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SOLAR ECLIPSES
LUNAR ECLIPSES
TRANSITS
MOON PHASES
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.
The annular path begins in the South Atlantic at 06:06 UT when the Moon's antumbral
shadow meets Earth and forms a 363 kilometre wide corridor. Traveling eastward, the
shadow quickly sweeps south of the African continent, missing it by approximately 900
kilometres. Slowly curving to the northeast the path crosses the southern Indian Ocean.
Greatest eclipse[1] takes place at 07:58:39 UT when the eclipse magnitude[2] will reach
0.9282. At this instant, the annular duration is 7 minutes 54 seconds, the path width is 280
kilometres and the Sun is 73 above the flat horizon formed by the open ocean. The
central track continues northeast where it finally encounters land in the form of the Cocos
Islands and onward to southern Sumatra and western Java (Figure 2). At 09:40 UT, the
central line duration is 6 minutes 18 seconds and the Sun's altitude at 25. In its final
minutes, the antumbral shadow cuts across central Borneo and clips the northwestern
edge of Celebes before ending just short of Mindanao, Philippines at 09:52 UT. During a
3 hour 46 minute trajectory across our planet, the Moon's antumbra travels approximately
14,500 kilometres and covers 0.9% of Earth's surface area. Path coordinates and central
line circumstances are presented in Table 1.
Partial phases of the eclipse are visible primarily from southern Africa, Australia,
Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Local circumstances for a number of cities are listed in
Table 2. All times are given in Universal Time. The Sun's altitude and azimuth, the
eclipse magnitude and obscuration[3] are all given at the instant of maximum eclipse.
This is the 50th eclipse of Saros 131. The family began with an unusually long series of
22 partial eclipses starting on 1125 Aug 01. The first central eclipse was total in the
Northern Hemisphere on 1522 Mar 27. It was followed by 5 more total eclipses before
the series produce 5 hybrid eclipses from 1630 to 1702. The first annular eclipse of Saros
131 occurred on 1720 Aug 04. The series will produce 29 more annular eclipses the last
of which is 2243 Jun 18. Saros 131 terminates on 2369 Sep 02 after a string of 7 partial
eclipses. Complete details for 70 eclipses in the series may be found at:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros131.html
Of course, the beginning and end of a penumbral eclipse are not visible to the eye. In fact,
no shading can be detected until about 2/3 of the Moon's disk is immersed in the
penumbra. This would put the period of eclipse visibility from approximately 14:00 to
15:20 UT. Keep in mind that this is only an estimate. Atmospheric conditions and the
observer's visual acuity are important factors to consider. An interesting exercise is to
note when penumbral shading is first and last seen.
Figure 3 shows the path of the Moon through the penumbra as well as a map of Earth
showing the regions of eclipse visibility. Eastern Canada and the USA will miss the
eclipse entirely since the eclipse begins after moonset. Observers in western Canada and
the USA will have the best views with moonset occurring sometime after mid-eclipse. To
catch the entire event, one must be in Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, or East Asia.
The central path begins in India's Gulf of Khambhat at 00:53 UT. The Moon passes
through perigee several hours earlier, so the path of totality is unusually wide.
Racing inland, the shadow sweeps over the Indian cities of Surat, Indore, Bhopal,
Varanasi, and Pata as its central duration heads towards the 4-minute mark. Traveling
across Bhutan, the umbra clips Nepal, Bangladesh, and Burma (Myanmar), before
reaching China at 01:05 UT (Figure 6). The duration of totality surpasses 5 minutes in
Sichuan province where its capital city Chengdu lies within the track 85 km north of the
central line. The umbra works its way across the rest of southern China where the major
cities of Chongqing, Wuhan and Hangzhou stand in the eclipse path.
As the Moon's shadow reaches the coast, China's largest city Shanghai (pop. ~19 million)
experiences totality lasting 5 minutes at 01:39 UT. Around 70 km to the south, the central
line duration falls just 5 seconds short of the 6-minute mark. Across the East China Sea,
the umbra sweeps over Japan's Ryukyu Islands and Iwo Jima.
