The Sun is about 400 times larger than the Moon and is also 400 times further from the Earth
than the Moon, causing them to appear nearly the same size as seen from the Earth. Slight variations in the Sun and Moon`s
distance from the Earth cause the Moon to appear sometimes smaller or larger than the Sun.
The Moon's shadow has three components - the Umbra, Penumbra and Antumbra. (The Earth's
shadow has the same components, but only the penumbra and umbra play a part in eclipses.)
Solar Eclipses
The umbra is less than 250 kilometres in width at the Earth`s surface, whilst the penumbra is several thousand kilometres
wide. The umbra passes very quickly along the surface, allowing for a maximum totality of 7½ minutes. However the last 7
minute eclipse was in 1973 and the next will be in 2150. In 2009 an eclipse will cross China, E. China & the Philippine
Seas to the western Pacific Ocean and, at 6 minutes 39 seconds, has the longest duration of totality in the 21st Century.
Shanghai is on the centre line for this event.
Total Eclipses - When the moon appears large enough to completely cover the sun, a total eclipse
can occur. The darkest shadow is the central umbra and anyone in this shadow, will experience the total eclipse and will not
be able to see the Sun.
During totality observers can see solar prominences, the faint inner solar atmosphere (chromosphere), and the Sun's brilliant
outer atmosphere (coronal halo), which are too faint to be seen when any part of the bright solar disk is exposed. In addition,
the sky usually darkens enough to reveal bright stars and planets while a twilight glow circles around the horizon.
Partial Eclipses - The outer shadow, the penumbra, is not as dark as the umbra. Part of the Sun can be seen from within the penumbra which
becomes less dark the closer you get to its outer edge. Anyone within the penumbral shadow of either the Earth or the Moon,
will see a partial eclipse of the Sun.
Annular Eclipses - An antumbral shadow occurs when the umbra does not reach the Earth and the Moon appears too small to completely cover the
Sun. The antumbra is an extension of the umbra and causes an annular eclipse. For anyone within the Moon’s antumbral
shadow, the lunar disk will appear smaller than the solar disk, and the Sun will be seen as a ring (or annulus).
This bright ring of sunlight surrounding the Moon's disk does not permit phenomena such as the Sun's chromosphere and
corona, associated with total eclipses, to appear.
Lunar Eclipses
Total Eclipses - These occur when the Moon travels completely into the Earth's umbra. With the Moon's
speed of about one kilometre per second, totality may last up to 102 minutes. Time between the Moon's first contact with the
umbra and last contact, when it has completely exited the umbra, may be several hours.
The Moon doesn't completely disappear as it passes through the umbra because of the refraction of
sunlight by the Earth's atmosphere. The amount of refracted light depends on the amount of clouds or dust in the atmosphere
blocking the light. This can cause the Moon to glow with a coppery-red hue that varies from one eclipse to the next.
Partial Eclipses - If only part of the Moon enters the umbra, it is seen as a partial lunar eclipse.
Penumbral Eclipses - This type of eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's
penumbra only. This does not cause a noticeable darkening of the Moon's surface.
A special type of penumbral eclipse is a total penumbral eclipse. The moon is completely in
the penumbra of the earth, but not in the umbra. At a total penumbral eclipse the parts of the moon closest to the umbra
are a bit darker than the rest of the moon. Total penumbral eclipses are a rare type of lunar eclipses.
Eclipses during 2005:
8th April - Annular-Total eclipse of the Sun.
An annular eclipse is when the Moon appears too small to cover the Sun and a ring of the Sun's surface remains
showing at mid-eclipse. A total eclipse is when the Moon completely covers the Sun. The curvature of the Earth's surface
can cause an eclipse to be annular or total at different points along its track. The 8th April eclipse is annular-total
with a track across the Pacific Ocean, Central America and northern South America near sunset. A partial eclipse is visible
from the USA, Mexico, Central America and the west coast of South America.
