First 2014 Solar Eclipse Is Annular Solar Eclipse Tuesday, April 29

Summary: The first 2013 solar eclipse is an annular solar eclipse Tuesday, April 29, that favors the Southern Hemisphere, specifically East Antarctica.

Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics for annular solar eclipse of April 29, 2014: "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 2014 solar eclipse is an annular solar eclipse Tuesday, April 29, that favors the Southern Hemisphere with a minuscule D-shaped path of annularity exclusively poised over East Antarctica.

The first 2014 solar eclipse experiences annularity with first contact of the northern edge of the moon’s antumbral (Latin: ante, "before" + umbra, "shadow") shadow with Earth’s surface. The annular solar eclipse begins Tuesday, April 29, at 05:57:35.1 Universal Time.

Greatest eclipse takes place only six minutes later, at 06:03:25.0 UT. Greatest eclipse designates the instant of the closest passage of the lunar shadow cone’s axis to Earth’s center.

The greatest eclipse’s geographic coordinates are 70 degrees 38.7 minutes south latitude and 131 degrees 15.6 minutes east longitude. The path width at greatest eclipse is 0.0 kilometers.

On the NASA Eclipse Web Site, retired astrophysicist Fred Espenak, known as “Mr. Eclipse,” notes the geographic coordinates of 131 degrees 15.6 minutes east longitude and 79 degrees 38.7 minutes south latitude as closest to the shadow axis. The sun’s placement at that location would be at the horizon.

Last contact of the moon's antumbral shadow with Earth’s surface signals the end of 2014’s only annular solar eclipse. Annularity ends at 06:09:36 UT.

"Mr. Eclipse" describes 2014's only annular solar eclipse as "rather unusual." While the lunar antumbral shadow's central axis bypasses altogether, the antumbra's northern edge manages a grazing of Earth's surface. April's annular solar eclipse has a rare classification as a non-central annular eclipse. "Mr. Eclipse" finds that only 68, or 1.7 percent, of the 3,956 annular eclipses taking place in a 5,000-year period between 2000 BCE (Before Common, or Current, Era) and 3000 CE (Common, or Current, Era) bear the non-central annular classification.

A partial solar eclipse frames 2014’s only annular solar eclipse. The path of partiality is much wider than that of annularity. The path of partiality originates in the penumbra umbra, the lunar shadow’s outer, lighter flanks. The moon only partly covers the solar disk during a partial solar eclipse.

The path of annularity traces the passage of the moon’s antumbral shadow across Earth’s surface. The antumbra (Latin: ante “before” + umbra “shadow”) is the lighter, outer extension beyond the umbra, the shadow’s darkest, innermost region. In an annular eclipse, the sun’s limbs extend beyond the overlying moon to form an annulus (Latin: “little ring”).

The path of partiality takes in three of the Southern Hemisphere’s four oceans: the Indian, the Southern and the South Pacific oceans. Continentally, mainland Australia and the island state of Tasmania lie within the path of visibility for partiality. Southern Indonesia also has viewing privileges along the path of partiality.

The partial solar eclipse begins Thursday, April 29, at 03:52:38.2 UT. End time for the partial solar eclipse is at 08:14:29.2 UT. Partiality lasts for 4 hours 21 minutes 51 seconds.

April 2014’s solar eclipse takes place one week before May’s monthly apogee, the farthest center-to-center distance between Earth and moon in the lunar orbit. Apogee takes place May 6, at 10:22 UT, at a distance of 404,319 kilometers (251,232.179 miles). May’s apogee ranks as the minimum of 2014’s monthly apogees.

The April 2014 annular solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 148. A Saros cycle groups eclipses into families, known as series. A Saros cycle has an approximate duration of 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours).

Most recently, an annular solar eclipse occurred Friday, May 10, 2013. The next annular solar eclipse after April 29, 2014’s occurrence happens 3 years 4 months later, on Sept. 1, 2016. The September 2016 serves as the first of two consecutive annular solar eclipse. Its successor takes place almost 5.5 months later, on Feb. 26, 2017.

Observers of the annular and partial phases of April 2014’s solar eclipse should avoid looking directly at the sun. Safe viewing of April 2014’s solar eclipse entails use of proper equipment and following of proper techniques.

The takeaway for the first 2014 solar eclipse, which occurs as an annular solar eclipse Tuesday, April 29, is the path of annularity’s minuscule D shape that exclusively favors East Antarctica and also the event's rare status as a non-central annular eclipse.

animation showing annular solar eclipse of April 29, 2014: A.T. Sinclair/NASA Eclipse Web Site, 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 annular solar eclipse of April 29, 2014: "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/OH2014-Fig02.pdf

animation showing annular solar eclipse of April 29, 2014: A.T. Sinclair/NASA Eclipse Web Site, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SolarEclipse2014Apr29A.GIF

For further information:

“April 29, 2014 -- Annular Solar Eclipse.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available via Time And Date @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2014-april-29

Espenak, Fred. "." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Page > Solar Eclipses Past and Future: Eclipses During 2014 > Eclipses During 2014: 2014 Apr 29 Annular Solar Eclipse: Annular Solar Eclipse of April 29.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2014-Fig02.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses During 2014.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observer’s Handbook.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2014.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. “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 2: Local Circumstances for the Annular Solar Eclipse of 2014 April 29 from Australia.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Observers Handbook > Observers Handbook Tables > Observers Handbook 2014.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2014-Tab02.pdf

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

Marriner, Derdriu. "April 29, 2014, Annular Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 148." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 16, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/04/april-29-2014-annular-solar-eclipse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “First 2012 Solar Eclipse Is Annular Solar Eclipse Sunday, May 20.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 16, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/05/first-2012-solar-eclipse-is-annular.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “First 2013 Solar Eclipse Is Annular Solar Eclipse, Friday, May 10.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 8, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-2013-solar-eclipse-is-annular.html