Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003
| Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003 | |
|---|---|
| File:Annular 2003-05-31 Culloden.png Annular from Culloden, Scotland | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Annular |
| Gamma | 0.996 |
| Magnitude | 0.9384 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 217 s (3 min 37 s) |
| Coordinates | 66°36′N 24°30′W / 66.6°N 24.5°W |
| Max. width of band | - km |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 4:09:22 |
| 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] 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
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Chassepierre, Belgium
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From Belfort, France
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Wonneberg, Germany
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From Oria, Italy
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From Venice, Italy
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Willeskop, Netherlands
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From Oslo, Norway
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From Ringerike, Norway
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Grantown-on-Spey, Scotland
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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]
| Event | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2003 May 31 at 01:47:21.0 UTC |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2003 May 31 at 03:45:50.6 UTC |
| First Central Line | 2003 May 31 at 04:03:10.1 UTC |
| Greatest Duration | 2003 May 31 at 04:08:58.5 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2003 May 31 at 04:09:22.5 UTC |
| Last Central Line | 2003 May 31 at 04:15:15.4 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2003 May 31 at 04:20:57.2 UTC |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2003 May 31 at 04:32:33.6 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2003 May 31 at 04:39:20.5 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2003 May 31 at 06:31:08.5 UTC |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Eclipse Magnitude | 0.93842 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 0.88064 |
| Gamma | 0.99597 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 04h30m33.5s |
| Sun Declination | +21°50'57.1" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'46.5" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 04h29m35.5s |
| Moon Declination | +22°43'13.1" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 14'48.1" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°54'19.3" |
| ΔT | 64.5 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.
| May 16 Descending node (full moon) |
May 31 Ascending node (new moon) |
|---|---|
| File:Lunar eclipse chart close-03may16.png | File:SE2003May31A.png |
| Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 121 |
Annular solar eclipse Solar Saros 147 |
Related eclipses
Eclipses in 2003
- A total lunar eclipse on May 16.
- An annular solar eclipse on May 31.
- A total lunar eclipse on November 9.
- A total solar eclipse on November 23.
Metonic
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 19, 2007
Tzolkinex
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 17, 1996
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 11, 2010
Half-Saros
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 25, 1994
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 4, 2012
Tritos
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 30, 1992
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 29, 2014
Solar Saros 147
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 19, 1985
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 10, 2021
Inex
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 20, 1974
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 2032
Triad
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 30, 1916
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 31, 2090
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.
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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: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 11 | 12 | 13 |
| File:SE1805Jan30P.gif January 30, 1805 |
File:SE1823Feb11P.gif February 11, 1823 |
File:SE1841Feb21P.gif February 21, 1841 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 |
| File:SE1859Mar04P.gif March 4, 1859 |
File:SE1877Mar15P.gif March 15, 1877 |
File:SE1895Mar26P.gif March 26, 1895 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 |
| File:SE1913Apr06P.png April 6, 1913 |
File:SE1931Apr18P.png April 18, 1931 |
File:SE1949Apr28P.png April 28, 1949 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 |
| File:SE1967May09P.png May 9, 1967 |
File:SE1985May19P.png May 19, 1985 |
File:SE2003May31A.png May 31, 2003 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 |
| File:SE2021Jun10A.png June 10, 2021 |
File:SE2039Jun21A.png June 21, 2039 |
File:SE2057Jul01A.png July 1, 2057 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 |
| File:SE2075Jul13A.png July 13, 2075 |
File:SE2093Jul23A.png July 23, 2093 |
File:SE2111Aug04A.png August 4, 2111 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
| File:SE2129Aug15A.png August 15, 2129 |
File:Saros147 30van80 SE2147Aug26A.jpg August 26, 2147 |
File:Saros147 31van80 SE2165Sep05A.jpg September 5, 2165 |
| 32 | ||
| File: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.
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.
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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:SE1829Sep28A.gif September 28, 1829 (Saros 141) |
File:SE1858Sep07T.png September 7, 1858 (Saros 142) |
File:SE1887Aug19T.png August 19, 1887 (Saros 143) |
| File:SE1916Jul30A.png July 30, 1916 (Saros 144) |
File:SE1945Jul09T.png July 9, 1945 (Saros 145) |
File:SE1974Jun20T.png June 20, 1974 (Saros 146) |
| File:SE2003May31A.png May 31, 2003 (Saros 147) |
File:SE2032May09A.png May 9, 2032 (Saros 148) |
File:SE2061Apr20T.png April 20, 2061 (Saros 149) |
| File:SE2090Mar31P.png March 31, 2090 (Saros 150) |
File:Saros151 20van72 SE2119Mar11A.jpg March 11, 2119 (Saros 151) |
File:Saros152 20van70 SE2148Feb19T.jpg February 19, 2148 (Saros 152) |
| File:Saros153 18van70 SE2177Jan29A.jpg January 29, 2177 (Saros 153) |
||
See also
Notes
- ↑ "May 31, 2003 Annular Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ↑ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Great party, shame about the eclipse". The Observer. London, Greater London, England. 2003-06-01. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-10-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Eclipse draws watchers in north nations". Florida Today. 2003-06-01. p. 49. Retrieved 2023-10-25 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Eclipse is partly sunny". Omaha World-Herald. 2003-06-01. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-10-25 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 147". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
References
- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
Photos:
- Spaceweather.com solar eclipse gallery
- Czech Republic. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
- Eclipse in the Mist, APOD 6/4/2003, Dawn partial from Charneux, Belgium
- Ring of Fire from Cape Wrath, APOD 6/5/2003, Annular eclipse from Cape Wrath, northwestern coast of Scotland
- Sun, Moon, Hot Air Balloon, APOD 6/6/2003, partial eclipse from Bonn, Germany
- Clouds and the Moon Move to Block the Sun, APOD 6/18/2003, partial eclipse from Vienna, Austria
- Photos of solar eclipse around the world
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