Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of the orbit on Thursday, July 11, 1991. 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. Totality began over the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii moving across Mexico, down through Central America and across South America ending over Brazil. It 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, because eclipse magnitude was 1.07997.

Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991
Totality from Playas del Coco, Costa Rica
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureTotal
Gamma−0.0041
Magnitude1.08
Maximum eclipse
Duration413 s (6 min 53 s)
Coordinates22°N 105.2°W / 22; -105.2
Max. width of band258 km (160 mi)
Times (UTC)
(P1) Partial begin16:28:46
(U1) Total begin17:21:41
Greatest eclipse19:07:01
(U4) Total end20:50:28
(P4) Partial end21:43:24
References
Saros136 (36 of 71)
Catalog # (SE5000)9489

This eclipse was the most central total eclipse in 800 years, with a gamma of -.0041. There will not be a more central eclipse for another 800 years. Its magnitude was also greater than any eclipse since the 6th century.

Observations
  • Animation of eclipse path
    Animation of eclipse path
  • View near the end of totality, Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
    View near the end of totality, Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
  • Partial phase before totality as seen through the cloud cover, Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
    Partial phase before totality as seen through the cloud cover, Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Eclipses of 1991
  • 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.

Alleged prediction

The 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 Mayan astronomers predicted the solar eclipse of July 11, 1991.[1] In their 2011 volume, the husband-wife Brickers team explain how they translated the dates from the Mayan calendar, then used modern scientific knowledge of planetary orbits to line up the data from the Mayan prediction with our calendar.[2] Reviewers disputed the claim in 2014, concluding that, "loose hieroglyphic readings and accommodating pattern matching occurs throughout the book."[3]

Notes
  1. Solar System, Exploration. "Eclipses". solarsystem.nasa.gov. Nasa. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  2. Kramer, Miriam (January 8, 2013). "Ancient Maya Predicted 1991 Solar Eclipse". Live Science. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  3. 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.

References

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