Annular Solar Eclipse of 10 May 1994
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L 2 -2 NASA Reference Publication 1301 1993 ! - Annular Solar Eclipse of 10 May 1994 Fred Espenak Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland USA Jay Anderson Prairie Weather Centre Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Management Scientific and Technical information Program PREFACE Since 1949, the U. S. Naval Observatory has published a special series of circulars containing detailed information for upcoming solar eclipses. These predictions were provided as a public service and were of vital importance to the international astronomical community in the planning and execution of successful eclipse expeditions. Unfortunately, the USNO Circulars were discontinued in 1991. This has left a real and tangible void for detailed and accurate predictions for future solar eclipses. The information is not only of great interest and value to the scientific community in general, but to NASA in particular. For instance, Hubble Space Telescope passed through the Moon's shadow during the recent total solar eclipse of 11 July 1991. Without adequate advanced warning of this event, the eclipse would have had serious consequences on HST's energy budget in the rapidly diminishing sunlight. Furthermore, solar eclipses are known to have important effects on Earth's ionosphere and therefore play a significant role in the interaction and understanding of the Earth-Sun environment. Finally, NASA has a history of participating in various solar eclipse experiments through both ground based and aerial (i.e. - Kuiper Airborne Observatory, sounding rockets) investigations. With the issuance of this NASA Reference Publication, the authors plan to continue the tradition of providing special bulletins containing extensive, detailed and accurate predictions and meteorological data for future solar eclipses of interest. The eclipse bulletins are provided as a public service to both the professional and lay communities, including educators and the media. In order to provide a reasonable lead time for planning purposes, subsequent NASA RP's for future eclipses will be published 18 to 24 months before each event. Single copies of these RP's will be available at no cost, provided a written request is received after publication. A special request form for the eclipse RP's may be found on the last page of this publication, and may be returned to Jay Anderson. Comments, suggestions, criticisms and corrections are solicited in order to improve the content and layout in subsequent editions of this publication series, and may be sent to Fred Espenak. Permission is freely granted to reproduce any portion of this Reference Publication, including data. figures, maps, tables and text (except for material noted as having been published elsewhere, or by persons other than the authors). All uses and/or publication of this material should be accompanied by an appropriate acknowledgment of the source (e.g. - "Reprinted from Annular Solar Eclipse of 10 May 1994, Espenak and Anderson, 1993"). This work is in no way associated with or supported by the U. S. Naval Observatory or its Circulars series of publications. Fred Espenak Jay Anderson NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Prairie Weather Cenlle Planetary Systems Branch, Code 693 900-266 Graham Avenue Greenbelt, MD 20771 Winnipeg, MB, USA CANADA R3C 3V4 Next NASA Eclipse RP • Total Solar Eclipse of 3 November 1994 Available. Autumn 1993 111 PREeL_ING PAGE I_LANK NOT FILM: ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 10 MAY 1994 Table of Contents Eclipse Predictions ................................................................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................ 1 Path And Visibility ........................................................................ 1 General Maps of the Eclipse Path ....................................................... 2 Orthographic Projection Map of the Eclipse Path ............................ 2 Stereographic Projection Map of the Eclipse Path ........................... 3 Equidistant Conic Projection Maps of the Eclipse Path ..................... 3 Elements, Shadow Contacts and Eclipse Path Tables ................................ 3 Local Circumstances Tables ............................................................. 4 Detailed Maps of the Umbral Path ...................................................... 5 Estimating Times of Second And Third Contacts ..................................... 5 Mean Lunar Radius ....................................................................... 6 Lunar Limb Profile ....................................................................... 7 Limb Corrections To The Path Limits: Graze Zones ................................. 8 Saros History .............................................................................. 9 Weather Prospects for the Eclipse ............................................................... 10 Overview ................................................................................... 10 Mexico ..................................................................................... 10 Western Baja ...................................................................... -....... 10 Along the Gulf of California ............................................................. 11 Mainland Mexico .......................................................................... 11 Across the United States and Canada ................................................... 12 Strategies to Cope with the Weather .................................................... 12 The Azores ................................................................................. 13 Morocco .................................................................................... 13 Observing the Eclipse ............................................................................. 14 Eye Safety During Solar Eclipses ....................................................... 14 Sky At Maximum Eclipse ................................................................ 14 Eclipse Photography ...................................................................... 15 Contact Timings from the Path Limits .................................................. 15 Plotting the Path on Maps ................................................................ 16 Algorithms, Ephemerides and Parameters ...................................................... 17 Acknowledgments ................................................................................. 17 Bibliography ........................................................................................ 18 References ................................................................................. 18 Further Reading ........................................................................... 18 Figures .............................................................................................. 19 Tables ............................................................................................... 31 Maps of the Umbral Path ......................................................................... 77 Request Form ...................................................................................... 87 PRE6EOtN_ PAGE _t.AiqK _'-_3"t ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 10 MAY 1994 Figures. Tables and Maps Figures ............................................................................................... 19 Figure 1: Orthographic Projection Map of the Eclipse Path .................................. 21 Figure 2: Stereographic Projection Map of the Eclipse Path ................................. 22 Figure 3: The Eclipse Path in North America .................................................. 23 Figure 4: The Annular Path in Western North America ...................................... 24 Figure 5: The Annular Path in Eastern North America ....................................... 25 Figure 6: The Annular Path in the North Atlantic and Africa ................................ 26 Figure 7: The Lunar Limb Prof'de ............................................................... 27 Figure 8: Frequency of Clear Skies During May - Mexico ................................... 28 Figure 9: Frequency of Clear Skies During May - Morocco ................................. 28 Figure 10: Frequency of Clear Skies... - Western North America .......................... 29 Figure 11: Frequency of Clear Skies... - Eastern North America ........................... 30 Tables ................................................................................................ 31 Table 1: Elements of the Annular Solar Eclipse of 10 May 1994 ............................ 33 Table 2: Shadow Contacts and Circumstances ................................................ 34 Table 3: Path of the Umbral Shadow ........................................................... 35 Table 4: Physical Ephemeris of the Umbral Shadow ......................................... 36 Table 5: Local Circumstances on the Center Line ............................................. 37 Table 6: Topocentric Data and Path Corrections ............................................... 38 Table 7: Mapping Coordinates for the Umbral Path .......................................... 39 Table 8: Maximum Eclipse and Circumstances for Mexico ................................. 42 Table 9: Maximum Eclipse and Circumstances for C. America and Caribbean ........... 44 Table 10: Maximum Eclipse and Circumstances for United States ......................... 46 Table