Solar eclipse of June 21, 2001
PreviousSolar eclipse of December 25, 2000
NextSolar eclipse of December 14, 2001

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, June 21, 2001,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0495. It was the first solar eclipse of the 21st century. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 2.25 days before perigee (on June 23, 2001, at 18:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]

Many people traveled to Africa to watch the eclipse;[3][4][5] the Daily Telegraph reported that "while some tribesmen watch a celestial crocodile eating the sun, the modern African will be counting the cash brought in by thousands of visitors".[6]

Visibility

It was visible from a narrow corridor in the southern Atlantic Ocean and southern Africa, including Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the southern tip of Malawi, and Madagascar. A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including eastern South America and most of Africa.

Observations

Within the path of totality, Angola got the best conditions with the highest solar zenith angle, longest duration and largest chance of clear weather. Sumbe, capital of Cuanza Sul Province, where the path first touched land, was the best in Angola with 4 minutes and 34 seconds of totality. However, the Angolan Civil War[7] prevented many from traveling to the county, and only about 500 people observed the eclipse there. Besides tourists, there were also scientists from the United States, France, Brazil, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Hungary.[8]

Zambia, though inferior to its neighbouring country Angola in the chance of clear weather, attracted many scientists and tourists due to its stable political situation and also the fact that its capital city Lusaka was also located within the path of totality.[7] The Zambian government made it a national holiday with one day off, and ZamPost also issues special postage stamps and first-day covers.[9] Scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Korea and China observed it in Zambia.[9] The Chinese Academy of Sciences sent a team of 6 people, carrying 3 gravimeters, 2 nuclear gyromagnetometers, 4 digital acquisition systems and recording systems to study the gravity anomalies recorded by Indian scientists during the total solar eclipse of October 24, 1995, and by Chinese scientists during the total solar eclipse of March 9, 1997, in Mohe County.[10][11] With continuous observation for more than 10 years after that, China obtained the first observational evidence that the gravity field propagates at the speed of light.[12]

Coincidence

Besides the eclipse, the day was also the June solstice (winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere where the path of totality passed) when the sun was at the northernmost limit. It was also the closest approach of Mars since 1988.[13]

Eclipse timing

Places experiencing total eclipse

Solar Eclipse of June 21, 2001
(Local Times)
Country or territoryCity or placeStart of partial eclipseStart of total eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of total eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of totality (min:s)Duration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum magnitude
Luena12:17:3113:53:1913:54:5013:56:2015:18:533:013:011.0075
Lusaka13:41:4715:09:2915:11:0715:12:4516:27:093:162:451.0134
Kabwe13:42:3515:10:5315:11:4915:12:4516:27:411:522:451.0036
References: [1]

Places experiencing partial eclipse

Solar Eclipse of June 21, 2001
(Local Times)
Country or territoryCity or placeStart of partial eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage
Rio de Janeiro06:33:3007:33:5208:41:572:0968.00%
Montevideo07:52:21 (sunrise)07:55:1508:37:040:4557.03%
Jamestown10:03:4411:35:2913:15:363:1296.52%
São Tomé10:45:5112:21:1813:52:213:0763.60%
Libreville11:53:4613:29:1814:58:123:0463.35%
Luanda11:56:5113:37:5215:08:363:1296.31%
Windhoek12:08:5513:42:2015:05:412:5768.96%
Brazzaville12:06:4113:44:4315:11:373:0578.58%
Kinshasa12:06:4213:44:4715:11:413:0578.78%
Rundu12:16:1713:51:5315:15:092:5985.38%
Maseru13:38:5015:00:2516:12:102:3358.53%
Mongu13:26:5015:00:5916:21:412:5597.17%
Gaborone13:34:3115:01:1616:16:412:4270.10%
Johannesburg13:39:5615:04:0516:17:192:3767.79%
Mbabane13:47:0615:09:1216:20:312:3370.94%
Lubumbashi13:40:5715:10:5816:27:282:4793.05%
Maputo13:50:1415:11:4116:22:182:3273.75%
Kitwe13:42:3315:11:5816:27:552:4596.05%
Ndola13:43:3915:12:3816:28:142:4596.09%
Harare13:48:2415:14:4116:28:172:4097.90%
Gitega13:54:0815:16:1216:26:302:3259.64%
Kigali13:56:0715:16:2016:25:172:2954.10%
Beira13:56:4315:19:0716:29:442:3396.40%
Lilongwe13:56:4515:20:2116:31:342:3592.44%
Dar es Salaam15:15:1416:28:2717:31:432:1657.99%
Moroni15:19:0716:31:2417:34:042:1569.22%
Antananarivo15:20:3916:31:5017:21:21 (sunset)2:0188.22%
Mamoudzou15:21:4916:32:3917:34:172:1269.95%
Saint-Denis16:29:0917:34:2917:45:48 (sunset)1:1782.40%
Port Louis16:31:5617:35:2617:39:01 (sunset)1:0776.56%
References: [1]

