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AAAA News and Activities 2003

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The Mars Year - 2003
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May 31, 2003, Annular Eclipse

  • An Annular Eclipse of the Sun will occur on Saturday, May 31, 2003, as the New Moon passes in front of the sun.
  • An annular eclipse is a ring eclipse, which occurs when the disk of the moon, passing in front of the sun, is smaller than the disk of the sun. The result is a ring of sunlight with the dark shadow of the moon in the center. This situation occurs when the moon is at a far point in its orbit, causing the relative size of the moon to seem smaller than that of the sun.
  • Greatest Eclipse occurs at 04:08:17.6 UT, with totality lasting from 03:44 UT to 04:31 UT. about 47 minutes.
  • This annular eclipse is unusual in the sense that the eclipse shadow is passing right along the terminator between the sunlit and dark side of the earth. Thus, the eclipse will seem to be moving right along the horizon at sunrise in the areas of observability, with the path of annularity running from east to west instead of vice versa..
  • This eclipse can be seen most conveniently from Reykjavik, Iceland, as well as parts of Greenland. The most northern part of Scotland can also see totality for a short duration as the eclipse begins. Northern Europe, as well as most of Russia, will be able to see partial phases during sunrise.
  • The greatest challenge for observers of this eclipse will be cloud cover. In the areas in which the full eclipse is visible, the likelihood of clear skies is less than 20 per cent. This, combined with the relative inaccessibility of possible observing locations due to cold and ice means that only the most hardy observers will likely view this event.

May 31, 2003 Annular Eclipse Data

Partial Eclipse Begins - P1: 01:46:16.1 UT
Annular Eclipse Begins - U1: 03:44:45.7 UT
Greatest Eclipse: 04:08:17.6 UT
Annular Eclipse Ends - U4: 04:31:28.6 UT
Partial Eclipse Ends - P4: 06:30:03.5 UT

Annular Eclipse
May 31, 2003

Click HERE to see AAAA photos from the Lunar Eclipse of January 20, 2000



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