Today.Az » Weird / Interesting » Total solar eclipse due Nov.13
12 November 2012 [18:09] - Today.Az
A total solar eclipse will take place on 13–14 November 2012 (UTC). Some information lists the eclipse occurring on 13th November, 2012, others list 14th November, 2012. Which is correct?
Both are correct. There is only one eclipse but the date and time depend upon the time zone or standard you choose to express the time in. It is standard practice for the times of all astronomical events to be expressed in universal time. Universal time is the local time at zero longitude (Greenwich, England). The total phase of the eclipse begins at 20:38UT on November 13th. To get Cairns local time you need to add 10 hours. So the events Cairns local time translates to 6:38am on November 14th. For simplicity and ease of use for non-astronomers, I've tried to use Cairns local time exclusively in this document. If you link to sites like the NASA solar eclipse home page, times will be expressed in universal time(UT).
A total solar eclipse will take place on 13–14 November 2012 (UTC), beginning in local time on November 14 west of the International Date Line over northern Australia, and ending on November 13 east of the date line off the western South American coast. Its greatest magnitude is 1.0500, occurring only 12 hours before perigee, with greatest eclipse totality lasting just over 4 minutes. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially 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, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across the surface of the Earth, while a partial solar eclipse will be visible over a region thousands of kilometers wide.
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