Eclipse details

Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[14]

June 21, 2001 Solar Eclipse Times
EventTime (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact2001 June 21 at 09:34:04.6 UTC
First Umbral External Contact2001 June 21 at 10:37:00.4 UTC
First Central Line2001 June 21 at 10:38:10.0 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact2001 June 21 at 10:39:19.9 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction2001 June 21 at 11:58:49.4 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction2001 June 21 at 11:58:54.2 UTC
Greatest Eclipse2001 June 21 at 12:04:46.3 UTC
Greatest Duration2001 June 21 at 12:07:11.5 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact2001 June 21 at 13:30:14.3 UTC
Last Central Line2001 June 21 at 13:31:26.2 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact2001 June 21 at 13:32:37.9 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact2001 June 21 at 14:35:26.2 UTC
June 21, 2001 Solar Eclipse Parameters
ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude1.04954
Eclipse Obscuration1.10153
Gamma−0.57013
Sun Right Ascension06h00m46.1s
Sun Declination+23°26'18.2"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'44.3"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension06h01m00.5s
Moon Declination+22°52'27.2"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'17.6"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°59'47.9"
ΔT64.2 s

Eclipse season

See also: Eclipse cycle

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.

Eclipse season of June–July 2001
June 21
Ascending node (new moon)
July 5
Descending node (full moon)
Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 127		Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 139

Eclipses in 2001

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 127

Inex

Triad

Notes

  1. ^ "June 21, 2001 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Thousands gather in Zambia for total solar eclipse". The News and Advance. 2001-06-21. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-10-25. – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Solar eclipse: Day declared national holiday as thousands come to Zambia". Hickory Daily Record. 2001-06-22. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-10-25. – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "First total eclipse of new millennium sweeps across Africa". Arizona Daily Sun. 2001-06-22. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-10-25. – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tradition and tourism flourish in solar eclipse". The Daily Telegraph. 2001-06-21. p. 17. Retrieved 2023-10-25. – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "2001年6月21日非洲日全食" (in Chinese). Beijing Planetarium. Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "各国科学家和游客云集安哥拉观看日全食" (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. Sohu News. 21 June 2001. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ Zeng Wei (21 June 2001). "日全食搅热赞比亚" (in Chinese). Beijing Youth Daily. People.cn. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ "宇宙起源理论可能改写 6科学家赴非观测日全食" (in Chinese). Beijing Youth Daily. Sohu News. 15 June 2001. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ^ Chai Shikuan, Xiong Sihao (25 June 2001). "中科院日全食观测队获得高质量观测数据" (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. Archived 2003-11-03 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ^ Sun Zifa (26 December 2012). "中国科学家全球首获引力场以光速传播的观测证据" (in Chinese). China News Service. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ "Diamond Ring in the Sun". APOD. 21 June 2001.
  14. ^ "Total Solar Eclipse of 2001 Jun 21". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 11 August 2024.

References

Photos: