Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003

Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003
Annular from Culloden, Scotland
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureAnnular
Gamma0.996
Magnitude0.9384
Maximum eclipse
Duration217 s (3 min 37 s)
Coordinates66°36′N 24°30′W / 66.6°N 24.5°W / 66.6; -24.5
Max. width of band- km
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse4:09:22
References
Saros147 (22 of 80)
Catalog # (SE5000)9515

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Saturday, May 31, 2003,[1] with a magnitude of 0.9384. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 2.6 days after apogee (on May 28, 2003, at 14:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.[2]

Annularity was visible across central Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Jan Mayen and northern Scotland. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Eastern Europe, North Asia, West Asia, Middle East, Alaska, Greenland, and northwestern Canada.

People from around the world traveled to see the eclipse from the small portion of Britain from which it could be seen, with the Independent saying: "A timely gap in the clouds was all it took to make the arduous journey to the northernmost reaches of Scotland worthwhile". In the village of Durness, the eclipse was observed by Patrick Moore and Brian May.[3] [4] However, viewing parties in Orkney saw "just another grey morning in the far north of Scotland".[5][6] In India, hundreds of thousands of Hindus carried out a tradition of bathing in sacred rivers during the eclipse, with queues as long as 3 mi (4.8 km).[6] A partial eclipse was observed in large parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, including Greece.[7]

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  1. ^ "May 31, 2003 Annular Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Independent 2003-06-01 p17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Observer 2003-06-01 p1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Observer 2003-06-01 p7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Florid20030601p49 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference OmahaW20030601p13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).