-Caveat Lector-
In a message dated 8/6/1999 11:06:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< I do
not believe it will be visible in the continental US.
>>
I plan to watch in central NJ around 6am...through a pinhole camera, of
course!
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH1999.html#SE1999Aug11T
Eclipses During 1999
by Fred Espenak
To Be Published in Observer's Handbook 1999, Royal Astronomical Society of
Canada
Two solar and two lunar eclipses occur in 1999 as follows:
1999 Jan 31: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
1999 Feb 16: Annular Solar Eclipse
1999 Jul 28: Partial Lunar Eclipse
1999 Aug 11: Total Solar Eclipse
Predictions and maps for the solar and lunar eclipses are presented in a
number of figures linked to this document. 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. Although all three lunar eclipses are "visible"
from parts of North America, their penumbral nature makes them difficult to
detect.
1999 Jan 31: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
Penumbral eclipses of the Moon are rarely of much interest. However, the
first eclipse of 1999 is an exception since it falls into the unusual
category of the total penumbral eclipse. In order for a penumbral eclipse to
be total, the Moon must pass centrally through the penumbral annulus and its
apparent diameter must not exceed the width of the penumbral ring. According
to eclipse experts Jean Meeus and Hermann Mucke [1979], during the 45+
century period 2001 BC to 2526 AD there are 10936 lunar eclipses, 132 of
which are total penumbral eclipses. This corresponds to a mere 1.2% of all
eclipses.
The first eclipse of 1999 occurs several weeks after Earth reaches
perihelion, a time when the umbral and penumbral shadows are at their minimum
and maximum diameters, respectively. This allows the Moon to marginally
squeeze completely within the penumbra without the Moon's limb entering any
portion of the umbra.
Nevertheless, the Moon's northern limb will glide within a scant 0.7
arc-minutes of the umbra making this event quite obvious, even to the naked
eye. Greatest eclipse occurs at 16:17 UT and will be visible from western
Canada and the U.S. as well as the Pacific, Asia, Australia and eastern
Europe and Africa.
The Moon's path through Earth's shadow(s) as well as a map showing worldwide
visibility of the event are shown in Figure 1.
1999 Feb 16: Annular Solar Eclipse
The first solar eclipse of 1999 is annular and is confined to the southern
hemisphere Figure 2. Eclipses in this Saros series changed from total to
annular during the early 20th century. As a consequence, the path of the
antumbra is quite narrow and the duration is short. The central path begins
about 1000 kilometres south of South Africa at 04:57 UT. An hour and a half
later, the instant of greatest eclipse occurs in the middle of the Indian
Ocean (06:34 UT). The path is only 29 kilometres wide and the duration of
annularity is a brief 40 seconds.
Nearly another hour passes before the antumbra finally reaches land. The path
of annularity crosses into southwestern Australia about 300 kilometres north
of Perth at 07:28 UT (Figure 3). The Sun's altitude is then 45�, the path
width is 42 kilometres and the duration of annularity is 48 seconds. At
mid-eclipse, the annular ring of the Sun will have a mean thickness of only 9
arc-seconds! Since the Moon's limb exhibits orthographic features on the
order of 3 to 5 arc-seconds, this event should offer a spectacular display of
Baily's Beads.
Continuing on its northeastern course, the path crosses arid parts of Western
Australia through relatively remote and unpopulated areas. Entering the
Northern Territory, the antumbra passes 400 kilometres north of Alice Springs
at 08:00 UT. The Sun's altitude will then be 39� as the path width (48
kilometres) and central duration (51 seconds) gradually increase. This occurs
because the curvature of Earth brings these regions further from the Moon and
deeper into the antumbral shadow.
The path stretches through northern Queensland passing 100 kilometers north
of Cairns where a partial eclipse of magnitude 0.97 will be seen with the Sun
10� above the horizon at 08:07 UT. The path ends three minutes later in the
Coral Sea.
The length of the entire path of annularity is approximately 13,700
kilometres which encompasses about 0.20% of Earth's total surface area. Path
coordinates and centre line circumstances are presented in Table 1. Local
circumstances for cities throughout the path are given in Table 2. 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.
