Solar eclipse of March 20, 2015


A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, March 20, 2015, with a magnitude of 1.0445. 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 a partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 14 hours after perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible in the Faroe Islands and Svalbard. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Greenland, Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, and western Russia. This total solar eclipse is notable in that the path of totality passed over the North Pole.
The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes and 47 seconds off the coast of the Faroe Islands. It was the last total solar eclipse visible in Europe until the eclipse of August 12, 2026.

Event

Simulation

The solar eclipse began at 08:30 GMT in northwest Europe, and moved towards the northeast, but was still in northern Europe. It was most visible from the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Faroe Islands, northern Norway and Murmansk Oblast. The shadow began its pass off the south coast of Greenland. It then moved to the northeast, passing between Iceland and the United Kingdom before moving over the Faroe Islands and the northernmost islands of Norway. The shadow of the eclipse was visible in varying degrees all over Europe.
For example, London experienced an 86.8% partial solar eclipse while points north of the Faroe Islands in the Norwegian Sea saw a complete solar eclipse. Three chartered airliners flew above the clouds, giving passengers a slightly prolonged view.
The eclipse was observed at radio frequencies at the Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Finland, where a partial eclipse was seen. The eclipse was also observed by meteorological satellite Meteosat-10.

Impact

The European Union has a solar power output of about 90 gigawatts and production could have been temporarily decreased by up to 34 GW of that dependent on the clarity of the sky. In actuality the dip was less than expected, with a 13 GW drop in Germany happening due to overcast skies. This was the first time that an eclipse had a significant impact on the power system, and the electricity sector took measures to mitigate the impact. The power gradient may be −400 MW/minute and +700 MW/minute. Places in Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark were 80-85% obscured. The temperature drops varied greatly across Europe, with most areas having an insignificant drop in temperature due to the overcast weather, while others, like Scotland, Wales, and Iceland received a drop of 2-4°C. These areas were not obscured by cloud cover during the eclipse which may have led to the drop in temperature. Wind speed in the UK dropped by ~9%.

Coincidence of events

In addition to the eclipse, 20 March 2015 was also the day of the March equinox. In addition, six supermoons were expected for 2015. The supermoon on 20 March 2015 was the third of the year; however, it was a new moon, and only its shadow was visible.
At greatest eclipse, the Sun was at its zenith less than south of the Equator. Greatest eclipse occurred at 09:45:39 UTC of Friday, March 20, 2015, while March Equinox occurred at 22:45:09 UTC, just under 13 hours after the greatest eclipse.

Religious significance

Proponents of the Blood Moon Prophecy, such as Bob O'Dell also pointed out that 20 March 2015 was also a significant day on the Jewish and Biblical calendar. That evening was the onset of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month in the Biblical calendar year. Furthermore, the path of the total eclipse over the North Pole was a highly symbolic location infusing the day with both great natural significance and profound religious meaning according to O'Dell. Due to the significance of the eclipse, a global prayer event in Jerusalem was organized that day.

Eclipse visibility

The event was visible as a partial eclipse all across Europe including: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Montenegro, Finland, Western Russia, and Ukraine.

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 Contact2015 March 20 at 07:41:59.5 UTC
First Umbral External Contact2015 March 20 at 09:10:40.3 UTC
First Central Line2015 March 20 at 09:13:50.9 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact2015 March 20 at 09:17:19.8 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction2015 March 20 at 09:37:18.1 UTC
Greatest Duration2015 March 20 at 09:46:24.2 UTC
Greatest Eclipse2015 March 20 at 09:46:46.8 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction2015 March 20 at 10:18:14.1 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact2015 March 20 at 10:15:51.3 UTC
Last Central Line2015 March 20 at 10:19:19.7 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact2015 March 20 at 10:22:29.9 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact2015 March 20 at 11:51:20.4 UTC

ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude1.04455
Eclipse Obscuration1.09109
Gamma0.94536
Sun Right Ascension23h58m01.5s
Sun Declination-00°12'50.4"
Sun Semi-Diameter16'03.7"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.8"
Moon Right Ascension23h56m50.5s
Moon Declination+00°42'08.7"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'41.6"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax1°01'15.8"
ΔT67.7 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.
March 20
Descending node
April 4
Ascending node
Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 120		Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 132

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2015

A total solar eclipse on March 20.

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 120

Inex

Triad