Atlas of Historical Eclipse Maps: East Asia 1500 BC-AD 1900

This book presents a series of computer-drawn maps and tables for all eclipses of the Sun calculated to have been observable in East Asia in the 3400 years from 1500 BC to AD 1900. The study of past eclipses is a useful tool in determining the long-term behaviour of astronomical phenomena, such as the Earth’s rate of rotation and the size of the Sun. The eclipses of the Sun that occurred in East Asia - notably in China, Korea and Japan - are particularly useful because written records of them exist. An introduction explains the methods used to calculate the parameters and determine the trajectories of each eclipse. Then follow the maps themselves, 862 in all, which plot the path of the umbral region over East Asia and tabulate the longitude, limits of latitude, local time and mean altitude for each event.