Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003

Last updated
Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003
Annular eclipse
Annular 2003-05-31 Culloden.png
Annular from Culloden, Scotland
SE2003May31A.png
Map
Gamma 0.996
Magnitude 0.9384
Maximum eclipse
Duration217 s (3 min 37 s)
Coordinates 66°36′N24°30′W / 66.6°N 24.5°W / 66.6; -24.5
Max. width of band- km
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse4:09:22
References
Saros 147 (22 of 80)
Catalog # (SE5000) 9515

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Saturday, May 31, 2003, [1] with a magnitude of 0.9384. 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. Occurring about 2.6 days after apogee (on May 28, 2003, at 14:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller. [2]

Contents

Annularity was visible across central Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Jan Mayen and northern Scotland. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Eastern Europe, North Asia, West Asia, Middle East, Alaska, Greenland, and northwestern Canada.

People from around the world traveled to see the eclipse from the small portion of Britain from which it could be seen, with the Independent saying: "A timely gap in the clouds was all it took to make the arduous journey to the northernmost reaches of Scotland worthwhile". In the village of Durness, the eclipse was observed by Patrick Moore and Brian May. [3] [4] However, viewing parties in Orkney saw "just another grey morning in the far north of Scotland". [5] [6] In India, hundreds of thousands of Hindus carried out a tradition of bathing in sacred rivers during the eclipse, with queues as long as 3 mi (4.8 km). [6] A partial eclipse was observed in large parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, including Greece. [7]

Images

Animated path SE2003May31A.gif
Animated path

Eclipse timing

Places experiencing annular eclipse

Solar Eclipse of May 31, 2003
(Local Times)
Country or territoryCity or placeStart of partial eclipseStart of annular eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of annular eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of annularity (min:s)Duration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Fort William 04:38:23 (sunrise)04:44:4904:45:1704:45:4305:42:150:541:0488.04%
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Inverness 04:29:58 (sunrise)04:44:5904:45:3204:46:0605:42:501:071:1388.08%
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Portree 04:38:20 (sunrise)04:45:4404:46:4204:47:4005:43:421:561:0588.05%
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Kirkwall 04:12:41 (sunrise)04:45:5404:46:4304:47:3105:44:381:371:3288.16%
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Lerwick 03:54:39 (sunrise)04:46:3704:47:1604:47:5605:45:481:191:5188.23%
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Stornoway 04:32:53 (sunrise)04:46:3804:47:4904:48:5905:45:002:211:1288.08%
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg  Faroe Islands Tórshavn 03:56:52 (sunrise)04:51:1804:52:5204:54:2605:51:063:081:5488.22%
Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg  Faroe Islands Klaksvík 03:56:4204:51:2904:53:0304:54:3605:51:223:071:5888.23%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Höfn 03:04:1303:58:3804:00:2604:02:1304:58:143:351:5488.20%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Egilsstaðir 03:04:3303:59:2304:01:1004:02:5704:59:243:341:5588.25%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Kirkjubæjarklaustur 03:17:13 (sunrise)03:59:4604:01:3404:03:2204:58:553:361:4288.15%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Vestmannaeyjar 03:31:27 (sunrise)04:00:4504:02:3204:04:2004:59:323:351:2888.11%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Húsavík 03:07:0404:01:5504:03:4304:05:3005:01:513:351:5588.25%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Akureyri 03:07:1504:01:5504:03:4304:05:3105:01:403:361:5488.23%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Reykjavík 03:26:44 (sunrise)04:02:3004:04:1804:06:0605:01:213:361:3588.12%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Keflavík 03:31:38 (sunrise)04:02:4404:04:3104:06:1905:01:283:351:3088.11%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Borgarnes 03:19:07 (sunrise)04:02:5504:04:4204:06:3005:31:533:351:4388.14%
Flag of Norway.svg  Svalbard and Jan Mayen Jan Mayen 05:06:3606:04:3806:05:4106:06:4507:06:242:072:0088.54%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Hólmavík 03:09:3304:03:5904:05:4704:07:3505:03:213:361:5488.19%
Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Ísafjörður 03:10:4404:05:1204:07:0004:08:4805:04:333:361:5488.19%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Ittoqqortoormiit 03:13:1304:09:2504:11:0804:12:5005:10:163:251:5788.39%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Daneborg 01:15:2102:14:1202:14:4802:15:2403:15:231:122:0088.56%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Tasiilaq 01:59:07 (sunrise)02:13:4302:15:3102:17:1803:11:433:351:1388.06%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Summit Camp 01:23:0902:19:4102:21:0702:22:3403:19:482:531:5788.37%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Kangerlussuaq 02:00:21 (sunrise)02:23:1402:25:3902:26:2203:20:463:081:2088.06%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Ilulissat 01:29:3802:24:3502:26:0102:27:2803:22:482:531:5388.16%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Aasiaat 01:30:4202:25:3002:26:5302:28:1503:23:232:451:5388.13%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Uummannaq 01:30:1802:26:0302:27:1502:28:2603:24:312:231:5488.22%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Qeqertarsuaq 01:31:0602:26:1302:27:2902:28:4603:24:112:331:5388.15%
References: [1]

