July 1, 2011, Partial Solar Eclipse Opens Saros Series 156

Summary: The Friday, July 1, 2011, partial solar eclipse opens Saros cycle 156, a series of 69 similar solar eclipses.

Partial solar eclipse of Friday, July 1, 2011, opens Saros solar series 156’s lineup of 69 solar eclipsesPartial solar eclipse of Friday, July 1, 2011, opens Saros solar series 156’s lineup of 69 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Friday, July 1, 2011, partial solar eclipse opens Saros cycle 156, which comprises 69 solar eclipses with similar geometries.

July’s partial solar eclipse begins Friday, July 1, 2011, at 07:53:41.6 Universal Time, according to the NASA Eclipse Web Site. Greatest eclipse takes place at 08:38:33.7 UT. Greatest eclipse references the instant of the closest passage of the lunar shadow cone’s axis to Earth’s center. The eclipse ends at 09:22:47.6 UT.

July 2011’s partial solar eclipse appears as first in the lineup of 69 solar eclipses that compose Saros cycle 156. Similar geometries group the 69 solar eclipses into a family, known as a series.

The NASA Eclipse Web Site describes Saros 156 solar eclipses as sharing the geometry of occurring at the moon’s descending node. With each succeeding eclipse in Saros 156, the lunar movement is northward of the descending node.

A pair of ascending and descending nodes mark the intersections of Earth’s orbit by the moon’s orbit. The approximately 5.1 degree tilt of the moon’s orbit with respect to Earth’s orbit accounts for the two nodes. The ascending node signals the lunar orbital crossing to the north of Earth’s orbit. The descending node announces the lunar orbital crossing to the south of Earth’s orbit.

Saros solar series 156’s numerical designation attests to the series’ association with the moon’s descending node. Solar eclipse series occurring near the moon’s descending node are given even Saros numbers. Odd Saros numbers are assigned to solar eclipse series connected with the moon’s ascending node.

The Saros cycle of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours) guides the periodicity and recurrence of solar eclipses. Each Saros series produces 70 or more eclipses that typically stretch over 12 to 13 centuries.

Saros solar series 156 lasts for 1,226.05 years, according to the NASA Eclipse Web Site. The series encompasses 13 centuries. Saros solar series 156 spans the 21st through 33rd centuries.

Solar eclipses in Saros series 156 observe a sequence order of eight partial solar eclipses, 52 annular eclipses and nine partial solar eclipses. Clearly, annular solar eclipses account for the most number of eclipses to Saros series 156, with a total of 52 occurrences. Partial solar eclipses are credited with a total of 17 occurrences.

The partial solar eclipse of Friday, July 1, which occurs as the third of four partial solar eclipses in 2011, opens Saros solar series 156. This Southern Hemisphere event stages its greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 65.2 south at 28.6 east, in the open Southern Ocean, north of East Antarctica's Queen Maud Land.

The July 1, 2011, partial solar eclipse precedes Earth’s aphelion (Ancient Greek: ἀπό (apó, “from” + ἥλιος, hḗlios, “sun”) by approximately three days. The year’s farthest center-to-center orbital point of Earth with the sun is expected to be reached Monday, July 4, at 14:54 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Earth will be distanced from the sun by 1.0167404 astronomical units (AU), according to retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak's AstroPixels website. The year's aphelion equates to approximately 152,102,202 kilometers (aphelion's mean value of 1.0167103 AU, 152,097,701 kilometers, plus 2011 aphelion's relative distance of 4,501 kilometers with respect to the mean value).

A partial solar eclipse on Wednesday, July 11, 2029, succeeds the Saros solar series 156’s opening eclipse. This Southern Hemisphere event experiences its greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 64.3 south at 85.6 west, in the open Southern Ocean, northwest of the Antarctic Peninsula.

A partial solar eclipse on Tuesday, July 14, 3237, will close the Saros solar series 156. This event's greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 64.1 north at 172.0 west, occurs over the Bering Sea, between Alaska's St. Lawrence Island and the Russian Far Eastern Federal District's Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.

The takeaway for the July 1, 2011, partial solar eclipse is that the astronomical event opens Saros solar series 156’s lineup of 69 solar eclipses.

Partial solar eclipse of Friday, July 1, 2011, opens Saros solar series 156’s lineup of 69 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Partial solar eclipse of Friday, July 1, 2011, opens Saros solar series 156’s lineup of 69 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2011-07-01.gif

Partial solar eclipse of Wednesday, July 11, 2029, occurs as the second of Saros solar series 156’s 69 solar eclipsesPartial solar eclipse of Friday, July 1, 2011, opens Saros solar series 156’s lineup of 69 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2029-07-11.gif

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. “Delta T (ΔT) and Universal Time.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Eclipse Resources > Special Help Features.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/deltaT.html

Espenak, Fred. “Earth at Perihelion and Aphelion: 2001 to 2100.” AstroPixels > Ephemeris > Earth > Perihelion and Aphelion: 2001 to 2100 (GMT).
Available via AstroPixels @ http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/perap2001.html

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses and the Saros.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0-180.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial 2011 Jul 01.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Page: Solar Eclipse Catalogs: Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0-180 > Eclipses and the Saros: Return to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series: Solar Eclipses of Saros 0 to 180: Summary of Saros Series 150 to 175: 156 > Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros Series 156: Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 156: 09533 -34 2011 Jul 01.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2011-07-01.gif

Espenak, Fred. “Partial 2029 Jul 11.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Page: Solar Eclipse Catalogs: Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0-180 > Eclipses and the Saros: Return to Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series: Solar Eclipses of Saros 0 to 180: Summary of Saros Series 150 to 175: 156 > Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros Series 156: Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 156: 09573 -33 2029 Jul 11.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2029-07-11.gif

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2011 Jul 01.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Six Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses -2999 to 3000 (3000 BCE to 3000 CE) > 2001 to 2100 (2001 CE to 2100 CE).
Available via EclipseWise @ http://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2011Jul01Pprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2029 Jul 11.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Six Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses -2999 to 3000 (3000 BCE to 3000 CE) > 2001 to 2100 (2001 CE to 2100 CE).
Available via EclipseWise @ http://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2029Jul11Pprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2029 Jul 11.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses: Past and Future > Decade Solar Eclipse Tables > Solar Eclipses: 2021-2030.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2029Jul11P.GIF

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of July 01.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses: Past and Future.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2011.html

Espenak, Fred. “Saros Series 156.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0-180.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros156.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

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/2011/01/jan-4-2011-partial-solar-eclipse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “June 1, 2011, Partial Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 118.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 1, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-1-2011-partial-solar-eclipse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Second of Four 2011 Partial Solar Eclipses Happens Wednesday, June 1.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 25, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/05/second-of-four-2011-partial-solar.html

Smith, Ian Cameron. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 1 Jul, 2011 AD.” Moon Blink > Hermit Eclipse > Eclipse Database > Full Solar Catalog > 2001-3000 AD > 2001-2020 AD.
Available @ https://moonblink.info/Eclipse/eclipse/2011_07_01

Smith, Ian Cameron. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 11 Jul, 2029 AD.” Moon Blink > Hermit Eclipse > Eclipse Database > Full Solar Catalog > 2001-3000 AD > 2021-2040 AD.
Available @ https://moonblink.info/Eclipse/eclipse/2029_07_11