​On Tuesday at noon, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from Romania, but the most spectacular are the total ones, when “night falls” for a few minutes. A total eclipse in Romania will not be observed until 2081, but in the 15th century three total eclipses could be observed in nine years! What is the history of solar eclipses in Romania? What happened in 1961 and not in 1999?

A total solar eclipse every 75 years in the last millennium

Only 13 total eclipses were visible from the territory of modern Romania during the last millennium. There were 12 annular eclipses. In this millennium, that is, until the year 3000, it will be possible to see 14 total eclipses of the Sun from the territory of our country.

A partial eclipse of the Sun can be seen from Romania once every 2-3 years, and a total eclipse – in…80 years.

• Partial solar eclipse on October 25 – hours when it will be visible in every city in Romania

When were the partial eclipses visible from Romania? In 1115, 1133, 1187, 1239, 1330, 1424, 1431, 1433, 1540, 1567 (hybrid), 1816, 1961, 1999. You can see that in the 12th century there were three total eclipses visible from us, also in the 15th century, but there was also a break of more than three centuries. Here you can see a table with all visible total eclipses in Romania. (source Astronomical Observatory of Admiral Vasile Urceanu)

A very rare period was 1422-1431, when three total eclipses were visible in nine years. However, it would be wrong to say that many thousands of people saw all three, because the band of totality had different paths, and it was only by a great coincidence that someone could encounter three eclipses right on the path of totality.

Romanians from the south of the country were more fortunate in the second half of the 20th century: hundreds of thousands of people caught two total eclipses: 1961 and 1999. You can read more about them below.

The total eclipse of June 3, 1239, two years before the great Mongol invasion, must have been extraordinary, as in places of maximum darkness the duration of darkness was almost six minutes! Probably many were frightened by the fact that the Sun was closed for so long.

Three annular eclipses were visible from the territory of modern Romania in the 11th century: in 1033, 1093 and 1098.

It has been 23 years since the last total eclipse, and 59 years until the next one. The last annular eclipses were in 1847 and 1867.

A very important tip: during the eclipse, do not look at the Sun with the naked eye, but only through special light filters (transparent glasses, mylar or the densest filters for welding machines).

When will it be possible to see the next five total solar eclipses from our country?: 2081, 2135, 2187, 2234, 2236.

A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely covered by the Moon. The bright image of the Sun is replaced for a few minutes by the dark silhouette of the Moon.

There are at least two solar eclipses per year on the globe.

Partial solar eclipses are much more common: for example, there have been six partial eclipses in the last 15 years that were also visible from Romania, but the degree of coverage was not very high, with one exception. A partial eclipse took place on January 4, 2011, with a maximum coverage of 76%. In the partial eclipse on March 20, 2015, coverage reached 55%.

In addition to the total eclipse on October 25, 2022, seven partial eclipses will be visible from the country over the next 20 years. One thing that stands out is that on June 1, 2030, coverage will be 83% in Bucharest, so it will be much more interesting than the current eclipse.

Total eclipse on November 20, 1816

The peak time is 13:17, the total lane width is 145 km, and the peak duration is 2 minutes. The band of totality crossed mostly the west of modern-day Romania, covering cities such as Szigetu-Marmaciei, Vatra-Dornei, Piatra Neamts, Bacău, Focşani, Galaţi and Braila (source eclipsewise.com).

Total eclipse on February 15, 1961

A band of fullness crossed southern Romania, including cities such as Bucharest, Craiova, Constanta, Turnu Magurele, Ploiesti, Tulcea and Sulina.

In 1960, a 32-page brochure, a book, signed by Ion Dima, edited by the Society for the Promotion of Science and Culture, was printed about this event. Large posters with the outline of the eclipse and explanations were also printed, but stamps also appeared. Apart from the propaganda of the time, there was a lot of writing about the eclipse, and people rejoiced at such a rare phenomenon. And it was indeed something rare, as it was the first total eclipse in 145 years. The next one will be in 38 years. Here you can see photos of the 1961 eclipse.

Many came by train to the south of the country to see the “night in the middle of the day”.

