• Home
  • Brief History
  • The Greenwich Meridian
  •  
  • Greenwich (1675–1958)
  • Herstmonceux (1948–1990)
  • Cambridge (1990–1998)
  • Outstations (1822–1971)…
    • – Chingford (1822–1924)
    • – Deal (1864–1927)
    • – Abinger (1923–1957)
    • – Bristol & Bradford on Avon    (1939–1948)
    • – Bath (1939–1949)
    • – Hartland (1955–1967)
    • – Cape of Good Hope    (1959–1971)
  •  
  • Administration…
    • – Funding
    • – Governance
    • – Inventories
    • – Pay
    • – Regulations
    • – Royal Warrants
  •  
  • Contemporary Accounts
  • People
  • Publications
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Telescopes
  • Chronometers
  • Clocks & Time
  • Board of Longitude
  •  
  • Libraries & Archives
  • Visit
  •  
  • Search

Solar eclipses potentially visible from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, 1675-1957

Solar eclipses observed at Greenwich during the time of Flamsteed (1675–1719)

Solar eclipses observed at Greenwich during the time of Halley, Bradley & Bliss (1720–1764)

Solar eclipses observed at Greenwich during the time of Maskelyne (1765–1811)

Solar eclipses observed at Greenwich during the time of Pond (1811–1835)

Solar eclipses observed at Greenwich during the time of Airy (1835–1881)

Solar eclipses observed at Greenwich during the time of Christie (1881–1910)

Solar eclipses observed at Greenwich during the time of Dyson & Spencer Jones (1910–1955)

 

Predictions of solar eclipses potentially visible by Fred Espenak and Chris O'Byrne (EclipseWise.com)

The table below shows all the solar eclipses that were potentially visible at the Observatory while it was located at Greenwich (1675-1957).

Over the years, eclipses were observed from many different locations including: the Octagon Room, the North Terrace in front of Flamsteed house, the Shuckburgh telescope in the former eastern summer-house (the East Dome but known from around 1845 as the North-East Dome), areas to the north and south of the meridian building close to the Transit Clock and the Magnetic Ground. From 1750 until 1850 the transit clock was located alongside the Bradley Meridian. From 1850 until the 1957, it was located on the Airy Meridian which is roughly 6m to the east and was adopted in 1884 as the Prime Meridian of the World.

The figures in the table are computed for a point that is nominally above the Transit Telescope on the Bradley Meridian using the following WGS84 coordinates:

Latitude:     51o 28' 40.2" N (51.477833o N)
Longitude:  0o 0' 5.6" W (0.001556o W)
Elevation:   47m

The time difference (local time) between the Bradley Meridian and the extreme eastern and western points at the north end of the main observatory site where most of the observations were made is no greater than 0.15s.

 

A time followed by (r) means the event is already in progress at sunrise, while a time followed by (s) means the event is still in progress at sunset. In such cases, the times and circumstances given are for sunrise or sunset, respectively.

 

