Solar eclipse of December 4, 2002 | |
---|---|
Type of eclipse | |
Nature | Total |
Gamma | −0.302 |
Magnitude | 1.0244 |
Maximum eclipse | |
Duration | 124 s (2 min 4 s) |
Coordinates | 39°30′S59°36′E / 39.5°S 59.6°E |
Max. width of band | 87 km (54 mi) |
Times (UTC) | |
Greatest eclipse | 7:32:16 |
References | |
Saros | 142 (22 of 72) |
Catalog # (SE5000) | 9514 |
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, December 4, 2002, [1] [2] with a magnitude of 1.0244. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. It was visible from a narrow corridor in southern Africa, the Indian Ocean and southern Australia. A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of Africa and Australia. During the sunset after the eclipse many observers in Australia saw numerous and unusual forms of a green flash. [3]
In some parts of Angola, it was the second total eclipse of the Sun within 18 months, following the Solar eclipse of June 21, 2001.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences sent a team to Australia, to study the gravity anomalies [4] first recorded by Indian scientists during the total solar eclipse of October 24, 1995. [5] The Chinese Academy of Sciences also studied it during previous total solar eclipses of March 9, 1997 in Mohe County and June 21, 2001 in Zambia. With continuous observation for more than 10 years after that, China obtained the first observational evidence that the gravity field propagates at the speed of light. [6]
This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit. [7]
The partial solar eclipses on February 5, 2000 and July 31, 2000 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 2000 to 2003 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
117 | July 1, 2000 Partial | −1.28214 | 122 Partial projection in Minneapolis, MN, USA | December 25, 2000 Partial | 1.13669 | |
127 Totality in Lusaka, Zambia | June 21, 2001 Total | −0.57013 | 132 Partial in Minneapolis, MN, USA | December 14, 2001 Annular | 0.40885 | |
137 Partial in Los Angeles, CA, USA | June 10, 2002 Annular | 0.19933 | 142 Totality in Woomera, South Australia | December 4, 2002 Total | −0.30204 | |
147 Annularity in Culloden, Scotland | May 31, 2003 Annular | 0.99598 | 152 | November 23, 2003 Total | −0.96381 |
This eclipse is a part of Saros series 142, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on April 17, 1624. It contains a hybrid eclipse on July 14, 1768, and total eclipses from July 25, 1786 through October 29, 2543. There are no annular eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on June 5, 2904. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 38 at 6 minutes, 34 seconds on May 28, 2291. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit. [8]
Series members 11–32 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
---|---|---|
11 | 12 | 13 |
August 5, 1804 | August 16, 1822 | August 27, 1840 |
14 | 15 | 16 |
September 7, 1858 | September 17, 1876 | September 29, 1894 |
17 | 18 | 19 |
October 10, 1912 | October 21, 1930 | November 1, 1948 |
20 | 21 | 22 |
November 12, 1966 | November 22, 1984 | December 4, 2002 |
23 | 24 | 25 |
December 14, 2020 | December 26, 2038 | January 5, 2057 |
26 | 27 | 28 |
January 16, 2075 | January 27, 2093 | February 8, 2111 |
29 | 30 | 31 |
February 18, 2129 | March 2, 2147 | March 12, 2165 |
32 | ||
March 23, 2183 |
This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
Series members between 1901 and 2100 | |||
---|---|---|---|
September 9, 1904 (Saros 133) | August 10, 1915 (Saros 134) | July 9, 1926 (Saros 135) | |
June 8, 1937 (Saros 136) | May 9, 1948 (Saros 137) | April 8, 1959 (Saros 138) | |
March 7, 1970 (Saros 139) | February 4, 1981 (Saros 140) | January 4, 1992 (Saros 141) | |
December 4, 2002 (Saros 142) | November 3, 2013 (Saros 143) | October 2, 2024 (Saros 144) | |
September 2, 2035 (Saros 145) | August 2, 2046 (Saros 146) | July 1, 2057 (Saros 147) | |
May 31, 2068 (Saros 148) | May 1, 2079 (Saros 149) | March 31, 2090 (Saros 150) |
The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
21 eclipse events between July 11, 1953 and July 11, 2029 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
July 10–11 | April 29–30 | February 15–16 | December 4 | September 21–23 |
116 | 118 | 120 | 122 | 124 |
July 11, 1953 | April 30, 1957 | February 15, 1961 | December 4, 1964 | September 22, 1968 |
126 | 128 | 130 | 132 | 134 |
July 10, 1972 | April 29, 1976 | February 16, 1980 | December 4, 1983 | September 23, 1987 |
136 | 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 |
July 11, 1991 | April 29, 1995 | February 16, 1999 | December 4, 2002 | September 22, 2006 |
146 | 148 | 150 | 152 | 154 |
July 11, 2010 | April 29, 2014 | February 15, 2018 | December 4, 2021 | September 21, 2025 |
156 | ||||
July 11, 2029 |
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Wednesday, March 29, 2006, with a magnitude of 1.0515. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. It was visible from a narrow corridor which traversed half the Earth. This eclipse was part of Saros 139.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, November 23, 2003, with a magnitude of 1.0379. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. It was visible from a corridor in the Antarctic region. A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including the southern tip of South America and most of Australia.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, June 21, 2001, with a magnitude of 1.0495. It was the first solar eclipse of the 21st century. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring 2.2 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, July 11, 1991, with a magnitude of 1.08. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality began over the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii moving across Mexico, down through Central America and across South America ending over Brazil. It lasted for 6 minutes and 53.08 seconds at the point of maximum eclipse. There will not be a longer total eclipse until June 13, 2132. This was the largest total solar eclipse of Solar Saros series 136.
