An annular solar eclipse occurs on Monday, 3 October, 2005, in Spain, Portugal, Africa, and the Indian Ocean.
This will be quite a significant eclipse, with a path width reaching over 200km, and the annular phase lasting up to 4 minutes 30 seconds. With the track passing right over Spain and large areas of Africa, many people will have an opportunity to see it; however, as with any annular eclipse, this is never safe to view with the naked eye.
The annular eclipse starts in the Atlantic at 08:41:00 UT, and ends in the Indian Ocean at 12:22:36 UT. The maximum eclipse is at 10:31:43 UT, when the annular phase will last just over 4½ minutes.
The partial eclipse will be visible over most of Africa, Europe, south-west Asia, and India between 07:35:35 UT and 13:27:54 UT. The deepest partial eclipse will be seen closer to the path of totality as shown on the map below. As a rough guide, the Moon will be 80% covered as seen from south-west France, Sicily, and much of north-east Africa; 70% in Ireland, Wales, south-east England, central France, and central Italy; 60% in southern Scotland, the Netherlands, central Europe, and south-east Turkey; 50% in the Shetlands, Denmark, and much of eastern Europe.
More information on this eclipse may be found at Fred Espenak's site. There is also a Portuguese page on the eclipse by Jorge Almeida. You can plot the eclipse for yourself using the table of mapping co-ordinates.
Please note that these maps are very approximate. Check with reliable sources before making travel plans.
This map shows the path of the annular eclipse:
The annular eclipse begins in the Atlantic at 08:44 UT. It reaches Spain and Portugal at about 08:53 UT; the path at this time is just over 190km wide, and the eclipse lasts for around 4 minutes 8 seconds. The centreline of the eclipse, where the maximum duration will be seen, starts in Spain; however, it briefly cuts into north-east Portugal, before moving off across Spain.
The track moves into the sea at about 09:02 UT, the path now being 183km wide, and the duration being 4 minutes 14 seconds.
The eclipse reaches the African mainland over Algeria at 09:08 UT, and then crosses Tunisia. The path at this point is around 175km wide, and the eclipse lasts for about 4 minutes 20 seconds. It then passes over Libya, Chad (briefly), and then into Sudan, where the maximum eclipse occurs at 10:32 UT. At this point the path is at its narrowest, 162 km, and the duration is at its longest, over 4 minutes 30 seconds.
After Sudan, the track then passes over Ethiopia (just), Kenya, and Somalia, before passing into the Indian ocean. The path in Somalia is up to 181km wide, and the duration is down to 4 minutes 25 seconds.
After Africa, the eclipse path passes over the Seychelles around 12:00 UT, where it will be visible from some of the islands. The path width is up to around 195km here, though the duration is under 4 minutes 15 seconds.
Finally, the eclipse ends in the Indian Ocean at 12:20 UT.
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Copyright (C) 1995-2005 Ian Cameron Smith.
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