Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - (Page 50)
OBSERVING
Celestial Calendar
The May 20th Annular Eclipse
Plan now what you’ll be doing on this very special Sunday afternoon.
People in all but the easternmost parts of the U.S. and Canada have a red-letter day coming up Sunday, May 20th. Late that afternoon the Sun, lowering in the western sky, will undergo at least a partial eclipse. The eclipse will become annular, with the Sun turning into a brilliant ring around the Moon’s dark silhouette, for parts of southern Oregon, northern California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and a bit of Texas, as shown below and at the bottom of the facing page. This is the first central solar eclipse (meaning total or annular) to cross the United States since 1994. Untold numbers of people are planning to park themselves near the centerline for this grand event. A much larger number across the continent will enjoy the weird spectacle of a partial solar eclipse low in the sky. The eclipse will still be in progress at sunset in the region between the red lines below, with the Moon intruding onto the reddened, atmospherically distorted Sun.
Nearly all North America gets at least a partial eclipse, with the Moon taking a big bite out of the Sun. The eclipse will still be in progress at sunset for much of the U.S. and Canada. That will make it scenic indeed, but you’ll need a clear horizon to the west-northwest.
The May 20th eclipse will appear very similar to previous eclipses in saros cycle 128, such as this one in 1994, because the geometric circumstances are almost the same. Author Fred Espenak photographed this sequence one saros ago.
Pa tial/Annula Sola Eclip Partial/Annular Solar Eclipse Partial/Annular Solar Eclipse lar lar lips ips Ma May 20 May 20
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North Americans will see the tail end of this eclipse. Its annular part begins at sunrise along the southern coast of China (where the local date is May 21st), then crosses parts of Japan, including Tokyo on the centerline. It then speeds across the empty North Pacific through much of the day, before making landfall on the rugged California-Oregon coast at 6:24 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. There the Sun will be a good 22° above the western horizon, and annularity will last 4 minutes 47 seconds as seen from the centerline. The path of annularity continues southeast with the Sun sinking lower. Residents of Albuquerque see the annular eclipse just 5° above the horizon. Western Texas near Lubbock is a particularly interesting location for photographers, because there the annular phase will occur just before sunset.
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What to Watch For
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Eclipse complete before sunset No eclipse More than half of eclipse before sunset Less than half of eclipse before sunset
“Annular” means “ringlike,” and the ring of the Sun at the middle of this eclipse will be unusually thick. The Moon will be practically at the apogee of its orbit, appearing almost as small as it gets, so it will span only 94% of the Sun’s diameter. This means only 88% of the Sun’s surface area will be blocked during annularity. The result will be less change in the quality of the daylight than you might expect. Thin clouds would dim the day more. The exposed surface of the Sun itself will remain blindingly bright — literally — so anyone viewing any part of this eclipse, total or annular, must use the
50 May 2012 sky & telescope
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - May 2012
Sky and Telescope - May 2012
Table of Contents
Spectrum
Letters
75, 50 & 25 Years Ago
News Notes
Saturn’s Raging Superstorm
Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks
The Remarkable Case of Comet Lovejoy
In This Section
May’s Sky at a Glance
Binocular Highlight
Planetary Almanac
Northern Hemisphere’s Sky
Sun, Moon, and Planets
Celestial Calendar
Exploring the Solar System
Deep-Sky Wonders
Going Deep
S&T Test Report
New Product Showcase
Telescope Workshop
Planetary Imaging with Your DSLR Camera
Gallery
Focal Point
Sky and Telescope - May 2012
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - (Page Intro)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Sky and Telescope - May 2012 (Page Cover1)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Sky and Telescope - May 2012 (Page Cover2)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Sky and Telescope - May 2012 (Page 3)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Table of Contents (Page 4)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Table of Contents (Page 5)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Spectrum (Page 6)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Spectrum (Page 7)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Letters (Page 8)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Letters (Page 9)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - 75, 50 & 25 Years Ago (Page 10)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - 75, 50 & 25 Years Ago (Page 11)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - News Notes (Page 12)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - News Notes (Page 13)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - News Notes (Page 14)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - News Notes (Page 15)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - News Notes (Page 16)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - News Notes (Page 17)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - News Notes (Page 18)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - News Notes (Page 19)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Saturn’s Raging Superstorm (Page 20)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Saturn’s Raging Superstorm (Page 21)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Saturn’s Raging Superstorm (Page 22)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Saturn’s Raging Superstorm (Page 23)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Saturn’s Raging Superstorm (Page 24)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Saturn’s Raging Superstorm (Page 25)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 26)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 27)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 28)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 29)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 30)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 31)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 32)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 33)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 34)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Stars Above, Earth Below: Astronomy in National Parks (Page 35)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - The Remarkable Case of Comet Lovejoy (Page 36)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - The Remarkable Case of Comet Lovejoy (Page 37)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - The Remarkable Case of Comet Lovejoy (Page 38)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - The Remarkable Case of Comet Lovejoy (Page 39)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - The Remarkable Case of Comet Lovejoy (Page 40)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - The Remarkable Case of Comet Lovejoy (Page 41)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - The Remarkable Case of Comet Lovejoy (Page 42)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - In This Section (Page 43)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - May’s Sky at a Glance (Page 44)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Binocular Highlight (Page 45)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Planetary Almanac (Page 46)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Northern Hemisphere’s Sky (Page 47)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Sun, Moon, and Planets (Page 48)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Sun, Moon, and Planets (Page 49)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Celestial Calendar (Page 50)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Celestial Calendar (Page 51)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Celestial Calendar (Page 52)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Celestial Calendar (Page 53)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Exploring the Solar System (Page 54)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Exploring the Solar System (Page 55)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Deep-Sky Wonders (Page 56)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Deep-Sky Wonders (Page 57)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Deep-Sky Wonders (Page 58)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Deep-Sky Wonders (Page 59)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Going Deep (Page 60)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Going Deep (Page 61)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Going Deep (Page 62)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Going Deep (Page 63)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - S&T Test Report (Page 64)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - S&T Test Report (Page 65)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - S&T Test Report (Page 66)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - S&T Test Report (Page 67)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - New Product Showcase (Page 68)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - New Product Showcase (Page 69)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Telescope Workshop (Page 70)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Telescope Workshop (Page 71)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Planetary Imaging with Your DSLR Camera (Page 72)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Planetary Imaging with Your DSLR Camera (Page 73)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Planetary Imaging with Your DSLR Camera (Page 74)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Planetary Imaging with Your DSLR Camera (Page 75)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 76)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 77)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 78)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 79)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 80)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 81)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 82)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 83)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 84)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Gallery (Page 85)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Focal Point (Page 86)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Focal Point (Page Cover3)
Sky and Telescope - May 2012 - Focal Point (Page Cover4)
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