Simultaneous total and annular eclipse

The earth is sufficiently large compared with the distance to the moon
that the apparent size of the moon from different locations on the
earth's surface must vary by a couple of percent. So in theory there
could be an eclipse that was total viewed from one place and
simultaneously annular somewhere else.

Has this ever been observed? Obviously it would be very rare, and
more likely at high latitudes.

-- Richard

Don't think it can happen.

Andrea T.

Richard Tobin wrote
The earth is sufficiently large compared with the distance to the moon
that the apparent size of the moon from different locations on the
earth's surface must vary by a couple of percent. So in theory there
could be an eclipse that was total viewed from one place and
simultaneously annular somewhere else.

Has this ever been observed? Obviously it would be very rare, and
more likely at high latitudes.

-- Richard

Without leaping to the bookcase, I think it is more common than you
suggest, it is inevitable that the situation will become more common as
the moon slowly recedes from the earth, until at some point, all
eclipses will be annular. Jean Meeus has covered this in depth in his
wonderful books.

Denis
--
DT
change nospam: n o s p a m
v a l l e ys

"DT" wrote in message
...
Richard Tobin wrote
The earth is sufficiently large compared with the distance to the moon
that the apparent size of the moon from different locations on the
earth's surface must vary by a couple of percent. So in theory there
could be an eclipse that was total viewed from one place and
simultaneously annular somewhere else.

Has this ever been observed? Obviously it would be very rare, and
more likely at high latitudes.

-- Richard

Without leaping to the bookcase, I think it is more common than you
suggest, it is inevitable that the situation will become more common as
the moon slowly recedes from the earth, until at some point, all
eclipses will be annular. Jean Meeus has covered this in depth in his
wonderful books.
I don't think the eclipse will ever be 'simultaneously annular' though.
The area covered by totality is small. However the same eclipse, observed
at one point on the path followed by the totality, and then a little
earlier/latter at a different point, can well display this. The 'path
charts', for the last Solar eclipse, that I saw, showed exactly this.

Best Wishes

Roger Hamlett wrote

"DT" wrote in message
...
Richard Tobin wrote
The earth is sufficiently large compared with the distance to the moon
that the apparent size of the moon from different locations on the
earth's surface must vary by a couple of percent. So in theory there
could be an eclipse that was total viewed from one place and
simultaneously annular somewhere else.

Has this ever been observed? Obviously it would be very rare, and
more likely at high latitudes.

-- Richard

Without leaping to the bookcase, I think it is more common than you
suggest, it is inevitable that the situation will become more common as
the moon slowly recedes from the earth, until at some point, all
eclipses will be annular. Jean Meeus has covered this in depth in his
wonderful books.
I don't think the eclipse will ever be 'simultaneously annular' though.
The area covered by totality is small. However the same eclipse, observed
at one point on the path followed by the totality, and then a little
earlier/latter at a different point, can well display this. The 'path
charts', for the last Solar eclipse, that I saw, showed exactly this.

Best Wishes

I take your point, I mis-interpreted the OP regarding the word
'simultaneously'. This situation would certainly seem to be extremely
unlikely. I might have a crack at the calculation.

Denis
--
DT
change nospam: n o s p a m
v a l l e ys

"Richard Tobin" wrote in message
...
The earth is sufficiently large compared with the distance to the moon
that the apparent size of the moon from different locations on the
earth's surface must vary by a couple of percent. So in theory there
could be an eclipse that was total viewed from one place and
simultaneously annular somewhere else.

Has this ever been observed? Obviously it would be very rare, and
more likely at high latitudes.

-- Richard

Not literally simultaneous, I think, but there are "hybrid" eclipses, in
which the beginning and end of the path of totality are annular, but the
central parts of the path are total eclipses, for exactly the reasons you
suggest. Needless to say, the width of the totality path will be very
narrow.

--
Mike Dworetsky

(Remove "pants" spamblock to send e-mail)

In article ,
Roger Hamlett wrote:

I don't think the eclipse will ever be 'simultaneously annular' though.
The area covered by totality is small.

If the path of totality is near one of the poles, then even the small
angle could cover a fair range of distance in the earth-moon
direction.

-- Richard

JRS: In article , dated Sun, 26
Mar 2006 00:01:59 remote, seen in news:uk.sci.astronomy, Richard Tobin
posted :

So in theory there
could be an eclipse that was total viewed from one place and
simultaneously annular somewhere else.

Since (IIRC) the Moon is approximately spherical and the Sun is
significantly oblate, it must, ISTM, be possible to have an eclipse
which is complete in the solar polar direction and at the same location
and instant is "annular" in the solar equatorial direction.

I suppose it could be called "ansate" or "ansular".

The eclipse of 1966 May 20 Fri could have been of that nature in at
least one interval (and probably two?), since it was predicted as total
in Greece and annular elsewhere. Those of 2005-04-08 Fri and 2013-11-03
Sun may be similar.

--
© John Stockton, Surrey, UK. Turnpike v4.00 MIME. ©
Web URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/ - FAQqish topics, acronyms & links;
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On 26 Mar 2006 00:01:59 GMT, in uk.sci.astronomy ,
(Richard Tobin) wrote:

The earth is sufficiently large compared with the distance to the moon
that the apparent size of the moon from different locations on the
earth's surface must vary by a couple of percent. So in theory there
could be an eclipse that was total viewed from one place and
simultaneously annular somewhere else.

Has this ever been observed? Obviously it would be very rare, and
more likely at high latitudes.

Look on fred espinak's site and browse the eclipse databanks, I think
you'll find that a few circumpolar ones fit this bill quite nicely.
Mark McIntyre
--

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 14:34:08 +0100, in uk.sci.astronomy , "Mike
Dworetsky" wrote:

"Richard Tobin" wrote in message
...
The earth is sufficiently large compared with the distance to the moon
that the apparent size of the moon from different locations on the
earth's surface must vary by a couple of percent. So in theory there
could be an eclipse that was total viewed from one place and
simultaneously annular somewhere else.

Has this ever been observed? Obviously it would be very rare, and
more likely at high latitudes.

-- Richard

Not literally simultaneous, I think, but there are "hybrid" eclipses, in
which the beginning and end of the path of totality are annular,

Last April's eclipse, visible from New Zealand.

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclips...5/HSE2005.html

Mark McIntyre
--