A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of the orbit on August 1, 2008.[1][2] 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 had a magnitude of 1.0394[3] that was visible from a narrow corridor through northern Canada (Nunavut), Greenland, central Russia, eastern Kazakhstan, western Mongolia and China.[4] Visible north of the Arctic Circle, it belonged to the so-called midnight sun eclipses. The largest city in its path was Novosibirsk in Russia.[5] The eclipse happened only 2+1⁄2 days after the perigee that occurred on July 29, 2008, and the Moon's apparent diameter was larger than average.
Quick Facts Type of eclipse, Nature ...
Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008 |
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Nature | Total |
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Gamma | 0.8307 |
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Magnitude | 1.0394 |
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Duration | 147 s (2 min 27 s) |
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Coordinates | 65.7°N 72.3°E / 65.7; 72.3 |
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Max. width of band | 237 km (147 mi) |
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(P1) Partial begin | 04:06.8 |
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(U1) Total begin | 21:07.3 |
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Greatest eclipse | 10:22:12 |
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(U4) Total end | 21:28.3 |
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(P4) Partial end | 38:27.7 |
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Saros | 126 (47 of 72) |
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Catalog # (SE5000) | 9526 |
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The moon's apparent diameter was 1 arcminute, 17.8 arcseconds (77.8 arcseconds) larger than the annular solar eclipse of February 7, 2008.
This was the first eclipse of the season, the second being the partial lunar eclipse of August 16, 2008.
The total eclipse lasted for 2 minutes 27 seconds, and covered 0.4% of the Earth's surface in a 10,200 km long path. It was the 47th eclipse of the 126th Saros cycle, which began with a partial eclipse on March 10, 1179, and will conclude with a partial eclipse on May 3, 2459.[6]
A partial eclipse could be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including northeastern North America and most of Europe and Asia.[4]
It was described by observers as "special for its colours around the horizon. There were wonderful oranges and reds all around, the clouds lit up, some dark in silhouette, some golden, glowing yellowy-orange in the distance. You could see the shadow approaching against the clouds and then rushing away as it left."[7][citation needed]
The moon's apparent diameter was larger because the eclipse was occurring only 58 hours, 56 minutes after perigee.[citation needed]
Animated path
The eclipse began in the far north of Canada in Nunavut at 09:21 UT, the zone of totality being 206 km wide, and lasting for 1 minute 30 seconds. The path of the eclipse then headed north-east, crossing over northern Greenland and reaching the northernmost latitude of 83° 47′ at 09:38 UT before dipping down into Russia.[6]
The path of totality touched the northeast corner of Kvitøya, an uninhabited Norwegian island in the Svalbard archipelago, at 09:47 UT.[citation needed]
The path of the eclipse then moved south-east, crossing into Mongolia and just clipping Kazakhstan at around 10:58 UT. The path here was 252 km wide, but the duration decreased to 2 minutes 10 seconds. The path then ran down the China-Mongolia border, ending in China at 11:18 UT, with an eclipse lasting 1 minute 27 seconds at sunset.[citation needed] The total eclipse finished at 11:21 UT. The total eclipse passed over Altay City, Hami and Jiuquan.[6] Around 10,000 people were gathered to watch the eclipse in Hami.[5]
A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including the north east coast of North America and most of Europe and Asia.[4] In London, England, the partial eclipse began at 09:33 BST, with a maximum eclipse of 12% at 10:18 BST, before concluding at 11:05 BST. At Edinburgh the partial eclipse was 23.5%, whilst it was 36% in Lerwick in the Shetland Isles.[9]
German charter airline LTU, now trading as Air Berlin, operated a special flight from Düsseldorf to the North Pole to observe the eclipse. Flight number LT 1111 spent over 11 hours in the air, returning to base at 6pm after flying a planeload of eclipse chasers, scientists, journalists and TV crews to watch the celestial event. The route also included a low-level sightseeing tour of Svalbard before the eclipse and the magnetic pole afterwards.
