May 20, 2012, Annular Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 128

Summary: The Friday, May 20, 2012, annular solar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 128, a series of 73 similar solar eclipses.

Partial solar eclipse of Aug. 29, 984, opened Saros solar series 128’s lineup of 73 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Friday, May 20, 2012, annular solar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 128, which comprises 73 solar eclipses with similar geometries.

May’s annular solar eclipse begins Sunday, May 20, 2012, at 20:56:07.0 Universal Time, according to the NASA Eclipse Web Site. Greatest eclipse takes place at 23:52:46.6 UT. Greatest eclipse refers to the instant of the closest passage of the lunar shadow cone’s axis to Earth’s center. The eclipse ends at 02:49:21.5 UT.

May 2012’s annular solar eclipse numbers as 58 in the lineup of 73 solar eclipses that compose Saros cycle 128. Similar geometries unite the 73 solar eclipses into a family, known as a series.

The NASA Eclipse Web Site describes Saros 128 solar eclipses as sharing the geometry of occurring at the moon’s descending node. With each succeeding eclipse in Saros 128, the lunar movement is northward of the descending node.

A pair of ascending and descending nodes expresses 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 explains the two nodes. The ascending node relates to the lunar orbital crossing to the north of Earth’s orbit. The descending node identifies the lunar orbital crossing to the south of Earth’s orbit.

The Saros cycle of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours) controls the periodicity and recurrence of solar eclipses. Each Saros series involves 70 or more eclipses. A typical timeline of over 12 to 13 centuries encases each Saros series.

Saros solar series 128 lasts for 1,298.17 years, according to the NASA Eclipse Web Site. The series covers 14 centuries. Saros solar series 128 spans the 10th through 23rd centuries.

Solar eclipses in Saros series 128 display a sequence order of 24 partial solar eclipses, four total solar eclipses, four hybrid solar eclipses, 32 annular solar eclipses and nine partial solar eclipses. Partial solar eclipses supply the most number of eclipses to Saros series 123, with a total of 33 occurrences. Annular solar eclipses are the second most frequent, with a total of 32 occurrences.

The partial solar eclipse of Aug. 29, 984, opened Saros solar series 128. This Southern Hemisphere event’s greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 61.3 south at 18.5 west, occurred over the Southern Ocean, off East Antarctica.

The partial solar eclipse of Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2282, will close Saros solar series 128. This Northern Hemisphere event’s greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 62.1 north at 163.0 east, will favor the Russian Far East.

The annular solar eclipse of Friday, May 20, 2012, numbers as 26 in Saros solar series 128’s sequence of 32 annular solar eclipses. This event’s greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 49.1 north at 176.3 east, occurred over the northern Pacific Ocean, southwest of the Rat Islands archipelago in southwestern Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

An annular solar eclipse on Tuesday, May 10, 1994, was the immediate predecessor of the May 2012 annular solar eclipse in Saros solar series 128. This event’s greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 41.5 north at 84.1 west, occurred over Fulton County, northwestern Ohio, in the Midwestern United States.

The May 1994 annular solar eclipse took place as number 25 in Saros solar series 128’s sequence of 32 annular solar eclipses. This eclipse numbered 57 in the series’ lineup of 73 solar eclipses.

An annular solar eclipse on Saturday, June 1, 2030, succeeds the May 2012 annular solar eclipse in Saros solar series 128. This event will stage its greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 56.5 north at 80.1 east, over Russia’s Novosibirsk Oblast in southwestern Siberia.

The June 2030 annular solar eclipse will occur as number 27 in Saros solar series 128’s sequence of 32 annular solar eclipses. This eclipse numbered 59 in the series’ lineup of 73 solar eclipses.

The takeaway for the Friday, May 20, 2012, annular solar eclipse is that the astronomical event numbers as 58 in Saros solar series 128’s lineup of 73 solar eclipses and as 26 within the series’ sequence of 32 annular solar eclipses.

Partial solar eclipse of Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2282, will close Saros solar series 128’s lineup of 73 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2201-2300/2282-11-01.gif

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 Aug. 29, 984, opened Saros solar series 128’s lineup of 73 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/0901-1000/984-08-29.gif

Partial solar eclipse of Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2282, will close Saros solar series 128’s lineup of 73 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2201-2300/2282-11-01.gif

For further information:

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1994-05-10.gif

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