Al-Mahdi akan muncul di bulan Muharram.

Pada Ramadhan sebelum kemunculannya,

terlihat beberapa tanda-tanda nyata dan peristiwa- peristiwa yang aneh di langit.
Mula-mula terjadi guncangan, kemudian muncul gelegar suara yang keras dan
dahsyat...............
Isi berita:
1. Cuplikan dari Buku "Huru-Hara Akhir Zaman"
2. Berita dari Republika edisi Jum'at, 7 Nopember 2003 (Preview Atraksi Leonid dan
Malam Nopember Yang Spesial)
3. Berita tentang gerhana-gerhana di tahun 2003 (NASA)

Bagian 1
Dari buku "Huru-Hara Akhir Zaman" karangan Amin Muhammad Jamaluddin (dosen
Pascasarjana Fakultas Dakwah dan Tsaqafah Islamiyah, Universitas Al Azhar, Kairo;
Penerbit Aqwam, Juli 2003).
Halaman 97:
Keanehan-keanehan yang terjadi pada Ramadhan dan petaka-petaka dahsyat pada
bulan Syawwal, Dzulqaidah dan Dzulhijjah. Al-Mahdi akan muncul di bulan Muharram.
Pada Ramadhan sebelum kemunculannya, terlihat beberapa tanda-tanda nyata dan
peristiwa- peristiwa yang aneh di langit. Mula-mula terjadi guncangan, kemudian
muncul gelegar suara yang keras dan dahsyat, setiap orang bisa mendengarnya,
kemudian muncul bintang berekor yang menerangi langit, kemudian matahari dan
bulan mengalami gerhana.
Jika peristiwa-peristiwa diatas telah terjadi pada bulan Ramadhan, maka pada bulan
Syawal akan terjadi huru-hara (ma'ma'ah). Kemudian pada bulan Dzulqaidah akan
terjadi konflik antar suku dan perselisihan antar negeri Islam. Kemudian pada bulan
Dzulhijjah, pada musim haji, akan terjadi perampokan terhadap para jama'ah haji dan
peperangan antar suku dan bangsa Islam, sehingga darah mengalir di Jumrah
'Aqabah pada hari-hari Idul Adha di Mina.
Jika peristiwa di atas telah terjadi, maka Al-Mahdi muncul dan dibaiat pada hari
Asyura bulan Muharram.
Saya akan menyebutkan beberapa hadits mengenai hal ini yang sebenarnya cukup
banyak:
Nu'aim bin Hammad meriwayatkan dengan sanadnya bahwa Rasulullah saw
bersabda:
"Pada bulan Ramadhan terlihat tanda-tanda di langit, seperti tiang yang bersinar,
pada bulan Syawwal terjadi malapetaka, pada bulan Dzulqa'idah terjadi kemusnahan,
pada bulan Dzulhijjah para jamaah haji dirampok, dan pada Muharram, tahukah
apakah Muharram itu?"
Rasulullah saw. juga bersabda:
"Akan ada suara dahsyat di bulan Ramadhan, huru-hara di bulan Syawwal, konflik
antar suku pada bulan Dzulqa'idah, dan pada tahun itu para jamaah haji dirampok
dan terjadi pembantaian besar di Mina dimana banyak orang terbunuh dan darah
mengalir disana, sedangkan pada saat itu mereka berada di Jumrah Aqabah".
Beliau saw. juga bersabda:

