ECLIPSE 2011 DEC 10

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig06.pdf


Total Lunar Eclipse of December 10




The last eclipse of 2011 is a total lunar eclipse that takes place at the Moon's descending node in eastern Taurus, four days after apogee.



The Moon's orbital trajectory takes it through the southern half of Earth's umbral shadow. Although the eclipse is not central, the total phase still lasts 51 minutes. The Moon's path through Earth's shadows as well as a map illustrating worldwide visibility of the event are shown in Figure 6. The timings of the major eclipse phases are listed below.





Penumbral Eclipse Begins: 11:33:32 UT

Partial Eclipse Begins: 12:45:42 UT

Total Eclipse Begins: 14:06:16 UT

Greatest Eclipse: 14:31:49 UT

Total Eclipse Ends: 14:57:24 UT

Partial Eclipse Ends: 16:17:58 UT

Penumbral Eclipse Ends: 17:30:00 UT



At the instant of greatest eclipse (14:32 UT) the Moon lies at the zenith in the Pacific Ocean near Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The umbral eclipse magnitude peaks at 1.1061 as the Moon's centre passes 21.4 arc-minutes south of the shadow axis. The Moon's northern limb is then 6.4 arc-minutes south of the shadows axis and 33.3 arc-minutes from the umbra's edge. In contrast, the Moon's southern limb lays 36.5 arc-minutes from the shadow centre and 3.2 arc-minutes from the southern edge of the umbra. Thus, the northern half of the Moon will appear much darker than the southern half because it lies deeper in the umbra.



Since the Moon samples a large range of umbral depths during totality, its appearance will change dramatically with time. It is difficult to predict the brightness distribution in the umbra, so observers are encouraged to estimate the Danjon value at different times during totality (see Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness). Note that it may also be necessary to assign different Danjon values to different portions of the Moon (i.e., north vs. south).



During totality, the winter constellations are well placed for viewing so a number of bright stars can be used for magnitude comparisons. Aldebaran (mv = +0.87) is 9° to the southwest of the eclipsed Moon, while Betelgeuse (mv = +0.45) is 19° to the southeast, Pollux (mv = +1.16) is 37° east, and Capella (mv = +0.08) is 24° north.



The entire event is visible from Asia and Australia. For North Americans, the eclipse is in progress as the Moon sets with western observers favored by a larger fraction of the eclipse before moonset. Observers throughout Europe and Africa will miss the early eclipse phases because they occur before moonrise. None of the eclipse can be seen from South America or Antarctica. The NASA JavaScript Lunar Eclipse Explorer is an interactive web page that can quickly calculate the altitude of the Moon during each phase of the eclipse from any geographic location:



eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JLEX/JLEX-index.html



Table 6 lists predicted umbral immersion and emersion times for 20 well-defined lunar craters. The timing of craters is useful in determining the atmospheric enlargement of Earth's shadow (see Crater Timings During Lunar Eclipses).



The December 10 total lunar eclipse is the 23rd member of Saros 135, a series of 71 eclipses occurring in the following order: 9 penumbral, 10 partial, 23 total, 7 partial, and 22 penumbral lunar eclipses. Complete details for Saros 135 can be found at:



eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaros135.html

ECLIPSE 2011 JUL 01

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig04.pdf

Partial Solar Eclipse of July 01




Just one lunation after the previous one, the third solar eclipse of the year takes place at the Moon's descending node in western Gemini. This Southern Hemisphere event is visible from a D-shaped region in the Antarctic Ocean south of Africa (Figure 4). Such a remote and isolated path means that it may very well turn out to be the solar eclipse that nobody sees. At greatest eclipse (08:38:23 UT), the magnitude is just 0.097.



This event is the first eclipse of Saros 156. The family will produce 8 partial eclipses, followed by 52 annular eclipses and ending with 9 more partials. Complete details for the entire series of 69 eclipses spanning the years 2011 through 3237 can be found at:



eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros156.html

ECLIPSE 2011 JUN O1

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig02.pdf

Partial Solar Eclipse of June 01




The next partial solar eclipse occurs at the Moon's descending node in Taurus. The event is visible from high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere (Figure 2).



The eclipse begins at sunrise in Siberia and northern China where the penumbral shadow first touches Earth at 19:25:18 UT. Two hours later, greatest eclipse occurs at 21:16:11 UT. At that time, an eclipse of magnitude 0.601 will be visible from the Arctic coast of western Siberia as the midnight Sun skirts the northern horizon. Although most of Alaska and northern Canada will witness the partial eclipse, the southern limit of the penumbra falls along a curve from south of Fairbanks to central New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.



Reykjavik, Iceland receives a 0.462 magnitude eclipse just before sunset. Northern most Norway, Sweden and Finland also get a midnight Sun eclipse with the event hanging above the northern horizon. The partial eclipse ends at 23:06:56 UT when the penumbra leaves Earth just north of Newfoundland in the Atlantic Ocean.



Eclipse times and local circumstances for major cities in North America, Europe and Asia are given in Table 2. The Sun's altitude, azimuth, the eclipse magnitude and obscuration are given at the instant of maximum eclipse.



This is the 68th eclipse of Saros 118. The family began with a group of 8 partial eclipses from the years 803 to 929. The Saros ends with a small partial eclipse in 2083. Complete details for the entire series of 72 eclipses (in the order: 8 partial, 40 total, 2 hybrid, 15 annular and 7 partial) spanning 1280 years can be found at:



eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros118.html

eclipse dell 2011 jan 04

  

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig01.pdf



Partial Solar Eclipse of January 04



The first solar eclipse of 2011 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in eastern Sagittarius. A partial eclipse will be visible from much of Europe, North Africa and central Asia (Figure 1).



The penumbral shadow first touches Earth's surface in northern Algeria at 06:40:11 UT. As the shadow travels east, Western Europe will be treated to a partial eclipse at sunrise. The eclipse magnitude [1] from European cities like Madrid (0.576), Paris (0.732), London (0.747), and Copenhagen (0.826) will give early morning risers an excellent opportunity to photograph the sunrise eclipse with interesting foreground scenery.



Greatest eclipse [2] occurs at 08:50:35 UT in northern Sweden where the eclipse in the horizon will have a magnitude of 0.858. At that time, the axis of the Moon's shadow will pass a mere 510 km above Earth's surface. Most of northern Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia also lie in the penumbra's path. The citizens of Cairo (0.551), Jerusalem (0.574), Istanbul (0.713), and Tehran (0.507) all witness a large magnitude partial eclipse.



A sunset eclipse will be visible from central Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwest China. The partial eclipse ends when the penumbra leaves Earth at 11:00:54 UT.



Local circumstances and eclipse times for a number of cities in the penumbral path are listed in Table 1. All times are in Universal Time. The Sun's altitude and azimuth, the eclipse magnitude and eclipse obscuration [3] are all given at the instant of maximum eclipse. When the eclipse is in progress at sunrise or sunset, this information is indicated by a '-'.



The NASA JavaScript Solar Eclipse Explorer is an interactive web page that can quickly calculate the local circumstances of the eclipse from any geographic location not included in Table 1:



eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JSEX/JSEX-index.html



This is the 14th eclipse of Saros 151 [4] (Espenak and Meeus, 2006). The family begins with a series of 18 partial eclipses from 1776 to 2083. Complete details for the entire series of 72 eclipses (in the order: 18 partial, 6 annular, 1 hybrid, 39 total and 8 partial) spanning 1280 years can be found at:



eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros151.html