Eclipse Magnitude: 1.03942
Eclipse Obscuration: 1.08040
Gamma: 0.83070
Greatest Eclipse: 2008 August 1 at 10:22:12.3 TD (10:21:06.7 UTC)
Sun right ascension: 8.8
Sun declination: 17.9
Sun diameter (arcseconds): 1891.0
Moon right ascension: 8.82
Moon declination: 18.6
Moon diameter (arcseconds): 1948.2
Delta T: 1 minute, 5.7 seconds
Saros series: 126th (47 of 72)
Solar eclipses 2008–2011
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.[10]
More information Ascending node, Descending node ...
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Partial solar eclipses on June 1, 2011, and November 25, 2011, occur on the next lunar year eclipse set.
Saros 126
It is a part of Saros cycle 126, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 72 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on March 10, 1179. It contains annular eclipses from June 4, 1323 through April 4, 1810, hybrid eclipses from April 14, 1828 through May 6, 1864 and total eclipses from May 17, 1882 through August 23, 2044. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on May 3, 2459. The longest duration of central eclipse (annular or total) was 6 minutes, 30 seconds of annularity on June 26, 1359. The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes, 36 seconds on July 10, 1972. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon’s descending node.
More information Series members 42–52 occur between 1901 and 2100 ...
Series members 42–52 occur between 1901 and 2100 |
42 |
43 |
44 |
June 8, 1918 |
June 19, 1936 |
June 30, 1954 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
July 10, 1972 |
July 22, 1990 |
August 1, 2008 |
48 |
49 |
50 |
August 12, 2026 |
August 23, 2044 |
September 3, 2062 |
51 |
52 |
September 13, 2080 |
September 25, 2098 |
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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 descending node.[11]
More information Octon series with 21 events between May 21, 1993 and August 2, 2065, May 20–21 ...
Octon series with 21 events between May 21, 1993 and August 2, 2065 |
May 20–21 |
March 8–9 |
December 25–26 |
October 13–14 |
August 1–2 |
98 |
100 |
102 |
104 |
106 |
May 21, 1955 |
March 9, 1959 |
December 26, 1962 |
October 14, 1966 |
August 2, 1970 |
108 |
110 |
112 |
114 |
116 |
May 21, 1974 |
March 9, 1978 |
December 26, 1981 |
October 14, 1985 |
August 1, 1989 |
118 |
120 |
122 |
124 |
126 |
May 21, 1993 |
March 9, 1997 |
December 25, 2000 |
October 14, 2004 |
August 1, 2008 |
128 |
130 |
132 |
134 |
136 |
May 20, 2012 |
March 9, 2016 |
December 26, 2019 |
October 14, 2023 |
August 2, 2027 |
138 |
140 |
142 |
144 |
146 |
May 21, 2031 |
March 9, 2035 |
December 26, 2038 |
October 14, 2042 |
August 2, 2046 |
148 |
150 |
152 |
154 |
156 |
May 20, 2050 |
March 9, 2054 |
December 26, 2057 |
October 13, 2061 |
August 2, 2065 |
158 |
160 |
162 |
164 |
166 |
May 20, 2069 |
March 8, 2073 |
December 26, 2076 |
October 13, 2080 |
August 1, 2084 |
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Dr John Mason describing the eclipse directly after observing it.
Photos:
- Russian solar eclipse Archived 2010-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Russian scientist observed eclipse
- Spaceweather.com solar eclipse gallery
- Total Solar Eclipse, August 1, 2008, from Russia by Jay Pasachoff
- Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site. Mongolia
- Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site. Russia
- The 2008 Eclipse in Russia
- Astronomy.com Eclipse trip images from Russia
- Memories, video and images of the eclipse by Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society
- The 2008 Eclipse in Russia
- APOD 8/5/2008, A Total Solar Eclipse Over China, wide sky from near Barkol in Xinjiang, China
- APOD 8/7/2008, At the Sun's Edge, Totality from Novosibirsk, Russia
- APOD 8/8/2008, The Crown of the Sun, totality with corona from Kochenevo, Russia
- APOD 9/20/2008,A Darkened Sky, totality with wide corona from Mongolia
- Webcast of the eclipse from northwest China
- University of North Dakota's Live Webcast from China
Video