03/27/2017 – Ephemeris – 5 more new moons before the Great American Total Solar Eclipse!

Ephemeris for Monday, March 27th.  The Sun will rise at 7:32.  It’ll be up for 12 hours and 31 minutes, setting at 8:04.  The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.

The Moon will be officially new at 10:57 this evening.  Later this year there will occur at total solar eclipse visible from a narrow path the crosses the United States from Oregon to South Carolina.  It will cross the cities of Casper Wyoming, Kansas City, just south of St Louis, Carbondale, Illinois; Nashville, Columbia and Charleston South Carolina.  Carbondale is about the closest spot to us at about 600 miles.  We will see about 75-80 percent of the Sun blocked by the Moon here in northern Michigan.  The is generally a solar eclipse about every six new moons, the exception is an occasional solar eclipse on two consecutive new moons, except they will occur in opposite polar regions and are rarely total.  The Moon’s orbit is tilted by 5° to the Sun’s path.  This time the Moon is way south of the Sun.

Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

A screen cap of the map showing the path of totality of the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse from NASA’s eclipse page. Credit: NASA and Google Maps.

The points are GE greatest eclipse, path width 71.27 miles (114.7 km); and GD greatest duration of totality, 2 minutes and 40.2 seconds.

An animation of the Moon’s shadow as it will cross the Earth’s surface August 21, 2017. Credit A.T. Sinclair/NASA

NASA’s Eclipse page:  https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/

The solar corona displayed during the July 10, 1072 total solar eclipse from Prince Edward Island. Credit Bob Moler.

Diamond ring at the end of totality of the total solar eclipse July 10, 1972. Credit Bob Moler.

Baily’s Beads – sunlight streaming through the valleys at the edge of the Moon at the end of totality, March 7, 1970, outside Bladenboro NC. Credit Bob Moler.

On May 5th, I’ll be giving a talk about the upcoming total solar eclipse.  How to enjoy its partial phases here and along the path of totality.