"Bila telah muncul suara di bulan Ramadhan, maka akan terjadi huru-hara di bulan
Syawwal...".
Kami bertanya: "Suara apakah, ya Rasulullah?" Beliau menjawab: "Suara keras di
pertengahan bulan Ramadhan, pada malam Jum'at, akan muncul suara keras yang
membangunkan orang tidur, menjadikan orang yang berdiri jatuh terduduk, para
gadis keluar dari pingitannya, pada malam Jum'at di tahun terjadinya banyak gempa.
Jika kalian telah melaksanakan shalat Subuh pada hari Jum'at, masuklah kalian ke
dalam rumah kalian, tutuplah pintu-pintunya, sumbatlah lubang-lubangnya, dan
selimutilah diri kalian, sumbatlah telinga kalian. Jika kalian merasakan adanya suara
menggelegar, maka bersujudlah kalian kepada Allah dan ucapkanlah: "Mahasuci AlQuddus, Mahasuci Al-Quddus, Rabb kami Al-Quddus!", karena barangsiapa
melakukan hal itu akan selamat, tetapi barangsiapa yang tidak melakukan hal itu
akan binasa".
Muhammad bin Ali berkata:
"Sesungguhnya, Al-Mahdi yang kita nantikan itu memiliki dua mukjizat yang belum
pernah terjadi semenjak Allah menciptakan langit dan bumi, bulan mengalami
gerhana pada malam pertama bulan Ramadhan, sedangkan matahari mengalami
gerhana pada pertengahan bulan itu, dan kedua hal itu belum pernah terjadi sejak
Allah menciptakan langit dan bumi" (diriwayatkan Daruquthni dalam Sunan-nya).

Bagian 2
Berita dari Harian Republika, edisi Jumat, 7 Nopember 2003
Preview Atraksi Leonid
Pertunjukan I: Atraksi Perdana
Pertemuan pertama dengan meteor Leonid diperkirakan terjadi pada tanggal 13
November pukul 17.17 GMT. Bumi bakal menerpa hamparan debu angkasa yang
dihasilkan oleh komet Tempel-Tuttle tahun 1499 sejauh 393 ribu kilometer. Hujan
meteor ini dengan leluasa dapat disaksikan oleh pengamat angkasa di Asia,
Indonesia, dan Australia.
Diperkirakan, hujan meteor ini akan mencapai puncaknya sebelum matahari terbit di
pagi tanggal 14 November. Saat langit malam tampak cerah, tiap pengamat langit
dapat melihat 100 atau lebih Leonid per jamnya. Tetapi, temaram sinar bulan di awal
pagi akan sedikit memburamkan pandangan.
Kemungkinan besar, Leonid akan terlihat pucat. Rata-rata tiap jamnya akan dihitung
berdasarkan interval 15 menit. Sementara aktivitas puncaknya diperkirakan tidak
akan lebih lama dari satu jam.
Pertunjukan II: Si Sibuk yang Pucat
Kesempatan kedua untuk menyaksikan sirkus meteor dari rasi bintang singa ini jatuh
pada tanggal 19 November. Peristiwa ini berlangsung seminggu setelah atraksi
pertama berakhir. Bumi akan menerpa jarak 53 ribu kilometer jalur debu komet yang
tercipta tahun 1533 ini.
Pada puncak ke duanya, akan muncul 30 Leonid per jam, ujar Esko Lyytinen,
peneliti meteor asal Finlandia.

Jeremie Vaubaillon dari Institut de Mecanique Celeste et de Calcul des Ephemerides