Places experiencing partial eclipse

Solar Eclipse of May 31, 2003
(Local Times)
Country or territoryCity or placeStart of partial eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria Sofia 05:52:12 (sunrise)06:08:2607:06:051:1466.28%
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Bucharest 05:35:09 (sunrise)06:09:2807:08:181:3366.76%
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia Belgrade 04:56:20 (sunrise)05:13:0806:11:021:1570.47%
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 05:08:01 (sunrise)05:16:5406:10:121:0269.08%
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Kyiv 05:19:2706:17:1207:19:012:0070.28%
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Zagreb 05:10:35 (sunrise)05:17:1406:14:381:0473.87%
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary Budapest 04:51:42 (sunrise)05:17:4906:16:211:2574.13%
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Ljubljana 05:15:34 (sunrise)05:19:1006:15:421:0074.76%
Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia Bratislava 04:56:45 (sunrise)05:19:5306:18:151:2275.76%
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Vienna 04:59:28 (sunrise)05:20:2306:18:381:1976.17%
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Warsaw 04:27:1105:24:0406:24:281:5777.38%
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus Minsk 05:25:4806:24:1207:26:262:0175.00%
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic Prague 04:58:58 (sunrise)05:24:1306:22:401:2478.78%
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Moscow 06:24:2307:24:5608:29:492:0569.86%
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania Vilnius 05:28:0406:26:2107:28:192:0076.85%
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Berlin 04:51:04 (sunrise)05:28:2106:27:181:3681.15%
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia Riga 05:31:5506:30:4107:33:012:0178.89%
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Amsterdam 05:25:44 (sunrise)05:33:0906:30:301:0584.09%
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Copenhagen 04:36:4905:33:3106:33:121:5883.46%
Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Tallinn 05:35:1706:34:5307:37:572:0379.80%
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Helsinki 05:36:1806:36:0807:39:252:0380.01%
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Stockholm 04:38:2405:36:5806:38:402:0082.90%
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Luxembourg 05:34:18 (sunrise)05:38:3706:25:290:5169.58%
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Brussels 05:35:37 (sunrise)05:39:4606:28:190:5373.33%
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Oslo 04:43:1605:40:5706:41:251:5885.86%
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Edinburgh 04:36:46 (sunrise)04:42:5705:39:591:0387.74%
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom London 04:50:16 (sunrise)04:57:2605:31:370:4146.99%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Danmarkshavn 03:16:5004:17:1805:18:502:0287.68%
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Pituffik 00:37:1701:36:3902:35:541:5985.09%
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Pond Inlet 23:43:34 [a] 00:41:3301:39:081:5684.31%
References: [1]

Eclipse details

Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse. [8]

May 31, 2003 Solar Eclipse Times
EventTime (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact2003 May 31 at 01:47:21.0 UTC
First Umbral External Contact2003 May 31 at 03:45:50.6 UTC
First Central Line2003 May 31 at 04:03:10.1 UTC
Greatest Duration2003 May 31 at 04:08:58.5 UTC
Greatest Eclipse2003 May 31 at 04:09:22.5 UTC
Last Central Line2003 May 31 at 04:15:15.4 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction2003 May 31 at 04:20:57.2 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact2003 May 31 at 04:32:33.6 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction2003 May 31 at 04:39:20.5 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact2003 May 31 at 06:31:08.5 UTC
May 31, 2003 Solar Eclipse Parameters
ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude0.93842
Eclipse Obscuration0.88064
Gamma0.99597
Sun Right Ascension04h30m33.5s
Sun Declination+21°50'57.1"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'46.5"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension04h29m35.5s
Moon Declination+22°43'13.1"
Moon Semi-Diameter14'48.1"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°54'19.3"
ΔT64.5 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.