Calendar
Date
Gregorian
Partial
Eclipse
Begins
Sun
Alto
Maximum
Eclipse
Sun
Alto
Sun 
Azio
Partial
Eclipse
Ends
Sun
Alto
Eclipse
Mag.
Eclipse
Obs.
Flamsteed
1675-Jun-23 03:46(r) 0(r) 04:27:53 5 58 05:22:08 12 0.67 0.583
1676-Jun-11 07:50:23 35 08:51:10 44 110 09:56:41 53 0.335 0.218
1679-Apr-10 18:24:16 3 18:44(s) 0(s) 284 18:44(s) 0(s) 0.388(s) 0.276(s)
1682-Sep-01 17:14:19 13 17:23:41 12 268 17:33:06 10 0.014 0.002
1683-Jan-27 15:12:14 10 16:32:50 0 239 16:37(s) 0(s) 0.839 0.761
1684-Jul-12 14:16:36 51 15:27:36 41 252 16:32:57 31 0.615 0.523
1687-May-11 13:11:56 53 13:36:36 51 220 14:01:07 48 0.05 0.013
1689-Sep-13 15:24:50 25 15:57:34 21 248 16:29:22 16 0.109 0.042
1693-Jul-03 12:12:29 61 12:41:16 61 198 13:09:32 59 0.052 0.014
1694-Jun-22 16:22:11 33 17:03:15 27 274 17:42:16 21 0.17 0.08
1699-Sep-23 07:57:32 19 09:08:50 28 132 10:25:15 35 0.852 0.814
1703-Dec-08 15:35:20 1 15:47(s) 0(s) 232 15:47(s) 0(s) 0.117(s) 0.047(s)
1706-May-12 08:16:22 36 09:20:20 45 123 10:28:26 52 0.847 0.82
1708-Sep-14 06:34:23 9 07:28:52 17 107 08:26:40 25 0.493 0.385
1709-Mar-11 12:50:32 34 13:39:31 32 206 14:26:59 28 0.168 0.079
1710-Feb-28 11:37:08 30 13:05:46 29 195 14:31:10 24 0.682 0.585
1711-Jul-15 19:05:24 8 19:58:28 1 305 20:06(s) 0(s) 0.732 0.657
1715-May-03 08:02:40 32 09:07:36 41 121 10:17:07 49 1.062 1
1718-Mar-02 06:48(r) 0(r) 06:49:46 0 102 07:35:57 7 0.215 0.113
Halley
1721-Jul-24 07:05:20 25 07:46:10 31 97 08:29:29 38 0.154 0.07
1722-Dec-08 13:21:20 13 14:31:07 8 216 15:36:28 1 0.479 0.366
1724-May-22 17:38:31 19 18:34:24 10 290 19:26:58 3 0.993 0.996
1726-Sep-25 16:12:39 14 17:07:32 6 261 17:48(s) 0(s) 0.512 0.406
1727-Sep-15 06:16:23 6 06:53:50 12 100 07:32:40 17 0.253 0.149
1730-Jul-15 04:03(r) 0(r) 04:03(r) 0(r) 53 04:30:42 3 0.352(r) 0.233(r)
1732-Dec-17 08:55:55 5 09:12:03 7 142 09:28:14 8 0.019 0.003
1733-May-13 17:41:10 17 18:34:31 9 289 19:24:52 1 0.821 0.786
1736-Oct-04 16:33:28 8 17:17:31 1 261 17:27(s) 0(s) 0.345 0.233
1737-Mar-01 14:38:05 23 16:01:02 14 239 17:16:06 3 0.829 0.756
1738-Aug-15 10:03:32 45 11:03:28 51 156 12:04:36 53 0.294 0.182
1739-Aug-04 15:23:46 38 16:36:01 27 264 17:41:42 17 0.637 0.538
1739-Dec-30 08:10(r) 0(r) 08:33:09 2 133 09:05:23 6 0.122 0.051
Bradley
1748-Jul-25 09:10:26 43 10:41:50 54 145 12:16:21 58 0.831 0.768
1750-Jan-08 08:08(r) 0(r) 09:02:13 6 138 10:12:10 12 0.555 0.452
1753-Oct-26 08:09:27 11 09:17:56 19 142 10:31:21 24 0.707 0.633
1760-Jun-13 06:37:54 24 07:23:45 31 91 08:12:09 38 0.402 0.292
Bliss
1762-Oct-17 06:41:44 1 07:32:02 9 117 08:25:03 16 0.418 0.305
1764-Apr-01 09:08:44 31 10:34:20 40 150 12:04:31 43 0.925 0.865
Maskelyne
1765-Aug-16 15:46:41 32 16:25:49 26 259 17:03:19 20 0.169 0.08