Greatest eclipse occurs in the South Pacific at 02:35:19 UT. At this instant, the axis of the
Moon's shadow passes closest to Earth's center. The maximum duration of totality is
6_minutes 39_seconds, the Sun's altitude is 86, and the path width is 258_km. The
remainder of the path makes no major landfall; it arcs southeast through the Pacific
hitting just a handful of small atolls in the Marshall Islands and Kiribati (Gilbert Islands).
The path of totality ends at 04:18 UT as the lunar shadow leaves Earth and returns to
space 3.4 hours after it started its trek across our planet's surface. The 15,200 km long
track covers 0.71% of Earth's surface. Path coordinates and central line circumstances are
presented in Table 3.
A partial eclipse is seen from a much larger area covering East Asia, Indonesia, and the
South Pacific. Local circumstances for a number of cities are listed in Table 4. 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.
This is the 37th eclipse of Saros 136. The series began on 1360 Jun 14 with the first of
eight partial eclipses. The first central eclipse was annular on 1504 Sep 08. It was
followed by 5 more annular eclipses before the series produced 6 hybrid eclipses from
1612 through 1703. The first total eclipse occurred on 1721 Jan 27. The central line
duration of this series rapidly increased and peaked at 7 minutes 8 seconds on 1955 Jun
20. Since then, the duration is slowly decreasing. Of particular note is the 6-minute total
eclipse passing through the central U. S. on 2045 Aug 12. The series will continue to
produce total eclipses until 2496 May 13. After that, the family winds down with a string
of 7 partial eclipses which ends on 2622 Jul 30. In all, Saros 136 produces 15 partial, 6
annular, 6 hybrid and 44 total eclipses. Complete details for the series can be found at:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros136.html
The limits of the Moon's penumbral shadow delineate the region of visibility of the
partial solar eclipse. This irregular or saddle shaped region often covers more than half of
the daylight hemisphere of Earth and consists of several distinct zones or limits. At the
northern and/or southern boundaries lie the limits of the penumbra's path. Partial eclipses
have only one of these limits, as do central eclipses when the Moon's shadow axis falls no
closer than about 0.45 radii from Earth's centre. Great loops at the western and eastern
extremes of the penumbra's path identify the areas where the eclipse begins/ends at
sunrise and sunset, respectively. If the penumbra has both a northern and southern limit,
the rising and setting curves form two separate, closed loops. Otherwise, the curves are
connected in a distorted figure eight. Bisecting the 'eclipse begins/ends at sunrise and
sunset' loops is the curve of maximum eclipse at sunrise (western loop) and sunset
(eastern loop). The points P1 and P4 mark the coordinates where the penumbral shadow
first contacts (partial eclipse begins) and last contacts (partial eclipse ends) Earth's
surface. If the penumbral path has both a northern and southern limit, then points P2 and
P3 are also plotted. These correspond to the coordinates where the penumbral shadow
cone is internally tangent to Earth's disk.
A curve of maximum eclipse is the locus of all points where the eclipse is at maximum at
a given time. Curves of maximum eclipse are plotted at each half-hour Universal Time.
They generally run between the penumbral limits in the north/south direction, or from the
maximum eclipse at sunrise and sunset curves to one of the limits. If the eclipse is central
(i.e. total or annular), the curves of maximum eclipse run through the outlines of the
umbral shadow, which are plotted at ten-minute intervals. The curves of constant eclipse
magnitude delineate the locus of all points where the magnitude at maximum eclipse is
constant. These curves run exclusively between the curves of maximum eclipse at sunrise
and sunset. Furthermore, they are parallel to the northern/southern penumbral limits and
the umbral paths of central eclipses. In fact, the northern and southern limits of the
penumbra can be thought of as curves of constant magnitude of 0.0. The adjacent curves
are for magnitudes of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8. For total eclipses, the northern and southern
limits of the umbra are curves of constant magnitude of 1.0. Umbral path limits for
annular eclipses are curves of maximum eclipse magnitude.
Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes
closest to Earth's centre. Although greatest eclipse differs slightly from the instants of
greatest magnitude and greatest duration (for total eclipses), the differences are
negligible. The point on Earth's surface intersected by the axis at greatest eclipse is
marked by an asterisk symbol. For partial eclipses, the shadow axis misses Earth entirely,
so the point of greatest eclipse lies on the day/night terminator and the Sun appears on the
horizon.
Data pertinent to the eclipse appear with each map. At the top are listed the instant of
ecliptic conjunction of the Sun and Moon (i.e., New Moon) and the instant of greatest
eclipse, expressed in Terrestrial Dynamical Time and Universal Time. The eclipse
magnitude is defined as the fraction of the Sun's diameter obscured by the Moon at
greatest eclipse. For central eclipses (total or annular), the magnitude is replaced by the
geocentric ratio of diameters of the Moon and the Sun. Gamma is the minimum distance
of the Moon's shadow axis from Earth's centre in Earth radii at greatest eclipse. The Saros
series of the eclipse is listed, followed by the member position. The first member number
identifies the sequence position of the eclipse in the Saros, while the second is the total
number of eclipses in the series.
In the upper left and right corners are the geocentric coordinates of the Sun and the
Moon, respectively, at the instant of greatest eclipse. They are:
R.A. - Right Ascension
Dec. - Declination
S.D. - Apparent Semi-Diameter
H.P. - Horizontal Parallax
To the lower left are exterior/interior contact times of the Moon's penumbral shadow with
Earth, which are defined:
P1 - Instant of first exterior tangency of Penumbra with Earth's limb. (Partial Eclipse
Begins)
P2 - Instant of first interior tangency of Penumbra with Earth's limb.
P3 - Instant of last interior tangency of Penumbra with Earth's limb.
P4 - Instant of last exterior tangency of Penumbra with Earth's limb. (Partial Eclipse
Ends)
Not all eclipses have P2 and P3 penumbral contacts. They are only present in cases
where the penumbral shadow falls completely within Earth's disk. For central eclipses,
the lower right corner lists exterior/interior contact times of the Moon's umbral shadow
with Earth's limb which are defined as follows:
At bottom centre are the geographic coordinates of the position of greatest eclipse along
with the local circumstances at that location (i.e., Sun altitude, Sun azimuth, path width
and duration of totality/annularity). At bottom left is a list of parameters used in the
eclipse predictions, while bottom right gives the Moon's geocentric libration (optical +
physical) at greatest eclipse.
In the upper left and right corners are the geocentric coordinates of the Sun and the
Moon, respectively, at the instant of greatest eclipse. They are:
To the lower left are the semi, or half, durations of the penumbral, and partial (umbral)
eclipses. Below them are the extrapolated value of T (the difference between Terrestrial
Dynamical Time and Universal Time) and the Sun/Moon ephemerides used in the
predictions. To the lower right are the contact times of the Moon with Earth's penumbral
and umbral shadows, defined as follows:
The bottom figure is a cylindrical equidistant projection map of Earth that shows the
regions of visibility for each stage of the eclipse. In particular, the moonrise/moonset
terminator is plotted for each contact and is labeled accordingly. An asterisk indicates the
point where the Moon is in the zenith at greatest eclipse. The region that is unshaded will
observe the entire eclipse, while the darkly shaded area will witness no eclipse. The
remaining lightly shaded areas will experience moonrise or moonset while the eclipse is
in progress. The shaded zones east of the asterisk will witness moonset before the eclipse
ends, and the shaded zones west will witness moonrise after the eclipse has begun.
Beginning with Eclipses During 2007, we use the Danjon rule in calculating lunar eclipse
circumstances and magnitudes.
h = 15 (GST + UT - ) +
a = arcsin [sin sin + cos cos h cos ]
A = arctan [-(cos sin h)/(sin cos - cos cos h sin )]
where
During the eclipses of 2009, the values for GST and the geocentric Right Ascension and
Declination of the Sun or the Moon (at greatest eclipse) are as follows:
Two web based tools that can also be used to calculate the local circumstances for all
solar and lunar eclipses visible from any location. They are the Javascript Solar Eclipse
Explorer and the Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer. The URLs for these tools are:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JSEX/JSEX-index.html
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JLEX/JLEX-index.html
A full report on eclipses during 2010 will be published in Observer's Handbook 2010.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEpubs/RPrequest.html
The most recent bulletin of the series covers the total solar eclipse of 2008 August 01
which is visible from northern Canada, Russia, Mongolia and China. Single copies of the
eclipse bulletins are available at no cost by sending a 9 x 12-in. self-addressed envelope
stamped with postage for 11 oz. (310 g). Please print the eclipse year on the envelopes
lower left corner. Use stamps only, since cash and cheques cannot be accepted. Requests
from outside the United States and Canada may include 10 international postal coupons.
