far southern Ireland, northern Wales, and the English Midlands. Totality lasted about 2 minutes.
28 May 458
Another total eclipse of similar duration (2:21), it followed a somewhat more oblique path, from South Wales to Lincolnshire. The point of greatest eclipse was located just east of Llandovery (then Alabum), where it occurred at about 11 in the morning.
7th century (601-700)
1 May 664
A total eclipse which was widely visible across the United Kingdom. It is the first eclipse for which there are recorded observations from England. Totality occurred at around 5:30 pm and lasted for over 2 minutes.
"King Henry's Eclipse": A total eclipse, recorded in the Peterborough Chronicle (under 1135 due to the vagaries of the dating system in use[5]): and the next day, as he lay asleep on ship, the day darkened over all lands, and the Sun was all **
A total eclipse, recorded by William of Malmesbury in his Historia Novella. In his opinion this was a sign which foretold the capture of King Stephen in the Battle of Lincoln in 1141. This is the Lenten eclipse also reported in the Peterborough Chronicle as being on the thirteenth day before the kalends of April: 'After this, during Lent, the sun and the day darkened about the noon-tide of the day, when men were eating; and they lighted candles to eat by. That was the thirteenth day before the kalends of April. Men were greatly wonderstricken[7] Totality was experienced at about 3:00pm at the centre line of the eclipse (near Derby).
Another total solar eclipse with a diagonal track, this time across Pembrokeshire, the Lake District and then Scotland from the south-west to the north-east, including most of the major cities.
A marvellous British Total Solar Eclipse from Cornwall in the south-west to Lincolnshire and Norfolk in the east. Edmund Halley, (later the second man to be appointed Astronomer Royal), observed the eclipse from London. The city of London enjoyed 3 minutes 33 seconds of totality.
A fine Total Solar Eclipse with a north-west to south-east track, from southern Wales and Devon in the west, eastwards to Hampshire and Sussex, but passing to the south of London.
There was no Total Solar Eclipse visible from the United Kingdom between 1724 and 1925.
Total Solar Eclipse: A short duration total eclipse at sunset in British waters to the north of the Hebrides. Although it nowhere touched land, the path of totality ran very close to several outlying Scottish islands, including St Kilda; the islet of Sula Sgeir experienced 99.9% totality.
Total Solar Eclipse: A mere 24 seconds of totality in the early morning, along a narrow track from North Wales, through Lancashire to the English north-east coast, but weather was very poor with cloud and high winds. However the Astronomer Royal's expedition to Giggleswick in North Yorkshire was amongst the few to catch sight of totality.
Total Solar Eclipse at Unst in the Shetland Islands, although the centre line was north of British territorial waters. A large partial eclipse was widely observed over the whole of the UK.
A partial eclipse visible over the whole of the United Kingdom ranging from approximately 20% in Northern Scotland to approximately 40% in South West Cornwall.
The United Kingdom was greeted at dawn with a large portion of the Sun covered with maximum eclipse being approximately on the horizon ranging from 85% in Northern Scotland to between 92% and 95% in Southern England.
Partial solar eclipses also occurred on 20 May 1966, 22 September 1968, 25 February 1971, 10 July 1972, 30 June 1973, 11 May 1975, 29 April 1976, 20 July 1982, 15 December 1982, 4 December 1984, 21 May 1993 and 10 May 1994. (Source: HMNAO Eclipses On-line Portal.)
Total Solar Eclipse over Cornwall and part of south Devon, partial over the rest of the United Kingdom. Totality was observable from English Channel and the island of Alderney in the Channel Islands, but was almost universally clouded out on the British mainland. The clouds did clear in the Newquay area, though, allowing observation of full totality. A large partial eclipse was visible in the south-east of England and south Wales. Observers in various places noted birds falling silent, daylight colours turning to grey, and temperatures falling, augmented by a passing wisp of cloud at the moment of peak eclipse.
