Feeds:
Posts

## The February 2017 annular solar eclipse

Some of you may be aware that there is an annular eclipse of the Sun on Sunday 26 February, which is why I am posting this blog a few days before it. Annular eclipses occur when the Moon is a little too far away to block the Sun out entirely, so instead we see a ring of light around the Moon, as this picture below shows. This particular picture was taken during the May 20 2012 annular eclipse

An annular eclipse happens when the Moon is slightly too far away to block out the Sun entirely. This is a picture of the May 20 2012 annular eclipse.

## The Moon’s elliptical orbit about the Earth

The diagram below shows an exaggerated cartoon of the Moon’s orbit about the Earth. The Moon’s orbit is an ellipse, it has an eccentricity of 0.0549 (a perfect circle has an eccentricity of 0). The average distance of the Moon from the Earth (actually, the distance between their centres) is 384,400 kilometres. The point at which it is furthest from the Earth is called the apogee, and is at a distance of 405,400 km. The point at which it is closest is called the perigee, and it is at a distance of 362,600 km.

The Moon orbits the Earth in an ellipse, not a circle. The furthest it is from the Earth in its orbit (the apogee) is at a distance of 405,400 km, the nearest (the perigee) is at a distance of 362,600 km.

## The angular size of the Moon

It is pure coincidence that the Moon is the correct angular size to block out the Sun. The Moon is slightly oblate, but has a mean radius of 1,737 km. With its average distance of 384,400, this means that from the Earth’s surface (the Earth’s mean radius is 6,371 km) the Moon has an angular size on the sky of

$2 \times \tan^{-1} \left( \frac{ (1.737 \times 10^{6}) }{ (3.84 \times 10^{8} - 6.371 \times 10^{6}) } \right) = 2 \times \tan^{-1} (4.59975 \times 10^{-3} )$

$= 2 \times 0.2635 = \boxed{ 0.527 ^{\circ} \text{ or } 31.62 \text{ arc minutes} }$
So, just over half a degree on the sky. But, this of course will vary depending on its distance. When it is at apogee (furthest away), its angular size will be

$\boxed{ \text{ at apogee } 29.93 \text{ arc minutes } }$

and when it is at perigee (closest) it will be

$\boxed{ \text{ at perigee } 33.53 \text{ arc minutes } }$

## The angular size of the Sun

The Sun has an equatorial radius of 695,700 km, and its average distance from us is 149.6 million km (the Astronomical Unit – AU). So, at this average distance the Sun has an angular size of

$2 \times \tan^{-1} \left( \frac{ (6.957 \times 10^{8}) }{ (1.496 \times 10^{11} - 6.371 \times 10^{6} ) } \right) = 2 \times 0.266 = \boxed {0.533^{\circ} }$

Converting this to arc minutes, we get that the angular size of the Sun at its average distance is

$\boxed{ 31.97 \text{ arc minutes} }$

Compare this to the angular size of the Moon at its average distance, which we found to be $31.62 \text{ arc minutes}$.

The angular size of the Sun varies much less than the variation in the angular size of the Moon, at aphelion (when we are furthest) from the Sun, we are at a distance of 152.1 million km, so this gives an angular size of

$\boxed{ \text{ at aphelion } 31.44 \text{ arc minutes } }$

and, at perielion, when the distance to the Sun is 147.095 million km, the angular size of the Sun is

$\boxed{ \text{ at perihelion } 32.52 \text{ arc minutes } }$

## Annular Eclipses

So, from the calculations above one can see that, if the Moon is at or near perigee, its angular size of $33.53 \text{ arc minutes }$ is more than enough to block out the Sun. When the Moon is at its average distance, its angular size is $31.62 \text { arc minutes }$, which is enough to block out the Sun unless we are near perihelion. But, when the Moon is near apogee, its angular size drops to $29.93 \text{ arc minutes }$, and this is not enough to block out the Sun, even if we are at aphelion.

The Earth is currently at perihelion in early January (this year it was on January 4), so the Sun is slightly larger in the sky that it will be in August for the next solar eclipse. This, combined with the Moon being near its apogee, which occurred on February 18, (for a table of the dates of the Moon’s apogees and perigees in 2017 follow this link) means that the solar eclipse on Sunday February 26 is annular, and not total.

## The February 26 2017 Annular Eclipse

Here is a map of the path of the eclipse, it is taken from the wonderful NASA Eclipse website. If you follow this link, you can find interactive maps of all the eclipses from -1999 BC to 3000 AD! If you have about 6 years to waste, this is an ideal place to do it!

The February 26 2017 annular eclipse will start in the southern Pacific ocean, sweep across Chile and Argentina, then across the Atlantic Ocean, before reaching Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa)

The eclipse finishes in Africa and, as luck would have it, I am going to be in Namibia on the day of the eclipse. In fact, if you are reading this anytime in the week before the eclipse, I am already there. I am in Namibia for a week as part of Cardiff University’s Phoenix Project, and I will be giving a public lecture at the University of Namibia about the eclipse on Wednesday 22 February. I also hope to give a public lecture to the Namibian Scientific Society on the Friday, and on the Sunday I will be helping University of Namibia astronomers with a public observing session in Windhoek.

The February 20 2017 annular eclipse will finish in Africa, passing through Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo Kinshasa)

The interactive map to this eclipse, which you can find by following this link, allows you to click on any place and find out the eclipse details for that location. So, for Windhoek, the eclipse begins at 15:09 UT (which will be 17:09 local time), with the maximum of the partial eclipse being at 16:16 UT (18:16 local time), and the eclipse ending at 17:16 UT (19:16 local time). Because Windhoek is to the south of the path which will experience an annular eclipse, it will be a partial eclipse, with a coverage of 69%.

As seen from Windhoek, where I will be for the annular eclipse, the obscuration will be 69%.

So, if you are anywhere Chile, Argentina, in western South Africa, in Namibia, in Angola, or the western parts of Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville, look out for this wonderful astronomical event this coming Sunday. And, remember to follow the safety advise when viewing an eclipse; never look directly at the Sun and only look through a viewing device that has correct filtration. Failure to follow these precautions can result in permanently damaging your eyesight.