Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22 (original) (raw)

On Wednesday, 2009 July 22, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half of Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in India and crosses through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. After leaving mainland Asia, the path crosses Japan's Ryukyu Islands and curves southeast through the Pacific Ocean where the maximum duration of totality reaches 6 min 39 s. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

2009 Total Solar Eclipse Global Map Click to enlarge.

This web site has been established for the purpose of providing detailed predictions, maps, figures and information about this important event. The material here is adapted from the NASA Technical Publication "Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22" (NASA/TP-2008-214169). The document will be published in 2008 March. It is part of NASA's official eclipse bulletin publication series. Instructions and a form for ordering a hard copy of this publication can be found at:Order Form for NASA Eclipse Bulletins.

Preliminary Look at the Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 Jul 22

This data was presented at: IAU Symposium 233 - Solar Activity and Its Magnetic Origin

See also: Eclipse Weather and Maps (Jay Anderson)

Interactive Map of the Path of Totality

An implementation of Google Map has been created which includes the central path of the 2009 total solar eclipse. This allows the user to select any portion of the path and to zoom in using either map data or Earth satellite data.

General Maps of the Eclipse Path

The following maps show the overall regions of visibility of the partial eclipse as well as the path of the total eclipse through Asia and the Pacific Ocean. They use high resolution coastline data from the World Data Base II (WDB). Each map was chosen to isolate a specific region along the land portion of the eclipse path. Curves of maximum eclipse are included as well as the outline of the umbral shadow.

The maps are available as high resolution (300 dpi) PDF files.

Figure Number Title/Description Map File
Figure 1 Orthographic (Global) Map of 2009 Total Solar Eclipse PDF
Figure 2 Map of 2009 Eclipse Path Through Asia PDF
Figure 3 Map of 2009 Eclipse Path Through India and Bhutan PDF
Figure 4 Map of 2009 Eclipse Path Through China PDF
Figure 5 Map of 2009 Eclipse Path South of Japan PDF

From NASA Tech. Pub. "Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22" (NASA/TP-2008-214169).

Detailed Maps of the Path of Totality

The following maps show path of the 2009 total eclipse in greater detail. They use high resolution coastline, city and highway data from the Digital Chart of the World (DCW). Each map was chosen to isolate a specific region along the land portion of the eclipse path. Curves of maximum eclipse are included as well as the outline of the umbral shadow. Within the umbral path, curves of constant duration have been plotted for totality.

The maps are available as high resolution (300 dpi) PDF files.

Figure Number Title/Description Map File
Figure 6 India - Mumbai PDF
Figure 7 India - Bhopal PDF
Figure 8 India (Patna) - Nepal PDF
Figure 9 India - Bhutan PDF
Figure 10 India - Burma - China PDF
Figure 11 China - Chengdu PDF
Figure 12 China - Chongquig PDF
Figure 13 China - Wuhan PDF
Figure 14 China - Shanghai PDF
Figure 15 Japan - Ryukyu Islands PDF
Figure 16 Japan - Iwo Jima PDF
Figure 17 Marshall Islands PDF
Figure 18 Kiribati PDF
Figure 19 Phoenix Islands PDF

From NASA Tech. Pub. "Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22" (NASA/TP-2008-214169).

Additional Figures

The following figures also appear in the NASA/TP-2008-214169, "Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22".

Figure Number Title/Description Figure File
Figure 20 Lunar Limb Profile for July 22 at 01:30 UT PDF
Figure 21 Average July Cloud Amount Along the Central Line PDF
Figure 22 Number of Typhoons from 1955 to 2007 PDF
Figure 23 Spectral Response of Common Solar Filters PDF
Figure 24 Focal Length Vs. Image Size for Eclipse Photography PDF
Figure 25 Sky During Totality from Central Line at 01:30 UT PDF

From NASA Tech. Pub. "Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22" (NASA/TP-2008-214169).

Supplementary Figures

The following figures do not appear in the NASA 2009 Eclipse Bulletin due to page constraints. They are presented here as supplementary material for the bulletin.

Figure Number Title/Description Figure File
Figure 20b Lunar Limb Profile for July 22 at 00:55 UT PDF
Figure 20c Lunar Limb Profile for July 22 at 02:00 UT PDF
Figure 20d Lunar Limb Profile for July 22 at 03:45 UT PDF
Figure 20e Lunar Limb Profile for July 22 at 04:15 UT PDF
Figure 25b Sky During Totality from Central India at 00:55 UT PDF
Figure 25c Sky During Totality from South of Japan at 02:00 UT PDF
Figure 25d Sky During Totality from Marshall Islands at 03:45 UT PDF
Figure 25e Sky During Totality from Phoenix Islands at 04:15 UT PDF

Eclipse Elements, Shadow Contacts and Path of Totality

The following tables give detailed predictions including the Besselian Elements, shadow contacts with Earth, path of the umbral shadow and topocentric data (with path corrections) along the path. Also included are special extended version tables of path coordinates and graze zones in formats convenient for plotting on maps.

From NASA Tech. Pub. "Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22" (NASA/TP-2008-214169).

Local Circumstances

The following tables give the local circumstances of the eclipse from various cities throughout Asia and the Pacific Ocean. All contact times are given in the tables are in Universal Time.

From NASA Tech. Pub. "Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22" (NASA/TP-2008-214169).

Additional Tables

The following tables also appear in the NASA/TP-2008-214169, "Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22".

Explanation of Eclipse Maps and Tables

The following links give detailed descriptions and explanations of the eclipse maps and tables.

Live Web Coverage of the 2009 Total Solar Eclipse

The following links will provide live web coverage of the 2009 eclipse.

Reproduction of Eclipse Data

All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC"

For more information, see: NASA Copyright Information