Solar eclipse of March 29, 2006
The total solar eclipse of 29 March 2006 with a totality duration of a little over four minutes, the first major total eclipse since 2001. Zone of the total eclipse began in Brazil, covered in Africa from Ghana to the border between Libya and Egypt, then northeastward across the Mediterranean, through Turkey and Georgia to Russia and Kazakhstan. In Central Europe, the eclipse could be observed in its partial phase in the morning hours.
The eclipse was in the first decade of the 21st century, perhaps the most promising candidate to travel in the zone of totality - at least from Central Europe. The combination of distance, climate and tourist infrastructure was favorable for parts of the zone of totality of this eclipse. As destinations Libya, Egypt and especially Turkey offered, where for example the Turkish Riviera was in the zone of totality. The good weather in the eastern Mediterranean during the eclipse then allowed actually very good observing conditions.
Classification of Darkness
Since the moon just one day before the eclipse its perigee path point ( perigee ) reached its apparent diameter was 33 '10 " from relatively large. Was The apparent diameter of the sun that day significantly smaller (32' 02"), the ratio the diameter of the moon to that of the sun was 1.05151.
The path of the umbra was some 14,500 kilometers long and up to 189 km wide, the total duration of darkness was 3 hours and 12 minutes. The climax was reached in southern Libya at 11:11:18 local time, the totality duration was there for 4 minutes and 7 seconds, where the sun was 67 ° above the southern horizon. The so-called gamma value that specifies the minimum distance of the axis of the umbra cone from the center of the earth relative to the equator radius was 0.38433. The positive value means that this axis while north of Erdmittelpunkts walked by.
The darkness was the 29th of Saros cycle 139, which comprises a total of 71 solar eclipses in a period of 1262 years. The eclipses will find all close to the ascending lunar node instead, 16 of them are partial, 43 total and 12 hybrid ( annular -total ), no one is purely annular. The longest eclipse of this cycle will take place on July 16, 2186 with a maximum totality duration of 7 minutes and 29 seconds.
Course
Global History
With the sunrise in the east of Brazil at 08:36 UT (Universal Time ) of the umbra of the Moon first met the earth. The zone of totality was there at the beginning of darkness a width of 129 kilometers. The umbra crossed the Atlantic and reached the African continent in Ghana at 09:08 UT. There, the totality duration was on the center line already 3 minutes and 24 seconds.
The umbra crossed Africa now in a northeasterly direction, led by Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger and Chad slipped in the northwest. The peak of the eclipse was reached at 10:11 UT in the south of Libya, on the border with Chad, the duration of darkness was here more than 4 minutes, the width of the umbra amounted to 184 km. The speed at which the shadow moves across the Earth's surface was of 32,000 km / h of darkness beginning at 2509 km / h dropped.
After the umbra Libya and then Egypt had happened in the far north-west, he crossed to the northeast the Mediterranean between Crete and Cyprus, reaching the southern coast of Turkey at 10:54 UT. Within the zone of totality were the Turkish cities of Antalya, Konya and Sivas. In the latter, the shadow crossed the path of darkness from 1999, so that there the second total solar eclipse was observed in less than six years. At 11:10 UT the umbra reached the southeastern part of the Black Sea, the width of the zone of totality to 165 km and the totality duration was decreased to 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
The umbra crossed the Caucasus and Georgia, reached Russia, crossed the northern part of the Caspian Sea and reached at 11:40 UT Kazakhstan. The shadow rate had grown back to 5430 km / h. At 11:48 UT left the umbra after crossing the Central Asian steppe on the northern border of Mongolia up to the surface.
Times for selected locations in the zone of totality
The following table indicates the contact times and the duration of totality for different locations in the zone of totality. The first contact marks the beginning of the eclipse, when the moon touches the solar disk for the first time. The totality occurs between the second and third contact, the fourth contact means the end of the subsequent partial phase and thus the end of darkness. All times are in Universal Time. The size is the ratio of the apparent lunar and solar diameter.
History in Central Europe
From Central Europe from the eclipse was observed only in its partial phase. The eclipse took place here around noon of March 29, 2006 and is lasted about two hours, the coverage increased to the southeast. In Vienna, a coverage of 45 percent was achieved, in Bern, there were 33 and 32 per cent in Berlin.
Weather during the eclipse
The partial phase was observed in Central Europe because of the low " Jasmine" hardly. In Germany the best chance still existed in the East and Bavaria. In Switzerland, the darkness fell out mostly. There was variable cloud cover that allowed only limited attention to the darkness, the best viewing opportunities there were in Ticino, in the Engadine and the southern valleys of Grisons. In Austria, the situation was no better, in Vienna it was raining, the conditions improved only towards the end of the darkness a little.
The weather conditions in parts of the zone of totality, which had been targeted as the main destinations of " Eclipse chasers ", however, was extremely low. The best chance to see the eclipse, was predicted with 60 percent for the border area between Libya and Egypt in the north of the two countries. The forecast direction of Central Anatolia was for the south coast of Turkey at 50 percent, to the northeast, the probability was gradually less favorable. The entire eastern Mediterranean had finally exceptionally good conditions. Even in West Africa, where the forecasts had been rather unfavorable, the darkness could be followed.
Research and observations
The solar eclipse in 2006 was - how many total eclipses of the past - for numerous researches used. On the Greek island of Kastelorizo , which was the only one belonging to the European Union area in the zone of totality, such as the solar corona was investigated. For comparison, here an investigation by the SOHO spacecraft was carried out parallel to this ground-based observation also. Other research projects concerned with the corona; Shape and structure have been studied as the innermost part of the corona can be examined only during an eclipse. In addition, a predictive model was tested. The corona was thereby classified as located in the middle stage just before a minimum ( "intermediate pre - minimum type corona. ").
Another example of a research project was the simulation of the light rays in the zone of totality by means of a three-dimensional model took into account the multiple scattering of light rays. An attempt was made using a Monte Carlo simulation to predict the color and brightness of the sky darkness. The influence of the direct light by the corona was examined. This project is intended to serve the planning and optimization of further experiments for the study of light.
Fringes of darkness
In some of the more remote villages of Central Anatolia, the fear had spread, that there should be a major earthquake after the eclipse there in the days. Even a researcher is said to have made such a prediction, and the fact that there had been after the last eclipse of 1999, a major earthquake in northwestern Turkey, reinforced these fears. The authorities tried to counteract this fear. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the village Yolkonak wanted for two months leave their homes at Niksar from the darkness and live in tents.
As in Nigeria, a partial eclipse was seen in 1989, indicated religious fanatics this as a divine symbol and there were riots in which 28 people were killed and churches were set on fire. Therefore, the Nigerian Broadcasting had called before the eclipse in 2006 to rest and educated about the natural phenomenon, so that a repetition of such incidents could be avoided.
In Australia and New Zealand, there came the following day of darkness into a 13- hour loss of satellite television, were affected by the approximately half a million spectators. The operating company, Sky Television claimed that the signal from the satellite Optus B1 could not be made on the back, because the satellite had confessed before the failure in the shadow of the eclipse and therefore first had to recharge the power cells. An astronomer gave this presentation, however, for a nonsensical excuse, because the satellite only about four minutes had been in the shadow of the eclipse and the alleged power failure had occurred only 21 hours after the actual eclipse.
Impressions
Observation of partial phase
During the totality
Prominences