Understanding > Astronomical calculations
Total eclipse of the Sun of 1 August 2008
Presentation of the eclipse
Description of the eclipse
This eclipse is the fifth total eclipse of twentyth century, it will be visible at the north pole, on the north-eastern of North America, Europe and Asia. The line of totality begins at the north-eastern Canada, then crosses the northwest Greenland, the Arctic glacial ocean, Arkhangelsk island, Siberian north, western Mongolia and ends in China. It will be almost invisible in France, the degree of obscuration is about 6%.
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 1 August 2008 at 9h 47m 19.887s UT.
Julian day : 2454679.9078690657
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Right ascension of the Sun : | 8h 47m 48.694s. |
| Declination of the Sun : | +17° 52'17.88". |
| Right ascension of the Moon : | 8h 47m 48.694s. |
| Declination of the Moon : | +18° 45' 10.79". |
| Equatorial parallax of the Sun : | 8.66". |
| Equatorial parallax of the Moon : | 59' 35.57". |
| True semi-diameter of the Sun : | 15' 45.51". |
| True semi-diameter of the Moon : | 16' 14.26". |
General circumstances of the eclipse
Magnitude : 1.0202
| Circumstances | UT | Longitude | Latitude |
| Beginning of the general eclipse | the 1 at 8h 4.1m | + 52°14.1' | +50°12.4' |
| Beginning of the total eclipse | the 1 at 9h21.0m | +101°12.1' | +67°53.0' |
| Beginning of the central eclipse | the 1 at 9h22,6m | +103° 7.0' | +68°16.7' |
| Central eclipse at true noon or midnight | the 1 at 9h47,3m | - 34°44.6' | +81° 6.8' |
| Maximum of the eclipse | the 1 at 10h21.1m | - 72°16.4' | +65°39.7' |
| Fin of the central eclipse | the 1 at 11h19,9m | -113°53.4' | +33°29.1' |
| End of the total eclipse | the 1 at 11h21.5m | -113°12.9' | +32°51.3' |
| End of the general eclipse | the 1 at 12h38,4m | - 85°36.5' | +11° 9.9' |
General maps of visibility
Click on the maps to enlarge them.
The sky at the time of the eclipse
Click on the map to enlarge it.
Local maps of visibility
Click on the maps to enlarge them.
