Ghosts

Ghosts of Eclipses Past

For eclipses to come, there is anticipation and excitement. For those in the past, nostalgia. This archive celebrates nostalgia.

Since 1979, satellites have been collecting images of the Moon’s shadow on the Earth, though in the early years, not for all eclipses and not very well. On this page, we’ve collected most of those images, assembled some video, and shared a few mementos to appease your memories.

This site is a repository of eclipse-related imagery, but not of images of eclipses. It is an archive: a place from which you can select a piece of eclipse history for your own use, to insert into your own web site or eclipse presentation. Unless credited to others, the material is placed in the public domain. Satellite images and some other material is the property of others—usually various national space or meteorological agencies. Please  give credit to them if you use the satellite images and follow their rules for use.  Acknowledgements are summarized at the end of this page.

Right-clicking on a moving video animation will allow you to save the video to your computer. You will find that the saved version is larger than the presentation on these web pages. 

Eclipse tracks from 1979 to 1999. Blue tracks are annular eclipses; red are total eclipses.
Total and Annular Solar Eclipse Menu
1979-1999
1979 February 26 TSE 1979 August 22 ASE
1980 February 16 TSE 1980 August 10 ASE
1981 February 4 ASE 1981 July 31 TSE
1983 June 11 TSE 1983 December 4 ASE
1984 May 30 ASE 1984 November 22-23 TSE
1985 November 12 TSE
1986 October 3 HSE 1986 October 26 Lunar
1987 March 29 HSE 1987 September 23 ASE
1988 March 18 TSE  1988 September 11 ASE
 1990 January 26 ASE 1990 July 22 TSE
1991 January 15 ASE 1991 July 11 TSE
   1992 January 4 ASE 1992 June 30 TSE
1994 May 10 ASE 1994 November 3 TSE
1995 April 29 ASE 1995 October 24 TSE
1997 March 9 TSE
1998 February 26 TSE 1998 August 22 ASE
1999 February 16 ASE 1999 August 11 TSE
Eclipse tracks from 2000 to 2019. Blue tracks are annular eclipses; red are total eclipses.
2000 – 2019
2001 June 21 TSE 2001 December 14 ASE
2002 June 10 ASE 2002 December 4 TSE
2003 May 31 ASE 2003 November 23 TSE
2005 April 8 HSE 2005 October 3 ASE
2006 March 29 TSE 2006 September 22 ASE
2008 February 7 ASE 2008 August 1 TSE
2009 January 26 ASE 2009 July 22 TSE
2010 January 15 ASE 2010 July 11 TSE
2012 May 20 ASE 2012 November 13 TSE
2013 May 10 ASE 2013 November 3 HSE
2014 April 29 ASE
2015 March 20 TSE
2016 March 9 TSE 2016 September 1 ASE
2017 February 26 ASE 2017 August 21 TSE
2019 July 2 TSE 2019 December 26 ASE
Eclipse tracks from 2020 to 2029. Annular eclipses are blue; total eclipses are red.
2020 onward
2020 June 21 ASE 2020 December 14 TSE
2021 June 10 ASE 2021 December 4 TSE
2023 April 20 TSE 2023 October 14 ASE
2024 April 8 TSE 2024 October 2 ASE

Acknowledgements

Satellite imagery used in this archive comes from the following agencies, occasionally through an intermediary:
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration): many versions of GOES satellites; Aqua, Terra, DSCOVR, ISS, SMS,
EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites): many versions of MeteoSat
JAXA/JMA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency/Japan Meteorological Agency): various GMS satellites, also known as Himawari.
INSAT (Indian National Satellite System): Insat 3D and 3DR
NSMC/CMA (National Satellite Meteorological Center/China Meteorological Agency): various Fēngyún spacecraft

In addition, several agencies provided access to images:

Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison (SSEC/UW-Madison)
Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) for Longjiang 2
Kochi University, Japan
Global ISCCP B1 Browse System, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (GIBBS, NOAA)

Updated January 2021

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