A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, June 16, 1806 (sometimes dubbed Tecumseh's Eclipse), with a magnitude of 1.0604. 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 1.7 days before perigee (on June 18, 1806, at 9:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day northwestern Mexico, the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, northwestern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, southeastern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine in the United States, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and West Africa.
The eclipse was predicted by Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa and its appearance aided unity among the Indigenous peoples of North America. Astronomer José Joaquín de Ferrer observed and named the solar corona during this eclipse.
Observations José Joaquín de Ferrer observed from Kinderhook, New York and gave the name corona to the glow of the faint outer atmosphere of the Sun seen during a total eclipse. He proposed that the corona must belong to the Sun, not the Moon, because of its great size. Ferrer also stated that during the total eclipse of 1806, the irregularities of the Moon's surface were plainly discernible.History of Physical Astronomy, January 1852
Capel Lofft observed from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Tenskwatawa's prediction It has been called Tecumseh's Eclipse after the Shawnee chief, Tecumseh. He realized that the only hope for the various tribes in east and central North America was to join. He was assisted by his brother, Tenskwatawa, called The Prophet, who called for a rejection of European influence and a return to traditional values. This tribal unity threatened William Henry Harrison, the Territorial Governor of Indiana and future 9th President of the United States. Harrison tried to discredit the Shawnee leader by challenging Tenskwatawa to prove his powers. He wrote: "If he (Tenskwatawa) is really a prophet, ask him to cause the Sun to stand still or the Moon to alter its course, the rivers to cease to flow or the dead to rise from their graves."
Tenskwatawa declared that the Great Spirit was angry at Harrison and would give a sign. "Fifty days from this day there will be no cloud in the sky. Yet, when the Sun has reached its highest point, at that moment will the Great Spirit take it into her hand and hide it from us. The darkness of night will thereupon cover us and the stars will shine round about us. The birds will roost and the night creatures will awaken and stir." On that day, there was an eclipse, and Harrison's attempt to divide the Shawnee people backfired spectacularly. Then, Tecumseh ordered the Great Spirit to release the sun."An Account of 1806, June 16 eclipse from a sorrow in our heart: A life of Tecumseh" by Allan W. Eckert.
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.
+June 16, 1806 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1806 June 16 at 13:47:18.5 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1806 June 16 at 14:44:05.8 UTC First Central Line 1806 June 16 at 14:45:19.5 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1806 June 16 at 14:46:33.4 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1806 June 16 at 15:49:22.2 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1806 June 16 at 16:21:07.3 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1806 June 16 at 16:22:27.7 UTC Greatest Duration 1806 June 16 at 16:24:24.6 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1806 June 16 at 16:24:26.5 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1806 June 16 at 16:59:34.4 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1806 June 16 at 18:02:18.7 UTC Last Central Line 1806 June 16 at 18:03:34.3 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1806 June 16 at 18:04:49.9 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1806 June 16 at 19:01:31.5 UTC
+June 16, 1806 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.06042 Eclipse Obscuration 1.12449 Gamma 0.32035 Sun Right Ascension 05h37m06.5s Sun Declination +23°21'35.2" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'44.3" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7" Moon Right Ascension 05h37m11.4s Moon Declination +23°40'49.1" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'25.5" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°00'17.0" ΔT 12.1 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 June 1806 June 16Descending node (new moon) June 30Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 124 Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 136
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1806 A partial lunar eclipse on January 5. A total solar eclipse on June 16. A penumbral lunar eclipse on June 30. A penumbral lunar eclipse on November 25. An annular solar eclipse on December 10. A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 25.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 28, 1802 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 4, 1810
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 5, 1799 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 27, 1813
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 9, 1797 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 21, 1815
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 16, 1795 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 16, 1817
Solar Saros 124 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 4, 1788 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 26, 1824
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 5, 1777 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 27, 1835
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 15, 1719 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 16, 1893
Solar eclipses of 1805–1808
The partial solar eclipses on January 30, 1805 and July 26, 1805 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the partial solar eclipse on October 19, 1808 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1805 to 1808 Ascending node Descending node Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma 109 January 1, 1805Partial −1.5315 114 June 27, 1805Partial 1.0462 119 December 21, 1805Annular −0.8751 124 June 16, 1806Total 0.3204 129 December 10, 1806Annular −0.1627 134 June 6, 1807Hybrid −0.4577 139 November 29, 1807Hybrid 0.5377 144 May 25, 1808Partial −1.2665 149 November 18, 1808Partial 1.1874
Saros 124
Metonic series All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
24 eclipse events between August 28, 1802 and August 28, 1859August 27–28June 16April 3–4January 20–21November 9122124126128130August 28, 1802June 16, 1806April 4, 1810January 21, 1814November 9, 1817132134136138140August 27, 1821June 16, 1825April 3, 1829January 20, 1833November 9, 1836142144146148150August 27, 1840June 16, 1844April 3, 1848January 21, 1852November 9, 1855152August 28, 1859
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References
NASA chart graphics Googlemap NASA Besselian elements
Tecumseh and the Eclipse of 1806