Historic Eclipses

Guy M Hurst Jun 13, 2001

In message <3.0.6.32.20010612100353.007b7100@127.0.0.1>, Laren Dart
<ldart@...> writes
>I'm looking for ancient solar eclipses which were observed and recorded at
>sites which are very definitely known, but which did not happen according
>to modern theory. Example: there was an eclipse at Babylon in 136 B.C. but
>the closest I can pin down the location of Babylon is "near" el Hillah,
>Iraq. "Near" won't cut it. And also, was it observed in Babylon itself, or
>"somewhere" in Babylonia? Exact locations are the hardest part! (Does
>Stephenson's book have them?)
Dear Larry,
I recently studied 'The Historical Supernovae' by David Clark and
F.Richard Stephenson. Is this the Stephenson to which you refer?

Unfortunately I have now had to return it to the Royal Astronomical
Society in London. However from the notes I kept there was reference to
the eclipse of 136BC and a picture of a Babylonian tablet said to
contain notes relating to this event. As my main interest is in 'Guest
Stars' I did not keep any further notes on the eclipse.

Would you like me on my next visit to London (in about a month) to check
if the book is still in the library and whether it states from where the
eclipse of 136BC was seen?

Let me know if you wish me to dig further.

Kind regards,
Guy
Editor, The Astronomer
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