Two to five eclipses of the Sun occur every year. Each of these events is only visible within the 7,000 kilometer wide track of the Moon's penumbral shadow as it sweeps across a portion of the Earth. If the dark core of the Moon's shadow (umbra) also crosses the Earth, then either an annular or total eclipse will be seen within its very narrow path. The umbral path is typically about 100 to 200 kilometers wide. For any given location, a partial eclipse occurs about once every two or three years. In comparison, annular and total eclipses are far rarer events. Eclipses for Beginners examines the geometry of solar eclipses in greater detail. Please note that extreme care must be taken when viewing a solar eclipse.

The table below summarizes the types and numbers of eclipses visible each century from Washington during the period 0001 CE to 3000 CE . The last two columns list the years in which annular and total eclipses are visible from this location. During this interval, 20 annular eclipses are visible from Washington ( 0252, 0324, 0451, 0623*, 0652, 0934*, 1008, 1234*, 1301*, 1536, 1694, 1791, 1811, 1838 ). For the same period, 5 total eclipses are visible from Washington ( 0664, 1079, 1451, 1478 and 2444 ). Annular and total eclipses are extraordinarily uncommon events when viewed from a single place. On average, an annular eclipse is seen once every 224 years, while a total eclipse is seen once every 375 years. However, there can be significant variations in these averages.

The geographic coordinates used in these predictions are for a single position in central Washington . But cities are not simply singular points on the surface of the Earth. They cover geographic regions many tens of square kilometers in area. An eclipse path may miss the center of a city yet still be visible from within the city limits. To cover for this possibility, any partial eclipse seen from the city's center is counted as annular or total if some portion of its umbral path passes within 15 km of the city's coordinates.

BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) are secular alternatives for the terms BC and AD, respectively. For more information, see Year Dating Conventions.

The following catalog features the primary details for all annular and total eclipses visible from Washington during the period 0001 CE to 3000 CE . For convenience, all dates and times are given in local standard time (= GMT - 5.0) . Note that if daylight savings time is in effect, then one hour must be added to the times. In addition to the date and the type of eclipse visible from Washington , the local times for the beginning, maximum and end of the eclipse are given. For maximum eclipse, each catalog lists the Sun's altitude and azimuth as well as the magnitude (fraction of Sun's diameter covered) and obscuration (fraction of Sun's area covered). A magnitude of 1.0 or greater is a total eclipse while a magnitude less than 1.0 is either an annular or partial eclipse. Next, the distances (km) from Washington to the center line and path edge are provided. If the city coordinates are inside the umbral eclipse path, then the tabulated distance to the path edge is negative. Positive values imply that the geographic coordinates are just outside the path, but that an annular or total eclipse is still visible from some portions of the city. Finally, the last column provides special comments about the eclipse. If the central coordinates of Washington are within the path, then the duration of annularity or totality is given. For a complete description of each item in the catalog, please see Key to Solar Eclipse Viewing Circumstances.

BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) are secular alternatives for the terms BC and AD, respectively. For more information, see Year Dating Conventions.

                                                                      Since
            Eclipse Eclipse  Maximum  Eclipse Sun  Sun  Eclip. Eclip.  Last    Dist.  Dist.   Special
     Date     Type  Begins   Eclipse   Ends   Alt  Azm   Mag.   Obs.  Eclipse Center  Edge    Notes
                      h  m     h  m     h  m    °    °                  yrs     km     km

 0252 Jun 24   A:a   04:42r   04:58    05:59    3   61  0.939  0.877     -      182    -16    ANNULAR - 01m31s
 0324 Aug 06   A:a   05:49    06:59    08:20   20   84  0.965  0.867   72.1       3   -151    ANNULAR - 05m18s
 0451 Oct 10   A:a   12:30    14:07    15:35   35  221  0.958  0.911  127.2     117    -26    ANNULAR - 02m30s
 0623 Jan 06   A:p   14:32    15:52    17:03   11  229  0.981  0.966  171.2      50     14    ANNULAR - 14 km to path
 0652 Jun 11   A:a   15:34    16:49    17:55   29  278  0.984  0.960   29.4      26    -20    ANNULAR - 01m12s
 0664 May 01   T:t   09:26    10:41    12:00   61  136  1.005  1.000   11.9      75    -19    TOTAL -   02m17s
 0934 Apr 16   A:p   08:48    10:13    11:47   53  130  0.979  0.960  270.0      47      3    ANNULAR -  3 km to path
 1008 Oct 31   A:a   12:31    14:17    15:51   25  219  0.935  0.846   74.5     184   -112    ANNULAR - 06m40s
 1079 Jul 01   T:t   06:04    07:03    08:07   24   79  1.022  1.000   70.7      22    -83    TOTAL -   03m18s
 1234 Mar 01   A:p   08:24    09:47    11:19   34  132  0.968  0.938  154.7     103      5    ANNULAR -  5 km to path
 1301 Feb 09   A:p   11:09    12:45    14:16   39  187  0.949  0.905   66.9     118     13    ANNULAR - 13 km to path
 1451 Jun 28   T:t   17:23    18:18    19:08   13  289  1.025  1.000  150.4      33   -142    TOTAL -   03m06s
 1478 Jul 29   T:t   05:32    06:27    07:27   13   79  1.018  1.000   27.1      38    -67    TOTAL -   02m51s
 1536 Jun 18   A:a   05:11    06:13    07:22   15   72  0.967  0.892   57.9      28   -122    ANNULAR - 03m39s
 1694 Jun 22   A:a   08:47    10:24    12:12   63  117  0.972  0.903  158.0      11    -84    ANNULAR - 05m16s
 1791 Apr 03   A:a   05:52r   06:50    08:04   11   92  0.942  0.873   96.8     175    -57    ANNULAR - 03m09s
 1811 Sep 17   A:a   12:24    14:08    15:40   44  226  0.949  0.872   20.5      97    -80    ANNULAR - 05m36s
 1838 Sep 18   A:a   15:14    16:35    17:48   18  257  0.959  0.859   27.0      45   -321    ANNULAR - 05m48s
 2111 Aug 04   A:a   13:01    14:42    16:10   51  247  0.967  0.891  272.9      23   -102    ANNULAR - 05m19s
 2154 Apr 12   A:a   16:13    17:30    18:38   13  271  0.959  0.876   42.7      35    -87    ANNULAR - 04m35s
 2267 Mar 26   A:a   06:32    07:45    09:06   19  103  0.959  0.859  112.9      42   -314    ANNULAR - 05m47s
 2294 Mar 27   A:a   08:59    10:35    12:21   48  142  0.932  0.859   27.0     161    -27    ANNULAR - 04m00s
 2444 Sep 12   T:t   10:36    11:56    13:15   55  176  1.000  1.000  150.5     130     -1    TOTAL -   00m36s
 2580 Nov 08   A:a   06:46r   07:23    08:34    6  117  0.977  0.949  136.2      38     -9    ANNULAR - 01m02s
 2904 Jan 08   A:a   13:27    15:02    16:25   17  221  0.933  0.848  323.2     116    -55    ANNULAR - 05m21s

The following two catalogs provide more details for solar eclipses visible from Washington during the period 0001 CE to 3000 CE . The first catalog lists the local circumstances (times, magnitude, etc.) for every eclipse visible from the city. The second catalog includes only major eclipses (magnitude greater than 0.75, including nearby annular and total eclipses). The catalogs should prove useful for historical research or for planning future observations.

Eclipse Predictions & WebMaster: Fred Espenak e-mail: espenak@gsfc.nasa.gov Planetary Systems Branch - Code 693 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 USA