1766-Aug-05 17:35:23 18 18:27:46 10 285 19:17:16 2 0.386 0.265
1769-Jun-04 06:36:47 23 07:27:26 31 92 08:21:28 40 0.519 0.42
1772-Oct-26 08:09:45 11 08:16:07 12 128 08:22:24 12 0.005 0
1773-Mar-23 05:59(r) 0(r) 05:59(r) 0(r) 88 05:59:03 0 -0.004(r) 0.0(r)
1777-Jan-09 15:58:13 1 16:08(s) 0(s) 233 16:08(s) 0(s) 0.141(s) 0.062(s)
1778-Jun-24 15:42:08 40 16:36:20 31 269 17:27:16 23 0.511 0.41
1779-Jun-14 07:18:29 30 07:59:43 37 98 08:43:04 43 0.278 0.172
1781-Apr-23 18:35:27 4 18:59:44 1 290 19:06(s) 0(s) 0.074 0.023
1781-Oct-17 06:39:12 1 07:21:52 7 115 08:06:25 13 0.333 0.222
1782-Apr-12 18:13:30 5 18:48(s) 0(s) 285 18:48(s) 0(s) 0.412(s) 0.291(s)
1787-Jan-19 10:10:10 13 10:46:11 16 159 11:22:36 17 0.086 0.03
1787-Jun-15 16:11:33 35 17:01:01 27 274 17:47:39 20 0.463 0.357
1788-Jun-04 07:22:44 31 08:09:50 38 101 08:59:34 45 0.343 0.231
1791-Apr-03 12:21:59 44 13:48:24 39 215 15:10:15 30 0.598 0.492
1793-Sep-05 09:37:35 37 11:09:31 44 163 12:43:40 44 0.786 0.712
1794-Jan-31 11:12:02 20 11:59:28 21 176 12:46:53 21 0.22 0.12
1797-Jun-24 16:46:01 30 17:30:49 23 279 18:13:16 16 0.362 0.251
1802-Aug-28 05:08(r) 0(r) 05:21:22 2 76 06:16:32 10 0.391 0.269
1803-Aug-17 06:00:55 10 06:47:09 17 90 07:36:05 25 0.265 0.155
1804-Feb-11 10:36:23 21 11:53:46 24 174 13:10:19 23 0.73 0.659
1806-Jun-16 16:38:47 31 17:19:26 24 278 17:58:15 18 0.277 0.17
1807-Nov-29 10:31:43 15 11:26:15 17 175 12:21:38 17 0.253 0.147
Pond
1813-Feb-01 07:43(r) 0(r) 08:15:36 4 124 09:26:28 12 0.618 0.521
1816-Nov-19 08:04:15 4 09:09:42 11 143 10:19:38 17 0.783 0.729
1818-May-05 05:54:32 12 06:46:54 20 89 07:42:47 29 0.367 0.247
1820-Sep-07 12:22:34 44 13:51:29 39 217 15:14:51 29 0.875 0.815
1823-Jul-08 05:19:36 11 05:32:21 13 70 05:45:11 15 0.03 0.006
1826-Nov-29 09:47:37 12 10:53:02 16 167 12:00:21 17 0.555 0.458
1832-Jul-27 14:11:49 49 14:22:38 48 232 14:33:28 47 0.013 0.002
1833-Jul-17 05:04:32 8 05:55:32 15 74 06:49:47 23 0.733 0.675
Airy
1836-May-15 13:51:25 50 15:19:18 39 250 16:39:16 27 0.867 0.812
1839-Mar-15 15:23:59 22 15:44:29 20 239 16:04:43 17 0.055 0.015
1842-Jul-08 04:54:09 7 05:47:12 15 72 06:43:47 23 0.8 0.756
1845-May-06 08:31:22 37 09:36:31 45 128 10:46:51 52 0.386 0.267
1846-Apr-25 17:31:25 14 18:13:45 8 281 18:54:07 2 0.281 0.17
1847-Oct-09 06:16(r) 0(r) 07:27:53 10 114 08:48:55 21 0.917 0.845
1851-Jul-28 14:04:20 50 15:12:39 41 246 16:16:06 32 0.817 0.782
1858-Mar-15 11:41:47 36 13:00:39 35 196 14:17:35 30 0.974 0.966
1860-Jul-18 13:39:32 54 14:49:11 46 242 15:54:11 37 0.825 0.79
1861-Dec-31 13:51:49 12 14:53:41 7 219 15:51:33 0 0.461 0.35
1863-May-17 17:42:40 17 18:28:31 10 288 19:11:53 4 0.29 0.177
1865-Oct-19 16:12:17 6 16:54(s) 0(s) 254 16:54(s) 0(s) 0.29(s) 0.174(s)
