Simultaneous total and annular eclipse

"Dr John Stockton" wrote in message
...
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.


The Sun is so very nearly spherical (not flattened at the poles) that until
recent years, all measurements of the solar oblateness were disputed. I'm
not sure what the lunar shape is (would need to look it up), but it may be
that it is less spherical than the Sun.

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.

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