First 2012 Solar Eclipse Is Annular Solar Eclipse Sunday, May 20

Summary: The first 2012 solar eclipse is an annular solar eclipse Sunday, May 20, favoring eastern Asia, the North Pacific Ocean and western North America.

Earth visibility chart and eclipse data for partial solar eclipse of May 20, 2012: "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 2012 solar eclipse is an annular solar eclipse Sunday, May 20, with a 240 to 300 kilometer-wide (149.129 to 186.411 mile-wide) path of annularity favoring eastern Asia, the North Pacific Ocean and western North America.

On the NASA Eclipse Web Site, retired astrophysicist Fred Espenak, known as “Mr. Eclipse,” explains that the moon’s one-day old reach of apogee accounts for the eclipse’s wide path of annularity. The moon’s passage through its greatest monthly center-to-center distance from Earth takes place Saturday, May 19, at 16:13 Universal Time. May’s apogee logs 406,451 kilometers (252,556.942 miles) between moon and Earth. May's apogee also rates as the year's greatest center-to-center distance.

The moon’s great distance from Earth prevents complete coverage of the sun, from Earth’s perspective. The sun’s limbs extend beyond the obscuring moon to form an annulus (Latin: “little ring”).

The path of annularity registers the sweep of the lunar antumbral shadow across Earth’s surface. As the shadow’s third region, the antumbra (Latin: ante “before” + umbra “shadow”) extends beyond the umbra, which comprises the shadow’s darkest, innermost region.

The path of annularity begins Sunday, May 20, at 22:06:16.9 UT (Monday, May 21, at 6:06 a.m. CST China Standard Time) in southeastern China.

“Mr. Eclipse” notes that as the eastward-traveling antumbral shadow traverses Japan’s east coast, the central line duration of annularity increases from 4.4 to 5.0 minutes. The central line maps the traversal of the central axis of the lunar shadow cone across Earth’s surface. Annularity endures longest on the central line and decreases to zero at the path’s limits. Located 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) north of the central line, Tokyo experiences a five-minute-long annular phase, commencing Sunday, May 20, at 22:32 UT (Monday, May 21, at 7:32 a.m. JST Japan Standard Time).

At a velocity of 1.1 kilometers per second (0.68 miles per second), the antumbral shadow scoots away from Japan and bears northeast for its sweep across the North Pacific Ocean. The next major component of the event takes place over open ocean.

Greatest eclipse happens Sunday, May 20, at 23:52:446.6 UT. Greatest eclipse captures the instant of the axis of the lunar shadow cone’s closest passage to Earth's center. At greatest eclipse, the duration of annularity is 5 minutes 46 seconds. The path of annularity has a width of 237 kilometers (147.265 miles). The sun appears at a placement of 61 degrees above the open North Pacific Ocean’s flat horizon.

The oceanic component of the path of annularity covers around 7,000 kilometers (4,349.598 miles). The journey lasts for nearly two hours.

The path of annularity leaves the North Pacific Ocean for western North America coastlines in southern Oregon and northern California. Reestablished land contact occurs Monday, May 21, at 01:23 UT (Sunday, May 20, 6:23 p.m. PDT Pacific Daylight Time).

The sun’s altitude and the duration of annularity drop after the antumbral shadow’s continental arrival. The annular phase begins Monday, May 21, at 01:26 UT in Redding, California (Sunday, May 20, at 6:26 p.m. PDT). The phase lasts for 4.5 minutes. The sun’s placement is 20 degrees above the horizon.

Eight seconds later, the antumbral shadow touches Albuquerque, New Mexico. Although the central duration still measures 4.5 minutes, the sun clings to a low altitude of only five degrees.

The path of annularity ends in Texas, south of the Texas Panhandle. The May 2012 annular eclipse ends Monday, May 21, at 01:39:10.9 UT (Sunday, May 20, at 8:39 p.m. CDT Central Daylight Time). With the sun hovering near the horizon, viewers need an observation site giving free sight to the west-northwest.

The antumbral shadow’s trajectory spans around 3 hours 33 minutes. Its path treks across 13,600 kilometers (8,450.648 miles).

A partial solar eclipse frames the annular eclipse. The partial solar eclipse begins Sunday, May 20, at 20:56:07.0 UT (Monday, May 21, at 4:56 a.m. CST; Sunday, May 20, at 1:56 p.m. PDT; Sunday, May 20, at 3:56 p.m. CDT). End time for the partial solar eclipse is Monday, May 21, at 02:49:21.5 UT (Sunday, May 20, at 7:49 p.m. PDT and at 9:49 p.m. CDT). Partiality covers a wider path across eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean and North America’s Canada and United States than that of annularity.

The most recent predecessor of May 2012's annular solar eclipse occurred Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, as an Eastern Hemisphere event. The path of annularity favored central Africa, the Indian Ocean and eastern Asia.

The next successor to May 2012's annular solar eclipse occurs almost one year later on Friday, May 10, 2013, primarily as a Southern Hemisphere event. The path of annularity favors Australia but also including low latitudes of the Pacific Ocean north of the equator.

The May 2012 annular solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 128. Eclipses are gathered into families, known as series. A Saros cycle has a time span of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours).

Observers of the annular and partial phases of May 2012’s solar eclipse should not look directly at the sun. Use of proper equipment and following of proper techniques are necessary for safe viewing of May 2012’s solar eclipse.

The takeaway for the first 2012 solar eclipse, which occurs as an annular solar eclipse Sunday, May 20, is the event’s primary favoring of eastern Asia, the North Pacific Ocean, and western North America for the path of annularity.

path of visibility of annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012, across western United States: "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

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 data for partial solar eclipse of May 20, 2012: "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/OH2012-Fig01.pdf

path of visibility of annular solar eclipse of May 20, 2012, across western United States: "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/OH2012-Fig02.pdf

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. “Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Google Maps and Solar Eclipse Paths > Solar Eclipses Google 2001.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses During 2012.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2012.html

Espenak, Fred. “Figure 2: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Page > Solar Eclipses Past and Future: Eclipses During 2012 > Eclipses During 2012: 2012 May 20 Annular Solar Eclipse: Figure 2.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2012-Fig02.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Figure 3: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Page > Solar Eclipses Past and Future: Eclipses During 2012 > Eclipses During 2012: 2012 May 20 Annular Solar Eclipse: Annular Solar Eclipse of May 20.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2012-Fig02.pdf

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. “Moon at Perigee and Apogee: 2001 to 2100 Greenwich Mean Time.” AstroPixels > Ephemeris > Moon.
Available via AstroPixels @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/moonperap2001.html

Espenak, Fred. “Table 1: Path of the Antumbral Shadow of the Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook > Observer’s Handbook Tables > Observer’s Handbook 2012.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2012-Tab01.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Table 2: Local Circumstances for the Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20 For Canada, Mexico and Asia.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook > Observer’s Handbook Tables > Observer’s Handbook 2012.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2012-Tab02.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Table 3: Local Circumstances for the Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20 For the United States.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook > Observer’s Handbook Tables > Observer’s Handbook 2012.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2012-Tab03.pdf

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

Marriner, Derdriu. "May 20, 2012, Annular Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 128." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 9, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-20-2012-annular-solar-eclipse.html

“May 20/21, 2012 -- Annular Solar Eclipse.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2014-october-23