Solar eclipse of March 9, 1997
Solar eclipse of March 9, 1997 | |
---|---|
Type of eclipse | |
Nature | Total |
Gamma | 0.9183 |
Magnitude | 1.042 |
Maximum eclipse | |
Duration | 170 s (2 min 50 s) |
Coordinates | 57°48′N 130°42′E / 57.8°N 130.7°E |
Max. width of band | 356 km (221 mi) |
Times (UTC) | |
Greatest eclipse | 1:24:51 |
References | |
Saros | 120 (60 of 71) |
Catalog # (SE5000) | 9501 |
A total solar eclipse occurred on Sunday, March 9, 1997. 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. Totality was visible in eastern tip of Kazakhstan, northern tip of Xinjiang and Northeastern China, Northern Mongolia and Russia.
Unusual gravity variations
This solar eclipse is somewhat special in the sense that some unexplained gravity anomalies of about 7 10−8 m/s2 during the solar eclipse were observed. Attempts (e.g., Van Flandern–Yang hypothesis) to explain these anomalies have not been able to reach a definite conclusion.[1]
Images
Related eclipses
Eclipses of 1997
- A total solar eclipse on March 9.
- A partial lunar eclipse on March 24.
- A partial solar eclipse on September 2.
- A total lunar eclipse on September 16.
Solar eclipses 1997–2000
This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[2]
The partial solar eclipses on July 1, 2000 and December 25, 2000 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1997 to 2000 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Descending node | Ascending node | |||||
Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
120 Totality in Chita, Russia |
March 9, 1997 Total |
0.9183 | 125 | September 2, 1997 Partial |
−1.0352 | |
130 Totality near Guadeloupe |
February 26, 1998 Total |
0.2391 | 135 | August 22, 1998 Annular |
−0.2644 | |
140 | February 16, 1999 Annular |
−0.4726 | 145 Totality in France |
August 11, 1999 Total |
0.5062 | |
150 | February 5, 2000 Partial |
−1.2233 | 155 | July 31, 2000 Partial |
1.2166 |
Saros 120
This eclipse is a part of Saros series 120, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on May 27, 933 AD. It contains annular eclipses from August 11, 1059 through April 26, 1492; hybrid eclipses from May 8, 1510 through June 8, 1564; and total eclipses from June 20, 1582 through March 30, 2033. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 7, 2195. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 11 at 6 minutes, 24 seconds on September 11, 1113, and the longest duration of totality was produced by member 60 at 2 minutes, 50 seconds on March 9, 1997. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[3]
Series members 50–71 occur between 1801 and 2195: | ||
---|---|---|
50 | 51 | 52 |
November 19, 1816 |
November 30, 1834 |
December 11, 1852 |
53 | 54 | 55 |
December 22, 1870 |
January 1, 1889 |
January 14, 1907 |
56 | 57 | 58 |
January 24, 1925 |
February 4, 1943 |
February 15, 1961 |
59 | 60 | 61 |
February 26, 1979 |
March 9, 1997 |
March 20, 2015 |
62 | 63 | 64 |
March 30, 2033 |
April 11, 2051 |
April 21, 2069 |
65 | 66 | 67 |
May 2, 2087 |
May 14, 2105 |
May 25, 2123 |
68 | 69 | 70 |
June 4, 2141 |
June 16, 2159 |
June 26, 2177 |
71 | ||
July 7, 2195 |
Metonic series
The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
21 eclipse events between May 21, 1993 and May 20, 2069 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
May 20–21 | March 9 | December 25–26 | October 13–14 | August 1–2 |
118 | 120 | 122 | 124 | 126 |
May 21, 1993 |
March 9, 1997 |
December 25, 2000 |
October 14, 2004 |
August 1, 2008 |
128 | 130 | 132 | 134 | 136 |
May 20, 2012 |
March 9, 2016 |
December 26, 2019 |
October 14, 2023 |
August 2, 2027 |
138 | 140 | 142 | 144 | 146 |
May 21, 2031 |
March 9, 2035 |
December 26, 2038 |
October 14, 2042 |
August 2, 2046 |
148 | 150 | 152 | 154 | 156 |
May 20, 2050 |
March 9, 2054 |
December 26, 2057 |
October 13, 2061 |
August 2, 2065 |
158 | ||||
May 20, 2069 |
See also
References
- ^ Wang, Qian-shen; Yang, Xin-she; Wu, Chuan-zhen; Guo, Hong-gang; Liu, Hong-chen; Hua, Chang-chai (2000-07-14). "Precise measurement of gravity variations during a total solar eclipse". Physical Review D. 62 (4). American Physical Society (APS): 041101(R). arXiv:1003.4947. doi:10.1103/physrevd.62.041101. ISSN 0556-2821.
- ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 120". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
External links
- solar-eclipse.de: The total solar eclipse of 03/09/1997
- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
Photos: