Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999

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Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999
Animation of the total solar eclipse on August 11, 1999
Animation of the total solar eclipse on August 11, 1999
classification
Type Total
area Eastern North America , North Africa , Europe , Asia
Total: Europe , Asia
Saros cycle 145 (21 of 77)
Gamma value 0.5062
Greatest eclipse
Duration 2 minutes 23 seconds
place Romania
location 45 ° 5 ′  N , 24 ° 17 ′  E Coordinates: 45 ° 5 ′  N , 24 ° 17 ′  E
time August 11, 1999 11:03:05   UT
size 1.0286

On August 11, 1999 , a total solar eclipse took place over Central Europe . It belonged to the Saros cycle 145 and was first visible as a partial solar eclipse a little east of the North American east coast .

The speed of the umbra of the moon fell rapidly from an initial 50,000 kilometers per hour to still more than 4,000 kilometers per hour as the shadow crossed the Atlantic . On the western tip of England - at Land's End - it was moving at around 3,000 kilometers per hour. The almost one hundred kilometers wide strip of totality then moved across Europe, with the longest duration of totality being reached at 11:04 UT in Romania with 2 minutes and 23 seconds . To the east of India in the Bay of Bengal , the solar eclipse ended at sunset .

The solar eclipse enjoyed great popularity and media coverage weeks in advance. The demand for the solar eclipse goggles , which were sold out early, could not be met by retailers until the end.

Observability

NASA data sheet, with Eastern European borders before 1990

In the German-speaking area, the umbra moved around midday over the cities of Saarbrücken , Kaiserslautern , Karlsruhe , Pforzheim , Heilbronn , Stuttgart , Reutlingen , Ulm , Augsburg , Ingolstadt , Munich , Salzburg and, on the extreme northern and southern edge of the totality zone, Linz and Graz . In large parts of this area there was relatively dense cloud cover at the respective total time, so that there an observation of the actual cover was difficult or impossible for many. In Upper Austria , where the middle of the totality zone ran over the Attersee , the visibility conditions were relatively good.

One hundred people were able to experience this solar eclipse on board three Concorde planes. The planes followed the course of the umbra, so that the totality for the passengers was extended to around 15 minutes before the umbra had overtaken the planes flying at a maximum of 2,200 kilometers per hour.

  • World map of the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999

  • Course of the umbra over Germany and Austria

Events related to the solar eclipse

There were traffic jams several hundred kilometers long on the motorways in Germany. Trains were overcrowded and passengers had to be turned away at several stations.

The following solar eclipses

The solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 was the last central eclipse of the 20th century. In 2000, however, four partial solar eclipses occurred: on February 5 , July 1 , July 31 and December 25 . The next total eclipse took place on June 21, 2001 ; it was mainly observed in the South Atlantic and southern Africa and was not observable from Europe.

The next total solar eclipse , in which the umbra will pass over Germany, Austria and Switzerland, will take place on September 3, 2081 .

reception

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roland Brodbeck: Solar eclipse on August 11, 1999. In: eclipse.astronomie.info. April 9, 2014, accessed February 14, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Star Messenger of September 1999
  3. ↑ Katja Iken, Christian Neeb: Solar eclipse 1999: It happened in broad daylight. In: Spiegel Online . March 19, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2017 .
  4. ↑ DVD: Munich - Secrets of a City , absolut medien GmbH 2012 ISBN 978-3-89848-391-9 from 1:58:26

Web links

Commons : Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999  - Collection of images, videos and audio files