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.
| PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE : 19 April | |
|---|---|
| WARNING! Never look at the Sun with the naked eye! | |
| The partial eclipse will be visible from southern Africa, and parts of Antarctica. | |
| 11:30 UT | The partial eclipse begins. |
| 13:35 UT | Middle of the eclipse: magnitude = 0.0.74. |
| 13:21 UT | New Moon. |
| 15:39 UT | The partial eclipse ends. |
| TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE : 4 May | |
| The entire eclipse will be visible from India, the Middle East, eastern Europe and most of Africa. Eastern Asia and Australia will see the eclipsed Moon set whilst the eclipse will already be in progress by the time the Moon rises for observers in South America, western Europe and the western parts of Africa. | |
| 17:51 UT | The penumbral eclipse begins. |
| 18:48 UT | The partial eclipse begins. |
| 19:52 UT | The total eclipse begins. |
| 20:30 UT | Middle of the eclipse: magnitude = 1.30. |
| 20:33 UT | Full Moon. |
| 21:08 UT | The total eclipse ends. |
| 22:12 UT | The partial eclipse ends. |
| 23:10 UT | The penumbral eclipse ends. |
| TRANSIT OF VENUS : 8 June | |
| WARNING! Never look at the Sun with the naked eye! | |
| Venus will cut across the southern limb of the Sun. The entire transit will be visible from nearly all of Asia, the Middle East, Europe and most of 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, most of South America and the eastern half of North America. This is an extremely rare event. The last two transits of Venus were in 1874 and 1882, and the next one will occur 2012. All transit contact times are approximate and may differ by several minutes depending on the position of the observer on Earth. | |
| 05:13 UT | First contact. Venus is externally tangent to the Sun's disc. |
| 05:33 UT | Second contact. Venus is internally tangent to the Sun's disc. |
| 08:20 UT | Middle of the transit. |
| 11:07 UT | Third contact. Venus is internally tangent to the Sun's disc. |
| 11:26 UT | Fourth contact. Venus is externally tangent to the Sun's disc. |
| PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE : 14 October | |
| WARNING! Never look at the Sun with the naked eye! | |
| The partial eclipse will be visible from north and east Asia, the far western parts of Alaska and much of the north Pacific. | |
| 00:55 UT | The partial eclipse begins. |
| 02:48 UT | New Moon. |
| 03:00 UT | Middle of the eclipse: magnitude = 0.93. |
| 05:04 UT | The partial eclipse ends. |
| TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE : 28 October | |
| The entire eclipse will be visible from western Europe, western Africa, Iceland, Greenland, South America and all but the western parts of North America. Western and central parts of Asia, the Middle East, and most of Africa will see the eclipse Moon set whilst the eclipse will already be in progress by the time the Moon rises for observers for the western parts of North America and the far northeast of Asia. | |
| 00:06 UT | The penumbral eclipse begins. |
| 01:14 UT | The partial eclipse begins. |
| 02:23 UT | The total eclipse begins. |
| 03:04 UT | Middle of the eclipse: magnitude = 1.31. |
| 03:07 UT | Full Moon. |
| 03:45 UT | The total eclipse ends. |
| 04:54 UT | The partial eclipse ends. |
| 06:03 UT | The penumbral eclipse ends. |
Copyright © 1995-2004 by David Harper and L.M. Stockman