In many places during the eclipse, the sky was covered with clouds, and since the maximum moment was in the morning, the Sun was not very high. Bucharesters lined up at the Astronomical Observatory, where they intensively prepared for the once-in-a-lifetime event.

What did the press of that time write? “In our country, the eclipse will be visible between 8:40 a.m. and 11:18 a.m. partially north of a line passing through Tr. Severin-Ploiesti-Brăila, and completely south of this line (central line passing through Zimnicea-Constanța). ). The duration of the total eclipse will be 2 minutes 33 seconds on the central line from Zimnicea and 2 minutes 37 seconds in Constanta. In Bucharest, the eclipse will last between 8:43 and 11:12 with the maximum phase at 9:55; the total eclipse will be visible here for two minutes and 10 seconds,” Romania Libera newspaper wrote.

The publication also gave recommendations on how to look at the Sun: “During an eclipse, you should look at the Sun only through welding glasses, smoked bottles or photo clichés, illuminated and developed. It is advisable to look at the sun with the naked eye only during a total eclipse. (source Agerpres)

Total eclipse on August 11, 1999

Romania was the point of maximum visibility of the eclipse in Europe, and Bucharest was the only European capital located on the center line of the total band.

The eclipse had its maximum duration when the axis of the lunar shadow approached the center of the Earth at 11:03:04 (GMT), the peak moment that could be observed in Ocnele Mara, Romania, near the town of Râmnicu Vâlcea, where the phenomenon lasted the longest – 2 minutes 23 seconds. Bucharest was in the maximum zone at 11:07 (GMT) – 14:07 (local time). At 11:13 (GMT) the eclipse touched the coast and “left” Romania.

The eclipse will be remembered by many with a special plastic banknote issued for the occasion, which some of us still have lying around in our drawers. These banknotes are sold on olx for prices ranging from 10 lei to several hundred, often together with darkening glasses made of cardboard with simple dark plastic lenses.

The National Bank of Romania issued one million copies of this 2,000 lei polymer banknote. The solar system was stylized on the banknote, and the map of Romania, painted in the colors of the national flag, was on the reverse. Both the area and the areas from which the total solar eclipse was maximally visible were marked on the map.

Total eclipse on September 3, 2081

Few of us will catch the moment 59 years away, but that didn’t stop a few people from creating a Facebook event in 2017 for people to meet in Victory Square for that possible eclipse this century.

We cannot know what will happen until 2081. Will there be new pandemics, will we build a colony on Mars, will we manage to live for more than 150 years?

It is certain that only a small part of the Romanians who are alive today will understand that eclipse.

The “consolation” will be the fact that the band of total destruction on September 3, 2081 will cover only a small part of the country, in the southwest, in the area of ​​Timisoara, Karancebes. Tirgu Jiu, Craiova, Slatina, Caracal, Alexandria, Calafat or Rosiorii de Vede.

The eclipse will be partial in most of the country. God knows if we’ll have a lot of highways then, or if we’ll have high-speed trains so that we don’t have to travel forever from one end of the country to the other.

Types of eclipses

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, thereby completely or partially covering the solar disk for an observer on Earth.

An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are exactly aligned with the Earth, and the apparent diameter of the Moon is smaller than the diameter of the Sun. Only the edge is visible from the Sun, which in the form of a bright ring surrounds the dark Moon. Annular solar eclipses are rare astronomical events, also known as “rings of fire”.

A hybrid eclipse is an eclipse between a total solar eclipse and an annular eclipse. At some points on Earth, it can be seen as full, and at others – as a ring. And this is a rare type of eclipse.

A partial eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are not exactly aligned, so the Moon only partially covers the Sun. This phenomenon can usually be observed from most of the Earth, especially outside the cumulus belt.

Annular eclipses tend to be slightly larger than total eclipses because, on average, the Moon is too far from Earth to completely mask the Sun. A hybrid eclipse occurs when the magnitude of the eclipse is very close to 1: the eclipse will be total in some places on Earth and annular in others.

Photo source: Dreamstime.com