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A partial solar eclipse will occur on January 4, 2011. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, and totally or partially obscures Earth’s view of the Sun. A partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the moon’s shadow misses the earth.
The partial eclipse will be visible near sunrise over most of Europe and northeastern Asia and will end at sunset over Western Asia. It will be visible as a minor partial eclipse over Northern Africa and the Arabian peninsula.
Greatest eclipse occurs at 08:50 UT in northern Sweden where the eclipse on the horizon will have a magnitude of 0.858. At that time, the axis of the Moon’s shadow will pass a mere 510 km above Earth’s surface.
People in Western Europe will find the Sun already eclipsed as the day begins, with the eclipse lasting about 80 minutes more. Even at a maximum, the eclipse will be only partial, with some of the Sun always being visible. Because the Sun is too bright to look at safely, special solar filters or projection methods should always be used to protect the eyes.
Prof. Jay Pasachoff of Williams College in the United States, the Chair of the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Eclipses, reports that “eclipses have inspired many astronomers and scientists as children, so it is wonderful when students and people of all ages have a chance to see an eclipse. But it is important to view it safely. Whenever the ordinary Sun is visible, even only part of it, you should not stare at it. Special solar filters are available cheaply, or dense welders’ glass will do. Another method of seeing that the Sun is eclipsed is to punch a hole a few millimetres across in a piece of cardboard and hold it up to the Sun while you face away from the Sun and see the Sun’s image projected on the ground or onto another piece of cardboard. This method is called projection with a pinhole camera. It is rare that haze or clouds are sufficient to reduce the Sun’s intensity enough that one can see a partially covered Sun safely.”
At maximum, the eclipse will be at the horizon at sunrise in England, with 75% of the Sun’s diameter covered, and then gradually emerge over the next hour and 20 minutes. In Paris or Berlin, 80% of the Sun will be covered near sunrise. Farther east, the Sun will be a bit higher in the sky at maximum, 22° high with 67% covered in Athens. In Israel and Egypt, the Sun will be 33° high with over 55% coverage at maximum.
A global visibility chart with times is available here.
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The International Astronomical Union’s website about eclipses with information on how to view an eclipse safely and why solar eclipses are interesting: http://www.eclipses.info.
NASA’s website: with maps, and tables for cities around the world: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2011.html Webcasts from the Israel Astronomy Society at Givatayim Observatory: www.education.org.il University of Barcelona’s Department of Astronomy and Meteorology: http://serviastro.am.ub.es/serviastro/www/html/eps2011/live/index.html Bareket Observatory, a private observatory in Israel: Live Webcast |
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Filed under: The Sun
There is no such thing as a "partial annular" solar eclipse. An Annular Solar Eclipse occurs when the Moon is far enough away from the Earth that even when the Moon is directly in front of the Sun a thin ring of the sun can still be seen around the outside of the moon. Even during an Annular Solar Eclipse, if you are not on a spot on the Earth where the Moon gets directly between you and the Sun, it is still only a Partial Solar Eclipse.
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