Solar eclipse of July 16, 2186


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, 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, the northern tip of Ecuador, central Colombia, central Venezuela, and northern Guyana.

Extreme duration

This will be the longest total solar eclipse between 4000 BCE and at least CE 6000, 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. This occurs around July 6th.
  • The Moon being almost exactly at perigee. 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 midpoint of the eclipse being near the subsolar point.
  • The vector of the eclipse path at the midpoint of the eclipse aligning with the vector of the Earth's rotation. For solar eclipses at the ascending node this occurs approximately 12 days after the summer solstice.
The longest historical total eclipse lasted 7 minutes 27.54 seconds on June 15, 743 BC. 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.
EventTime
First Penumbral External Contact2186 July 16 at 12:39:43.0 UTC
First Umbral External Contact2186 July 16 at 13:33:32.0 UTC
First Central Line2186 July 16 at 13:35:13.1 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact2186 July 16 at 13:36:54.2 UTC
First Penumbral Internal Contact2186 July 16 at 14:33:28.5 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction2186 July 16 at 15:12:28.2 UTC
Greatest Duration2186 July 16 at 15:13:17.7 UTC
Greatest Eclipse2186 July 16 at 15:14:54.1 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction2186 July 16 at 15:16:50.6 UTC
Last Penumbral Internal Contact2186 July 16 at 15:56:16.7 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact2186 July 16 at 16:52:52.6 UTC
Last Central Line2186 July 16 at 16:54:33.7 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact2186 July 16 at 16:56:14.8 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact2186 July 16 at 17:50:04.4 UTC

ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude1.08047
Eclipse Obscuration1.16741
Gamma−0.23964
Sun Right Ascension07h45m22.8s
Sun Declination+21°12'31.6"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'44.1"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension07h45m17.9s
Moon Declination+20°57'54.1"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'43.2"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax1°01'21.8"
ΔT246.3 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months 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.
July 16
Ascending node
July 31
Descending node
Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 139		Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 151

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2186

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

Inex

  • Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 5, 2157
  • Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 28, 2215

Triad

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.

Metonic series

All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.