Solar eclipse of May 21, 2031


An annular solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, May 21, 2031, with a magnitude of 0.9589. 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 3.8 days before apogee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be smaller.
Annularity will be visible from parts of Angola, Zambia, the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Malawi, Tanzania, southern India, northern Sri Lanka, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, southern Thailand, Malaysia, and much of Indonesia. A partial eclipse will be visible for much of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

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 Contact2031 May 21 at 04:15:23.0 UTC
First Umbral External Contact2031 May 21 at 05:19:52.6 UTC
First Central Line2031 May 21 at 05:21:47.0 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact2031 May 21 at 05:23:41.5 UTC
First Penumbral Internal Contact2031 May 21 at 06:30:37.3 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction2031 May 21 at 07:13:28.3 UTC
Greatest Eclipse2031 May 21 at 07:16:04.3 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction2031 May 21 at 07:18:22.9 UTC
Greatest Duration2031 May 21 at 07:24:28.7 UTC
Last Penumbral Internal Contact2031 May 21 at 08:01:34.7 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact2031 May 21 at 09:08:27.6 UTC
Last Central Line2031 May 21 at 09:10:24.0 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact2031 May 21 at 09:12:20.5 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact2031 May 21 at 10:16:51.4 UTC

ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude0.95892
Eclipse Obscuration0.91954
Gamma−0.19699
Sun Right Ascension03h51m34.6s
Sun Declination+20°09'39.2"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'48.2"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension03h51m39.8s
Moon Declination+19°58'57.5"
Moon Semi-Diameter14'55.8"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°54'47.5"
ΔT74.4 s

Stars and Planets during the Eclipse

Even those stars and planets bright enough to be visible during a total solar eclipse are in most cases not visible during an annular eclipse. The best candidate for naked-eye sighting is Venus, although it will be many degrees east of the Sun and therefore below the eastern horizon for morning observers in Africa. In southern India it will be well up in the east but at a lower altitude than the Sun. Venus will be best seen in those areas such as Malaysia and Indonesia where the eclipse peaks near sunset; it will be high in the west.
If any star is spotted during the eclipse it will be Sirius, which will be high in the east-southeast for observers in India and high in the west-southwest for observers in the East Indies.

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. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.
May 7
Ascending node
May 21
Descending node
June 5
Ascending node
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 112		Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 138		Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 150

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2031

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 138

Inex

Triad