Earth and Space News: 2018 Southern Hemisphere solar eclipse

Showing posts with label 2018 Southern Hemisphere solar eclipse. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Partial Solar Eclipse July 13 Is Second of Three 2018 Solar Eclipses

Summary: The partial solar eclipse July 13 is the second of three 2018 solar eclipses, with all three occurring as partial eclipses for Earth’s observers.

graphics and details of Friday, July 13, 2018, partial solar eclipse: "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 partial solar eclipse July 13 is the second of three 2018 solar eclipses, with all three happening as partial eclipses, as viewed from Earth.

The partial solar eclipse Friday, July 13, 2018, is an event observable in a small section of the Southern Hemisphere. The year’s second partial solar eclipse favors oceanic over continental locations. July’s partial solar eclipse begins over the southeasternmost Indian Ocean and ends over the southwesternmost South Pacific Ocean. The eclipse’s oceanic visibility region takes in Antarctica’s Southern Ocean and the Bass Strait, which separates Australia’s southern state of Victoria from the Australian island state of Tasmania.

Continental viewing of the partial solar eclipse favors small portions of northern Antarctica and southeastern Australia. July’s solar event affords visibility to the southernmost slice of the Land Down Under’s south central state of South Australia and to most of the southeastern state of Victoria.

The solar event’s insular visibility region encompasses Australia’s southernmost state, the island of Tasmania. Also, New Zealand claims visibility by way of the southwest Pacific island country’s third largest island. Stewart Island lies about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of New Zealand’s largest island, South Island.

July’s partial solar eclipse begins with first contact between Earth’s surface and the lunar penumbra, the lighter, outer region of the moon’s shadow. First contact takes place Friday, July 13, at 01:48:17.5 Universal Time (11:18 a.m. Australian Central Standard Time; 11:48 a.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time; 1:48 p.m. New Zealand Standard Time), according to (now retired) NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak on NASA’s Eclipse Website.

Greatest eclipse is expected over northern Antarctica at 03:01:07.0 UT1 (12:31 p.m. ACST; 1:01 p.m. AEST; 3:01 p.m. NZST). For solar eclipses, greatest eclipse (GE) references the instant of closest passage by the lunar shadow cone’s axis to Earth’s center.

Last contact before Earth’s exit from the lunar penumbra signals the end of July’s partial solar eclipse. Last contact occurs at 04:13:46.8 UT1 (1:43 p.m. ACST; 2:13 p.m. AEST; 3:03 p.m. NZST).

July’s solar eclipse occurs as the second of three 2018 partial solar eclipses. The year’s first solar eclipse took place Thursday, Feb. 15. The year’s third and last partial solar eclipse happens Saturday, Aug. 11.

July’s solar eclipse joins January’s solar eclipse in affording visibility only in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. The year’s third partial solar event, however, favors the Northern Hemisphere.

The year’s second solar eclipse shares occurrence in July with 2018’s second and last lunar eclipse. The total lunar eclipse Friday, July 27, takes place about two weeks after the month’s solar eclipse.

A partial solar eclipse occurs as the natural phenomenon of partial eclipsing, or obscuring, of the sun by the moon. The casting of only the lighter, outer region of the moon’s shadow ensues from a lack of straight line alignment of sun, moon and Earth.

July’s partial solar eclipse begins 6 hours 39 minutes before the moon reaches monthly perigee, or closest center-to-center distance between Earth and moon. Retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak’s Astro Pixels’ website places the instant of the month’s perigee Friday, July 13, at 08:28 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time/Coordinated Universal Time (4:28 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time; 5:58 p.m. ACST; 6:28 p.m. AEST; 8:28 p.m. NZST). Perigee marked a center-to-center distance of 357,432 kilometers (about 222,098 miles).

July’s partial solar eclipse claims the closest moon-Earth distance of the year’s five eclipses. July’s perigee was also the year’s second closest perigee. Minimum, or closest, perigee occurred Monday, Jan. 1, at 21:54 UT, at 356,566 kilometers (about 221,560 miles). January’s perigee of 356,566 kilometers was 866 kilometers closer to Earth than July’s perigee of 357,432 kilometers.

July’s lunar eclipse claims the farthest moon-Earth distance of the year’s five eclipses. The Friday, July 27, total lunar eclipse logged a center-to-center moon-Earth distance of 406,223 kilometers. The July lunar eclipse’s distance was also the year’s second farthest moon-Earth distance. The year’s apogee, or farthest distance, occurred Monday, Jan. 15, at 406,461 kilometers (about 252,563 miles).

