| Solar eclipse of March 29, 2006 | |
|---|---|
Totality from Side, Turkey |
|
|
Map
|
|
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | 0.3843 |
| Magnitude | 1.0515 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 4m 7s |
| Coordinates | 23.2N 16.7E |
| Max. width of band | 184 km |
| Times (UTC) | |
| (P1) Partial begin | 7:36:50 |
| (U1) Total begin | 8:34:20 |
| Greatest eclipse | 10:12:23 |
| (U4) Total end | 11:47:55 |
| (P4) Partial end | 12:45:35 |
| References | |
| Saros | 139 (29 of 71) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9521 |
A total solar eclipse occurred on March 29, 2006. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially 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, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across the surface of the Earth, while a partial solar eclipse will be visible over a region thousands of kilometres wide.
It was visible from a narrow corridor which traversed half the Earth. The magnitude, that is, the ratio between the apparent sizes of the Moon and that of the Sun, was 1.052, and it was part of Saros 139.
Contents |
The path of totality of the Moon's shadow began at sunrise in Brazil and extended across the Atlantic to Africa, traveling across Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Libya, and a small corner of Egypt, from there across the Mediterranean Sea to Greece (Kastellórizo) and Turkey, then across the Black Sea via Georgia, Russia, and Kazakhstan to Western Mongolia, where it ended at sunset. A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including the northern two-thirds of Africa, the whole of Europe, and Central Asia.
People gathered in large areas where solar eclipse is visible around the World to view the event. Manchester Astronomical Society, the Malaysian Space Agency, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, as well as dozens of tour groups met at the Apollo temple and the theater in Side, Turkey. The San Francisco Exploratorium featured a live webcast from the site, where thousands took their seats in the ancient, Roman-style theater.[1]
Almost all actively visited areas in the path of totality had perfect weather. Many observers reported an unusually beautiful eclipse, with many or all effects visible, and a very nice corona despite proximity to solar minimum. The partial phase of the eclipse was also visible from the International Space Station, while the astronauts on board took spectacular pictures of the shadow on the Earth's surface. At first, it looked as though an orbit correction in the middle of March would bring the ISS in the path of totality, but this correction was postponed.
The satellite responsible for SKY Network Television, a New Zealand pay TV company, failed the day after this eclipse at around 1900 local time. While SKY didn't directly attribute the failure to the eclipse, they said in a media release that it took longer to resolve the issue because of it, but this claim was refuted by astronomers. The main reason for the failure was because of an aging and increasingly faulty satellite.[2]
This solar eclipse was preceded by the penumbral lunar eclipse on March 14, 2006.
This set of solar eclipses repeat approximately every 177 days and 4 hours at alternating nodes of the moon's orbit.
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Map | Saros | Map | |
| 119 | 2004 April 19 Partial (south) |
124 | 2004 October 14 Partial (north) |
|
| 129 | 2005 April 8 Hybrid |
134 Annular from Spain |
2005 October 3 Annular |
|
| 139 Totality from Side, Turkey |
2006 March 29 Total |
144 Partial from São Paulo, Brazil |
2006 September 22 Annular |
|
| 149 | 2007 March 19 Partial (north) |
154 | 2007 September 11 Partial (south) |
|
It is a part of saros series 139, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 71 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on May 17, 1501. It contains hybrid eclipses on August 11, 1627 through December 9, 1825 and total eclipses from December 21, 1843 through March 26, 2601. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 3, 2763.
The solar eclipse of June 13, 2132 will be the longest total solar eclipse since July 11, 1991 at 6 minutes, 55 seconds.
The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 39 at 7 minutes, 29 seconds on July 16, 2186.[3] This is the longest solar eclipse computed between 4000BC and 6000AD.[4]
Series members 24-39 occur between 1901 and 2200:
| 24 | 25 | 26 |
|---|---|---|
February 3, 1916 |
February 14, 1934 |
February 25, 1952 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 |
March 7, 1970 |
March 18, 1988 |
March 29, 2006 |
| 30 | 31 | 32 |
April 8, 2024 |
April 20, 2042 |
April 30, 2060 |
| 33 | 34 | 35 |
May 11, 2078 |
May 22, 2096 |
June 3, 2114 |
| 36 | 37 | 38 |
June 13, 2132 |
June 25, 2150 |
July 5, 2168 |
| 39 | ||
July 16, 2186 |
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).
This series has 20 eclipse events between June 10, 1964 and August 21, 2036.
| June 10-11 | March 27-29 | January 15-16 | November 3 | August 21-22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 117 | 119 | 121 | 123 | 125 |
June 10, 1964 |
March 28, 1968 |
January 16, 1972 |
November 3, 1975 |
August 22, 1979 |
| 127 | 129 | 131 | 133 | 135 |
June 11, 1983 |
March 29, 1987 |
January 15, 1991 |
November 3, 1994 |
August 22, 1998 |
| 137 | 139 | 141 | 143 | 145 |
June 10, 2002 |
March 29, 2006 |
January 15, 2010 |
November 3, 2013 |
August 21, 2017 |
| 147 | 149 | 151 | 153 | 155 |
June 10, 2021 |
March 29, 2025 |
January 14, 2029 |
November 3, 2032 |
August 21, 2036 |
Photos:
