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July 31, 1981 Total Solar Eclipse

This eclipse wasn't visible in Columbus - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What the Eclipse Looked Like Near the Maximum Point

The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.


Path of the Eclipse Shadow

Regions that saw, at least, a partial eclipse: Much of Europe, Asia, North/West North America, Pacific, Arctic.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Columbus - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

The eclipse started at one location and ended at another. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the eclipse occurred. This calculation uses a Delta T value of 51.9 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Columbus*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginJul 31 at 01:11:16Jul 30 at 9:11:16 pm
First location to see the full eclipse beginJul 31 at 02:17:23Jul 30 at 10:17:23 pm
Maximum EclipseJul 31 at 03:45:49Jul 30 at 11:45:49 pm
Last location to see the full eclipse endJul 31 at 05:14:10Jul 31 at 1:14:10 am
Last location to see the partial eclipse endJul 31 at 06:20:22Jul 31 at 2:20:22 am

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. This eclipse isn't visible in Columbus.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Columbus

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on Jun 11, 1983

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStart of EclipseEnd of Eclipse
Georgia
Total Solar Eclipse
6:46 am 8:15 am
Kazakhstan
Total Solar Eclipse
8:15 am 10:52 am
Russia
Total Solar Eclipse
6:25 am 5:33 pm
Afghanistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:41 am AFT7:48 am AFT
Armenia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:52 am 8:12 am
Azerbaijan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:33 am 7:13 am MSD
Bahrain
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:02 am AST5:50 am AST
Bangladesh
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:29 am BST9:02 am BST
Belarus
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:59 am MSD7:29 am MSD
Bhutan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:58 am IST11:12 am CST
Bulgaria
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:54 am EEST4:19 am CET
Canada
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:53 pm EDT9:03 pm
China
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:44 am AFT4:12 pm VLAST
Cyprus
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:49 am EEST6:07 am EEST
Czechia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:16 am CEST5:27 am CEST
Denmark
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:07 am CEST5:34 am CEST
Egypt
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:00 am IST5:02 am IST
Estonia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:53 am MSD7:33 am MSD
Finland
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:55 am EEST6:45 am EEST
Germany
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:16 am CEST5:31 am CEST
Greece
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:08 am TRT6:15 am EEST
Greenland
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:37 am EGST12:12 am AST
Guam
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:32 pm 3:32 pm
Hungary
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:04 am CEST5:23 am CEST
Iceland
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:41 am GMT3:48 am GMT
India
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:12 am PKT11:25 am CST
Iran
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:11 am PKT6:40 am IRST
Iraq
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:01 am AST6:07 am AST
Israel
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:49 am IST5:04 am EET
Japan
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:33 am JST3:02 pm JST
Jordan
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:37 am AST5:03 am IST
Kiribati
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:45 pm LINT6:11 pm GILT
Kuwait
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:05 am AST5:57 am AST
Kyrgyzstan
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:15 am 10:32 am
Laos
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:27 am CST9:43 am ICT
Latvia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:03 am MSD7:31 am MSD
Lebanon
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:44 am EET5:05 am EET
Lithuania
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:17 am MSD7:30 am MSD
Marshall Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:28 pm 6:17 pm
Micronesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:59 pm PONT6:01 pm
Moldova
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:38 am MSD7:22 am MSD
Mongolia
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:27 am ULAT12:48 pm ULAT
Myanmar
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:40 am CST11:24 am CST
Nepal
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:47 am IST8:38 am IST
North Korea
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:14 am KST4:11 pm VLAST
Northern Mariana Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:52 pm 3:47 pm
Norway
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:07 am CEST5:49 am CEST
Oman
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:31 am GST6:49 am GST
Pakistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:11 am PKT8:17 am PKT
Palestine
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:52 am EET5:03 am IST
Poland
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:37 am CEST5:29 am CEST
Qatar
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:59 am AST5:50 am AST
Romania
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:45 am MSD6:22 am EEST
Saudi Arabia
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:49 am AST6:01 am AST
Serbia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:16 am EEST4:20 am CET
Slovakia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:02 am CEST5:25 am CEST
South Korea
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:17 am KST2:16 pm JST
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Partial Solar Eclipse
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Sweden
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:03 am CEST5:44 am CEST
Syria
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:14 am EET6:08 am TRT
Taiwan
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:50 am CST12:30 pm CST
Tajikistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:43 am AFT10:21 am
Turkey
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:58 am 6:15 am EEST
Turkmenistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:42 am AFT9:17 am
US Minor Outlying Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:07 pm BST6:15 pm WAKT
Ukraine
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:48 am MSD7:25 am MSD
United Arab Emirates
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:40 am GST6:48 am GST
United States
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:15 pm 8:11 pm HST
Uzbekistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:13 am 10:24 am
Vietnam
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:24 am ICT10:05 am ICT
Yemen
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:07 am AST5:36 am AST
Åland Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:10 am EEST6:34 am EEST

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.)

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse1,870,000,00041.54%
At least 10% partial1,340,000,00029.67%
At least 20% partial957,000,00021.17%
At least 30% partial699,000,00015.46%
At least 40% partial500,000,00011.06%
At least 50% partial343,000,0007.59%
At least 60% partial252,000,0005.59%
At least 70% partial161,000,0003.56%
At least 80% partial78,800,0001.74%
At least 90% partial32,600,0000.72%
Totality or annularity2,170,0000.05%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the second eclipse this season.

First eclipse this season: July 17, 1981 — Partial Lunar Eclipse