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 ...

occurred on April 8

New Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

(NS), 1652, a Monday. In contemporary British sources, the date is alternately listed as March 29, 1652 following the

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

(OS) as Great Britain had not yet adopted of the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

by that time. 19th century authors further adjusted the date to March 25 NS, 1652. A

occurs when the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

passes between

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

and the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, 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 The angular diameter, angular size, apparent diameter, or apparent size is an angular distance describing how large a sphere or circle appears from a given point of view. In the vision sciences, it is called the visual angle, and in optics, it is ...

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. The path of totality intersected the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, as well as passing just off the west coast of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Observations

Observing the eclipse from

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Dr. John Wybard wrote in Latin: : "Luna momento quasi, et eximproviso, totam se intra Disci Solis orbitam seu ambitum (quatenus conspectui nostro appareret) tam agiliter injiciebat; ut circumagere aut circumvolutare videretur, sicut catillus, seu lapis molaris superior; Sole tunc circum-circa, ejus limbum seu marginem splendidulo vel corusco, apparente.” : "The Moon, as if at that moment, and unexpectedly, threw itself so very nimbly between the entire path or circuit of the Sun’s disc (in so far as it appeared to our sight); so that it seemed to move in a circle or roll around, like a plate or upper mill-stone; with the Sun, glowing or rather shimmering, all around its rim or edge." Because this eclipse occurred on a Monday that day became popularly known as Mirk Monday.Mairi Robinson (editor)Concise Scottish Dictionary, (1985), "mirk", p.416.

Related eclipses

It is a part of

solar Saros 133 Saros cycle series 133 for solar eclipses occurs at the Moon's ascending node, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 72 events. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon's ascending node. Solar Saros 133 is one of the saros series ...

Notes

References

NASA chart graphics

Googlemap

NASA Besselian elements
{{Solar eclipses 1652 04 08 1652 in science 1652 04 08

Observations

Related eclipses

See also

Notes

References