solar eclipse of May 20, 2012

{{Infobox solar eclipse|2012May20

| previous = Solar eclipse of November 25, 2011

| next = Solar eclipse of November 13, 2012

}}

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit between Sunday, May 20 and Monday, May 21, 2012,{{cite web|title=May 20–21, 2012 Annular Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2012-may-20|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=11 August 2024}}{{Cite news

| url = https://newspapers.com/article/detroit-free-press-ring-of-fire-eclipse/134086552/

| date = 2012-05-21

| page = A2

| title = Ring of fire eclipse heads for west U.S.

| newspaper = Detroit Free Press

| location =

| via = Newspapers.com

| access-date = 2023-10-26

}}{{Cite news

| url = https://newspapers.com/article/tulsa-world-millions-in-asia-view-eclips/134086644/

| date = 2012-05-21

| page = 6

| title = Millions in Asia view eclipse

| newspaper = Tulsa World

| location =

| via = Newspapers.com

| access-date = 2023-10-26

}} with a magnitude of 0.9439. 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 or miles wide. Occurring about 1.3 days after apogee (on May 19, 2012, at 17:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=2012&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=11 August 2024}}

The annular eclipse was the first visible from the contiguous United States 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 and Japan, 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.

The eclipse was visible in a band spanning through East Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and North America. As a partial solar eclipse, it was visible from Greenland to Hawaii, and from eastern Indonesia at sunrise to western North America at sunset.

Visibility and viewing

File:SE2012May20A.gif

The antumbra had a magnitude of .94, stretched {{convert|236|km|mile}} wide, and traveled eastbound at an average rate of {{convert|0.62|mile|km|order=flip}} per second, remaining north of the equator throughout the event. The longest duration of annularity was 5 minutes and 46 seconds, occurring just south of the Aleutian Islands.{{cite web|title=Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20|url=https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/ASE2012/ASE2012.html|website=NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Eclipse Website|publisher=NASA|date=May 20, 2012|access-date=May 20, 2012}} The eclipse began on a Monday and ended on the previous Sunday, as it crossed the International Date Line.{{cite news |last=Friedlander |first=Blaine |date=May 20, 2012 |title=Annular solar eclipse first in 18 years in continental United States on May 20 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/annular-solar-eclipse-first-in-18-years-in-us-on-may-20/2012/05/17/gIQAXkBeWU_blog.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719084358/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/annular-solar-eclipse-first-in-18-years-in-us-on-may-20/2012/05/17/gIQAXkBeWU_blog.html |archive-date=July 19, 2012 }}

=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, it passed over much of eastern Japan, including Osaka and Tokyo at 7:28 a.m and 7:32 a.m JST respectively, before entering the Pacific Ocean. The penumbra of the eclipse was visible throughout Eastern Asia and various islands in the Pacific Ocean until noon.{{cite web |title=Eclipse Map - May 20–21 Solar Eclipse |url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2012-may-20 |website=TimeandDate.com |access-date=20 May 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Matsutani|first1=Minoru|title=Tokyo to be treated to rare annular eclipse, Venus transit|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/05/04/national/tokyo-to-be-treated-to-rare-annular-eclipse-venus-transit/#.WeY0wEuGPrc|access-date=20 May 2012|publisher=The Japan Times|date=May 20, 2012}}

The path of the antumbra over highly populated areas allowed at least an estimated 100 million people to view annularity.{{cite news|last1=Beatty|first1=Kelly|title=May 20th's Annular Eclipse of the Sun|url=https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/may-20ths-annular-eclipse-of-the-sun/|access-date=May 20, 2012|work=Sky and Telescope|date=May 20, 2012}} Because the eclipse took place during the summer monsoon season in Southeast Asia, viewing conditions were not ideal in some areas, including Hong Kong.{{cite news|title=May the Sun Shine on Rare Eclipse|url=http://www.scmp.com/article/1001483/may-sun-shine-rare-eclipse|access-date=20 May 2012|agency=South China Morning Post|date=May 20, 2012}}

=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, 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 by approximately 6:33 p.m MST. After passing over Albuquerque, New Mexico and Lubbock, Texas, the eclipse terminated above central Texas at sunset, 8:38 p.m. CST.{{cite news|last1=Potter|first1=Ned|title=Solar Eclipse Visible From California to Texas Sunday Afternoon|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/solar-eclipse-2012-annular-eclipse-visible-california-texas/story?id=16377743|access-date=May 20, 2012|work=ABC News|date=May 20, 2012}} An estimated 6.6 million people lived under the path of the antumbra.{{cite news|last1=Tariq|first1=Malik|title=Spectacular "Ring of Fire" Solar Eclipse Wows Millions|url=https://www.space.com/15790-solar-eclipse-ring-fire-wows-millions.html|access-date=May 20, 2012|work=Space.com|date=May 20, 2012}} The penumbra was visible throughout most of North America, including the islands of Hawaii.

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.{{cite web|title=Annular Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2012May20Aprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=11 August 2024}}

class="wikitable" align="{{{align|left}}}" style="margin:{{#ifeq:{{{align}}}|left|0 0 0.5em 1em|0 1em 0.5em 0}}"

|+May 20, 2012 Solar Eclipse Times

! Event

! Time (UTC)

First Penumbral External Contact

| 2012 May 20 at 20:57:13.9 UTC

First Umbral External Contact

| 2012 May 20 at 22:07:23.9 UTC

First Central Line

| 2012 May 20 at 22:10:08.2 UTC

First Umbral Internal Contact

| 2012 May 20 at 22:12:53.7 UTC

Ecliptic Conjunction

| 2012 May 20 at 23:48:08.1 UTC

Greatest Eclipse

| 2012 May 20 at 23:53:53.6 UTC

Greatest Duration

| 2012 May 20 at 23:56:59.8 UTC

Equatorial Conjunction

| 2012 May 21 at 00:00:16.3 UTC

Last Umbral Internal Contact

| 2012 May 21 at 01:34:49.7 UTC

Last Central Line

| 2012 May 21 at 01:37:34.4 UTC

Last Umbral External Contact

| 2012 May 21 at 01:40:18.0 UTC

Last Penumbral External Contact

| 2012 May 21 at 02:50:28.7 UTC

class="wikitable" align="{{{align|right}}}" style="margin:{{#ifeq:{{{align}}}|right|0 0 0.5em 1em|0 1em 0.5em 0}}"

|+May 20, 2012 Solar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Eclipse Magnitude

| 0.94390

Eclipse Obscuration

| 0.89094

Gamma

| 0.48279

Sun Right Ascension

| 03h52m43.0s

Sun Declination

| +20°13'15.1"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 15'48.1"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.7"

Moon Right Ascension

| 03h52m30.7s

Moon Declination

| +20°39'06.3"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 14'43.3"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 0°54'01.7"

ΔT

| 66.7 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.

class="wikitable"

|+ Eclipse season of May–June 2012

! May 20
Descending node (new moon)
!! June 4
Ascending node (full moon)

200px

align=center

| Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 128

Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 140