A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Sunday, July 16, 2186, with a magnitude of 1.0805. 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 3 minutes before perigee (on July 16, 2186, at 15:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be near its maximum.
This eclipse will be the longest total solar eclipse out of 6,326 calculated for 10,000 years between 4000 BCE and 6000 CE. The eclipse will pass over the southern Galápagos Islands (with a total eclipse of 4 minutes occurring over the southern tip of Española Island), the northern tip of Ecuador (with a total eclipse of 3 minutes and 26 seconds on Isla Santa Rosa), central Colombia (4 minutes and 50 seconds over Bogota), central Venezuela, and northern Guyana (7 minutes and 4 seconds just north of Anna Regina).Total Solar Eclipse of 2186 July 16 - Interactive Eclipse Path Using Google Maps NASA Eclipse Website, Fred Espenak.
Extreme duration
This will be the longest total solar eclipse between 4000 BCE and at least CE 6000 (10,000 years), lasting a maximum of 7 minutes, 29.22 seconds. The factors that will make this such a long eclipse are: The Earth being very near aphelion (furthest away from the Sun in its elliptical orbit, making its angular diameter nearly as small as possible). This occurs around July 6th. The Moon being almost exactly at perigee (making its angular diameter as large as possible). The moment of greatest eclipse will be just 50 minutes after perigee. The midpoint of the eclipse being very close to the Earth's equator, where the Earth's rotational velocity is greatest. (The affects the distance the shadow travels on the ground, but not the time duration.) The midpoint of the eclipse being near the subsolar point (the part of the Earth closest to the Sun, and therefore also closest to the Moon during an eclipse). The vector of the eclipse path at the midpoint of the eclipse aligning with the vector of the Earth's rotation (i.e. not diagonal but due east). For solar eclipses at the ascending node (odd numbered saros) this occurs approximately 12 days after the summer solstice.M. Littman, et al.
The longest historical total eclipse lasted 7 minutes 27.54 seconds on June 15, 743 BC.Ten Millennium Catalog of Long Solar Eclipses, -3999 to +6000 (4000 BCE to 6000 CE) Fred Espenak. The longest eclipse theoretically possible is 7 minutes and 32 seconds.
Responses Michael Zeiler, an eclipse cartographer, told Live Science the 2186 eclipse "will last up to an astonishing 7 minutes and 29 seconds, very close to the theoretical limit of 7 and a half minutes."
Vice magazine, musing what the "wolves feasting on the bones" of a possibly then-extinct human civilization would think, suggested the longest solar eclipse in 12,000 years would be "worth a howl".
IFL Science noted that the 22nd century will be a "golden era for eclipse chasers", with the 2186 eclipse overshadowing two other 7+ minute events in 2150 and 2168. No total solar eclipse of the 21st century will exceed 7 minutes.
In March 2023, the art and design magazine IGNANT interviewed the Berlin-based photographer Matthias Ledinger about his project AD2186. Using primarily black and white media, Ledinger "depicts the complex awe-sensations and emotions generated by the solar eclipse" similar to that of the Overview effect.
Eclipse details Shown 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.
+July 16, 2186 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 2186 July 16 at 12:39:43.0 UTC First Umbral External Contact 2186 July 16 at 13:33:32.0 UTC First Central Line 2186 July 16 at 13:35:13.1 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 2186 July 16 at 13:36:54.2 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 2186 July 16 at 14:33:28.5 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 2186 July 16 at 15:12:28.2 UTC Greatest Duration 2186 July 16 at 15:13:17.7 UTC Greatest Eclipse 2186 July 16 at 15:14:54.1 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 2186 July 16 at 15:16:50.6 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 2186 July 16 at 15:56:16.7 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 2186 July 16 at 16:52:52.6 UTC Last Central Line 2186 July 16 at 16:54:33.7 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 2186 July 16 at 16:56:14.8 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 2186 July 16 at 17:50:04.4 UTC
+July 16, 2186 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.08047 Eclipse Obscuration 1.16741 Gamma −0.23964 Sun Right Ascension 07h45m22.8s Sun Declination +21°12'31.6" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'44.1" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7" Moon Right Ascension 07h45m17.9s Moon Declination +20°57'54.1" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'43.2" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'21.8" ΔT 246.3 s
Eclipse season
This 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.
+ Eclipse season of July 2186 July 16Ascending node (new moon) July 31Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 139 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 151
Related eclipses Eclipses in 2186 An annular solar eclipse on January 20. A partial lunar eclipse on February 4. A total solar eclipse on July 16. A penumbral lunar eclipse on July 31. A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 26.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 27, 2182 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 4, 2190
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 5, 2179 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 26, 2193
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 11, 2177 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 22, 2195
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 16, 2175 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 15, 2197
Solar Saros 139 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 5, 2168 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 27, 2204
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 5, 2157 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 28, 2215
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 14, 2099 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 17, 2273
Solar eclipses of 2185–2188
The partial solar eclipses on May 26, 2188 and November 18, 2188 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 2185 to 2188 Descending node Ascending node Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma 124 January 31, 2185Partial 1.1991 129 July 26, 2185Total −0.9967 134 January 20, 2186Annular 0.5426 139 July 16, 2186Total −0.2396 144 January 9, 2187Annular −0.1365 149 July 6, 2187Total 0.5109 154 December 29, 2187Annular −0.8126 159 June 24, 2188Partial 1.3252 164 December 18, 2188Partial −1.4420
Saros 139
Metonic series All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
13 eclipse events between May 4, 2152 and December 9, 2197May 4–5February 21December 9September 27–28July 16121123125127129May 4, 2152February 21, 2156December 9, 2159September 28, 2163July 16, 2167131133135137139May 5, 2171February 21, 2175December 9, 2178September 27, 2182July 16, 2186141143145May 4, 2190February 21, 2194December 9, 2197
Tritos series
Inex series
References
External links NASA Solar eclipses: 2101 to 2200 Besselian Elements NASA googlemap of eclipse path