Understanding > Astronomical calculations
Total eclipse of the Sun of 7 February 2008
Presentation of the eclipse
Description of the eclipse
This eclipse is the sixth annular eclipse of the XXIst century.
It is visible as partial form Antarctica, New Zealand, southeast of the Australian continent and some islands of the Pacific ocean. The central band crosses Antarctica.
Elements of the eclipse
To account for differences between the optical center and the center of mass of the Moon, positions of the Moon have been corrected of 0.50" in longitude and -0.25" in latitude.
Ephemeris used to calculate the positions of the Sun and the Earth are SLP98 ephemeris (G. Francou, 1998) developed within the Bureau des longitudes. In the lunar theory the tidal term has been changed from a fit to the observations. This change does not affect the calculation of recent eclipses but is necessary for the calculation of ancient eclipses. In this case the value of the TU-TE difference is selected as a function of the modification made. For this calculation the value of TE-TU was exceptionally forced. For calculating apparent positions we used the following theories: theory of the precession of Lieske, the theory of nutation of Wahr (1981) and the formula for calculating the sidereal time of Aoki (1992).
Instant of the geocentric conjunction in right ascension : the 7 February 2008 at 3h 8m 48.904s UT.
Julian day : 2454503.6311215707
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Right ascension of the Sun : | 21h 20m 36.962s. |
| Declination of the Sun : | -15° 31'31.97". |
| Right ascension of the Moon : | 21h 20m 36.962s. |
| Declination of the Moon : | -16° 31' 2.11". |
| Equatorial parallax of the Sun : | 8.92". |
| Equatorial parallax of the Moon : | 57' 11.16". |
| True semi-diameter of the Sun : | 16' 13.09". |
| True semi-diameter of the Moon : | 15' 34.92". |
General circumstances of the eclipse
Magnitude : 0.9829
| Circumstances | UT | Longitude | Latitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning of the general eclipse | the 7 at 1h38.5m | - 42°35.7' | -57°53.8' |
| Beginning of the annular eclipse | the 7 at 3h19.8m | + 64°59.0' | -73°40.4' |
| Beginning of the central eclipse | the 7 at 3h24,0m | + 72°35.4' | -72°56.9' |
| Maximum of the eclipse | the 7 at 3h55.1m | +150°26.7' | -67°35.8' |
| End of the central eclipse | the 7 at 4h26.6m | +135°19.8' | -47°46.6' |
| End of the annular eclipse | the 7 at 4h30.7m | +137°29.8' | -45°56.2' |
| End of the general eclipse | the 7 at 6h11.9m | +175°29.0' | -13°59.4' |
Local map of visibility
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General map of visibility
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The sky at the time of the eclipse
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