24th April - Penumbral eclipse of the Moon.
A penumbral eclipse is when the Moon enters the outer or penumbral shadow of the Earth and darkens only slightly.
This eclipse is visible from the Pacific Ocean, Americas, Australia and part of Antarctica.
3rd October - Annular eclipse of the Sun.
On the 3rd October there will be an Annular Eclipse of the Sun. This annular eclipse will be visible from
within a narrow corridor traversing the Iberian Peninsula and stretching across the African continent. A partial eclipse
will be seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes Europe, western Asia, the Middle
East, India and most of Africa. In Spain the annular phase lasts up to 4 minutes at about 11.00h.
The path of the annular eclipse begins in the North Atlantic at 08:41 UT. Quickly moving southeast, the penumbra reaches
the northern coast of Spain and Portugal at 10.51h (08:51 UT). Bisecting the Iberian Peninsula, the penumbra engulfs Madrid
at 08:56 UT which lies near the central line. The annular phase will last 4m 11s from this capital city with 90% of the
Sun's surface being obscured by the Moon. Ibiza straddles the northern path limit as the shadow crosses the western
Mediterranean. Upon reaching the African continent, Algiers lies within the shadow's trajectory at 09:05 UT and will
experience an annularity of 3m 51s. Following a south eastern course, the penumbra passes through southern Tunisia and
central Libya where the Moon's umbral shadow will return six months later during the total eclipse of 2006 Mar 29. After
briefly skirting northern Chad, the penumbra sweeps across central Sudan where greatest eclipse occurs at 10:31:42 UT with
annular duration of 4m 31s. The central track runs along the southern Sudanese-Ethiopian border before entering northern
Kenya where it engulfs much of Lake Rudolf at 11:10 UT. Southernmost Somalia is the penumbra's final landfall at 11:30 UT
before heading east across the Indian Ocean where the path ends at local sunset, 12:22 UT.
17th October - Partial eclipse of the Moon.
In a partial eclipse only part of the Moon passes through the Earth's dark umbral shadow, the rest through
the lighter penumbra. During this eclipse only the extreme southern part of the Moon will pass through the umbra. Visible
from the Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, East Asia, Indonesia and Australia.
Eclipses during 2006:
14th/15th March - Penumbral eclipse of the Moon.
A penumbral eclipse is when the Moon enters the outer or penumbral shadow of the Earth and darkens only slightly.
Penumbral eclipses can be difficult to observe, especially during the early and late stages. Nevertheless, a subtle yet
distinct shading is usually visible.
This is a deep penumbral eclipse best visible from Europe and Africa. The first contact occurs at 21:22 UT (14th) and the last at
02:14 UT (15th). This eclipse is unusual since it is a total penumbral eclipse with whole Moon will lying completely
within the penumbral shadow from 23:18 UT (14th) to 00:18 UT (15th). Greatest eclipse occurs at 23:48 UT with a penumbral
magnitude of 1.0565. At that time, the Moon stands midway in the penumbral shadow.
29th March - Total eclipse of the Sun.
This total eclipse will be visible from within a narrow corridor traversing half the Earth. The path of the Moon's
umbral shadow begins in Brazil, crosses the Atlantic, northern Africa through central Asia where it ends at sunset in
western Mongolia. A partial eclipse will be visible within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, including
the northern two thirds of Africa, Europe and central Asia.
The central path of eclipse, where the Moon's umbral shadow first touches Earth, starts in eastern Brazil at
08:36 UT. As the sun rises, the duration of totality is 1 minute 53 seconds from the centre of the 129 kilometre wide path.
Travelling at over 9 kilometres per second, the path crosses the Atlantic Ocean for the next half hour. After crossing the
equator, it moves across the Gulf of Guinea to the coast of Ghana at 09:08 UT. The Sun now stands at 44°
above the eastern horizon during totality of 3 minutes 24 seconds. The width of the path has now expanded to 184 kilometres
and the ground speed has decreased to 0.958 kilometres per second. Accra, the capital of Ghana, is located about 50
kilometres south of the central line and can expect a total eclipse lasting 2 minute 58 seconds (09:11 UT).
