Understanding > Astronomical calculations
Total eclipse of the Sun on 21-22 July 2009
Presentation of the eclipse
Description of the eclipse
This eclipse is the sixth total eclipse of twenty-first century, it will be visible in Asia and Micronesia. The line of totality starts at the west of India, it crosses Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China and the extreme south of Japan. It will end on the Pacific Ocean and the states of Micronesia. It will be visible in the form of a partial eclipse over a large part of Asia and the ocean Pacific.
Note that this eclipse crosses the International Date Line from west to east. In Coordinated Universal Time it starts on July 21 and ends July 22 . But in local legal time it takes place on September 22, 2009 for the premises located at the west of the International Date Line (places with a positive time difference compared to Greenwich) and ends on July 21, 2009 for the premises located at the east of the International Date Line (places with a negative time offset from Greenwich).
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 positions of the Sun and the Earth are the ephemeris INPOP06 (A. Fienga et al., 2008) developed at the IMCCE. For this calculation the value of TE-TU was exceptionally forced. For calculating the apparent positions, the theories we used were the following: the theory of precession UAI 2000 (P03), the theory of nutation 2000A (2003), and the formula for calculating the sidereal time UAI 2000.
Instant of the geocentric conjunction in right ascension : the 22 July 2009 at 2h 33m 0.544s UT.
Julian day : : 2455034.6062562964
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Right ascension of the Sun : | 8h 6m 23.728s. |
| Declination of the Sun : | +20° 16' 4.14". |
| Right ascension of the Moon : | 8h 6m 23.728s. |
| Declination of the Moon : | +20° 20'32.76". |
| Equatorial parallax of the Sun : | 8.66". |
| Equatorial parallax of the Moon : | 61' 19.84". |
| True semi-diameter of the Sun : | 15' 44.51". |
| True semi-diameter of the Moon : | 16' 42.67". |
Magnitude : 1.0404
| Circumstances | UT | Longitude | Latitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning of the general eclipse | the 21 at 23h58,3m | - 84°43.2' | +19° 2.9' |
| Beginning of the total eclipse | the 22 at 0h51.2m | - 70°57.5' | +20°17.9' |
| Beginning of the central eclipse | the 22 at 0h52.8m | - 70°31.4' | +20°21.5' |
| Central eclipse at true noon or midnight | the 22 at 2h33.0m | -143°21.6' | +24°36.7' |
| Maximum of the eclipse | the 22 at 2h35.3m | -144° 7.2' | +24°13.0' |
| End of the central eclipse | the 22 at 4h17.8m | +157°41.1' | -12°54.9' |
| End of the total eclipse | the 22 at 4h19.4m | +158° 7.0' | -12°58.5' |
| End of the general eclipse | the 22 at 5h12,4m | +171°50.9' | -14°13.8' |
Local map
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General map
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The sky at the time of the eclipse
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