A total

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

will occur on July 16, 2186, which will be the longest total eclipse for thousands of years. The eclipse will pass over the southern

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

(with a total eclipse of 4 minutes occurring over the southern tip of

Española Island Española Island (Spanish: ''Isla Española'') is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it ''Hood Island'' after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Sant ...

), the northern tip of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

(with a total eclipse of 3 minutes and 26 seconds on Isla Santa Rosa), central

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

(4 minutes and 50 seconds over Bogota), central

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and northern

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

(7 minutes and 4 seconds just north of

Anna Regina Anna Regina is the capital of the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region of Guyana. Anna Regina stands on the Atlantic coast, northwest of the mouth of the Essequibo River, 19 km north of Adventure, and was established as a town in 1970. Its population w ...

Extreme duration

Solar_eclipse_greatest_eclipse_July_16_2186

This will be the longest total solar eclipse between the dates of 4000 BC and at least AD 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 An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

(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 midpoint of the eclipse being near the

subsolar point The subsolar point on a planet is the point at which its sun is perceived to be directly overhead (at the zenith); that is, where the sun's rays strike the planet exactly perpendicular to its surface. It can also mean the point closest to the sun ...

(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. The longest historical total eclipse lasted 7 minutes 27.54 seconds on June 15, 743 BC. The longest eclipse theoretically possible for the 3rd millennium is 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

Related eclipses

Saros 139

References

External links

NASA Solar eclipses: 2101 to 2200

Besselian Elements

NASA googlemap of eclipse path
{{Solar eclipses 2186 July 16 2186 July 16 22nd century in science 2180s