The path then moves inland to Togo at 09:14 UT. Togo's capital city, Lome, lies just outside the southern limit so
will only experience a slight partial eclipse. 2 minutes later, the path's leading edge reaches Benin where the capital
Porto-Novo experiences a deep partial eclipse of 0.985 magnitude. Continuing northeast, the path then enters
Nigeria at 09:21 UT. The central duration has now increased to 3 minutes 40 seconds, the Sun's altitude is
52°, the path of totality is 188 kilometres wide and the velocity is 0.818 kilometres per second. The capital Lagos is
situated about 120 kilometres outside the umbra's southern limit so will witness a partial eclipse of 0.968 magnitude.
The path takes about 16 minutes to cross western Nigeria before entering Niger at 09:37 UT. The central duration is
now 3 minutes 54 seconds and the velocity, at 0.734 kilometres per second, continues to decrease. During the next hour, the
path traverses some of the most remote and desolate deserts on the planet. The path then crosses northern Niger at 10:05 UT,
extreme northwestern Chad and into southern Libya.
The instant of greatest eclipse (when the axis of the moon`s shadow passes closest to the earth`s geocentre) occurs at
10:11:18 UT. Totality reaches its maximum duration of 4 minutes 7 seconds, the Sun's altitude is 67°, the path width is
184 kilometres and the umbra's velocity is 0.697 kilometres per second. Continuing on a northeastern course, the path
crosses central Libya to reach the Mediterranean coast at 10:40 UT. Northwestern Egypt also lies within the umbral path
where the central duration is 3 minutes 58 seconds.
Passing directly between Crete and Cyprus, the track reaches the southern coast of Turkey at 10:54 UT. Lying 50 kilometres
northwest of the central line, the coastal town of Antalya will experience a total eclipse lasting 3 minutes 11 seconds.
At this point, observers on the central line receive an additional 35 seconds of totality. Konya is 25 kilometres from
the path`s centre and will experience a 3 minute 36 second total phase beginning at 10:58 UT.
The path then crosses mountainous regions of central Turkey and at 11:10 UT reaches the Black Sea along the northern
coast of Turkey. The central duration is now 3 minutes 30 seconds, the Sun's altitude is 47°, the path width is 165
kilometres and the umbra's velocity is 0.996 kilometres per secon. 6 minutes later, the path encounters the western shore of
Georgia and moves inland to cross the Caucasus Mountains, the highest mountain chain of Europe. Georgia's capital, Tbilisi,
is outside the path and experiences a 0.949 magnitude partial eclipse at 11:19 UT. As the shadow proceeds into Russia, it
engulfs the northern end of the Caspian Sea and crosses into Kazakhstan. At 11:30 UT, the late afternoon Sun's altitude is
32°, the central line duration is 2 minutes 57 seconds and the umbral velocity is 1.508 kilometres per second and
increasing.
In the remaining 17 minutes, the shadow rapidly accelerates across central Asia while the duration dwindles. It traverses
northern Kazakhstan and briefly re-enters Russia before lifting off Earth's surface at sunset along Mongolia's northern
border at 11:48 UT.
7th September - Partial eclipse of the Moon.
This is a shallow eclipse with the penumbral phase beginning at 16:42 UT but not really detectable until about
17:30 UT. The eclipse will be best seen from Africa, Asia, Australia and Eastern Europe. The major phases are as follows:
Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 16:42:23 UT
Partial Eclipse Begins: 18:05:03 UT
Greatest Eclipse: 18:51:21 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends: 19:37:41 UT
Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 21:00:20 UT
At greatest eclipse, the Moon will stand near the zenith for observers in the central Indian Ocean. At that time, the
umbral eclipse will be at 0.190 magnitude.
22nd September - Annular eclipse of the Sun.