di Prancis malah berpendapat akan ada 100 meteor per jamnya. Pemandangan unik
ini jelas terlihat oleh masyarkat di bagian utara dan barat Amerika Selatan.
Selama pertunjukan kedua ini berlangsung, ada kabar baik dan kabar buruk. Kabar
baiknya, saat itu cahaya bulan tidak mengaburkan pandangan. Kabar buruknya,
kedua peneliti- -Lyytinen dan Vaubaillon--percaya partikel meteor ini ukurannya
sangat kecil, sehingga kecil kemungkinan akan terlihat oleh mata telanjang.
Pertunjukan III: Hujan Bola Api
Peter Jenniskens dari NASA Ames Reseach Center dan Hans Betlem dari Dutch Meteor
Society menyatakan kesempatan terbaik untuk mengamati atraksi Leonid adalah
saat aksi ke tiga berlangsung. Saat itu, bumi melintasi the Filament alias sungai
meteor. Kira-kira, 50 meteor per jam atau satu meteor per menit akan menghantam
atmosfer. Kejadiannya mirip dengan hujan Perseid namun dengan meteor yang lebih
terang.
Aksi ketiga ini berlangsung selama 24 jam, lebih lama daripada aksi-aksi
sebelumnya. Puncak 'pesta kembang api' meteor ini akan terjadi sekitar pukul 5.25
GMT dini hari tanggal 19 November. Masyarkaat di barat Afrika, barat Eropa,
tenggara Amerika Serikat, dan timur Kanada beruntung dapat melihatnya lebih jelas.
Jumat, 07 Nopember 2003
Malam Nopember yang Spesial
Banyak fenomena alam yang terjadi selama bulan ini. Salah satu yang sudah dan
akan kembali terjadi adalah fenomena badai matahari pekan lalu. Kantor Antariksa
Jepang melaporkan mereka kehilangan kontak dengan satelit pemantau lingkungan
saat badai itu terjadi. Sebelumnya, aktifitas matahari ini memang disebut-sebut
bakal berpengaruh pada kerja satelit, radio komunikasi frekuensi tinggi dan jejaring
pembangkit listrik.
Namun, aktifitas matahari ini juga mengirimkan pemandangan indah berupa aurora
yang sangat spektakuler bentuknya. Semburat cahaya merah hijau jingga terlihat
jelas di langit selatan Texas, Arizona, dan Alabama, Amerika Serikat. Lalu, setelah
berbinar indah September silam, Mars kembali menebarkan pesonanya. Di bulan
November ini, pecinta astronomi dapat menyaksikan permukaan Mars beserta kabut
putihnya. Pemandangan menarik itu bisa diintip lewat teleskop.
Venus pun tidak ketinggalan memperindah angkasa. Planet yang berada di belahan
bawah tenggara horison ini akan tampil elok di malam hari. Tepat di Hari Raya Idul
Fitri mendatang, 25 November, Venus muncul 30 menit setelah matahari terbenam.
Planet terang ini akan berada persis di kanan atas bulan baru. Sedangkan, Merkurius
mulai dapat ditengok sesaat setelah hari berganti petang. Planet mungil itu berada di
kanan bawah Venus.
Sementara itu, langit pagi tidak kalah menarik untuk dipandangi. Pagi merupakan
waktunya Saturnus dan Jupiter beraksi. Meski terbit pukul 20.00, Saturnus justru
terlihat jelas selepas tengah malam. Sedangkan, Jupiter baru muncul sekitar pukul
02.00 dini hari.
Tak hanya malam yang bertebar keindahan. Kita akan disuguhi pemandangan
menajubkan dan diajak bertasbih di awal pagi 18 November nanti. Meteor Leonid