The appearance of the eclipse at maximum phase for a number of locations is
depicted in What Will The Eclipse Look Like? (NOT YET LINKED!)
Although this eclipse is nearly total, observers are cautioned that solar
filters are still required even during the exquisitely narrow annular phase.
Direct naked eye viewing could lead to eye damage or even blindness. At
several recent annular eclipses, observers have demonstrated that it is
possible to photograph prominences and the innermost corona. These features
are visible along the Moon's dark limb opposite the brilliant crescent
immediately before and after the annular phase. Great care should be taken to
block or occult the bright solar crescent. Refractors of good quality are
favored here since any internal reflections will lower the contrast or even
obscure the prominences or corona. Since the Moon obscures over 98% of the
Sun, this eclipse is especially favored for making such observations during
annularity.
1999 Jul 28: Partial Lunar Eclipse
The second and final lunar eclipse of the year occurs in Capricornus (Figure
4). The event is a moderate partial eclipse with the Moon's southern limb
dipping 12 arc-minutes into Earth's umbral shadow. Although first penumbral
contact occurs at 08:56 UT, most observers will have difficulty detecting the
eclipse before 09:45 UT or so. The partial eclipse commences with first
umbral contact at 10:21 UT. The partial phases last nearly two and a half
hours before ending with last umbral contact at 12:45 UT. Although it can not
actually be observed, the eclipse technically ends when the Moon leaves the
penumbral shadow at 14:11 UT.
At the instant of greatest eclipse (11:34 UT), the Moon will stand at the
zenith for observers in the South Pacific. At this time, the umbral magnitude
peaks at 0.4015 as the centre of the Moon passes 3 arc-minutes north of the
umbra. Various phases of this event will be visible to most observers in the
Western Hemisphere just before moon set.. However, the partial phases will
only be visible west of the Great Lakes in North America. The Moon's path
through Earth's shadow(s) as well as a map showing worldwide visibility of
the event is shown in Figure 4.
1999 Aug 11: Total Solar Eclipse
Excitement has been building for several years in anticipation of the last
total solar eclipse of both the 20th century and of the Second Millennium.
The trajectory of the Moon's shadow carries it across central Europe, Turkey,
the Middle East, Pakistan and India (Figure 5). The path of totality begins
in the North Atlantic about 300 kilometres south of Nova Scotia where the
Moon's umbral shadow first touches down on Earth at 09:31 UT. Along the
sunrise terminator, the maximum duration is a mere 47 seconds from the centre
of the 49 kilometre wide path. Sweeping across the North Atlantic, the umbra
reaches first landfall at the Isles of Scilly off the southwestern coast of
England at 10:10 UT. At this locale, the mid-morning Sun stands 45� above the
eastern horizon.
One minute later, the umbra arrives along the shores of the Cornwall
Peninsula. In the following four minutes, the shadow skirts the southern
coast giving eager observers a brief taste of totality. Plymouth, the largest
English city in the path, is north of centre line and witnesses a total phase
lasting 1 minute 39 seconds. London misses the total phase but experiences
partiality with a maximum magnitude of 0.968. By 10:16 UT, the umbra leaves
England as it quickly traverses the English Channel. The Channel Islands of
Guernsey and Jersey lie just south of the path and witness a partial eclipse
of magnitude >0.995. To the north, Alderney is deep in the path and enjoys
over one and a half minutes of totality.
Not since 1961 has the Moon cast its dark shadow upon central Europe (Figure
6). The southern edge of the umbra first reaches the Normandy coast just as
the northern edge leaves England (10:16 UT). But another four minutes elapse
before the centre line makes landfall in northern France. As the shadow
sweeps through the French countryside, its southern edge passes 30 kilometres
north of Paris. The City of Lights will bear witness to a partial event of
magnitude 0.992 at 10:23 UT. Continuing on its eastward track, the path's
northern limit crosses into southern Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.
