By Deborah Byrd and Bruce McClure in
Blogs | Astronomy Essentials | Space on Oct 29, 2013
Get ready! Hybrid solar eclipse on November 3
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/10/e...cp-300x214.jpg Map via skyandtelescope.com.
Much of the world can see at least a partial solar eclipse on Sunday, November 3. From North America’s east coast, the eclipse will be in progress at sunrise.
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/11/p...ay-20-2012.jpgPhoto of partial solar eclipse as seen near sunset on May 20, 2012, from Austin, Texas. This time around, eastern North America will see a partial solar eclipse just after sunrise on November 3, 2013. Image credit: mrlaugh’s photostream
There is a special kind of solar eclipse coming up on Sunday, November 3, 2013. It’s a hybrid solar eclipse. That is, the eclipse appears fleetingly as an annular – or ring eclipse – at its start and becomes a brief total eclipse later on. But much of the world sees a partial eclipse. The eclipse will be visible from far-eastern North America, the Caribbean, northern South America, southern Greenland, the Atlantic Ocean, southern Europe, Africa, Madagascar and the Middle East. Keep in mind that you’ll absolutely need proper eye protection to watch this or any solar eclipse. Please use caution to prevent blindness or severe eye injury!
No matter where you reside within the eclipse viewing area, the solar eclipse will take place sometime between sunrise and sunset on Sunday, November 3, 2013.
Follow the links below to learn more about the November 3 solar eclipse.
Eastern North America sees a partial solar eclipse beginning at sunrise November 3
Europe, Africa and the Middle East see solar eclipse in afternoon hours November 3
Equatorial Africa views short-lived total solar eclipse in afternoon hours November 3
Click here for more details about the brief totality of the November 3 solar eclipse.
Use an eclipse calculator to find out the eclipse times for your area.
Eye safety during solar eclipses
Cartographer Michael Zeiler has many maps and other graphical information about this eclipse.
View interactive eclipse map from Xavier Jubier and Google Earth.
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/10/e...-11-3-2013.jpgView larger. | The eclipse on November 3, 2013, begins as an annular event (far-left end of green line) but quickly becomes a total solar eclipse as the moon’s umbra crosses the Atlantic Ocean and central Africa. Illustration and caption via skyandtelescope.com.
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/04/a...clipse-ono.jpgView larger. | Annular eclipse by Hiroki Ono. On November 3, 2013, the eclipse will be annular just as it begins, over the Atlantic.
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/11/n...ar-eclipse.gifAnimation of 2013 November 3 solar eclipse. The large gray circle shows the area of the partial solar eclipse. The very small dark dot in the middle depicts the path of the total solar eclipse.
Eastern North America sees a partial solar eclipse beginning at sunrise November 3. To see this eclipse from Earth’s western hemisphere, you’ll need to be in far-eastern North America, the Caribbean and the northwestern tip of South America. From those locations, the eclipse will be seen as a very shallow (and shrinking) partial solar eclipse. It may – or may not – be perceptible as the sun rises on November 3, depending on the clarity of your eastern sky. Photographers with good sky conditions might capture some wonderful photos.
Seen from further west in the U.S. and Canada, the sun will rise with the eclipse nearly over. Assuming you have a flat horizon and good sky conditions, the western limit of the event’s visibility runs through southern Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.
Any further west in North America … sorry. No eclipse for you.
We give the local times of the eclipse for chosen cities from as far north as Montreal, Canada, and as far south as Cartagena, Columbia. If your locality isn’t mentioned, you can find out if the eclipse is visible in your area, and at what times, by using an eclipse calculator.
If the eclipse is visible for you, be sure to find an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunrise, for the eclipsed sun will be hovering very close the horizon. Remember to use eye protection!
Eclipse times:
Canada:
Montreal, Quebec
Sunrise: 6:35 a.m. EST
Partial eclipse ends: 7:12 a.m. EST
United States:
New York City, NY
Sunrise: 6:29 a.m. EST
Partial eclipse ends: 7:11 a.m. EST
Raleigh, North Carolina
Sunrise: 6:39 a.m. EST
Partial eclipse ends: 7:08 a.m. EST
Miami, Florida
Sunrise: 6:31 a.m. EST
Partial eclipse ends: 7:02 a.m. EST
Caribbean:
Havana, Cuba
Sunrise: 6:34 a.m. EST
Partial eclipse ends: 7:00 a.m. EST
South America:
Cartagena, Columbia
Sunrise: 5:52 a.m. local time
Partial eclipse ends: 6:52 a.m. local time
Europe, Africa and the Middle East see solar eclipse in afternoon hours November 3. The western portions of Europe and Africa will see the greatest eclipse around noon or early afternoon. For far-eastern Africa, Madagascar and the Middle East, the eclipse will take place in the late afternoon or close to sunset. Remember to use eye protection!
Local eclipse times:
Madrid, Spain
Partial eclipse begins: 1:00 p.m. local time
Greatest eclipse: 1:35 p.m. local time
Partial eclipse ends: 2:10 p.m. local time
Algiers, Algeria
Partial eclipse begins: 1:15 p.m. local time
Greatest eclipse: 1:56 p.m. local time
Partial eclipse ends: 2:36 p.m. local time
Jerusalem, Israel
Partial eclipse begins: 3:12 p.m. local time
Greatest eclipse: 4:00 p.m. local time
Partial eclipse ends: 4:43 p.m. local time
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/06/e...1743209912.jpgA total solar eclipse in August, 1999 by Fred Espenak. It’s a combination of 22 photographs that were digitally processed to highlight faint features. The outer pictures of the sun’s corona were digitally altered to enhance dim, outlying waves and filaments. The inner pictures of the usually dark moon were enhanced to bring out its faint glow from doubly reflected sunlight. This image was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 8, 2001.
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/11/t...r-3-africa.jpgThe total solar eclipse path crosses Gabon at 13:54 Universal Time (UT) and finally leaves the Earth’s surface in Somalia at 14:27 UT. Image credit: NASA eclipse web site. Click on this link to find out eclipse times.
Equatorial Africa views short-lived total solar eclipse in afternoon hours November 3. Well over 99.9% of the eclipse viewing area will see varying degrees of a partial solar eclipse. On land, a total solar eclipse will be visible along a very narrow track in equatorial Africa (Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia) sometime during the afternoon hours on Sunday, November 3. At best, the total eclipse will last somewhat more than one minute (in western Gabon).
Click here for more details about the total solar eclipse on November 3.
Either of the two eclipse calculators listed below will enable you to compute the eclipse times for your locality. The U.S. Naval Observatory gives the eclipse times in Universal Time, so you need to convert to local time. The eclipse calculator from timeanddate.com gives the times in local time, so no time conversion is necessary.
Solar eclipse computer courtesy of US Naval observatory
Eclipse calculator courtesy of timeanddate.com
How do I translate Universal Time into my time?
http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/11/s...se-diagram.jpgA solar eclipse results whenever the new moon swings directly in between the sun and Earth, The dark cone-shaped shadow is called the umbra and the faint shadow outside the umbra is called the penumbra. All places on Earth within the umbra see a total solar eclipse, and all places within the penumbra see a partial eclipse of the sun.
Bottom line: November 3, 2013 will bring a special kind of eclipse, a hybrid solar eclipse. That is, the eclipse will be an annular or ring eclipse at its start and a total eclipse, briefly, later on. Elsewhere, this eclipse will be partial. Be sure to protect your eyes! Time tips and times in this post.
Still not sure if or when you’ll see it? Try Fred Espenak’s list of eclipse times for many locations.
Eye safety during solar eclipses
When is the next total solar eclipse in the U.S.?