beratraksi di timur angkasa. Meteor ini berasal dari konstelasi rasi bintang Leo.
Meteor ini letaknya berhadapan langsung dengan bumi. Itu sebabnya ia mampu
melintas cepat ke atmosfer bumi. Kecepatannya mencapai 160 ribu mil per jam.
Kejadian ini termasuk peristiwa yang luar biasa. Sebab, hujan meteor Leonid
menciptakan badai meteor yang amat hebat, seperti di tahun 1966 dulu. Kala itu di
Pantai Barat terjadi badai 150 meteor per jam. Meteor Leonid terbentuk dari debu
sisa-sisa komet Tempel-Tuttle yang menyapu sistem matahari bagian dalam tiap 33
tahun. Tiap kali komet ini melintas dekat matahari, ia meninggalkan serpihanserpihan padat. Ukuran debunya ada yang lebih kecil dari butiran pasir dan ada pula
yang mencapai besar kelereng.
Penampilan Leonid dipastikan menandingi hujan meteor tahunan, Perseid Agustus
dan Geminid Desember. Leonid tahun ini muncul tidak cuma sekali. Penampilan
perdananya jatuh pada tanggal 13 dan terakhir tanggal 19 November. Seluruh
penduduk bumi bisa menyaksikan atraksi Leonid ini. Paling tidak salah satu aksinya
saja. Tiap hujan meteor Leonid terlihat dari lokasi yang berbeda.
Di tahun ini, gerhana bulan total ke dua berlangsung 8 November. Sayang, peristiwa
ini tidak dapat dipantau oleh masyarakat Indonesia. Kejadian ini cuma bisa terlihat
oleh mereka yang berada di Amerika, sebagian wilayah Eropa, dan juga Afrika. Untuk
memperjelas pengamatan, binocular atau teleskop bisa membantu. Gerhana akan
mulai terjadi saat bulan memasuki bagian luar bayangan bumi yang redup alias
penumbra. Kejadian itu berlangsung lebih dari satu jam sebelum bulan bergerak ke
umbra, bayangan dalam bumi yang lebih gelap.
Diperkirakan, bulan akan menghabiskan waktu sekitar tiga jam dan 33 menit untuk
menyelesaikan perjalanannya melewati umbra. Gerhana bulan total selanjutnya
bakal berlangsung pada 4 Mei 2004. Pemandangan mengagumkan ini juga bisa
ditengok oleh mereka yang tinggal di belahan timur Eropa, Afrika Tengah dan Timur,
serta bagian barat Asia pada dini hari tanggal 9 November. Menjelang Idul Fitri, 23
November, gerhana matahari total tayang di Antartika. Mereka yang berada di
Australia dan Selandia Baru akan melihat fenomena alam yang sama sebagai
gerhana matahari sebagian. Tidak seperti gerhana bulan, gerhana matahari tidak
bisa dipantau langsung dengan mata telanjang.
Saat ini, matahari tengah mempertontonkan kondisi aktifnya. Menurut para peneliti,
inilah saat matahari paling aktif selama berabad-abad. Buktinya terlihat dari badai
geomagnetik yang menimpa bumi.
Saat ini kita hidup dengan kondisi matahari yang berbeda dari biasanya, ujar Mike
Lockwood dari Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Inggris. Aktivitas magnetik matahari
ini disinyalir berpengaruh kepada pemanasan global.

Bagian 3
Berita dari NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center.
(Sumber: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2003.html)
During the year 2003, there will be two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses:
2003 May 16: Total Lunar Eclipse
2003 May 31: Annular Solar Eclipse
2003 Nov 09: Total Lunar Eclipse

2003 Nov 23: Total Solar Eclipse

Predictions for the eclipses are summarized in figures 1 through 6. World maps show
the regions of visibility for each eclipse. The lunar eclipse diagrams also include the
path of the Moon through Earth's shadows. Contact times for each principal phase
are tabulated along with the magnitudes and geocentric coordinates of the Sun and
Moon at greatest eclipse.
All times and dates used in this publication are in Universal Time or UT. This
astronomically derived time system is colloquially referred to as Greenwich Mean
Time or GMT. To learn more about UT and how to convert UT to your own local time,
see Time Zones and Universal Time.
Total Lunar Eclipse of May 16
Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 01:05:16 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins: 02:02:42 UT
Total Eclipse Begins: 03:13:40 UT
Greatest Eclipse: 03:40:01 UT
Total Eclipse Ends: 04:06:22 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends: 05:17:20 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 06:14:47 UT
The first eclipse of the year is a total lunar eclipse which is well placed for Western
Hemisphere observers. The eclipse occurs just half a day after perigee so the Moon
will appear quite large (33.4 arc-minutes). During this event, the Moon is low on the
ecliptic in Libra approximately fifteen degrees west of the first magnitude star Alpha
Scorpii (Antares).
The Moon's path takes it through the northern part of Earth's umbral shadow.
Although the eclipse is not central, the total phase still lasts nearly 53 minutes. The
eclipse begins at 01:05 UT with first penumbral contact. An hour later, the partial
eclipse commences with first umbral contact at 02:03 UT. The total umbral eclipse
begins at 03:14 UT and ends at 04:07 UT. The partial phase ends at 05:17 UT and the
Moon leaves the penumbral shadow at 06:15 UT. The Moon's path through Earth's
shadows as well as a map illustrating worldwide visibility of the event is shown in
Figure 1.
At the instant of greatest eclipse (03:40 UT), the Moon will lie in the zenith for
observers in southern Brazil near its western border with Bolivia and Paraguay. At this
time, the umbral magnitude1 peaks at 1.134 as the Moon's southern limb passes 8.6
arc-minutes north of the shadow's axis. In contrast, the Moon's northern limb will lie
4.5 arc-minutes from the northern edge of the umbra and 25.3 arc-minutes from the
shadow centre. Thus, the northern sections of the Moon will appear much brighter
than the southern part which will lie deeper in the shadow. Since the Moon samples a
large range of umbral depths during totality, its appearance will likely change
dramatically with time. However, it's impossible to predict the exact brightness
distribution in the umbra so observers are encouraged to estimate the Danjon value
at different times during totality (see section: Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse
Brightness). Note that it may also be necessary to assign different Danjon values to
different portions of the Moon (i.e. - north vs. south).