Eclipse season of May 2003
May 16
Descending node (full moon)
May 31
Ascending node (new moon)
Lunar eclipse chart close-03may16.png SE2003May31A.png
Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 121
Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 147

Eclipses in 2003

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 147

Inex

Triad

Solar eclipses of 2000–2003

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. [9]

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
SarosMapGammaSarosMapGamma
117 July 1, 2000
SE2000Jul01P.png
Partial
−1.28214122
2000-12-25-partial solar eclipse Minnesota TLR.jpg
Partial projection in Minneapolis, MN, USA
December 25, 2000
SE2000Dec25P.png
Partial
1.13669
127
Williams College wl.jpg
Totality in Lusaka, Zambia
June 21, 2001
SE2001Jun21T.png
Total
−0.57013132
Partial solar eclipse December 14 2001 Minneapolis.jpg
Partial in Minneapolis, MN, USA
December 14, 2001
SE2001Dec14A.png
Annular
0.40885
137
Gregmote - 20020610 002 (by).jpg
Partial in Los Angeles, CA, USA
June 10, 2002
SE2002Jun10A.png
Annular
0.19933142
Eclipse 4-12-2002 Woomera.jpg
Totality in Woomera, South Australia
December 4, 2002
SE2002Dec04T.png
Total
−0.30204
147
Annular 2003-05-31 Culloden.png
Annularity in Culloden, Scotland
May 31, 2003
SE2003May31A.png
Annular
0.99598152
ECLIPSE LUNAR (3254112650).jpg
November 23, 2003
SE2003Nov23T.png
Total
−0.96381

Saros 147

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 147, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 80 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on October 12, 1624. It contains annular eclipses from May 31, 2003 through July 31, 2706. There are no hybrid or total eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 80 as a partial eclipse on February 24, 3049. 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 annularity will be produced by member 38 at 9 minutes, 41 seconds on November 21, 2291. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit. [10]

Series members 11–32 occur between 1801 and 2200:
111213
SE1805Jan30P.gif
January 30, 1805
SE1823Feb11P.gif
February 11, 1823
SE1841Feb21P.gif
February 21, 1841
141516
SE1859Mar04P.gif
March 4, 1859
SE1877Mar15P.gif
March 15, 1877
SE1895Mar26P.gif
March 26, 1895
171819
SE1913Apr06P.png
April 6, 1913
SE1931Apr18P.png
April 18, 1931
SE1949Apr28P.png
April 28, 1949
202122
SE1967May09P.png
May 9, 1967
SE1985May19P.png
May 19, 1985
SE2003May31A.png
May 31, 2003
232425
SE2021Jun10A.png
June 10, 2021
SE2039Jun21A.png
June 21, 2039
SE2057Jul01A.png
July 1, 2057
262728
SE2075Jul13A.png
July 13, 2075
SE2093Jul23A.png
July 23, 2093
SE2111Aug04A.png
August 4, 2111
293031
SE2129Aug15A.png
August 15, 2129
Saros147 30van80 SE2147Aug26A.jpg
August 26, 2147
Saros147 31van80 SE2165Sep05A.jpg
September 5, 2165
32
Saros147 32van80 SE2183Sep16A.jpg
September 16, 2183

Metonic series

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 ascending node.

22 eclipse events between January 5, 1935 and August 11, 2018
January 4–5October 23–24August 10–12May 30–31March 18–19
111113115117119
SE1935Jan05P.png
January 5, 1935
SE1942Aug12P.png
August 12, 1942
SE1946May30P.png
May 30, 1946
SE1950Mar18A.png
March 18, 1950
121123125127129
SE1954Jan05A.png
January 5, 1954
SE1957Oct23T.png
October 23, 1957
SE1961Aug11A.png
August 11, 1961
SE1965May30T.png
May 30, 1965
SE1969Mar18A.png
March 18, 1969
131133135137139
SE1973Jan04A.png
January 4, 1973
SE1976Oct23T.png
October 23, 1976
SE1980Aug10A.png
August 10, 1980
SE1984May30A.png
May 30, 1984
SE1988Mar18T.png
March 18, 1988
141143145147149
SE1992Jan04A.png
January 4, 1992
SE1995Oct24T.png
October 24, 1995
SE1999Aug11T.png
August 11, 1999
SE2003May31A.png
May 31, 2003
SE2007Mar19P.png
March 19, 2007
151153155
SE2011Jan04P.png
January 4, 2011
SE2014Oct23P.png
October 23, 2014
SE2018Aug11P.png
August 11, 2018

Tritos series

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.

