Solar eclipse of January 4, 2011

The solar eclipse of January 4, 2011 was a partial eclipse of the Sun that was visible after sunrise over most of Europe, northwestern and South Asia.[1][2] It ended at sunset over eastern Asia. It was visible as a minor partial eclipse over northern Africa and the Arabian peninsula. The eclipse belonged to Saros 151 and was number 14 of 72 eclipses in the series.

Solar eclipse of January 4, 2011
Partial from Poland
Map
Type of eclipse
NaturePartial
Gamma1.0627
Magnitude0.8576
Maximum eclipse
Coordinates64°42′N 20°48′E / 64.7°N 20.8°E / 64.7; 20.8
Times (UTC)
(P1) Partial begin6:40:11
Greatest eclipse8:51:42
(P4) Partial end11:00:52
References
Saros151 (14 of 72)
Catalog # (SE5000)9531

Greatest eclipse occurred at 08:51 UTC in northern Sweden where the eclipse in the horizon had a magnitude of 0.858. At that time, the axis of the Moon's shadow passed a mere 510 km above Earth's surface.[3]

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. A partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth. This was the first of four partial solar eclipses in 2011, with the others occurring on June 1, 2011, July 1, 2011, and November 25, 2011.

It also precedes the two total lunar eclipses occurring on June 15, 2011 and December 10, 2011.

Visibility edit

 
Animated path

Photo gallery edit

Related eclipses edit

Eclipses of 2011 edit

It was preceded two weeks earlier by the total lunar eclipse of December 21, 2010.

Solar eclipses 2008–2011 edit

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[4]

Solar eclipse series sets from 2008 to 2011
Ascending node   Descending node
Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma
121
 
Partial from Christchurch, NZ
2008 February 07
 
Annular
−0.95701 126
 
Novosibirsk, Russia
2008 August 01
 
Total
0.83070
131
 
Palangka Raya, Indonesia
2009 January 26
 
Annular
−0.28197 136
 
Kurigram, Bangladesh
2009 July 22
 
Total
0.06977
141
 
Bangui, Central African Republic
2010 January 15
 
Annular
0.40016 146
 
Hao, French Polynesia
2010 July 11
 
Total
−0.67877
151
 
Partial from Vienna, Austria
2011 January 04
 
Partial (north)
1.06265 156 2011 July 01
 
Partial (south)
−1.49171

Partial solar eclipses on June 1, 2011, and November 25, 2011, occur on the next lunar year eclipse set.

Metonic series edit

The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.

22 eclipse events between January 5, 1935 and August 11, 2018
January 4-5 October 23-24 August 10-12 May 30-31 March 18-19
111 113 115 117 119
 
January 5, 1935
 
August 12, 1942
 
May 30, 1946
 
March 18, 1950
121 123 125 127 129
 
January 5, 1954
 
October 23, 1957
 
August 11, 1961
 
May 30, 1965
 
March 18, 1969
131 133 135 137 139
 
January 4, 1973
 
October 23, 1976
 
August 10, 1980
 
May 30, 1984
 
March 18, 1988
141 143 145 147 149
 
January 4, 1992
 
October 24, 1995
 
August 11, 1999
 
May 31, 2003
 
March 19, 2007
151 153 155
 
January 4, 2011
 
October 23, 2014
 
August 11, 2018

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Mideast, Europe catch partial eclipse". Sentinel Tribune. 2011-01-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-10-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Years's 1st partial eclipse is today". The Daily Oklahoman. 2011-01-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-10-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Eclipses during 2011 NASA
  4. ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.

References edit

External links edit