A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, July 11, 1991,[1] with a magnitude of 1.08. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 8 hours after perigee (on July 11, 1991, at 11:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
| Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991 | |
|---|---|
 Totality from Playas del Coco, Costa Rica | |
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | −0.0041 |
| Magnitude | 1.08 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 413 s (6 min 53 s) |
| Coordinates | 22°00′N 105°12′W / 22°N 105.2°W |
| Max. width of band | 258 km (160 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| (P1) Partial begin | 16:28:46 |
| (U1) Total begin | 17:21:41 |
| Greatest eclipse | 19:07:01 |
| (U4) Total end | 20:50:28 |
| (P4) Partial end | 21:43:24 |
| References | |
| Saros | 136 (36 of 71) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9489 |
The eclipse lasted for 6 minutes and 53.08 seconds at the point of maximum eclipse. There will not be a longer total eclipse until June 13, 2132. This was the largest total solar eclipse of Solar Saros series 136. This eclipse was the most central total eclipse in 800 years, with a gamma of −0.00412. There will not be a more central eclipse for another 800 years. Its magnitude was also greater than any eclipse since the 6th century.
Totality began over the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii, moving across Mexico, down through the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, across Colombia and ending over Brazil. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of southern Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.
Observations
edit-
Animation of eclipse path -
-
Partial phase before totality as seen through the cloud cover, Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
An observation team funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China made near-infrared spectroscopic observations in the southern suburbs of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Weather was clear on the eclipse day in La Paz. The team captured dozens of frames of the slitless spectrum of the upper layer of photosphere and chromosphere, and the slit spectrum outside the solar surface. They also captured images of the chromosphere and solar prominences. Among the professional observation teams from various countries to La Paz, six used the new CCD sensors for the first time in solar eclipse observation. Among them, the Chinese and Japanese team used it to observe long-wavelength spectra.[3] A team of 320 people from NASA's Johnson Space Center made observation in Mazatlán, Mexico. The local weather was not ideal in the days before the eclipse, but got slightly better as the eclipse day approached. Some people went to San Blas, Nayarit for better weather conditions. In the end, a hole in the clouds appeared in El Cid in western Mazatlan, through which the corona and prominences was visible. Other observers 1 to 5 miles away were clouded out. In San Blas, the corona and prominences were still visible, even though the clouds became thicker during totality.[4] Scientists from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Geophysics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico made observations in Mexico City to study the change in gravity during a total solar eclipse.[5]
Alleged ancient Maya prediction
editThe American ethnographer and anthropologist Victoria Bricker and her late husband and colleague Harvey Bricker, claim in their book "Astronomy in the Maya Codices" that by decoding pre-Columbian glyphs from the four Maya codices they discovered that pre-16th century Maya astronomers predicted the solar eclipse of July 11, 1991.[6] In their 2011 volume, the husband-wife Brickers team explain how they translated the dates from the Maya calendar, then used modern scientific knowledge of planetary orbits to line up the data from the Maya prediction with the Gregorian calendar.[7] Reviewers disputed the claim in 2014, concluding that, "loose hieroglyphic readings and accommodating pattern matching occurs throughout the book."[8]
In popular culture
editThe 1991 eclipse appears in the music video for Cosas del Amor, a duet by Vikki Carr and Ana Gabriel.[9]
Eclipse details
editShown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[10]
| Event | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1991 July 11 at 16:29:42.3 UTC |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1991 July 11 at 17:22:36.8 UTC |
| First Central Line | 1991 July 11 at 17:24:13.8 UTC |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1991 July 11 at 17:25:50.7 UTC |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1991 July 11 at 18:18:45.5 UTC |
| Greatest Duration | 1991 July 11 at 19:01:51.6 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1991 July 11 at 19:07:00.8 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1991 July 11 at 19:07:03.3 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1991 July 11 at 19:07:07.0 UTC |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1991 July 11 at 19:55:15.7 UTC |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1991 July 11 at 20:48:11.3 UTC |
| Last Central Line | 1991 July 11 at 20:49:47.8 UTC |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1991 July 11 at 20:51:24.3 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1991 July 11 at 21:44:20.2 UTC |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.07997 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.16633 |
| Gamma | −0.00412 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 07h22m12.8s |
| Sun Declination | +22°05'48.5" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'43.9" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 07h22m12.5s |
| Moon Declination | +22°05'33.9" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'42.1" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'17.7" |
| ΔT | 57.9 s |
Eclipse season
editThis eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.
| June 27 Ascending node (full moon) |
July 11 Descending node (new moon) |
July 26 Ascending node (full moon) |
|---|---|---|
 |
|
|
| Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 110 |
Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 136 |
Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 148 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1991
edit- An annular solar eclipse on January 15.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on January 30.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on June 27.
- A total solar eclipse on July 11.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on July 26.
- A partial lunar eclipse on December 21.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 23, 1987
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 29, 1995
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 30, 1984
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 22, 1998
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 6, 1982
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 16, 2000
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 10, 1980
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 10, 2002
Solar Saros 136
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 30, 1973
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 31, 1962
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 21, 2020
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 9, 1904
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 11, 2078
Solar eclipses of 1990–1992
editThis eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[11]
| Solar eclipse series sets from 1990 to 1992 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
| 121 | January 26, 1990 Annular |
−0.9457 | 126_(cropped).jpg) Partial in Finland |
July 22, 1990 Total |
0.7597 | |
| 131 | January 15, 1991 Annular |
−0.2727 | 136 Totality in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica |
July 11, 1991 Total |
−0.0041 | |
| 141 | January 4, 1992 Annular |
0.4091 | 146 | June 30, 1992 Total |
−0.7512 | |
| 151 | December 24, 1992 Partial |
1.0711 | ||||
Saros 136
editThis eclipse is a part of Saros series 136, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on June 14, 1360. It contains annular eclipses from September 8, 1504 through November 12, 1594; hybrid eclipses from November 22, 1612 through January 17, 1703; and total eclipses from January 27, 1721 through May 13, 2496. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 30, 2622. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 9 at 32 seconds on September 8, 1504, and the longest duration of totality was produced by member 34 at 7 minutes, 7.74 seconds on June 20, 1955. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[12]
| Series members 26–47 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 26 | 27 | 28 |
 March 24, 1811 |
 April 3, 1829 |
 April 15, 1847 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
 April 25, 1865 |
 May 6, 1883 |
 May 18, 1901 |
| 32 | 33 | 34 |
 May 29, 1919 |
 June 8, 1937 |
 June 20, 1955 |
| 35 | 36 | 37 |
 June 30, 1973 |
July 11, 1991 |
 July 22, 2009 |
| 38 | 39 | 40 |
 August 2, 2027 |
 August 12, 2045 |
 August 24, 2063 |
| 41 | 42 | 43 |
 September 3, 2081 |
 September 14, 2099 |
 September 26, 2117 |
| 44 | 45 | 46 |
 October 7, 2135 |
 October 17, 2153 |
 October 29, 2171 |
| 47 | ||
 November 8, 2189 | ||
Metonic series
editThe metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
| 21 eclipse events between July 11, 1953 and July 11, 2029 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 10–11 | April 29–30 | February 15–16 | December 4 | September 21–23 |
| 116 | 118 | 120 | 122 | 124 |
 July 11, 1953 |
 April 30, 1957 |
 February 15, 1961 |
 December 4, 1964 |
 September 22, 1968 |
| 126 | 128 | 130 | 132 | 134 |
 July 10, 1972 |
 April 29, 1976 |
 February 16, 1980 |
 December 4, 1983 |
 September 23, 1987 |
| 136 | 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 |
| July 11, 1991 |
 April 29, 1995 |
 February 16, 1999 |
 December 4, 2002 |
 September 22, 2006 |
| 146 | 148 | 150 | 152 | 154 |
 July 11, 2010 |
 April 29, 2014 |
 February 15, 2018 |
 December 4, 2021 |
 September 21, 2025 |
| 156 | ||||
 July 11, 2029 | ||||
Tritos series
editThis eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 December 21, 1805 (Saros 119) |
 November 19, 1816 (Saros 120) |
 October 20, 1827 (Saros 121) |
 September 18, 1838 (Saros 122) |
