First of Four 2011 Partial Solar Eclipses Happens Tuesday, Jan. 4

Summary: The first of four 2011 partial solar eclipses happens Tuesday, Jan. 4, with North Africa, western and central Asia, and Europe favored for visibility.

Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics for partial solar eclipse of Jan. 4, 2011: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC Emeritus," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The first of four 2011 partial solar eclipses happens Tuesday, Jan. 4, with the path of visibility favoring North Africa, western and central Asia, and Europe.

The moon’s passage between Earth and the solar system’s sun occasions a solar eclipse. A partial solar eclipse occurs as a partial obscuring of the solar image for observers on Earth. The first of four 2011 partial solar eclipses begins with first contact of the moon’s penumbral shadow with Earth’s surface. First contact takes place Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 6:40:11 Universal Time (7:40:11 a.m. Central European Time in Rome, Italy; 1:40:11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time). P1 is the designator for first contact with the shadow’s light, outer region, known as penumbra.

The NASA Eclipse Web Site identifies northern Algeria as the location on the Earth’s surface where the moon’s penumbral shadow makes first contact.

In Rome, Italy, where sunrise takes place at 7:37 a.m. CET (6:37 UT; 1:37 a.m. EST), the sun is close to the horizon. Time And Date web site recommends that observers have free sight to the east-southeast.

Greatest eclipse takes place Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 8:50:35 UT (9:50:35 a.m. CET in Rome, Italy; 3:50:35 a.m. EST). Greatest eclipse pertains to the instant of closest passage of the axis of the lunar shadow cone to Earth’s center.

On the NASA Eclipse Web Site, retired astrophysicist Fred Espenak, known as “Mr. Eclipse,” indicates that greatest eclipse occurs in northern Sweden. At the instant of greatest eclipse, the axis of the lunar shadow passes only 510 kilometers (316.89 miles) above Earth’s surface.

The penumbra’s last contact with Earth’s surface registers the eclipse’s end. Exit from the lunar penumbra occurs Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 11:00:54 UT (12:00:54 p.m. CET in Rome, Italy; 6:00:54 a.m. EST). P4 is the designator for last contact with the penumbra.

The January 2011 partial solar eclipse belongs to Saros 151. The Saros cycle recognizes families, known as series, for lunar and solar eclipses. A Saros cycle has a periodicity of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours).

The four 2011 partial solar eclipses belong to the 21st century’s most common eclipse type. Of the century’s 224 solar eclipses, 77 are partial.

Annular eclipses rate as the century’s second most common solar eclipse. Annular eclipses account for 72 of the century’s 224 solar eclipses.

Total solar eclipses comprise the century’s third most common type of solar eclipse. Total solar eclipses contribute 68 occurrences to the century’s solar eclipse total.

Hybrid solar eclipses make the least frequent appearances of the four solar eclipse types. Hybrid solar eclipses occur only seven times in the 21st century.

The four 2011 partial solar eclipses qualify the year for elite rating as only one of six years in the 21st century featuring four solar eclipses. The century mostly experiences the annual minimum of solar eclipses, with 82 years having only two solar eclipses. Three solar eclipses per year occur in 12 years. The maximum of five solar eclipses in a calendar year does not happen in the 21st century.

The four 2011 solar eclipses share the year’s eclipse lineup with two lunar eclipses. The NASA Eclipse Web Site notes the rarity of the year’s 4:2 combination of lunar and solar eclipses. The 4:2 combination happens in only six years during the 21st century: 2011, 2029, 2047, 2065, 2076 and 2094.

Occurrences in January and December frame the century’s 4:2 eclipse combination. The Tuesday, Jan. 4, partial solar eclipse initiates the 4:2 lineup for 2011. A total lunar eclipse on Saturday, Dec. 10, closes 2011’s 4:2 lineup.

Observers along the path of visibility should remember that partial solar eclipses should not be viewed directly. Safe viewing of partial solar eclipses requires proper equipment and techniques.

The takeaway for the first of four 2011 partial solar eclipses, which takes place Tuesday, Jan. 4, is the event’s favoring of northern Africa, west and central Asia, and Europe for visibility.

animation of Jan. 4, 2011, solar eclipse: A.T. Sinclair/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics for partial solar eclipse of Jan. 4, 2011: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC Emeritus," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig01.pdf

animation of Jan. 4, 2011, solar eclipse: A.T. Sinclair/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SE2011Jan04P.gif

For further information:

“January 4, 2011 -- Partial Solar Eclipse.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2011-january-4

“January 4, 2011 -- Partial Solar Eclipse -- Rome.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/italy/rome?iso=20110104

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses During 2011.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site@ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2011.html

Espenak, Fred. “Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 2001 to 2100 (2001 CE to 2100 CE).” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SE2001-2100.html

Espenak, Fred. “Greatest Eclipse.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Glossary of Solar Eclipse Terms.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/SEglossary.html

Espenak, Fred. "Partial Solar Eclipse of 2011 Jan 04." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses Past and Future: Eclipses During: 2011 > Eclipses During 2011: 2011 Jan 04: Partial Solar Eclipse.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig01.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Table 1 -- Local Circumstances for Partial Solar Eclipse of 2011 Jan 04.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook > Observer’s Handbook Tables.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2011-Tab01.pdf

Littmann, Mark; Ken Willcox; Fred Espenak. “Observing Solar Eclipses Safely.” MrEclipse > Totality.
Available @ http://www.mreclipse.com/Totality2/TotalityCh11.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Jan. 4, 2011, Partial Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 151." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2010/12/jan-4-2011-partial-solar-eclipse.html