Solar eclipse of July 2, 2019

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Solar eclipse of July 2, 2019
SE2019Jul02T.gif
classification
Type Total
area South Pacific , South America
Total: South Pacific , Pitcairn Islands , Chile , Argentina
Saros cycle 127 (58 of 82)
Gamma value −0.6464
Greatest eclipse
Duration 4 minutes 33 seconds
place South pacific
location 17 ° 23 ′  S , 108 ° 59 ′  W Coordinates: 17 ° 23 ′  S , 108 ° 59 ′  W
time July 2, 2019 7:22:53 PM   UT
size 1.0459
World map of the solar eclipse of July 2, 2019

The total solar eclipse of July 2, 2019 occurred mainly over the southern Pacific Ocean . Towards the end of the eclipse the umbra of the moon swept the South American continent from west to east, the eclipse ended near the Río de la Plata .

The previous total solar eclipse took place on August 21, 2017 , almost two years before. In between there was a relatively long period without a central eclipse, but four partial solar eclipses occurred in which the shadow cone of the moon only grazed the earth .

course

The umbra first hit the earth 2000 kilometers east-northeast of New Zealand . Then the shadow path crossed the Pacific and hardly touched the mainland, the uninhabited atoll Oeno was in the totality zone. The maximum of the eclipse occurred at 19:23 UT ( Universal Time ) in the middle of the Pacific ( 17 ° 23 ′  S , 108 ° 59 ′  W ). On the central line, the maximum duration of 4 minutes and 33 seconds totality was achieved, the umbra was 201 kilometers wide.

Around 20:40 UT the umbra in northern Chile reached the South American mainland. The afternoon sun (4:30 p.m. local time) was only about 14 degrees above the horizon, as July is winter in the southern hemisphere. The duration of totality has then already decreased to 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Then the shadow path crossed the South American continent, reached Argentina and the umbra left the earth a little southwest of Buenos Aires .

In Chile's capital Santiago de Chile , the sun has been eclipsed to 92%. In the capital of Argentina Buenos Aires, which lies just north of the totality zone, the sun was eclipsed to 99.7%, with the sun going down a few minutes after the maximum of the eclipse.

Places in the totality zone

country place Duration Time ( UT ) comment
Pitcairn Islands Oeno 2m 54s 18:25
Chile La Serena 2m 15s 20:39
Chile Coquimbo 2m 1s 20:39
Argentina Bella Vista (San Juan) 2m 30s 20:41
Argentina San Juan 0m 15s 20:40 Only north-eastern districts in the totality zone
Argentina Río Cuarto 1m 58s 20:42 The sun goes down partially eclipsed
Argentina Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport 0m 53s 20:44 Soon after the end of totality, the sun sets partially eclipsed

Weather outlook

Moon shadows and a view of the weather with Hurricane Barbara in the Pacific

Overall, the weather outlook in the totality zone of the wintry South American continent at the beginning of July is mixed. In Chile, a cloudiness probability of around 40% is to be expected, in the Andes over 60%. In a narrow band in the slipstream of the Andes on the Argentine side, there are clouding probabilities of a little under 30%, which then gradually increase to over 50% towards the Atlantic.

Observations and research results

La Silla Observatory 600 km north of Santiago de Chile
Solar corona with relief of the lunar surface (ESA / ESO)

Also on the path of the umbra was the La Silla Observatory , which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019, a rare event at the site of large telescopes that has only happened twice in recent years, 1961 at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence and 1991 at Mauna-Kea in Hawaii .

There were several research projects, including observations on the sun's corona and a repetition of the experiment to confirm the general theory of relativity a hundred years earlier (Eddington experiment).

Web links

from La Serena in Chile
Commons : Solar eclipse of July 2nd, 2019  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The duration of totality and the time of the middle of totality were determined with the interactive map of NASA ( Total Solar Eclipse of 2019 Jul 02 - Google Maps and Solar Eclipse Paths )
  2. ↑ Jay Anderson: Climatology and weather for celestial events, Total Solar Eclipse - July 2, 2019
  3. ↑ La Silla's 50th anniversary culminates in a total solar eclipse , ESO press release, July 3, 2019.