Solar eclipse of January 26, 2009


An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Monday, January 26, 2009, with a magnitude of 0.9282. 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. An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 3.3 days after apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
The eclipse was visible from a narrow corridor beginning in the south Atlantic Ocean and sweeping eastward 900 km south of Africa, slowly curving northeast through the Indian Ocean. Its first landfall was in the Cocos Islands followed by southern Sumatra and western Java. It continued somewhat more easterly across central Borneo, across the northwestern edge of Celebes, then ending just before Mindanao, Philippines. The duration of annularity at greatest eclipse lasted 7 minutes, 53.58 seconds, but at greatest duration lasted 7 minutes, 56.05 seconds. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Southern Africa, East Antarctica, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Australia.
The date of this eclipse was the exact day of Lunar New Year, celebrated in parts of Asia, where this eclipse was visible.

Images

Animated path

Eclipse details

Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
EventTime
First Penumbral External Contact2009 January 26 at 04:57:42.7 UTC
First Umbral External Contact2009 January 26 at 06:03:44.5 UTC
First Central Line2009 January 26 at 06:06:54.1 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact2009 January 26 at 06:10:04.0 UTC
First Penumbral Internal Contact2009 January 26 at 07:22:11.5 UTC
Greatest Duration2009 January 26 at 07:43:23.8 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction2009 January 26 at 07:47:30.2 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction2009 January 26 at 07:56:23.1 UTC
Greatest Eclipse2009 January 26 at 07:59:44.5 UTC
Last Penumbral Internal Contact2009 January 26 at 08:37:36.7 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact2009 January 26 at 09:49:34.5 UTC
Last Central Line2009 January 26 at 09:52:42.3 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact2009 January 26 at 09:55:49.6 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact2009 January 26 at 11:01:46.9 UTC

ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude0.92825
Eclipse Obscuration0.86165
Gamma−0.28197
Sun Right Ascension20h35m32.8s
Sun Declination-18°38'55.0"
Sun Semi-Diameter16'14.6"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.9"
Moon Right Ascension20h35m55.2s
Moon Declination-18°53'18.2"
Moon Semi-Diameter14'51.6"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°54'32.2"
ΔT65.8 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
January 26
Ascending node
February 9
Descending node
Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 131		Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 143

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2009

An annular solar eclipse on January 26.

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 131

Inex

Triad