Meanwhile, the centre line cuts through Champagne where the citizens of Metz
witness a total eclipse lasting 2 minutes 13 seconds (10:29 UT). Four minutes
later, the entire umbra crosses into southern Germany and the picturesque
Rhine Valley. Stuttgart lies near path centre for 2 minutes 17 seconds of
totality. At 10:35 UT, the Sun's altitude stands at 55� from the centre of
the 109 kilometre wide path. Although M�nchen (Munich) lies 20 kilometres
south of the centre line, the city's two million citizens will still witness
more than two minutes of totality, provided the winds of good fortune bring
clear skies on eclipse day.
At 10:41 UT, the umbra leaves Germany and crosses into Austria where it
encounters the Eastern Alps. Wien (Vienna) is almost 40 kilometres north of
the path and experiences a 0.990 magnitude partial eclipse. The southern edge
of the path grazes northeastern Slovenia as the shadow enters Hungary at
10:47 UT. Lake Balaton lies wholly within the path where the central duration
lasts 2 minutes 22 seconds (10:50 UT). Like Wein, Budapest is also located
about 40 kilometres north of the path where a 0.991 magnitude partial eclipse
will occur. As the shadow leaves Hungary, the southern third briefly sweeps
through northern Yugoslavia before continuing on into Romania.
The instant of greatest eclipse 1 occurs at 11:03:04 UT when the axis of the
Moon's shadow passes closest to the centre of Earth (gamma2 =0.506). At that
moment, the shadow's epicentre is located among the rolling hills of
south-central Romania very near R�mnicu-V�lcea. The length of totality
reaches its maximum duration of 2 minutes 23 seconds, the Sun's altitude is
59�, and the path width is 112 kilometres. Four minutes later (11:07 UT),
Romania's capital city Bucuresti (Bucharest) is engulfed by the shadow. Since
Bucharest lies on the centre line near the instant of greatest eclipse, it
enjoys a duration nearly as long at 2 minutes 22 seconds. Traveling
east-southeast, the path encompasses the Romania-Bulgaria border before
leaving land and heading out across the Black Sea.
The next landfall occurs along the Black Sea coast of northern Turkey at
11:21 UT. Ankara lies 150 kilometres south of the path and witnesses a 0.969
magnitude partial eclipse. The track diagonally bisects Turkey as it moves
inland while the centre line duration begins a gradual but steady decrease.
At 11:29 UT, Turhal falls deep within the shadow for 2 minutes 15 seconds.
The umbra reaches Turkey's southeastern border at 11:45 UT and briefly enters
northwestern Syria as it crosses into Iraq. The centre line duration is now 2
minutes 5 seconds with the Sun's altitude at 50�. Baghdad lies 220 kilometres
south of the path and experiences a 0.940 magnitude partial eclipse. Arriving
at Iran's western boundary at 11:52 UT, the shadow spends the next half hour
crossing sparsely populated mountain ranges and deserts. Tehran lies north of
the path where its eight million inhabitants witness a 0.943 magnitude
partial eclipse. At 12:22 UT, the shadow enters Pakistan and skirts the
shores of the Arabian Sea. Karachi is near the centre line and experiences 1
minute 13 seconds of total eclipse with the Sun 22� above the western
horizon.
The umbra arrives in India, the last nation in its path, at 12:28 UT. As the
shadow sweeps across the sub-continent, its velocity rapidly increases while
the centre line duration drops below one minute and the Sun's altitude
decreases to 7�. The eleven million inhabitants of Calcutta will witness a
0.879 magnitude partial eclipse with the Sun a scant 2� above the western
horizon. Leaving India just north of Vishakhapatnam at 12:36 UT, the shadow
sweeps into the Bay of Bengal where it departs Earth and races back into
space (12:36 UT), not to return until the next millennium. The length of the
entire path of totality is approximately 13,700 kilometres which encompasses
about 0.21% of Earth's total surface area. Path coordinates and centre line
circumstances are presented in Table 3.
Local circumstances for cities throughout the path are given 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. The appearance of the eclipse at maximum phase for a number of
locations is depicted in What Will The Eclipse Look Like?
A detailed report on this eclipse is available from NASA as Reference
Publication 1383 (see: NASA Solar Eclipse Bulletins). Additional information
is also available at the 1999 total solar eclipse web site:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/TSE1999/TSE1999.html
1The instant of greatest eclipse occurs when the distance between the Moon's
shadow axis and Earth's geocenter reaches a minimum. Although greatest
eclipse differs slightly from the instants of greatest magnitude and greatest
duration (for total eclipses), the differences are usually quite small.