July’s partial solar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 117. The Saros cycle assigns similar eclipses to families, known as series. A Saros cycle approximates 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Eclipses in the same Saros cycle share similar geometries, such as occurrence at the same ascending or descending node, with nearly the same lunar distance from Earth.

The two nodes of significance in the Saros cycle are the two points where the moon’s orbit crosses the Earth’s orbit. The two points register the approximately 5.1-degree tip of the moon’s orbit to the Earth’s orbit around the sun.

The ascending node associates with the lunar crossing to the north of Earth’s orbit. The descending node concerns the moon’s passage to the south.

Saros 117 eclipses occur at the moon’s ascending node. The moon exhibits a southward movement with each eclipse.

The takeaways for the partial solar eclipse July 13, 2018, are that it occurs as the second of the year’s three partial solar eclipse, shares July with 2018’s second lunar eclipse and claims the closest moon-Earth distance of 2018’s five eclipses.

animation of partial solar eclipse Friday, July 13, 2018: A.T. Sinclair/NASA, 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:

animation of partial solar eclipse Friday, July 13, 2018: A.T. Sinclair/NASA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SE2018Jul13P.gif

For further information:

“Accuracy of Eclipse Times.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/accuracy.html

Espenak, Fred. “Eclipses During 2018.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2018.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2018.html

Espenak, Fred. “Glossary of Solar Eclipse Terms.” NASA Eclipse Web Site.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/help/SEglossary.html

Espenak, Fred. “Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipses.” EclipseWise.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEsarcatkey.html

Espenak, Fred. “Moon at Perigee and Apogee: 2001 to 2100 Greenwich Mean Time.” Astro Pixels > Ephemeris > Moon.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/moonperap2001.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2018 Feb 15.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2018 > Partial Solar Eclipse of February 15.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/oh-figures/ec2018-Fig02.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2018 Jul 13.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Decade Tables of Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses : 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipses.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2018Jul13P.GIF

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2018 Jul 13.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2018.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/oh-figures/ec2018-Fig03.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Saros 117.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEsaros/SEsaros117.html

“July 13, 2018 -- Partial Solar Eclipse.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2018-july-13

Marriner, Derdriu. "Crater Timings for Jan. 31, 2018, Total Lunar Eclipse Show Umbral Span." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/crater-timings-for-jan-31-2018-total.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "First 2018 Eclipse Is Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/first-2018-eclipse-is-blue-moon-total.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Jan. 31, 2018, Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 124." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/jan-31-2018-blue-moon-total-lunar.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Partial Solar Eclipse Feb. 15 Is First of Three 2018 Solar Eclipses.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/02/partial-solar-eclipse-feb-15-is-first.html

McClure, Bruce. “Possible to Have 3 Eclipses in 1 Month?” EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials > Space. July 10, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=183093

“Universal Time.” U.S. Naval Observatory > Astronomical Information Center > Time.
Available @ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/UT.php

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Partial Solar Eclipse Feb. 15 Is First of Three 2018 Solar Eclipses

Summary: The partial solar eclipse Feb. 15 is the first of three 2018 solar eclipses, with all three appearing as partial eclipses for Earth’s observers.

animation of partial solar eclipse Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018: A.T. Sinclair/NASA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The partial solar eclipse Feb. 15 is the first of three 2018 solar eclipses, with all three occurring as partial eclipses, as seen from Earth.

The partial solar eclipse Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, is an event observable in the Southern Hemisphere. EarthSky Tonight’s lead writer, Bruce McClure, notes that 2018’s first partial solar eclipse begins at sunrise over the South Pacific Ocean and ends over the South Atlantic Ocean.

Oceanic viewing of the partial solar eclipse is available in the Southern Ocean as well as parts of the south Atlantic and south Pacific. Continental viewing of partiality emphasizes most of Antarctica and also encompasses southern Brazil, much of Argentina and Chile, southernmost Paraguay and all of Uruguay in southern South America.

The natural phenomenon of a partial solar eclipse involves partial eclipsing, or obscuring, of the solar system’s sun by the moon, as seen from Earth. The lack of straight line alignment of the sun and the moon with Earth occasions the casting of only the light, outer region of the moon’s shadow -- but none of the dark, inner region, known as umbra -- onto the Earth's surface.

February 2018’s partial solar eclipse begins with the first contact between Earth’s surface and the lunar penumbra. Time And Date web site places first contact Thursday at 18:55:51 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). At 3:51:29 UTC greatest eclipse is expected over Antarctica. Greatest eclipse indicates the instant of closest passage to Earth’s center by the axis of the lunar shadow cone.

The partial solar eclipse ends with the last contact before Earth exits from the moon’s penumbra. Time And Date places last contact at 22:47:08 UTC. February 2018’s partial solar eclipse has a duration of close to four hours (3 hours 51 minutes 17 seconds).

