2016 Eclipse Lineup Features Two Lunar and Two Solar Eclipses

Summary: The 2016 eclipse lineup features two lunar and two solar eclipses, with March's lunar penumbral and solar total and September's penumbral and annular.

Sun, Earth and Earth's moon are the trio of players in Earth's viewed cosmic events of lunar and solar eclipses: Siyavula Education, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

The 2016 eclipse lineup features penumbral lunar eclipses in March and September, a total solar eclipse in March and an annular solar eclipse in September.

The March 8 to 9, 2016, total solar eclipse appears first in the 2016 eclipse lineup. March’s solar eclipse traces a narrow path of totality over oceans as it begins over the Indian Ocean, crosses over the Indonesian Archipelago and ends in the North Atlantic Ocean west of North America. A wider path of partiality occurs over south and east Asia, north and west Australia, and the United States’ two non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii.

The March 8 to 9, 2016, total solar eclipse spotlights the backward-and-forward time travel occasioned by crossing the International Date Line. Roughly following the 180th meridian through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the International Date Line marks the adjustment by one day forward or back for global travel across time zones.

The March 8 to 9, 2016, total solar eclipse appears first in the Earth’s eastern hemisphere because of the Earth’s eastward rotation, or spin. The paths of partiality and of totality that begin Wednesday, March 9, have their eastward endings Tuesday, March 8. The eclipse’s eastward crossing of the International Date Line west of Alaska and Hawaii backdates the event to Tuesday.

“The spectacle will begin on March 9 and finish on March 8. Yes, truly,” notes science reporter Nicholas St. Fleur March 7 in his New York Times article, “Total Solar Eclipse Will End the Day Before It Begins."

On Thursday, Sept. 1, an incomplete covering of the sun by the moon will create a ring of fire effect known as an annular eclipse. The narrow path of annularity begins near the Equator in the South East Atlantic Ocean, traverses  Africa (Gabon, the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique), crosses northern Madagascar and ends over the southeastern Indian Ocean west of southwestern Australia. The wider path of partiality includes every country in Africa, the rest of Madagascar, the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, parts of the western Indonesian Archipelago and coastal Western Australia.

The two penumbral lunar eclipses of the 2016 eclipse lineup occur about six months apart, on Wednesday, March 23, and Friday, Sept. 16. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs with moon’s passage through the penumbra, the outer portion of Earth’s shadow. The faint darkening of a small part of the moon’s surface by the Earth’s penumbra is not blatantly noticeable. The bright illumination of the rest of the moon’s surface may shine like a full moon.

March’s penumbral lunar eclipse avails visibility to North America, except for most of Greenland; South America, except for French Guiana and eastern Brazil; Australia; and North, South, Southeast and East Asia. Most of the Arctic and the Antarctic are afforded visibility of the March 23 penumbral lunar eclipse. March’s lunar eclipse takes in the western Atlantic Ocean, all of the Pacific Ocean and most of the Indian Ocean.

September’s penumbral lunar eclipse allows viewing throughout Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Eastern Greenland, Iceland, eastern Brazil, and most of the Arctic and the Antarctic fall within the eclipse’s path. The Sept. 16 penumbral lunar eclipse spans all of the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

The 2016 eclipse lineup adds memorable lunar and solar events to sky-watching schedules for both March and September.

The September 2016 annular solar eclipse favors Africa: Daily Brew - Tech @DailyBrewTech via Twitter Jan. 25, 2016

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

Siyavula Earth-moon-sun illustration: Siyavula Education, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/121935927@N06/13598100735/

The September 2016 annular solar eclipse favors Africa: Daily Brew - Tech (@DailyBrewTech) via Twitter Jan. 24, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/DailyBrewTech/status/691421759266926593

For further information:

Daily Brew - Tech @DailyBrewTech. "Solar And Lunar Eclipses In 2016." Twitter. Jan. 24, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/DailyBrewTech/status/691421759266926593

“March 23, 2016 -- Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.” Time and Date.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2016-march-23

Marriner, Derdriu. "Alaska Airlines Flight 870 Adjusted for Solar Eclipse Chasers." Earth and Space News. Tuesday, March 8, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/alaska-airlines-flight-870-adjusted-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "March 8 to 9, 2016, Total Solar Eclipse Path Crosses Indonesia." Earth and Space News. Friday, March 4, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/march-8-to-9-2016-total-solar-eclipse.html

McClure, Bruce. "Dates of lunar and solar eclipses in 2016." EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials > Space. Jan. 5, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/dates-of-next-lunar-and-solar-eclipses

St. Fleur, Nicholas. “Total Solar Eclipse Will End the Day Before It Begins.” The New York Times. March 7, 2016.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/science/total-solar-eclipse-will-end-the-day-before-it-begins.html?recp=16

“September 1, 2016 -- Annular Solar Eclipse.” Time and Date.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2016-september-1

“September 16/September 17 -- Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.” Time and Date.
Available @ http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2016-september-16