A small partial eclipse was visible across the country. South East England saw the greatest magnitude at around 30%, northern Scotland the least at around 15%. The eclipse was total in Libya and Turkey.
A small partial eclipse over the whole of the UK as a total eclipse crosses central Russia east of the Urals. 40% in northern Scotland falling to less than 20% in the south-west of England.
A partial eclipse, which was nowhere total, could be seen at sunrise in South East England, where with a favourable south-eastern horizon a Sun 75% covered by the Moon was seen.
An eclipse which was total across the north Atlantic including the Faroe Islands resulted in a large partial eclipse across the UK, greater than 80% everywhere. While the line of totality didn't touch the mainland in the United Kingdom, it passed less than ten kilometres to the north-west of the island of Rockall.
An eclipse which was annular across Canada and the Arctic gave rise to partial eclipse across Britain ranging from 50% in northern Scotland to 30% in south-east England.
An eclipse which is nowhere total results in a partial eclipse across Britain with north-east Scotland the most favoured, at around 35% falling to less than 20% in Cornwall.
An eclipse which is total across Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean and Spain results in a very large partial eclipse across Britain with western Ireland the most favoured, at around 96% in Cornwall falling to 91% in Aberdeen.
Total Solar Eclipse: the next total eclipse visible in the UK follows a track similar to that of 11 August 1999, but shifted slightly further north and occurring very near sunset. Maximum duration in Cornwall will be 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Same day and month as the eclipse of 23 September 1699.
Partial Solar Eclipse: viewable from most areas of the UK. It will be visible from 08:25 to 10:55am, and at its peak at around 09:30. From southern England about 55% of the Sun will be eclipsed. From northern Scotland, over 60% will be eclipsed.
Annular eclipse over southern Scotland, Northern England and most of Northern Ireland. Over 80% partial for the rest of the country. Near the centre line, just over 5 minutes of annularity will be observed. The centre line runs roughly from Ayr to Newcastle.
22nd century (AD 2101 – 2200)
3 June 2133
Total eclipse over the far north-west of Scotland, including the Isles of Lewis, Harris, northern Skye and Shetland, partial eclipse elsewhere. Maximum duration will be 3 minutes and 36 seconds.
Total eclipse over central and southern Scotland and north-east England. The centre line runs from the islands of Tiree and Mull, north of Glasgow and south of Edinburgh, through Livingston to Seahouses in Northumberland. Maximum duration will be 4 minutes and 50 seconds.
14 June 2151
Total eclipse over south-west Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, north, central and eastern England and north-east Wales. The centre line runs from the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute, through Lancashire, West and South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Wash to the Suffolk coast. Maximum duration will be 3 minutes and 48 seconds.
4 June 2160
Total eclipse over Land's End in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, as well as the far southwestern tip of Ireland, partial eclipse elsewhere. Maximum duration will be 2 minutes and 58 seconds.
8 November 2189
Total eclipse over Cornwall and south Devon and the Channel Islands, as well as southwest Ireland, partial eclipse elsewhere. The centre line runs from Tralee, through Truro and passing just to the south of Jersey. Maximum duration will be 4 minutes and 10 seconds.
12 May 2192
Total eclipse over parts of eastern England, including but not limited to Skegness and Norfolk, partial eclipse elsewhere. Maximum duration will be 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
14 April 2200
Total eclipse over Northern Ireland and northern England. The centre line runs from Enniskillen, through Armagh, Downpatrick, the Isle of Man, Morecambe Bay and North Yorkshire to the East coast between Bridlington and Hornsea. Maximum duration will be 1 minute and 23 seconds.
References
^UK Solar Eclipses from Year 1 by Sheridan Williams, Clock Tower Press, ISBN1-85142-093-2, Published 1996
^Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1986 – 2035 by Fred Espenak, NASA ISBN0-933346-45-X, Published 1987
^A Millennium of British solar eclipses (1501–2500) AD, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Vol 111, pp 88–98 [1]
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