Solar eclipse of December 4, 2002 | |
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The diamond ring effect at the end of totality, taken near Woomera, South Australia
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Type of eclipse | |
Nature | Total |
Gamma | −0.302 |
Magnitude | 1.0244 |
Maximum eclipse | |
Duration | 124 s (2 min 4 s) |
Coordinates | 39°30′S 59°36′E / 39.5°S 59.6°E / -39.5; 59.6 |
Max. width of band | 87 km (54 mi) |
Times (UTC) | |
Greatest eclipse | 7:32:16 |
References | |
Saros | 142 (22 of 72) |
Catalog # (SE5000) | 9514 |
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, December 4, 2002,[1][2] with a magnitude of 1.0244. 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. It was visible from a narrow corridor in southern Africa, the Indian Ocean and southern Australia. A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of Africa and Australia. During the sunset after the eclipse many observers in Australia saw numerous and unusual forms of a green flash.[3]
In some parts of Angola, it was the second total eclipse of the Sun within 18 months, following the Solar eclipse of June 21, 2001.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences sent a team to Australia, to study the gravity anomalies[4] first recorded by Indian scientists during the total solar eclipse of October 24, 1995.[5] The Chinese Academy of Sciences also studied it during previous total solar eclipses of March 9, 1997inMohe County and June 21, 2001inZambia. With continuous observation for more than 10 years after that, China obtained the first observational evidence that the gravity field propagates at the speed of light.[6]
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.[7]
The partial solar eclipses on February 5, 2000 and July 31, 2000 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 2000 to 2003 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
117 | July 1, 2000![]() Partial |
−1.28214 | 122![]() Partial projection in Minneapolis, MN, USA |
December 25, 2000![]() Partial |
1.13669 | |
127![]() Totality in Lusaka, Zambia |
June 21, 2001![]() Total |
−0.57013 | 132![]() Partial in Minneapolis, MN, USA |
December 14, 2001![]() Annular |
0.40885 | |
137![]() Partial in Los Angeles, CA, USA |
June 10, 2002![]() Annular |
0.19933 | 142![]() Totality in Woomera, South Australia |
December 4, 2002![]() Total |
−0.30204 | |
147![]() Annularity in Culloden, Scotland |
May 31, 2003![]() Annular |
0.99598 | 152![]() |
November 23, 2003![]() Total |
−0.96381 |
This eclipse is a part of Saros series 142, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on April 17, 1624. It contains a hybrid eclipse on July 14, 1768, and total eclipses from July 25, 1786 through October 29, 2543. There are no annular eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on June 5, 2904. 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 totality will be produced by member 38 at 6 minutes, 34 seconds on May 28, 2291. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[8]
Series members 11–32 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
---|---|---|
11 | 12 | 13 |
![]() August 5, 1804 |
![]() August 16, 1822 |
![]() August 27, 1840 |
14 | 15 | 16 |
![]() September 7, 1858 |
![]() September 17, 1876 |
![]() September 29, 1894 |
17 | 18 | 19 |
![]() October 10, 1912 |
![]() October 21, 1930 |
![]() November 1, 1948 |
20 | 21 | 22 |
![]() November 12, 1966 |
![]() November 22, 1984 |
![]() December 4, 2002 |
23 | 24 | 25 |
![]() December 14, 2020 |
![]() December 26, 2038 |
![]() January 5, 2057 |
26 | 27 | 28 |
![]() January 16, 2075 |
![]() January 27, 2093 |
![]() February 8, 2111 |
29 | 30 | 31 |
![]() February 18, 2129 |
![]() March 2, 2147 |
![]() March 12, 2165 |
32 | ||
![]() March 23, 2183 |
This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
Series members between 1901 and 2100 | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() September 9, 1904 (Saros 133) |
![]() August 10, 1915 (Saros 134) |
![]() July 9, 1926 (Saros 135) | |
![]() June 8, 1937 (Saros 136) |
![]() May 9, 1948 (Saros 137) |
![]() April 8, 1959 (Saros 138) | |
![]() March 7, 1970 (Saros 139) |
![]() February 4, 1981 (Saros 140) |
![]() January 4, 1992 (Saros 141) | |
![]() December 4, 2002 (Saros 142) |
![]() November 3, 2013 (Saros 143) |
![]() October 2, 2024 (Saros 144) | |
![]() September 2, 2035 (Saros 145) |
![]() August 2, 2046 (Saros 146) |
![]() July 1, 2057 (Saros 147) | |
![]() May 31, 2068 (Saros 148) |
![]() May 1, 2079 (Saros 149) |
![]() March 31, 2090 (Saros 150) |
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 July 11, 1953 and July 11, 2029 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
July 10–11 | April 29–30 | February 15–16 | December 4 | September 21–23 |
116 | 118 | 120 | 122 | 124 |
![]() July 11, 1953 |
![]() April 30, 1957 |
![]() February 15, 1961 |
![]() December 4, 1964 |
![]() September 22, 1968 |
126 | 128 | 130 | 132 | 134 |
![]() July 10, 1972 |
![]() April 29, 1976 |
![]() February 16, 1980 |
![]() December 4, 1983 |
![]() September 23, 1987 |
136 | 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 |
![]() July 11, 1991 |
![]() April 29, 1995 |
![]() February 16, 1999 |
![]() December 4, 2002 |
![]() September 22, 2006 |
146 | 148 | 150 | 152 | 154 |
![]() July 11, 2010 |
![]() April 29, 2014 |
![]() February 15, 2018 |
![]() December 4, 2021 |
![]() September 21, 2025 |
156 | ||||
![]() July 11, 2029 |
Photos: