National Aeronautics and Administration

Annular and Total Solar Eclipses of 2010 National Aeronautics and Administration

Publisher Marketing: During 2010, there are two major eclipses of the Sun. The first is an annular eclipse on January 15 and the second is a total eclipse on July 11. This section is a general description of the tables, maps, and figures appearing in the later sections for each eclipse. On Friday, 2010 January 15, an annular eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a 300 km wide track that traverses half of Earth. The path of the Moon's antumbral shadow begins in Africa and passes through Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and So-malia. After leaving Africa, the path crosses the Indian Ocean. The central path then continues into Asia through Bangladesh, India, Burma (Myanmar), and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes eastern Europe, most of Africa, Asia, and Indonesia. On Sunday, 2010 July 11, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses Earth's Southern Hemisphere. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow crosses the South Pacific Ocean where it makes no landfall except for Mangaia (Cook Islands) and Easter Island (Isla de Pascua or Rapa Nui). The path of totality ends just after reaching southern Chile and Argentina. The Moon's penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse that is visible from a much larger region covering the South Pacific and southern South America. This work is the thirteenth in a series of NASA publications containing detailed predictions, maps, and meteorological data for future total and annular solar eclipses of interest. Published as part of NASA's Technical Publication (TP) series, the eclipse bulletins are prepared in cooperation with the Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union and are provided as a public service to both the professional and lay communities, including educators and the media. In order to allow a reasonable lead time for planning purposes, eclipse bulletins are published 12 to 24 months before each event.