An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, with a magnitude of 0.9868. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. The center of the Moon's shadow missed the Earth's South Pole, but the partial eclipse was visible from parts of Antarctica and Australia, and an annular eclipse was visible from a small part of Antarctica.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Tuesday, November 13 and Wednesday, November 14, 2012, with a magnitude of 1.05. Because it crossed the International Date Line it began in local time on November 14 west of the date line over northern Australia, and ended in local time on November 13 east of the date line near the west coast of South America. The eclipse occurred only 12 hours before perigee, with greatest eclipse totality lasting just over four minutes. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Sunday, November 3, 2013, with a magnitude of 1.0159. It was a hybrid eclipse of the Sun with a small portion over the western Atlantic Ocean at sunrise as an annular eclipse and the rest of the path as a narrow total solar eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A hybrid solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's in sunrise and sunset, but at Greatest Eclipse the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, February 26, 1998, with a magnitude of 1.0441. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality was visible in the Galápagos Islands, Panama, Colombia, the Paraguaná Peninsula in northwestern Venezuela, all of Aruba, most of Curaçao and the northwestern tip of Bonaire, all of Montserrat, Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Saturday, February 16, 1980, with a magnitude of 1.0434. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. The path of totality crossed central Africa, southern India, and into China at sunset. The southern part of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, also lies in the path of totality. Occurring only about 24 hours before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger. This was a Supermoon Total Solar Eclipse because the Moon was just a day before perigee.
An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Saturday, April 19, 1958, with a magnitude of 0.9408. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Annularity was visible in the Maldives, Nicobar Islands, Burma, Thailand including the capital city Bangkok, Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam and South Vietnam, China, British Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands and Japan. It was the fourth central solar eclipse visible from Bangkok from 1948 to 1958, where it is rare for a large city to witness 4 central solar eclipses in just 9.945 years. Places east of International Date line witnessed the eclipse on April 18 (Friday).
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Saturday, June 11, 1983, with a magnitude of 1.0524. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring only 48 hours before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Friday, October 2, 1959, with a magnitude of 1.0325. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality was visible from northeastern Massachusetts and the southern tip of New Hampshire in the United States, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spanish Sahara including the capital city Laayoune, French Mauritania, Mali Federation, French Niger, British Nigeria, British Cameroons and French Cameroons, French Chad including the capital city Fort-Lamy, French Central Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Trust Territory of Somaliland.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, September 22, 1968, with a magnitude of 1.0099. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality was visible from the Soviet Union and Xinjiang in Northwestern China.
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, May 20, 1947, with a magnitude of 1.0557. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality was visible from Chile including the capital city Santiago, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Liberia, French West Africa, British Gold Coast including capital Accra, French Togoland including capital Lomé, British Nigeria including capital Lagos, French Cameroons, French Equatorial Africa, Belgian Congo, British Uganda, British Tanganyika, and British Kenya. The southern part of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside Asia, and Iguazu Falls, one of the largest waterfalls systems in the world, lie in the path of totality.
An annular solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Wednesday, July 12, 2056, with a magnitude of 0.9878. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide.
An annular solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, January 16, 2056, with a magnitude of 0.9759. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide.
A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, December 6, 2067, with a magnitude of 1.0011. It is a hybrid event, beginning and ending as an annular eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide.
An annular solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Saturday, June 11, 2067, with a magnitude of 0.967. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide.
An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, November 12, 1947, with a magnitude of 0.965. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Annularity was visible from the Pacific Ocean, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil.
An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Friday, July 9, 1926, with a magnitude of 0.968. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Annularity was visible from the islands of Pulo Anna and Merir in Japan's South Seas Mandate and Wake Island on July 10 (Saturday), and Midway Atoll on July 9 (Friday).
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