Solar Eclipse Prime Page

Partial Solar Eclipse of -0973 May 10 (0974 May 10 BCE)

Fred Espenak

Introduction

eclipse map

The Partial Solar Eclipse of -0973 May 10 (0974 May 10 BCE) is visible from the geographic regions shown on the map to the right. Click on the map to enlarge it. For an explanation of the features appearing in the map, see Key to Solar Eclipse Maps.

The instant of greatest eclipse takes place on -0973 May 10 at 20:49:53 TD (13:56:32 UT1). This is 1.6 days before the Moon reaches perigee. During the eclipse, the Sun is in the constellation Taurus. The synodic month in which the eclipse takes place has a Brown Lunation Number of -35814.

The eclipse belongs to Saros 61 and is number 1 of 71 eclipses in the series. Thus, the -0973 May 10 event is the very first eclipse of the series . All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node. The Moon moves southward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series and gamma decreases.

This is an extremely shallow partial eclipse. It has an eclipse magnitude of only 0.0375, while Gamma has a value of 1.5116. This is a very deep partial eclipse. It has an eclipse magnitude of 0.0375, while Gamma has a value of 1.5116.

The partial solar eclipse of -0973 May 10 is preceded two weeks earlier by a total lunar eclipse on -0973 Apr 25.

Another solar eclipse occurs one synodic month before the -0973 May 10 eclipse. It is the partial solar eclipse of -0973 Apr 11.

These eclipses all take place during a single eclipse season.

The eclipse predictions are given in both Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD) and Universal Time (UT1). The parameter ΔT is used to convert between these two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 24800.5 seconds for this eclipse. The uncertainty in ΔT is 611.6 seconds corresponding to a standard error in longitude of the eclipse path of ± 2.56°.

The following links provide maps and data for the eclipse.

The tables below contain detailed predictions and additional information on the Partial Solar Eclipse of -0973 May 10 .

Eclipse Data: Partial Solar Eclipse of -0973 May 10

Eclipse Characteristics
Parameter Value
Eclipse Magnitude 0.03754
Eclipse Obscuration 0.00878
Gamma 1.51160
Conjunction Times
Event Calendar Date and Time Julian Date
Greatest Eclipse -0973 May 10 at 20:49:52.7 TD (13:56:32.1 UT1) 1365799.080928
Ecliptic Conjunction -0973 May 10 at 21:04:36.4 TD (14:11:15.9 UT1) 1365799.091156
Equatorial Conjunction -0973 May 10 at 22:01:01.9 TD (15:07:41.4 UT1) 1365799.130340
Geocentric Coordinates of Sun and Moon
-0973 May 10 at 20:49:52.7 TD (13:56:32.1 UT1)
Coordinate Sun Moon
Right Ascension02h25m40.4s02h23m04.3s
Declination+14°40'57.3"+16°03'59.1"
Semi-Diameter 15'43.3" 16'28.2"
Eq. Hor. Parallax 08.6" 1°00'26.9"
Geocentric Libration of Moon
Angle Value
l -2.7°
b -2.0°
c -17.6°
Prediction Paramaters
Paramater Value
Ephemerides JPL DE406
ΔT 24800.5 s
k (penumbra) 0.2725076
k (umbra) 0.2722810
Saros Series 61 ( 1/71)

Explanation of Solar Eclipse Data Tables

Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Partial Solar Eclipse of -0973 May 10

Contacts of Penumbral Shadow with Earth
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
First External ContactP120:24:06.313:30:45.753°51.1'N135°28.3'W
Last External ContactP421:15:07.414:21:46.869°03.2'N170°25.5'W
Extreme Northern and Southern Path Limits of Penumbra
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
North Extreme Path Limit 1N120:27:54.113:34:33.551°50.7'N134°53.1'W
South Extreme Path Limit 1S121:11:14.014:17:53.470°29.7'N173°57.6'W

Explanation of Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes Tables

Polynomial Besselian Elements: Partial Solar Eclipse of -0973 May 10

Polynomial Besselian Elements
-0973 May 10 at 21:00:00.0 TD (=t0)
n x y d l1 l2 μ
0 -0.53344 1.41766 14.6813 0.53377 -0.01233 137.0603
1 0.52435 0.23662 0.0123 -0.00008 -0.00008 15.0036
2 0.00008 -0.00016 -0.0000 -0.00001 -0.00001 -0.0000
3 -0.00001 -0.00000 - - - -
Tan ƒ1 0.0045955
Tan ƒ2 0.0045726

At time t1 (decimal hours), each besselian element is evaluated by:

x = x0 + x1*t + x2*t2 + x3*t3 (or x = Σ [xn*tn]; n = 0 to 3)

where: t = t1 - t0 (decimal hours) and t0 = 21.000

Explanation of Polynomial Besselian Elements

Links for the Partial Solar Eclipse of -0973 May 10 (0974 May 10 BCE)

Links to Additional Solar Eclipse Information

Calendar

The Gregorian calendar (also called the Western calendar) is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582. On this website, the Gregorian calendar is used for all calendar dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates.

The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..

Eclipse Predictions

Predictions for the Partial Solar Eclipse of -0973 May 10 were generated using the JPL DE406 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates were calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass. The predictions are given in both Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD) and Universal Time (UT1). The parameter ΔT is used to convert between these two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 24800.5 seconds for this eclipse. The uncertainty in ΔT is 611.6 seconds corresponding to a standard error in longitude of the eclipse path of ± 2.56°.

Acknowledgments

Some of the content on this website is based on the book Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are NOT altered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is NOT removed or covered.