The partial solar eclipses on December 18, 2188 (part of Saros 164) and November 18, 2199 (part of Saros 165) are also a part of this series but are not included in the table below.

Series members between 1801 and 2134
SE1806Dec10A.gif
December 10, 1806
(Saros 129)
SE1817Nov09T.gif
November 9, 1817
(Saros 130)
SE1828Oct09A.gif
October 9, 1828
(Saros 131)
SE1839Sep07A.png
September 7, 1839
(Saros 132)
SE1850Aug07T.gif
August 7, 1850
(Saros 133)
SE1861Jul08A.gif
July 8, 1861
(Saros 134)
SE1872Jun06A.gif
June 6, 1872
(Saros 135)
SE1883May06T.png
May 6, 1883
(Saros 136)
SE1894Apr06H.gif
April 6, 1894
(Saros 137)
SE1905Mar06A.png
March 6, 1905
(Saros 138)
SE1916Feb03T.png
February 3, 1916
(Saros 139)
SE1927Jan03A.png
January 3, 1927
(Saros 140)
SE1937Dec02A.png
December 2, 1937
(Saros 141)
SE1948Nov01T.png
November 1, 1948
(Saros 142)
SE1959Oct02T.png
October 2, 1959
(Saros 143)
SE1970Aug31A.png
August 31, 1970
(Saros 144)
SE1981Jul31T.png
July 31, 1981
(Saros 145)
SE1992Jun30T.png
June 30, 1992
(Saros 146)
SE2003May31A.png
May 31, 2003
(Saros 147)
SE2014Apr29A.png
April 29, 2014
(Saros 148)
SE2025Mar29P.png
March 29, 2025
(Saros 149)
SE2036Feb27P.png
February 27, 2036
(Saros 150)
SE2047Jan26P.png
January 26, 2047
(Saros 151)
SE2057Dec26T.png
December 26, 2057
(Saros 152)
SE2068Nov24P.png
November 24, 2068
(Saros 153)
SE2079Oct24A.png
October 24, 2079
(Saros 154)
SE2090Sep23T.png
September 23, 2090
(Saros 155)
Saros156 06van69 SE2101Aug24P.jpg
August 24, 2101
(Saros 156)
Saros157 04van70 SE2112Jul23P.jpg
July 23, 2112
(Saros 157)
Saros158 04van70 SE2123Jun23P.jpg
June 23, 2123
(Saros 158)
Saros159 01van70 SE2134May23P.jpg
May 23, 2134
(Saros 159)

Inex series

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Series members between 1801 and 2200
SE1829Sep28A.gif
September 28, 1829
(Saros 141)
SE1858Sep07T.png
September 7, 1858
(Saros 142)
SE1887Aug19T.png
August 19, 1887
(Saros 143)
SE1916Jul30A.png
July 30, 1916
(Saros 144)
SE1945Jul09T.png
July 9, 1945
(Saros 145)
SE1974Jun20T.png
June 20, 1974
(Saros 146)
SE2003May31A.png
May 31, 2003
(Saros 147)
SE2032May09A.png
May 9, 2032
(Saros 148)
SE2061Apr20T.png
April 20, 2061
(Saros 149)
SE2090Mar31P.png
March 31, 2090
(Saros 150)
Saros151 20van72 SE2119Mar11A.jpg
March 11, 2119
(Saros 151)
Saros152 20van70 SE2148Feb19T.jpg
February 19, 2148
(Saros 152)
Saros153 18van70 SE2177Jan29A.jpg
January 29, 2177
(Saros 153)

See also

Notes

  1. The time listed here for this location occurs on May 30, 2003, local time.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "May 31, 2003 Annular Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  3. "Circle of light that set the cash tills ringing". The Independent. London, Greater London, England. 2003-06-01. p. 17. Retrieved 2023-10-15 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Moon is a star for one day". The Observer. London, Greater London, England. 2003-06-01. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-10-15 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Great party, shame about the eclipse". The Observer. London, Greater London, England. 2003-06-01. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-10-15 via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 "Eclipse draws watchers in north nations". Florida Today. 2003-06-01. p. 49. Retrieved 2023-10-25 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Eclipse is partly sunny". Omaha World-Herald. 2003-06-01. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-10-25 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  9. van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  10. "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 147". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.

Photos: