Second of Four 2011 Partial Solar Eclipses Happens Wednesday, June 1

Summary: The second of four 2011 partial solar eclipses happens Wednesday, June 1, with the Northern Hemisphere’s high latitudes favored for visibility.

Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics for partial solar eclipse of June 1, 2011: "Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC," Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The second of four 2011 partial solar eclipses happens Wednesday, June 1, with the path of visibility favoring the Northern Hemisphere’s high latitudes.

On the NASA Eclipse Web Site, retired astrophysicist Fred Espenak, known as “Mr. Eclipse,” observes that the June 2011 partial solar eclipse entails partial obscuring of the midnight sun in areas in Scandinavia that lie above the Arctic Circle. Partial eclipses of the midnight sun occur for Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

In North America, most of Alaska and northern Canada fall within the partial solar eclipse’s visibility path. The path’s southern limit across Earth’s surface curves from south of Fairbanks in east central Alaska to eastern Canada’s central New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

From Earth’s perspective, a solar eclipse ensues from the moon’s passage between Earth and the solar system’s sun. A partial obscuring of the solar image produces a partial solar eclipse for observers on Earth.

First touching of Earth’s surface by the moon’s penumbra marks the beginning of the second of four 2011 partial solar eclipses. The penumbral shadow’s first touches take place Wednesday, June 1, at 19:25:18 Universal Time (3:25:18 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time). P1 is the designator for the instant of first touches by the penumbra, the shadow’s lighter, outer region.

The NASA Eclipse Web Site indicates sunrise in northern China and in Siberia as points of first touches on the Earth’s surface.

Greatest eclipse takes place Wednesday, June 1, at 21:16:11 UT (5:16:11 p.m. EDT). Greatest eclipse represents the instant of closest passage of the axis of the lunar shadow cone to Earth’s center.

The penumbra’s last touching of Earth’s surface marks the eclipse’s end. Exit from the moon’s penumbral shadow happens Wednesday, June 1, at 23:06:56 UT (7:06:56 p.m. EDT). P4 is the designator for the last penumbral contact with Earth’s surface.

“Mr. Eclipse” notes that the penumbra last touches Earth’s surface over water. Last contact takes place in the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Newfoundland.

The June 2011 partial solar eclipse belongs to Saros 118. According to the Saros cycle, lunar eclipses and solar eclipses belong to families, known as series. A Saros cycle covers approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours).

The second of four 2011 partial solar eclipses happens five and one-third months after the year’s first partial solar eclipse. The Tuesday, Jan. 4, partial solar eclipse opened the eclipse lineup. The year’s third and fourth partial solar eclipses take place Friday, July 1, and Friday, Nov. 25, respectively.

The 2011 eclipse lineup presents a rare 4:2 combination of four solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses. Only six years in the 21st century exhibit the 4:2 combination: 2011, 2029, 2047, 2065, 2076 and 2094.

The year’s two lunar eclipses are both total. The first of 2011’s two total lunar eclipses occurs Wednesday, June 15. The second total lunar eclipse closes the 2011 eclipse lineup on Friday, Dec. 10.

The 2011 lineup of four partial solar eclipses also distinguishes the year. Only six years in the 21st century experience four solar eclipses. The number of annual solar eclipses ranges from a minimum of two per year to a maximum of five per year.

Observers along the path of visibility should remember that direct viewing of partial solar eclipses is unsafe. Use of proper equipment and following of proper techniques are necessary for safe viewing of partial solar eclipses.

The takeaway for the second of four 2011 partial solar eclipses, which happens Wednesday, June 1, is the event’s favoring of the Northern Hemisphere’s high latitudes for visibility.

animation of June 1, 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 June 1, 2011: "Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC," Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SE2011Jun01P.png

animation of June 1, 2011, solar eclipse: A.T. Sinclair/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SE2011Jun01P.gif

For further information:

“June 1, 2011 -- Partial Solar Eclipse.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2011-june-1

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses During 2011.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook.
Available @ 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 @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SE2001-2100.html

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

Espenak, Fred. “Table 2 -- Local Circumstances for Partial Solar Eclipse of 2011 June 01.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook > Observer’s Handbook Tables.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2011-Tab02.pdf

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

Marriner, Derdriu. "First of Four 2011 Partial Solar Eclipses Happens Tuesday, Jan. 4." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2010/12/first-of-four-2011-partial-solar.html