Mail requests to: Fred Espenak, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693,
Greenbelt MD 20771, USA.
The NASA eclipse bulletins are also available over the Internet, including out-of-print
bulletins. Using a Web browser, they can be read or downloaded through the NASA
Eclipse Web Page at:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEpubs/bulletin.html
Eclipse Web Sites
The URL of the NASA Eclipse Web Site is:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
The site features predictions and maps for all solar and lunar eclipses well into the 21st
century, with special emphasis on upcoming eclipses. Special pages are devoted to the
total solar eclipses of 2008, 2009 and 2010 that feature detailed maps, tables, graphs, and
meteorological data. A world atlas of solar eclipses provides maps of all central eclipse
paths from 2000 BCE to 3000 CE. The entire Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses
[Espenak and Meeus, 2006] can be downloaded in PDF format and all maps are also
available online as individual GIF images. Additional catalogues list every solar and
lunar eclipse over a 5000-year period.
A special web site is available for the 2009 total solar eclipse. It contains detailed maps,
tables and meteorological data' The URL is:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2009/TSE2009.html
Detailed information on solar and lunar eclipse photography and tips on eclipse observing
and eye safety may be found at:
http://www.mreclipse.com/
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to National Space Club summer intern Wesley Ripley for converting the
MS Word manuscript to html for this web page (July 2008).
All calculations, diagrams, tables, and opinions presented in this paper are those of the
author, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.
Footnotes
[1] The instant of greatest eclipse occurs when the distance between the Moon's shadow
axis and Earth's geocentre reaches a minimum.
[2] Eclipse magnitude is defined as the fraction of the Sun's diameter occulted by the
Moon.
[3] Eclipse obscuration is defined as the fraction of the Sun's area occulted by the Moon.
[4] The sub-solar point is the geographic location where the Sun appears directly
overhead (zenith).
References
Bretagnon P., Francou G., "Planetary Theories in rectangular and spherical variables:
VSOP87 solution", Astron. and Astrophys., vol. 202, no. 309 (1988).
Chapront-Touz, M and Chapront, J., "The Lunar Ephemeris ELP 2000," Astron. and
Astrophys., vol. 124, no. 1, pp 50-62 (1983).
Chauvenet, W., Manual of Spherical and Practical Astronomy, Vol.1, 1891 (Dover
edition 1961).
Danjon, A., "Les clipses de Lune par la pnombre en 1951," L'Astronomie, 65, 51-53
(Feb. 1951).
Espenak, F., Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986-2035, Sky Publishing Corp.,
Cambridge, MA, 1988
Espenak, F., Fifty Year Canon of Lunar Eclipses: 1986-2035, Sky Publishing Corp.,
Cambridge, MA, 1989.
Espenak, F., and Anderson, J., Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22, NASA TP-2008-
214169, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 2008.
Espenak, F., and Meeus, J., Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -2000 to +3000
(2000 BCE to 3000 CE), NASA TP-2006-214141, Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD, 2006.
Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and the American Ephemeris
and Nautical Almanac, Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office, London, 1974.
Littmann, M., Espenak, F., & Willcox, K., Totality-Eclipses of the Sun, 3rd Ed., Oxford
University Press, New York, 2008.
Meeus, J., Grosjean, C.C., & Vanderleen, W., Canon of Solar Eclipses, Pergamon Press,
New York, 1966.
Meeus, J. & Mucke, H., Canon of Lunar Eclipses: -2002 to +2526, Astronomisches
Buro, Wien, 1979.
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