The solar eclipse of May 20, 2012 (May 21, 2012 local time in the
Eastern Hemisphere
The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth which is east of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and west of the antimeridian (which crosses the Pacific Ocean and relatively little land from pole to pol ...
) was an
annular solar eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...
that was visible in a band spanning through
Eastern Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
, the
Pacific Ocean, and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. As a
partial solar eclipse, it was visible from northern
Greenland to
Hawaii, and from eastern
Indonesia at sunrise to northwestern
Mexico at sunset. The moon's apparent diameter was smaller because the eclipse was occurring only 32 1/2 hours after
apogee.
A
solar eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...
is an
astronomical phenomenon that 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
Annulus (or anulus) or annular indicates a ring- or donut-shaped area or structure. It may refer to:
Human anatomy
* ''Anulus fibrosus disci intervertebralis'', spinal structure
* Annulus of Zinn, a.k.a. annular tendon or ''anulus tendineus com ...
(ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide.
The annular eclipse was the first visible from the
contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
since the
solar eclipse of May 10, 1994 (Saros 128), and the first in Asia since the
solar eclipse of January 15, 2010 (Saros 141).
The path of the eclipse's
antumbra included heavily populated regions of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and an estimated 100 million people in those areas were capable of viewing annularity. In the western
United States, its path included 8 states, and an estimated 6 million people were capable of viewing annularity. It was the 58th eclipse of the 128th
Saros cycle, which began with a partial eclipse on August 29, 984 AD and will conclude with a partial eclipse on November 1, 2282.
Visibility and viewing
The
antumbra had a
magnitude of .94, stretched wide, and traveled eastbound at an average rate of per second, remaining north of the
equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
throughout the event. The longest duration of annularity was 5 minutes and 43 seconds, occurring just south of the
Aleutian Islands.
The eclipse began on a Monday and ended on the previous Sunday, as it crossed the
International Date Line
The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South and North Poles and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific O ...
.
Asia
The annular eclipse commenced over the
Chinese province of Guangxi at sunrise, at 6:06 a.m.
China Standard Time. Travelling northeast, the
antumbra of the eclipse approached and passed over the cities of
Macau,
Hong Kong,
Guangzhou, and
Xiamen, reaching
Taipei by 6:10 a.m
NST. After crossing the
East China Sea
The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
, it passed over much of eastern
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, including
Osaka and
Tokyo at 7:28 a.m and 7:32 a.m
JST respectively, before entering the Pacific Ocean. The
penumbra
The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source after impinging on an opaque object. Assuming no diffraction, for a collimated beam (such as a point source) of light, only the umbra is cast.
Th ...
of the eclipse was visible throughout
Eastern Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
and various
islands in the Pacific Ocean until noon.
The path of the antumbra over highly populated areas allowed at least an estimated 100 million people to view annularity.
Because the eclipse took place during the summer
monsoon season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
in
Southeast Asia, viewing conditions were not ideal in some areas, including Hong Kong.
North America
After traveling approximately 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) across the Pacific Ocean, the antumbra entered North America between the coastlines of
Oregon and
California, reaching the coastal city of
Eureka, California at 6:25 p.m
PDT. After passing over
Medford, Oregon and
Redding, California
Redding is the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California and the county seat of Shasta County. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border wi ...
, it had reached
Reno, Nevada by 6:28 p.m PDT. The eclipse continued to travel southeast, passing 30 miles (48 km) north of
Las Vegas, Nevada, over
St. George, Utah, and reaching the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
by approximately 6:33 p.m
MST
The Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St. or MSt; ) is a postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, University of Dublin and the University of Ne ...
. After passing over
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
and
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
, the eclipse terminated above central Texas at sunset, 8:38 p.m.
CST.
An estimated 6.6 million people lived under the path of the antumbra.
The penumbra was visible throughout most of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, including the islands of
Hawaii.
Related eclipses
Eclipses of 2012
* An annular solar eclipse on May 20.
*
A partial lunar eclipse on June 4.
*
A total solar eclipse on November 13.
*
A penumbral lunar eclipse on November 28.
Solar eclipses 2011–2014
Saros 128
Tritos series
Metonic series
Inex series
Notes
References
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