Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008
Encyclopedia
A total solar eclipse
occurred on August 1, 2008.
It had a magnitude
of 1.0394 that was visible from a narrow corridor through northern Canada (Nunavut
), Greenland
, central Russia, eastern Kazakhstan
, western Mongolia
and China. Occurring north of the arctic circle
, it belonged to the so-called midnight sun
eclipses. The largest city on the path of the eclipse was Novosibirsk
in Russia.
The total eclipse lasted for 2 minutes, and covered 0.4% of the Earth's surface in a 10,200 km long path. It was the 47th eclipse of the 126th Saros cycle
, which began with a partial eclipse on March 10, 1179 and will conclude with a partial eclipse on May 3, 2459.
A partial eclipse could be seen from the much broader path of the Moon
's penumbra, including northeastern North America and most of Europe and Asia.
It was described by observers as "special for its colours around the horizon. There were wonderful oranges and reds all around, the clouds lit up, some dark in silhouette, some golden, glowing yellowy-orange in the distance. You could see the shadow approaching against the clouds and then rushing away as it left"
at 09:21 UT, the zone of totality being 206 km wide, and lasting for 1 minute 30 seconds. The path of the eclipse then headed north-east, crossing over northern Greenland
and reaching the northernmost latitude of 83° 47′ at 09:38 UT before dipping down into Russia.
The path of totality touched the northeast corner of Kvitøya
, an uninhabited Norwegian island in the Svalbard
archipelago, at 09:47 UT.
), when the path was 237 km wide, and the duration was 2 minutes 27 seconds. Cities in the path of the total eclipse included Megion
, Nizhnevartovsk
, Strezhevoy
, Novosibirsk
and Barnaul
. Around 10,000 tourists were present in Novosibirsk
, the largest city to experience the eclipse.
, Juiquan and Xi’an. Around 10,000 people were gathered to watch the eclipse in Yiwu.
the partial eclipse was 23.5% of the sun, whilst it was 36% in Lerwick
in the Shetland Isles.
, now trading as Air Berlin
, operated a special flight from Düsseldorf
to the North Pole
to observe the eclipse. Flight number LT 1111 spent over 11 hours in the air, returning to base at 6pm after flying a planeload of eclipse chasers, scientists, journalists and TV crews to watch the celestial event. The route also included a low-level sightseeing tour of Svalbard
before the eclipse and the magnetic pole afterwards.
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
occurred on August 1, 2008.
It had a magnitude
Magnitude of eclipse
The magnitude of eclipse or geometric magnitude is the fraction of the diameter of the eclipsed body which is in eclipse. This applies to both solar eclipses and lunar eclipses. During a partial or annular eclipse the magnitude of the eclipse is always between 0.0 and 1.0, while during a total...
of 1.0394 that was visible from a narrow corridor through northern Canada (Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
), Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, central Russia, eastern Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, western Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and China. Occurring north of the arctic circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
, it belonged to the so-called midnight sun
Midnight sun
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous...
eclipses. The largest city on the path of the eclipse was Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
in Russia.
The total eclipse lasted for 2 minutes, and covered 0.4% of the Earth's surface in a 10,200 km long path. It was the 47th eclipse of the 126th Saros cycle
Saros cycle
The saros is a period of 223 synodic months , that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon. One saros after an eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon return to approximately the same relative geometry, and a nearly identical eclipse will occur, in what is referred to as an eclipse cycle...
, which began with a partial eclipse on March 10, 1179 and will conclude with a partial eclipse on May 3, 2459.
A partial eclipse could be seen from the much broader path of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
's penumbra, including northeastern North America and most of Europe and Asia.
It was described by observers as "special for its colours around the horizon. There were wonderful oranges and reds all around, the clouds lit up, some dark in silhouette, some golden, glowing yellowy-orange in the distance. You could see the shadow approaching against the clouds and then rushing away as it left"
Start of eclipse: Canada, Greenland and Norway
The eclipse began in the far north of Canada in NunavutNunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
at 09:21 UT, the zone of totality being 206 km wide, and lasting for 1 minute 30 seconds. The path of the eclipse then headed north-east, crossing over northern Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and reaching the northernmost latitude of 83° 47′ at 09:38 UT before dipping down into Russia.
The path of totality touched the northeast corner of Kvitøya
Kvitøya
Kvitøya is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, with an area of . It is located at , making it the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway...
, an uninhabited Norwegian island in the Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
archipelago, at 09:47 UT.
Greatest eclipse: Russia
The eclipse reached the Russian mainland at 10:10 UT, with a path 232 km wide and a duration of 2 minutes 26 seconds. The greatest eclipse occurred shortly after, at 10:21:07 UT at coordinates 65°39′N 72°18′E (close to NadymNadym
Nadym is a town in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, situated on the Nadym River. It serves as the administrative center of Nadymsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it. Population: It is served by the Nadym Airport....
), when the path was 237 km wide, and the duration was 2 minutes 27 seconds. Cities in the path of the total eclipse included Megion
Megion
-External links:* *...
, Nizhnevartovsk
Nizhnevartovsk
Nizhnevartovsk is the second largest city in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located along the right bank of the Ob River. Population: 251,860 ; 239,044 ;...
, Strezhevoy
Strezhevoy
Strezhevoy is a town in Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the shores of the Ob River's canal. Population: It is served by the Strezhevoy Airport.It was founded in 1966 as a settlement near the village of Strezhevaya and was granted town status in 1978...
, Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
and Barnaul
Barnaul
-Russian Empire:Barnaul was one of the earlier cities established in Siberia. Originally chosen for its proximity to the mineral-rich Altai Mountains and its location on a major river, the site was founded by the wealthy Demidov family in the 1730s. In addition to the copper which had originally...
. Around 10,000 tourists were present in Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, the largest city to experience the eclipse.
Conclusion: China
The path of the eclipse then moved south-east, crossing into Mongolia and just clipping Kazakhstan at around 10:58 UT. The path here was 252 km wide, but the duration was decreased to 2 minutes 10 seconds. The path then ran down the China-Mongolia border, ending in China at 11:18 UT, with an eclipse lasting 1 minute 27 seconds at sunset. The total eclipse finished at 11:21 UT. The total eclipse passed over YiwuYiwu
Yiwu is a city of about 1.2 million people in central Zhejiang Province near the central eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. The city is famous for its small commodity trade and vibrant free markets and is a regional tourist destination...
, Juiquan and Xi’an. Around 10,000 people were gathered to watch the eclipse in Yiwu.
Partial eclipse
A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including the north east coast of North America and most of Europe and Asia. In London, England, the partial eclipse began at 08:33 GMT, with a maximum eclipse of 12% at 09:18 GMT, before concluding at 10:05 GMT. At EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
the partial eclipse was 23.5% of the sun, whilst it was 36% in Lerwick
Lerwick
Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
in the Shetland Isles.
LTU 1111
German charter airline LTULTU
LTU may mean:*IATA code for Latur Airport, India*Light The Underground, Light painting photographer http://www.lighttheunderground.com/*La Trobe University, a university in Australia*Lambda the Ultimate, a weblog devoted to programming languages...
, now trading as Air Berlin
Air Berlin
Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG is Germany's second largest airline, after Lufthansa, and Europe's sixth largest airline in terms of passengers....
, operated a special flight from Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
to the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
to observe the eclipse. Flight number LT 1111 spent over 11 hours in the air, returning to base at 6pm after flying a planeload of eclipse chasers, scientists, journalists and TV crews to watch the celestial event. The route also included a low-level sightseeing tour of Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
before the eclipse and the magnetic pole afterwards.