During totality, the spring constellations will be well placed for viewing. Spica (mv =
+0.98) lies 32 west of the eclipsed Moon, while Arcturus (mv = -0.05) is 43 to the
northwest. Jupiter will appear low in the west in Cancer.
The eclipse will be widely visible from the Americas, Europe, and Africa. The eastern
half of North America will witness the entire event, while the partial phases will
already be in progress at moonrise from the western portions of the continent.
Similarly, the Moon sets in Europe during various stages of the eclipse. Observers in
Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime Provinces and eastern U. S. will see all phases of the
eclipse. Farther to the west, the eclipse begins before moonrise but totality will still
be visible from the region except from Yukon and Alaska.
Table 1 lists predicted umbral immersion and emersion times for twenty well-defined
lunar craters. The timing of craters is useful in determining the atmospheric
enlargement of Earth's shadow (see: Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses).
Annular Solar Eclipse of May 31
The first solar eclipse of 2003 is a very unusual annular eclipse which takes place in
the Northern Hemisphere (Figure 2). The axis of the Moon's shadow passes to the far
north where it barely grazes Earth's surface. In fact, the northern edge of the
antumbra2 actually misses our planet so that one path limit is defined by the
day/night terminator rather by the shadow's upper edge. As a result, the track of
annularity has a peculiar "D" shape which is nearly 1200 kilometres wide. Since the
eclipse occurs just three weeks prior to the northern summer solstice, Earth's
northern axis is pointed sunwards by 21.8. As seen from the Sun, the antumbral
shadow actually passes between the North Pole and the terminator. As a
consequence of this extraordinary geometry, the path of annularity runs from east to
west instead of visa versa. As a member of Saros 1473, this is the first central eclipse
of the series.
The event transpires near the Moon's ascending node in central Taurus five degrees
north of Aldebaran. Since apogee occurs three days earlier (May 28 at 13 UT), the
Moon's apparent diameter (29.6 arc-minutes) is still too small to completely cover the
Sun (31.6 arc-minutes) resulting in an annular eclipse.
The Moon's antumbral shadow first touches down on Earth at 03:45 UT in northern
Scotland about 100 kilometres north of Glasgow (Figure 3). The antumbra quickly
extends northward as it travels on a northwestern trajectory. In Scotland, the
Northwest Highlands, Loch Ness, the Isle of Lewis (Outer Hebrides), Orkney Islands
and Shetland Islands all lie in the annular track where maximum eclipse occurs at or
shortly after sunrise. Several minutes later, the shadow's edge reaches the Faeroe
Islands (03:51 UT) where annularity lasts 03 minutes 08 seconds with the Sun 4
above the northeastern horizon.
By 03:59 UT, the leading edge of the antumbra arrives along the southeastern coast
of Iceland. Traveling with a ground velocity between 1.9 and 1.1 kilometres per
second (from southwest to northwest Iceland), the shadow sweeps across the entire
North Atlantic nation in eight minutes. The shadow is so broad, that the duration of
the three and a half minute annular phase varies by less than 5 seconds across all of
Iceland.
After traversing the Denmark Strait, the highly elliptical antumbra bisects Greenland
where over a third of the enormous island lies within the track. Crossing the ill-named