 August 18, 1849 (Saros 123) |
 July 18, 1860 (Saros 124) |
 June 18, 1871 (Saros 125) |
 May 17, 1882 (Saros 126) |
 April 16, 1893 (Saros 127) |
 March 17, 1904 (Saros 128) |
 February 14, 1915 (Saros 129) |
 January 14, 1926 (Saros 130) |
 December 13, 1936 (Saros 131) |
 November 12, 1947 (Saros 132) |
 October 12, 1958 (Saros 133) |
 September 11, 1969 (Saros 134) |
 August 10, 1980 (Saros 135) |
July 11, 1991 (Saros 136) |
 June 10, 2002 (Saros 137) |
 May 10, 2013 (Saros 138) |
 April 8, 2024 (Saros 139) |
 March 9, 2035 (Saros 140) |
 February 5, 2046 (Saros 141) |
 January 5, 2057 (Saros 142) |
 December 6, 2067 (Saros 143) |
 November 4, 2078 (Saros 144) |
 October 4, 2089 (Saros 145) |
 September 4, 2100 (Saros 146) |
 August 4, 2111 (Saros 147) |
 July 4, 2122 (Saros 148) |
 June 3, 2133 (Saros 149) |
 May 3, 2144 (Saros 150) |
 April 2, 2155 (Saros 151) |
 March 2, 2166 (Saros 152) |
 January 29, 2177 (Saros 153) |
 December 29, 2187 (Saros 154) |
 November 28, 2198 (Saros 155) | |||
Inex series
editThis eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||
|---|---|---|
 November 9, 1817 (Saros 130) |
 October 20, 1846 (Saros 131) |
 September 29, 1875 (Saros 132) |
 September 9, 1904 (Saros 133) |
 August 21, 1933 (Saros 134) |
 July 31, 1962 (Saros 135) |
| July 11, 1991 (Saros 136) |
 June 21, 2020 (Saros 137) |
 May 31, 2049 (Saros 138) |
 May 11, 2078 (Saros 139) |
 April 23, 2107 (Saros 140) |
 April 1, 2136 (Saros 141) |
 March 12, 2165 (Saros 142) |
 February 21, 2194 (Saros 143) |
|
Notes
edit- ^ "July 11, 1991 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ You Jianxi, Lu Jing, Wang Chuanjin, Lu Baoluo, Ming Changrong (July 1994). "1991年7月1日墨西哥日全食红外光谱观测及初步结果". 天体物理学报 (Journal of Astrophysics) (in Chinese). 14 (3): 277–282.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Paul D. Maley. "The Longest Total Solar Eclipse in Mexico – July 11, 1991". Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
- ^ B. Ducarme, H.-P. Sun, N. d'Oreye, M. Van Ruymbeke, J. Mena Jara (1999). "Interpretation of the tidal residuals during the 11 July 1991 total solar eclipse". Journal of Geodesy. 73: 53–57. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Solar System, Exploration. "Eclipses". solarsystem.nasa.gov. Nasa. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ Kramer, Miriam (January 8, 2013). "Ancient Maya Predicted 1991 Solar Eclipse". Live Science. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ Gerardo Aldana (March 2014). "ISIS: An International Review Devoted to the History of Science and to Cultural Influences". The University of Chicago Press Journals. 105 (1). doi:10.1086/676751. JSTOR 10.1086/676751. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ Kellner, Elena (7 November 1991). "ENTERTAINMENT". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "Total Solar Eclipse of 1991 Jul 11". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 136". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
References
edit- NASA graphics
- Observer's handbook 1991, Editor Roy L. Bishop, The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (p. 101)
Photos:
- Russian scientist observed eclipse
- Russia expedition
- Baja California, La Paz. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
- Baja California, Todos Santos. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
- Reyna from La Paz, Baja California, Mexico
- www.noao.edu: Satellite view of eclipse
- [1] APOD 7/16/1999, Solar Surfin', total eclipse corona, from Mauna Kea, Hawaii
- [2] APOD 10/24/1995, A Total Solar Eclipse, total eclipse corona
- The 1991 Eclipse in Mexico
Videos:
- Total Solar Eclipse -- July 11, 1991 (9:39 uncut, eclipse full frame, location insert)
- Total Solar Eclipse (8:23 edited, includes pre-planning and post-press, music only)
- Total Solar Eclipse, Cabo Mexico (9:12 edited, includes some TV news coverage)