An annular eclipse is when the Moon appears too small to cover the Sun and a ring of the Sun's surface remains
showing at mid-eclipse.
The path of this annular eclipse begins in Guyana at 09:48 UT when the Moon's antumbral shadow
meets the Earth and forms a 323 kilometre wide corridor. Guyana's capital, Georgetown, lies just a few kilometres outside
the path's northern limit and will witness a 0.920 magnitude partial eclipse at sunrise. On the central line 160
kilometres south, the duration of annularity is 5 minutes 31 seconds.
Moving quickly eastwards, the antumbra enters Surinam where the capital city of Paramaribo lies deep within the antumbral
path. The eclipse in Paramaribo occurs at 09:51 UT, the Sun's altitude is 5° and the duration of annularity is 5
minutes 1 seconds. Continuing into French Guiana, the capital city Cayenne stands just 10 kilometres south of the central
line and,here, maximum eclipse occurs at 09:53 UT as the Sun stands 8° above the eastern horizon during an annular
phase lasting 5 minutes 42 seconds.
The southern edge of the antumbra briefly clips the north coast of Brazil before spending the next three and a half hours
sweeping across the South Atlantic. Greatest eclipse occurs at 11:40:11 UT. The annular duration is 7 minutes 9 seconds, the
path width is 261 kilometres and the Sun is 66° above the featureless horizon of the open ocean. The central track runs
south of the African continent and nearly reaches Kerguelen Island before ending at local sunset (13:31 UT). During its 3
hour 40 minute flight across our planet, the Moon's antumbra travels about 13,800 kilometres and covers 0.83% of Earth's
surface area.
Partial phases of this eclipse are visible primarily from South America and Africa.
Eclipses during 2007:
3rd/4th March - A total eclipse of the Moon.
This will be visible from start to finish from Europe, the British Isles, Africa and western Asia. The eclipse begins on the 3rd at 20.16 UT,
enters the umbra at 21.30 UT, and begins totality at 22.44 UT. Mid-eclipse is at 23.21 UT, totality ends at 23.58 UT and the Moon leaves the umbra at
1.12 UT with the eclipse ending at 2.25 UT on the 4th. During this eclipse the Moon passes just to the north of the centre of Earth´s shadow.
During totality, the spring constellations will be well placed for viewing and a number of bright stars will be visible. Spica is 40º southeast of the
eclipsed Moon and Arcturus 49º to the northeast. Saturn will shine at magnitude +0.8 about 24º northwest of the Moon near the western border of Leo.
19th March - A partial eclipse of the Sun.
This eclipse is not visible in Europe or the British Isles. It will be visible from most of Asia and the Arctic Ocean.
28th August - A total eclipse of the Moon.
This eclipse is centred on the mid-Pacific with mid-eclipse at 10.37 UT. The whole eclipse will be visible from New Zealand and many Pacific Islands,
whilst the western coast of America will see the start and the eastern coast of Asia will see the end.
11th September - A partial eclipse of the Sun.
This will be visible from central and southern parts of south America, and part of Antarctica.
Eclipses during 2008:
7th February - An annular eclipse of the Sun.
Visible as a partial eclipse from New Zealand, western South Pacific and south-eastern Australia. The path of annularity begins in the South Pacific and ends in Antartica.
21st February - A total eclipse of the Moon.
Visible from central and western Asia, the western Indian Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, Iceland, Greenland and the Americas.
1st August - A total eclipse of the Sun.
Visible as a partial eclipse from north-east Canada, Greenland, northern Europe and Asia. Totality starts north of mainland Canada, crosses northern Greenland,
central Russia, western Mongolia and finishes in China.
16th August - A partial eclipse of the Moon.
Visible from Australasia, Asia, the Indian Ocean, Antartica, Europe, Africa, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, southern Greenland, north-east North America, southern
Central America and South America. At maximum eclipse, 81% of the Moon´s surface is obscured.
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