land mass, the path width rapidly shrinks as the grazing antumbra begins its return
to space. Just before reaching Baffin Island, the shadow leaves Earth in the Davis
Strait (04:31 UT). From start to finish, the antumbra sweeps over its entire path in a
little under 47 minutes.
The central line of the eclipse forms a short C-shaped curve which begins south of
Iceland and crosses the country near Reykjavik. Greatest eclipse4 occurs at 04:08:18
UT about 200 kilometres northwest of the Scandinavian island nation. At that point,
the duration of the annular phase lasts 3 minutes 37 seconds with the Sun 2.9
above the northeastern horizon. The central line ends near Greenland after running
its complete course in twelve minutes
Coordinates of the annular path and central line circumstances are presented in Table
2. Partial phases of the eclipse are visible from much of Europe (except Spain and
Portugal) and the Middle East where the event occurs at sunrise, as well as from
central and northern Asia (excluding most of China, South East Asia and Japan). In the
Western Hemisphere, the partial eclipse is visible from northern Canada and Alaska
during the afternoon of May 30. Local circumstances for a number of cities are listed
in Table 3. All times are given in Universal Time. The Sun's altitude and azimuth, the
eclipse magnitude5 and obscuration6 are all given at the instant of maximum
eclipse.
A detailed report on this eclipse is available from NASA's Technical Publication series
(see: NASA Solar Eclipse Bulletins). Additional information is also available at the
2003 annular solar eclipse web site:
Total Lunar Eclipse of November 09
Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 22:15:00 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins: 23:32:21 UT
Total Eclipse Begins: 01:06:07 UT
Greatest Eclipse: 01:18:23 UT
Total Eclipse Ends: 01:30:38 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends: 03:04:24 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 04:21:48 UT
The second lunar eclipse of the year occurs six lunations after the first. It takes place
at the ascending node of Luna's orbit in Aries. This time, the Moon is 1.4 days shy of
apogee and appears 12% smaller (= 29.4 arc-minutes) than it was during May's
eclipse. The Moon's trajectory takes it well to the south of the umbral shadow's
central axis resulting in a total eclipse which lasts just 25 minutes. At mid-totality, the
Moon's southern limb is a scant 0.6 arc-minutes from the umbra's edge. Even the
northern limb is 23.4 arc-minutes from the centre of the shadow. Assuming that the
transparency of Earth's atmosphere remains relatively unchanged, the November
eclipse will be dramatically brighter than the May event because of the shallow
umbral depth. Since different parts of the Moon will probe radically different portions
of Earth's umbral shadow, a large variation in shadow brightness can be expected.
The totally eclipsed Moon will appear to have a bright rim along its southern edge.
Observers are encouraged to estimate the Danjon value at mid-totality (see section:
Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness).
The near grazing geometry of this event suggests that it is a transition eclipse in its
Saros series. Indeed, it is the very last total eclipse of Saros 126. This series produced

