Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008
| Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008 | |
|---|---|
Totality showing corona from Yiwu County, China
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Map
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| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | 0.8307 |
| Magnitude | 1.0394 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 147 sec (2 m 27 s) |
| Coordinates | 65°42′N 72°18′E / 65.7°N 72.3°E |
| Max. width of band | 237 km (147 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| (P1) Partial begin | 04:06.8 |
| (U1) Total begin | 21:07.3 |
| Greatest eclipse | 10:22:12 |
| (U4) Total end | 21:28.3 |
| (P4) Partial end | 38:27.7 |
| References | |
| Saros | 126 (47 of 72) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9526 |
A total solar eclipse occurred on August 1, 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. 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 that was visible from a narrow corridor through northern Canada (Nunavut), Greenland, central Russia, eastern Kazakhstan, western Mongolia and China. Occurring north of the arctic circle, it belonged to the so-called midnight sun eclipses. The largest city on the path of the eclipse was Novosibirsk in Russia.
The total eclipse lasted for 2 minutes, 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.
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.
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"
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.
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Wikipedia