February’s partial solar eclipse occurs as 2018’s second eclipse. The year’s first eclipse happened Wednesday, Jan. 31, as the first of the year’s two total lunar eclipses.

The partial solar eclipse Thursday, Feb. 15, appears as the first of three 2018 solar eclipses, all of which occur as partial solar eclipses. February 2018’s partial solar eclipse takes place as number 11 of 77 partial solar eclipses happening in the 21st century (Monday, Jan. 1, 2001-Friday, Dec. 31, 2100).

The year’s second partial solar eclipse takes place Friday, July 13. The event joins 2018’s first partial solar eclipse as a Southern Hemisphere event. July 2018’s partial solar eclipse favors the Antarctic Ocean, also known as the Southern Ocean, and southern Australia.

The year’s third and final partial solar eclipse happens Saturday, Aug. 11, and claims status as closing eclipse in 2018’s lineup of five eclipses (two total lunar eclipses, three partial solar eclipses). The event favors the Northern Hemisphere, especially northeastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, northern Europe and northern and eastern Asia.

The Saros cycle groups similar eclipses into families, known as series. A Saros cycle equates to 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Two eclipses separated by one Saros share similar geometries, such as occurrence at the same node, ascending or descending, with the moon and at nearly similar distances from Earth.

The two nodes mark the two points of the crossing of Earth’s orbit by the moon’s orbit. The two points reflect the tipping of the lunar orbit by about 5.1 degrees to Earth’s orbit around the sun. The ascending node indicates the lunar passage to the north of Earth’s orbit. The descending node signifies the lunar crossing to the south. Saros 150 eclipses occur at the moon’s descending node.

February 2018’s partial solar eclipse belongs to Saros 150. The partial solar eclipse Thursday, Feb. 15, occurs as number 17 in Saros 150’s lineup of 71 solar eclipses.

Saros 150 dates its first eclipse back to Sunday, Aug. 24, 1729, which occurred as a partial solar eclipse. The event’s greatest eclipse took place at 13:48:20 UT1 (the principal form of Universal Time).

Saros 150’s closing eclipse will occur Thursday, Sept. 29, 2991, as a partial solar eclipse. The event’s greatest eclipse will take place at 05:42:15 UT1.

Saros 150’s lineup features three sequences. A sequence of 22 partial solar eclipses characterizes the cycle from August 1729’s opener to the sequence’s closing partial eclipse Wednesday, April 11, 2108. The second sequence comprises 40 annular eclipses, beginning Monday, April 22, 2126, and ending Friday, June 22, 2829. Saros 150’s third sequence reverts to partial solar eclipses. The sequence of nine partial solar eclipses begins June 12, 2811, and closes Saros 150’s final eclipse Thursday, Sept. 29, 2991.

The partial solar eclipse Thursday, Feb. 15, claims status as the first of three partial solar eclipses and as the first of the year’s two Southern Hemisphere-based solar eclipses.

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

animation of partial solar eclipse Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018: A.T. Sinclair/NASA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SE2018Feb15P.gif

details of partial solar eclipse Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018: "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/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2018Feb15P.GIF

For further information:

“Accuracy of Eclipse Times.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/accuracy.html

“Eclipses: What Is the Penumbra?” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/penumbra-shadow.html

Espenak, Fred. “2018 Calendar of Astornomical Events Greenwich Mean Time.” AstroPixels > Ephemeris > Earth.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/astrocal/astrocal2018gmt.html

Espenak, Fred. “Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SE2001-2100.html

Espenak, Fred. “Glossary of Solar Eclipse Terms.” NASA Eclipse Web Site.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/help/SEglossary.html

Espenak, Fred. “Key to Catalog of Solar Eclipses.” EclipseWise.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEsarcatkey.html

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2018 Feb 15.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2018 > Partial Solar Eclipse of February 15.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/oh-figures/ec2018-Fig02.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of 2018 Feb 15.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Decade Solar Eclipse Tables > Solar Eclipses: 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2018Feb15P.GIF

Espenak, Fred. “Partial Solar Eclipse of February 15.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2018.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2018.html#SE2018Feb15P

Espenak, Fred. “Saros 150.” EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEsaros/SEsaros150.html

“February 15, 2018 -- Partial Solar Eclipse.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2018-february-15

Marriner, Derdriu. “Jan. 31, 2018, Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 124.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/super-blue-moon-wednesday-jan-31-is_31.html

McClure, Bruce. “Partial Solar Eclipse on February 15.” EarthSky > Tonight. Feb. 15, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=271387

“Universal Time.” U.S. Naval Observatory > Astronomical Information Center > Time.
Available @ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/UT.php