1866-Oct-08 16:26:16 8 17:19(s) 0(s) 261 17:19(s) 0(s) 0.444(s) 0.323(s)
1867-Mar-06 08:17:33 14 09:32:03 23 136 10:52:00 30 0.75 0.679
1870-Dec-22 11:08:10 14 12:25:32 15 186 13:42:16 12 0.814 0.769
1873-May-26 07:36:43 32 08:28:20 40 107 09:23:28 48 0.35 0.235
1874-Oct-10 09:03:13 22 10:08:09 28 152 11:15:41 31 0.318 0.2
1875-Sep-29 11:25:55 36 12:06:34 36 185 12:47:25 35 0.116 0.046
1880-Dec-31 13:40:31 12 14:35:50 8 215 15:28:27 3 0.386 0.273
Christie
1882-May-17 06:11:15 17 06:46:31 23 87 07:23:19 28 0.186 0.094
1887-Aug-19 04:54(r) 0(r) 04:54(r) 0(r) 69 05:06:33 1 0.224(r) 0.124(r)
1888-Aug-07 18:49:24 6 18:57:40 5 290 19:05:58 4 0.011 0.001
1890-Jun-17 08:20:31 40 09:23:10 49 118 10:30:31 57 0.367 0.249
1891-Jun-06 17:02:16 26 17:43:55 20 282 18:23:28 14 0.238 0.134
1895-Mar-26 09:56:58 34 10:09:42 35 144 10:22:24 36 0.011 0.001
1899-Jun-08 04:42:43 7 05:17:15 12 68 05:53:14 17 0.187 0.093
1900-May-28 14:47:00 46 15:54:50 36 260 16:57:26 26 0.681 0.605
1902-Oct-31 06:53(r) 0(r) 06:53(r) 0(r) 112 07:00:31 1 0.027(r) 0.005(r)
1905-Aug-30 11:48:52 48 13:03:11 46 202 14:14:56 40 0.786 0.74
1908-Jun-28 17:13:38 26 17:38:05 22 280 18:01:56 18 0.065 0.02
Dyson
1912-Apr-17 10:50:26 47 12:10:08 49 184 13:30:32 45 0.921 0.9
1914-Aug-21 10:58:49 49 12:10:34 51 183 13:20:50 48 0.649 0.569
1916-Feb-03 16:30:45 2 16:47(s) 0(s) 243 16:47(s) 0(s) 0.268(s) 0.161(s)
1919-Nov-22 15:19:47 5 15:59(s) 0(s) 237 15:59(s) 0(s) 0.225(s) 0.121(s)
1920-Nov-10 15:32:46 5 16:14(s) 0(s) 242 16:14(s) 0(s) 0.43(s) 0.309(s)
1921-Apr-08 07:34:59 20 08:46:53 30 120 10:05:04 39 0.88 0.84
1922-Mar-28 13:19:11 39 14:14:33 34 220 15:07:23 28 0.202 0.104
1925-Jan-24 14:52:04 11 15:58:28 4 232 16:30(s) 0(s) 0.823 0.782
1927-Jun-29 04:25:55 4 05:19:56 12 67 06:17:29 20 0.956 0.947
1928-Nov-12 07:40:17 3 08:27:54 9 133 09:18:11 14 0.191 0.095
1929-Nov-01 10:08:05 21 11:01:06 24 169 11:55:58 24 0.218 0.117
spencer Jones
1935-Jun-30 20:07:02 1 20:16(s) 0(s) 310 20:16(s) 0(s) 0.099(s) 0.036(s)
1936-Jun-19 03:46(r) 0(r) 04:15:43 3 55 05:03:11 10 0.563 0.464
1939-Apr-19 17:29:05 13 18:18:17 6 281 18:58(s) 0(s) 0.355 0.238
1942-Sep-10 15:24:13 27 16:17:17 19 253 17:07:07 12 0.326 0.211
1944-Jan-25 16:28:33 0 16:31(s) 0(s) 239 16:31(s) 0(s) 0.01(s) 0.001(s)
1945-Jul-09 12:45:26 60 14:00:33 53 228 15:11:01 44 0.606 0.515
1949-Apr-28 06:20:38 15 07:15:30 23 96 08:14:11 32 0.413 0.293
1951-Sep-01 11:19:56 46 12:06:51 47 182 12:53:33 46 0.164 0.077
1952-Feb-25 08:42:23 14 09:14:27 18 133 09:47:13 21 0.111 0.044
1954-Jun-30 11:15:48 60 12:34:08 61 195 13:50:08 55 0.763 0.709
Woolley
1956-Dec-02 07:48(r) 0(r) 07:48(r) 0(r) 126 07:49:59 0 0.014(r) 0.002(r)

 

t