Forthcoming Eclipses/20 May 2012

The Greatest Spectacle in the Whole of Nature

Annular Solar Eclipse - 20 May 2012 in Asia, the North Pacific and the USA

The year 2012 looks like being a vintage year for eclipses with a major annular eclipse followed by remote and challenging total - with both tracks crossing the Pacific Ocean and avoiding land as much as possible! The first is an annular eclipse that is visible from North East Asia, the Northern Pacific Ocean and the western part of the USA.

The track of the 20 May 2012 annular eclipse across North Eastern Asia, the North Pacific Ocean and the Western USA

The eclipse starts at 2209 UT when the shadow of the moon first touches the earth at sunrise eastern China. Note that this the morning of May 21 locally. The track moves rapidly north east across the East China Sea to Japan giving Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Taipei an early morning glimpse of annularity. Several of the major cities in Japan also enjoy the spectacle before the shadow sets out across the North Pacific. Although heading for the Aleutian Islands, the track turns eastwards, so missing them, and the maximum duration of annularity, 5m 47s occurs in this area. The track then heads south eastwards into the USA making its landfall close to the Oregon—California border in the late afternoon. The eclipse finally ends when the shadow leaves the earth at 0136 UT on May 21.

Location

1^st Contact

(UT)

Time of

Mid-Eclipse

(UT)

Duration

Of

Annularity

Elevation

of Sun at

Maximum

4^th Contact

(UT)

Hong Kong

Before Sunrise

22h 08.5m

3m 23s

5.0°

23h 16.3m

Guangzhou

China

Before Sunrise

22h 09.7m

4m 25s

4.8°

23h 17.2m

Taipei

Taiwan

Before Sunrise

22h 10.9m

1m 36s

12.9°

23h 22.6m

Osaka Japan

Japan

Sri Lanka

21h 17.2m

22h29.96m

2m 37s

30.6°

23h 54.4m

Tokyo

Japan

21h 19.2m

22h 34.6m

5m 04s

35.1°

+1

00h 02.8m

Reno

USA

+1

00h 15.3m

+1

01h 30.7m

4m 27s

17.4°

+1

02h 37.2m

Grand Canyon

USA

+1

00h 35.6m

+1

01h 35.6m

3m 19s

9.7°

After Sunset

Santa Fe

USA

+1

00h 27.8m

+1

01h 35.0m

3m 35s

5.0°

After Sunset

Albuquerque

USA

+1

00h 28.4m

+1

01h 35.8m

4m 25s

5.1°

After Sunset

Timings for major cities experiencing an annular eclipse.

Note that +1 indicates a time on May 21 UT

Much of eastern Asia and the western USA will experience a partial eclipse

Location

1^st Contact

(UT)

Mid-Eclipse

(UT)

Maximum

Area of

Sun Eclipsed

Elevation

of Sun at

Maximum

4^th Contact

(UT)

Shanghai

China

Tanzania

21h 15.1m

22h 19.7m

81.2%

16.3°

23h 33.2m

Seoul

South Korea

21h 23.3m

22h 31.1m

73.3%

24.2°

23h 48.3m

Beijing

China

21h 31.5m

22h 33.2m

57.4%

17.0°

23h 41.9m

Anchorage

USA

23h 17.1m

+1

00h 37.9m

58.3%

40.3°

+1

01h 53.8m

Vancouver

Canada

23h 58.8m

+1

01h 15.0m

72.8%

23.9°

+1

02h 23.3m

Portland

USA

+1

00h 04.2m

+1

01h 21.1m

81.4%

22.2°

+1

02h 29.4m

San Francisco

USA

+1

00h 15.9m

+1

01h 32.7m

84.2%

18.7°

+1

02h 39.9m

Denver

USA

+1

00h 22.9m

+1

01h 29.8m

79.2%

6.7°

+1

02h 30.3m

Los Angeles

USA

+1

00h 25.0m

+1

01h 38.3m

78.5%

13.4°

+1

02h 42.7m