A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Sun and the Moon are not quite lined up. In this case, the Moon covers only a section of the Sun. This kind of eclipse usually goes unnoticed by most people on Earth because the sunlight is scarcely dimmed.
A total solar eclipse, however, is much more spectacular. At totality, the disc of the Sun is completely obscured by the new Moon, and only the ghostly solar corona and perhaps gigantic solar flares are visible around the edges of the Moon. Those parts of the Earth experiencing totality become very dark and it is possible to see stars in the sky.
An annular solar eclipse is similar to a total eclipse except that the new Moon is near apogee and its disc appears slightly smaller than that of the Sun. Thus, a bright ring or annulus of the solar disc remains at maximum eclipse, and the sky does not become dark.
There are at least two and sometimes as many as five solar eclipses every year. Why don't we have a solar eclipse during every new Moon? This is because the Moon's orbit around the Earth is at an angle to the ecliptic. The new Moon usually passes above or below the Sun as seen from the Earth and thus there is no eclipse. The proper alignment for a solar eclipse occurs only a few times a year.
Another kind of eclipse is a lunar eclipse which occurs when the Moon passes through the shadow cast by the Earth. A lunar eclipse only occurs when the Moon is full and for the same reasons given above, happens only two or three times a year.
A lunar eclipse may be total, partial or penumbral. A total lunar eclipse causes the full Moon to slowly darken as it enters the umbra of the Earth and at totality, the Moon may take on a dark coppery colour. During a partial lunar eclipse, the Moon does not fully enter the umbra of the Earth. A penumbral lunar eclipse is likely to go unnoticed as the Moon passes through the Earth's penumbra and does not dim a great deal.
| Transit of Mercury : 7 May | |
|---|---|
| WARNING! Never look at the Sun with the naked eye! | |
| Mercury will cut across the northern limb of the Sun. The entire transit will be visible from nearly all of Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. Alaska, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand will see the the transit still in progress at sunset whilst the transit will begin before sunrise for observers in western Africa, Brazil, and the northeastern corner of North America. This is a rare event, happening on average only 13 times each century. The last transit of Mercury was in 1999 and the next one will be in 2006. All transit contact times are approximate and may differ by several minutes depending on the position of the observer on Earth. | |
| 05:12 UT | First contact. Mercury is externally tangent to the Sun's disc. |
| 05:17 UT | Second contact. Mercury is internally tangent to the Sun's disc. |
| 07:52 UT | Middle of the transit. |
| 10:27 UT | Third contact. Mercury is internally tangent to the Sun's disc. |
| 10:31 UT | Fourth contact. Mercury is externally tangent to the Sun's disc. |
| Total Lunar Eclipse : 16 May | |
| The entire eclipse will be visible from South America, the Caribbean and the eastern part of North America. Africa and western Europe will see the eclipsed Moon set whilst the eclipse will already be in progress by the time the Moon rises for observers in central and western parts of North America. | |
| 01:05 UT | The penumbral eclipse begins. |
| 02:03 UT | The partial eclipse begins. |
| 03:14 UT | The total eclipse begins. |
| 03:35 UT | Full Moon. |
| 03:40 UT | Middle of the eclipse: magnitude = 1.13. |
| 04:06 UT | The total eclipse ends. |
| 05:17 UT | The partial eclipse ends.. |
| 06:15 UT | The penumbral eclipse ends. |
| ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE : 31 May | |
| WARNING! Never look at the Sun with the naked eye! | |
| The annular eclipse will be visible from Greenland, Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, and the northwest corner of Scotland, including Ben Nevis and Loch Ness. Observers in Europe, the Middle East, northern Asia, the Arctic and Alaska will be able to see the partially eclipsed Sun. | |
| 01:46 UT | The partial eclipse begins. |
| 03:45 UT | The annular eclipse begins. |
| 04:08 UT | Middle of the eclipse: magnitude=0.94. |
| 04:20 UT | New Moon. |
| 04:31 UT | The annular eclipse ends. |
| 06:30 UT | The partial eclipse ends. |
| Total Lunar Eclipse : 8-9 November | |
| The entire eclipse will be visible from western Europe, western Africa, Iceland, Greenland, Brazil, and the northeastern parts of North America. Asia, the Middle East, and the rest of Africa will see the eclipse Moon set whilst the eclipse will already be in progress by the time the Moon rises for observers in most of South, Central, and North America. | |
| 8 November: 22:15 UT | The penumbral eclipse begins. |
| 23:32 UT | The partial eclipse begins. |
| 9 November: 01:06 UT | The total eclipse begins. |
| 01:14 UT | Full Moon. |
| 01:19 UT | Middle of the eclipse: magnitude = 1.02. |
| 01:31 UT | The total eclipse ends. |
| 03:05 UT | The partial eclipse ends. |
| 04:22 UT | The penumbral eclipse ends. |
| Total Solar Eclipse : 23-24 November | |
| WARNING! Never look at the Sun with the naked eye! | |
| The total eclipse will be visible from the Antarctic. Most observers in Australia and New Zealand as well as those at the southernmost tip of South America will be able to see the partially eclipsed Sun. | |
| 23 November: 20:46 UT | The partial eclipse begins. |
| 22:23 UT | The total eclipse begins. |
| 22:49 UT | Middle of the eclipse: magnitude = 1.04. |
| 22:59 UT | New Moon. |
| 23:16 UT | The total eclipse ends. |
| 24 November: 00:52 UT | The partial eclipse ends. |
Copyright © 1995-2003 by David Harper and L.M. Stockman