An annular solar eclipse took place on May 20, 2012 (May 21, 2012 in local time in the Eastern Hemisphere), with a maximum magnitude (percentage of the sun blocked by the Moon) of 0.9439.
One of the three types of solar eclipses, an annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's. As a result, the Sun presents to the viewer as an annulus, or ring, giving the illusion of a ring of fire surrounding a dark void. This is also known as the antumbra of an eclipse.
The eclipse was visible as a partial eclipse in large areas of the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, including the continents Eastern Asia and North America. It was the first annular eclipse visible from the continental U.S. since the solar eclipse of May 10, 1994 and, for Asia, since the solar eclipse of January 15, 2010.
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Path and viewing
Travelling eastbound at an average rate of .62 miles per minute (or 1.1 kilometers per minute), the eclipse followed a long, wide path, staying completely above the Equator.
Asia
The eclipse began in Southern China at sunrise, shortly after 6:00 a.m. local time. In under an hour, the antumbra had approached and passed over Guangzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Fuzhou, as well as Hong Kong and Taipei, Taiwan. After crossing the East China Sea, the eclipse passed over much of eastern Japan, including the cities of Nagoya and Tokyo, before entering the Pacific Ocean, heading eastward towards North America. A partial solar eclipse was visible throughout Eastern Asia and islands in the Pacific Ocean, lasting until noon.
The path of the eclipse over highly populated areas allowed at least an estimated 100 million people to view maximum annularity. Because the eclipse took place during Southeast Asia's summer monsoon season, viewing conditions were not ideal in some areas of Southeast Asia.
North America
Annularity was visible within a 143-mile (or 237 kilometer) wide path in the western United States, heading southeast towards the Gulf of Mexico. The antumbra entered North America at the southern coastline of Oregon and the northern coastline of California, shortly before 5:30 p.m. local time. Within 45 minutes, the eclipse had passed over Medford, Oregon, Redding, California, and Reno, Nevada. It continued traveling southeast, passing 30 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada, and directly over Cedar City, Utah, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Lubbock, Texas before terminating above central Texas at sunset. A partial solar eclipse was visible throughout most of North America and the Western Hemisphere.
At least 6 million people lived under the path of the antumbra. Numerous eclipse viewing gatherings were held in the U.S., some involving thousands of people, including professional photographers and eclipse enthusiasts. Broadcasting events for those unable to see the eclipse were held. 33 national parks were under the direct path of the eclipse.
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Related eclipses
Solar eclipses 2011-2014
Each member 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. Note: Partial solar eclipses on January 4, 2011, and July 1, 2011, occur in the previous semester series.
Saros 128
It is a part of Saros cycle 128, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 73 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on August 29, 984 AD. It contains total eclipses from May 16, 1417 through June 18, 1471 and hybrid eclipses from June 28, 1489 through July 31, 1543. Then it progresses into annular eclipses from August 11, 1561 through July 25, 2120. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on November 1, 2282. The longest duration of totality was 1 minutes, 45 seconds on June 7, 1453.
Metonic series
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