Solar eclipse of February 7, 2008
Solar eclipse of February 7, 2008 | |
---|---|
Partial from Christchurch, New Zealand | |
Map | |
Type of eclipse | |
Nature | Annular |
Gamma | -0.957 |
Magnitude | 0.965 |
Maximum eclipse | |
Duration | 132 sec (2 m 12 s) |
Coordinates | 67°36′S 150°30′W / 67.6°S 150.5°W |
Max. width of band | 444 km (276 mi) |
Times (UTC) | |
Greatest eclipse | 3:56:10 |
References | |
Saros | 121 (60 of 71) |
Catalog # (SE5000) | 9525 |
An annular solar eclipse occurred on February 7, 2008. 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.
Visibility
Centrality was visible from parts of Antarctica. A significant partial eclipse was visible over New Zealand and an a minor partial eclipse was seen from southeastern Australia.
For most solar eclipses the path of centrality moves eastwards. In this case the path moved west round Antarctica and then north.
Observations
The best land-based visibility outside of Antarctica was from New Zealand. Professional astronomer and eclipse-chaser Jay Pasachoff observed it from Nelson, New Zealand, 60% coverage, under perfect weather.[1][2]
Images
Animated path
Related ecipses
Solar eclipses 2008-2011
Each member 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.
Ascending node | Descending node | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Saros | Map | Saros | Map | |
121 Partial from Christchurch, New Zealand |
2008 February 7 Annular |
126 Novosibirsk, Russia |
2008 August 1 Total | |
131 Bandar Lampung, Indonesia |
2009 January 26 Annular |
136 Kurigram, Bangladesh |
2009 July 22 Total | |
141 Bangui, Central African Republic |
2010 January 15 Annular |
146 French Polynesia |
2010 July 11 Total | |
151 Partial from Vienna, Austra |
2011 January 4 Partial (north) |
156 | 2011 July 1 Partial (south) | |
Partial solar eclipses on June 1, 2011, and November 25, 2011, occur on the next lunar year eclipse set. |
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).
This series has 21 eclipse events, progressing from north to south between July 1, 2000 and July 1, 2076.
July 1-2 | April 19-20 | February 5-7 | November 24-25 | September 12-13 |
---|---|---|---|---|
117 | 119 | 121 | 123 | 125 |
July 1, 2000 |
April 19, 2004 |
February 7, 2008 |
November 25, 2011 |
September 13, 2015 |
127 | 129 | 131 | 133 | 135 |
July 2, 2019 |
April 20, 2023 |
February 6, 2027 |
November 25, 2030 |
September 12, 2034 |
137 | 139 | 141 | 143 | 145 |
July 2, 2038 |
April 20, 2042 |
February 5, 2046 |
November 25, 2049 |
September 12, 2053 |
147 | 149 | 151 | 153 | 155 |
July 1, 2057 |
April 20, 2061 |
February 5, 2065 |
November 24, 2068 |
September 12, 2072 |
157 | ||||
July 1, 2076 |
Notes
- ↑ Solar Eclipse in New Zealand, meade4m.com: Advisor/Partner: Jay Pasachoff
- ↑ 2008 Annular Eclipse Professor Jay Pasachoff, Williams College--Hopkins Observatory
References
- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
- shadowandsubstance.com Annular Eclipse of the Sun animated for February 7, 2008
- Animation: Partial solar eclipse from New Zealand
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solar eclipse of 2008 February 7. |