Solar eclipse of November 13, 2012

Solar eclipse of November 13, 2012

Totality as seen from Mount Carbine, Queensland
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature Total
Gamma -0.3719
Magnitude 1.05
Maximum eclipse
Duration 242 sec (4 m 2 s)
Coordinates 40°00′S 161°18′W / 40°S 161.3°W / -40; -161.3
Max. width of band 179 km (111 mi)
Times (UTC)
(P1) Partial begin 19:37:58
(U1) Total begin 20:35:08
Greatest eclipse 22:12:55
(U4) Total end 23:48:24
(P4) Partial end 0:45:34
References
Saros 133 (45 of 72)
Catalog # (SE5000) 9536

A total solar eclipse took place on 13–15 November 2012 (UTC). Because it crossed the International Date Line it began in local time on November 14 west of the date line over northern Australia, and ended in local time on November 13 east of the date line near the west coast of South America. Its greatest magnitude was 1.0500, occurring only 12 hours before perigee, with greatest eclipse totality lasting just over four minutes. 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 total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide.

Visibility

For this eclipse, totality was visible from northern Australia to about 4° north of the Chilean Juan Fernández Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean where totality ended. The most populous city to experience totality was Cairns, which had 2 minutes of totality an hour after daybreak (06:39 AEST, 20:39 UTC) with the sun at an altitude of 14°.[1] Norfolk Island, a small Pacific island east of Australia, experienced a partial eclipse with a maximum of 98% of the sun obscured at 09:37 NFT and an altitude of 42°.

New Zealand experienced a partial eclipse. Auckland had 87.0% of the sun obscured, whereas Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin respectively had 76.4%, 68.9% and 61.5% of the sun obscured. Maximum eclipse over New Zealand occurred around 10:30 NZDT (21:30 UTC), with Auckland at 10:28, Wellington at 10:34, Christchurch at 10:35 and Dunedin at 10:36.[2][3]

Most of Chile and parts of Argentina saw a partial eclipse at sunset. In some places over half the sun was obscured. In Chile, Valdivia in Los Ríos saw 63% obscured, Quellón in Los Lagos saw 54% obscured. Chilean coastal locations were ideally situated to observe an eclipsing sunset over the Pacific Ocean. Points further north, up to about La Serena, saw the eclipse begin as the sun was setting.

West of the International Date Line the eclipse took place on the morning of November 14. The maximum eclipse totality, of duration 4 min 2 sec, occurred east of the International Date Line on November 13, approximately 2000 km east of New Zealand, and 9600 km west of Chile.

On the morning of November 14, skies in Auckland were cloudy, obscuring much of the eclipse, which peaked at 10:28 NZDT.[4] Cloud also obscured the moment of totality at Cairns, disappointing many tourists that had flocked to the area. Eclipse chasers along the northern beaches up through to Port Douglas generally got a clear view however. Morning November 15 from South Pole

Solar eclipses of 2011-2014

Each member 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. Note: Partial solar eclipses on January 4, 2011, and July 1, 2011, occur in the previous semester series.

Saros 133

Solar Saros 133, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, contains 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on July 13, 1219. It contains annular eclipses from November 20, 1435, through January 13, 1526, with a hybrid eclipse on January 24, 1544. It has total eclipses from February 3, 1562, through June 21, 2373. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on September 5, 2499. The longest duration of totality was 6 minutes, 50 seconds on August 7, 1850.[5] The total eclipses of this saros series are getting shorter and farther south with each iteration.

Inex series

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Metonic series

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).

References

  1. ↑ "Eclipse Calculator – Solar Eclipses in Cairns, Queensland, Australia". Time and Date AS. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "Future solar eclipses in New Zealand". Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Total Solar Eclipse of 2012 November 14 in Australia Xavier M. Jubier
  4. ↑ "New Zealanders treated to solar eclipse". 3 News NZ. 14 November 2012.
  5. ↑ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros133.html
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