Total Solar Eclipse of 11th August 1999.

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Letter COM:2516603 (124 lines) [W1]

Jaya Tirtha Charan (das) JPS

30-Jul-99 02:04

Yadu-srestha (das) PVS (Melbourne - AU) [1550]

Cc: Shyamasundara (das) ACBSP (Sylva, NC - USA) [12019]

Total Solar Eclipse of 11th August 1999.

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The Total Solar Eclipse of the 11th August 1999.

 

Excitement has been building for several years in anticipation of the last

total solar eclipse of both the 20th century and of the Second Millennium.

The trajectory of the Moon's shadow (the northern node that we call Rahu)

carries it across central Europe, Turkey, the Middle East, Pakistan and

India. The path of totality begins in the North Atlantic about 300

kilometres south of Nova Scotia where the Moon's umbral shadow first touches

down on Earth at 09:31 UT. Along the sunrise terminator, the maximum

duration is a mere 47 seconds from the centre of the 49 kilometre wide path.

Sweeping across the North Atlantic, the umbra reaches first landfall at the

Isles of Scilly off the southwestern coast of England at 10:10 UT. At this

locale, the mid-morning Sun stands 45° above the eastern horizon.

 

One minute later, the umbra arrives along the shores of the Cornwall

Peninsula. In the following four minutes, the shadow skirts the southern

coast giving eager observers a brief taste of totality. Plymouth, the

largest English city in the path, is north of centre line and witnesses a

total phase lasting 1 minute 39 seconds. London misses the total phase but

experiences partiality with a maximum magnitude of 0.968. By 10:16 UT, the

umbra leaves England as it quickly traverses the English Channel. The

Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey lie just south of the path and

witness a partial eclipse of magnitude >0.995. To the north, Alderney is

deep in the path and enjoys over one and a half minutes of totality.

 

Not since 1961 has the Moon cast its dark shadow upon central Europe. The

southern edge of the umbra first reaches the Normandy coast just as the

northern edge leaves England (10:16 UT). But another four minutes elapse

before the centre line makes landfall in northern France. As the shadow

sweeps through the French countryside, its southern edge passes 30

kilometres north of Paris. The City of Lights will bear witness to a partial

event of magnitude 0.992 at 10:23 UT. Continuing on its eastward track, the

path's northern limit crosses into southern Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Meanwhile, the centre line cuts through Champagne where the citizens of Metz

witness a total eclipse lasting 2 minutes 13 seconds (10:29 UT). Four

minutes later, the entire umbra crosses into southern Germany and the

picturesque Rhine Valley. Stuttgart lies near path centre for 2 minutes 17

seconds of totality. At 10:35 UT, the Sun's altitude stands at 55° from the

centre of the 109 kilometre wide path. Although MŸnchen (Munich) lies 20

kilometres south of the centre line, the city's two million citizens will

still witness more than two minutes of totality, provided the winds of good

fortune bring clear skies on eclipse day.

 

At 10:41 UT, the umbra leaves Germany and crosses into Austria where it

encounters the Eastern Alps. Wien (Vienna) is almost 40 kilometres north of

the path and experiences a 0.990 magnitude partial eclipse. The southern

edge of the path grazes northeastern Slovenia as the shadow enters Hungary

at 10:47 UT. Lake Balaton lies wholly within the path where the central

duration lasts 2 minutes 22 seconds (10:50 UT). Like Wein, Budapest is also

located about 40 kilometres north of the path where a 0.991 magnitude

partial eclipse will occur. As the shadow leaves Hungary, the southern third

briefly sweeps through northern Yugoslavia before continuing on into

Romania.

 

According to the karmis, "The instant of greatest eclipse 1 occurs at

11:03:04 UT when the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to the centre

of Earth (gamma2 =0.506). At that moment, the shadow's epicentre is located

among the rolling hills of south-central Romania very near Rîmnicu-Vîlcea.

The length of totality reaches its maximum duration of 2 minutes 23 seconds,

the Sun's altitude is 59°, and the path width is 112 kilometres. Four

minutes later (11:07 UT), Romania's capital city Bucuresti (Bucharest) is

engulfed by the shadow". Since Bucharest lies on the centre line near the

instant of greatest eclipse, it enjoys a duration nearly as long at 2

minutes 22 seconds. Traveling east-southeast, the path encompasses the

Romania-Bulgaria border before leaving land and heading out across the Black

Sea.

 

The next landfall occurs along the Black Sea coast of northern Turkey at

11:21 UT. Ankara lies 150 kilometres south of the path and witnesses a 0.969

magnitude partial eclipse. The track diagonally bisects Turkey as it moves

inland while the centre line duration begins a gradual but steady decrease.

At 11:29 UT, Turhal falls deep within the shadow for 2 minutes 15 seconds.

The umbra reaches Turkey's southeastern border at 11:45 UT and briefly

enters northwestern Syria as it crosses into Iraq. The centre line duration

is now 2 minutes 5 seconds with the Sun's altitude at 50°. Baghdad lies 220

kilometres south of the path and experiences a 0.940 magnitude partial

eclipse. Arriving at Iran's western boundary at 11:52 UT, the shadow spends

the next half hour crossing sparsely populated mountain ranges and deserts.

Tehran lies north of the path where its eight million inhabitants witness a

0.943 magnitude partial eclipse. At 12:22 UT, the shadow enters Pakistan and

skirts the shores of the Arabian Sea. Karachi is near the centre line and

experiences 1 minute 13 seconds of total eclipse with the Sun 22° above the

western horizon.

 

The umbra arrives in India, the last nation in its path, at 12:28 UT. As the

shadow (Rahu) sweeps across the sub-continent, its velocity rapidly

increases while the centre line duration drops below one minute and the

Sun's altitude decreases to 7°. The eleven million inhabitants of Calcutta

will witness a 0.879 magnitude partial eclipse with the Sun a scant 2° above

the western horizon. Leaving India just north of Vishakhapatnam at 12:36 UT,

the shadow sweeps into the Bay of Bengal where it departs Earth and races

back into space (12:36 UT), not to return until the next millennium. The

length of the entire path of totality is approximately 13,700 kilometres

which encompasses about 0.21% of Earth's total surface area.

 

 

For other detailed information view:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/TSE1999/TSE1999.html

 

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