2Minimum distance of the Moon's shadow axis from Earth's center in units of
equatorial Earth radii.
Key to Solar Eclipse Maps
Key to Lunar Eclipse Maps
Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness
Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses
Eclipse Altitudes and Azimuths
The altitude a and azimuth A of the Sun or Moon during an eclipse depends on
the time and the observer's geographic coordinates. They are calculated as
follows:
h = 15 (GST + UT - ra ) + l
a = ArcSin [ Sin d Sin f + Cos d Cos h Cos f ]
A = ArcTan [ - (Cos d Sin h) / (Sin d Cos f - Cos d Cos h
Sin f) ]
where:
h = Hour Angle of Sun or Moon
a = Altitude
A = Azimuth
GST = Greenwich Sidereal Time at 0:00 UT
UT = Universal Time
ra = Right Ascension of Sun or Moon
d = Declination of Sun or Moon
l = Observer's Longitude (East +, West -)
f = Observer's Latitude (North +, South -)
During the eclipses of 1999, the values for GST and the geocentric Right
Ascension and Declination of the Sun or the Moon (at greatest eclipse) are as
follows:
Eclipse Date GST ra d
Penumbral Lunar 1999 Jan 31 8.696 8.907 16.408
Annular Solar 1999 Feb 16 9.721 21.956 -12.467
Partial Lunar 1999 Jul 28 20.380 20.480 -18.301
Total Solar 1999 Aug 11 21.298 9.386 15.328
Eclipses During 2000
Next year, there will be four solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses:
2000 Jan 21: Total Lunar Eclipse
2000 Feb 05: Partial Solar Eclipse
2000 Jul 01: Partial Solar Eclipse
2000 Jul 16: Total Lunar Eclipse
2000 Jul 31: Partial Solar Eclipse
2000 Dec 25: Partial Solar Eclipse
A full report Eclipses During 2000 will be published next year in the
Observer's Handbook 2000.
Eclipse Web Site
A special solar and lunar eclipse web site is now available via the Internet
at:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html
The site features predictions and maps for all solar and lunar eclipses well
into the 21st century. Special emphasis is placed on eclipses occurring
during the next two years with detailed path maps, tables, graphs and
meteorological data. Additional catalogs list every solar and lunar eclipse
over a 5000 year period. Other information includes tips on eclipse
observing, eclipse photography and eye safety. Observer's reports and
photographs from past eclipses are also available.
NASA Solar Eclipse Bulletins
Special bulletins containing detailed predictions and meteorological data for
future solar eclipses of interest are prepared by F. Espenak and J. Anderson,
and are published through NASA's Reference Publication series. The nominal
publication date of each bulletin is 24 to 36 months before each eclipse. The
bulletins are provided as a public service to both the professional and lay
communities, including educators and the media. For more information and
ordering instructions, see: NASA Solar Eclipse Bulletins
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
via the World-Wide Web from the GSFC/SDAC (Solar Data Analysis Center)
eclipse page:
http://umbra.nascom.nasa.gov/eclipse/index.html
Acknowledgments
All eclipse predictions were generated on a Power Macintosh 8500/150 using
algorithms developed from the Explanatory Supplement [1974] with additional
algorithms from Meeus, Grosjean, and Vanderleen [1966]. The solar and lunar
ephemerides were generated from Newcomb and the Improved Lunar Ephemeris. As
in previous years, the author uses a smaller value of k (=0.272281) for total
and annular calculations than the one adopted by the 1982 IAU General
Assembly. This results in a better approximation of Moon's minimum diameter
and a slightly shorter total or longer annular eclipse. The IAU value for k
(=0.2725076) is retained for partial phases. For lunar eclipses, the diameter
of the umbral shadow was enlarged by 2% to compensate for Earth's atmosphere
and the effects of oblateness have been included. Text and table composition
were done on a Macintosh using Microsoft Word. Additional figure annotation
was performed with Claris MacDraw Pro.
All calculations, diagrams, tables and opinions presented in this paper are
those of the author and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.
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