Solar eclipse of July 11, 2010


A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Sunday, July 11 and Monday, July 12, 2010, with a magnitude of 1.058. 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. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 1.6 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

Visibility

The eclipse on this day was one of the most remote in recorded history. It was visible over much of the southern Pacific Ocean, touching Mangaia, several atolls in French Polynesia, Easter Island, and Chile and Argentina's Patagonian plains including the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.
Fred Espenak, a NASA astrophysicist, said:
In French Polynesia, the eclipse was seen with 98 percent totality. During that time, the diamond ring effect and the Baily's beads occurred.
It ended at sunset over the southern tips of Argentina and Chile in South America, including the town of El Calafate. The Sun's altitude was only 1° during the 2 minute 47 second total phase, but Argentino Lake offered an adequate line-of-sight to the eclipse hanging just above the rugged Andes skyline.
A 58% partiality occurred at sunset in Santiago, Chile, but it was not visible due to adverse weather conditions. In other cities such as Valparaíso and Coquimbo, clearer skies permitted the event to be witnessed in continental Chile.

Observations

Total eclipse began southeast of Tonga at approximately 18:15 UTC and reached Easter Island by 20:11 UTC. The global sky photography project The World At Night stationed photographers throughout the eclipse's visibility track. Eclipse chasers photographed the event on board a chartered airplane, cruise ships, numerous Pacific islands, and in Argentina's Patagonia region. Totality was observed for four minutes and 41 seconds on Easter Island, where it was observed for the first time in 1,400 years. Approximately 4,000 observers visited Easter Island for this eclipse, including tourists, scientists, photographers, filmmakers and journalists, prompting an increase in security at its important moai archeological sites. The eclipse occurred at the same time that the final game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup was being played in South Africa, and many soccer fans in Tahiti watched the match instead of observing the partial eclipse with a high percentage of obscuring the Sun by over 98%. The path of totality of this eclipse barely missed some significant inhabited islands, including passing just about 20 km south of the southern end of Tahiti.
This eclipse was the first one to happen over French Polynesia in 350 years. An estimated 5,000 tourists visited various islands in the archipelago to observe the event. Nearly 120,000 pairs of special glasses were distributed for observers. Eclipse chasers were also able to observe the eclipse at El Calafate, near the southern tip of Argentina, before the sun set just two minutes later.
Several hours after the eclipse was observed in continental Chile, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in the Antofagasta Region. There were no major injuries or damage in the nearby cities of Calama, Chile and San Pedro de Atacama.

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 Contact2010 July 11 at 17:10:44.0 UTC
First Umbral External Contact2010 July 11 at 18:16:18.5 UTC
First Central Line2010 July 11 at 18:17:56.9 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact2010 July 11 at 18:19:36.2 UTC
Greatest Duration2010 July 11 at 19:32:32.2 UTC
Greatest Eclipse2010 July 11 at 19:34:37.9 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction2010 July 11 at 19:41:33.7 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction2010 July 11 at 19:52:01.5 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact2010 July 11 at 20:49:26.0 UTC
Last Central Line2010 July 11 at 20:51:07.2 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact2010 July 11 at 20:52:47.5 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact2010 July 11 at 21:58:20.8 UTC

ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude1.05805
Eclipse Obscuration1.11946
Gamma−0.67877
Sun Right Ascension07h23m57.6s
Sun Declination+22°02'11.0"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'43.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension07h23m15.8s
Moon Declination+21°22'29.3"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'26.6"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax1°00'20.9"
ΔT66.2 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.
June 26
Ascending node
July 11
Descending node
Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 120		Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 146

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2010

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 146

Inex

Triad