thirteen total lunar eclipses during the past 234 years. The next nineteen eclipses in
the family will all be partial eclipses of decreasing duration and magnitude.
The penumbral phase of November's eclipse begins at 22:15 UT (on Nov 08), but
most observers will not be able to visually detect the shadow until about 23:00 UT.
The partial eclipse commences with first umbral contact at 23:33 UT. Totality begins
at 01:06 UT and lasts until 01:31 UT. The partial and penumbral phases end at 03:05
UT and 04:22 UT, respectively.
At the instant of mid-totality (01:19 UT), the Moon will stand at the zenith for
observers near the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic. At that time, the umbral
eclipse magnitude will be 1.022. The entire eclipse will be visible from Europe and
most of Africa as well as the eastern Americas. Various stages of the eclipse are in
progress at moonset for observers throughout Asia. In the Western Hemisphere, the
ingressing partial phases will already be in progress at moonrise for observers in
western Canada and the U. S.. The Moon's path through Earth's shadows as well as a
map illustrating worldwide visibility of the event is shown in Figure 4. Note that no
eclipse is visible from easternmost Asia, Japan, Indonesia or Australia. Table 4 lists
predicted umbral immersion and emersion times for twenty well-defined lunar
craters. The timing of craters is useful in determining the atmospheric enlargement
of Earth's shadow (see: Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses).
Total Solar Eclipse of November 23
The final event of 2003 is a total solar eclipse visible from the Southern Hemisphere
Figure 5. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins at 22:19 UT in the southern
Indian Ocean about 1100 kilometres southeast of Kerguelen Island (Figure 6). Curving
south, the 500 kilometre wide umbral path reaches the coast of Antarctica at 22:35
UT. The Shackleton Ice Shelf and Russia's Mirnyy research station lie in the path
where the central line duration is 1 minute 55 seconds and the Sun stands 13 above
the frozen landscape. Quickly moving inland, the elongated shadow sweeps over the
desolate interior of the continent encountering no permanently staffed research
stations for the next half hour.
Greatest eclipse occurs in Wilkes Land at 22:49:17 UT. At this point, the duration of
totality reaches its maximum of 1 minute 55 seconds at solar altitude of 15. The
duration and altitude slowly drop as the umbra's path curves from southwest to
northwest. Just like May's annular eclipse, the November event features a lunar
shadow moving in the "wrong" direction. Once again, the explanation lies in the deep
southern track of the umbra coupled with the close proximity of the eclipse with
winter solstice. As viewed from the Sun's direction, the shadow passes around the
"back" side of the pole between Earth's axis of rotation and the terminator.
The umbra reaches the Antarctic coast in Queen Maud Land and several more
research stations (Asuka, Novolazarevskaya, Maitri) before the path ends and the
shadow leaves Earth's surface (23:19 UT) one hour after it began.
The rest of Antarctica will see a partial eclipse as well as New Zealand, most of
Australia, and southern Argentina and Chile (Figure 5). Coordinates for the path of
totality and central line circumstances are presented in Table 5. Local circumstances
for a selection of cities throughout the path are given in Table 6 . All times are given
in Universal Time. The Sun's altitude and azimuth, the eclipse magnitude and
obscuration are all given at the instant of maximum eclipse.

A detailed report on this eclipse is available from NASA's Technical Publication series
(see: NASA Solar Eclipse Bulletins). Additional information is also available at the
2003 total solar eclipse web site:
Footnotes
1. Umbral magnitude of a lunar eclipse is defined as the fraction of the Moon's
diameter covered by the umbral shadow. The magnitude is less than 1.0 for partial
eclipses, and 1.0 for total eclipses.
2. The antumbra begins at the vertex of the umbral shadow and extends out into
space away from the Sun. During a solar eclipse, an observer within the antumbra
will see an annular eclipse.
3. Saros - a period of 223 lunations or synodic months (6585.3216 days or 18.03
years). Eclipses separated by one saros share nearly identical characteristics. This
occurs because 223 synodic months is almost equal to 242 draconic months
(6585.3572 days) and 239 anomalistic months (6585.5375 days). Since the periods
are not perfect, the eclipses in a Saros series slowly evolve. Each Saros series lasts
about 12 centuries.
4. The instant of greatest eclipse occurs when the distance between the Moon's
shadow axis and Earth's geocentre reaches a minimum. Although greatest eclipse
differs slightly from the instants of greatest magnitude and greatest duration (for
total eclipses), the differences are quite small.
5. Eclipse magnitude is defined as the fraction of the Sun's diameter occulted by the
Moon
6. Eclipse obscuration is defined as the fraction of the Sun's surface area occulted by
the Moon.