by Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard
On August 1st 2008 the first total solar eclipse will occur
on Norwegian ground since 1954 when the Moon totally covers
the Sun for half a minute. The rest of the country will
experience partially eclipses.
|
On Kvitøya on Svalbard the eclipse will be total!
Illustration: astronomy.no |
The total solar eclipse on June 30th 1954 which crossed the
southern Norway, can be remembered by many people still
living today. In the 19th century there actually was four
total solar eclipses in Norway, but none after 1954. On the
main land there will not be any total eclipses until in 2097
or in 2126, but in Svalbard the will be another total solar
eclipse on Mars 20th 2015.
The eclipse on August 1st 2008 is total in a band stretching out
from the arctic areas of Canada, over the northern part of
Greenland, through Kvitøya on Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya and
Siberia before it ends in the inner parts of China. Mostly
the eclipse will pass through deserted, inaccessible and
scarcely populated areas.
This time of year it most certainly is clouded on
Kvitøya. It will be dark, so no one will be able to see the
eclipse and the spectacular outermost coronal ring
surrounding the solar disk.
|
The zone of totality through the Arctic.
Illustration: Fred Espanak, NASA |
This historic event will be broadcasted through the
Internet using live pictures from Svalbard, from the zone of
totality and from several other places in Norway. The
pictures will be displayed on astronomy.no and on events in
Oslo and other places throughout the country. Check back
regularly for updates!
Among others, there will be a big, national event in
the Frogner park (Frognerparken) just like there was for the
Venus passage in 2004. The eclipse, including the totality,
will be displayed on a big screen.
On Kvitøya the totality of the eclipse will last for one and a half
minute around approximately 11.47 am.
On the main land the partial phases will last for about two hours just
before lunch. Due to the midnight-sun on Svalbard, the Sun
will be up around the clock. Nevertheless, from the zone of totality
there will be a crude minute when one can see the
planets Mercury and Venus, and probably also other
objects in the sky if one is located above the clouds or in
clear-weather.
LOCAL TIMES AND CONDITIONS FOR NORWAY
SOLAR ECLIPSE GLASSES
AND OTHER EQUIPMENT MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO OBSERVE THE
ECLIPSE FROM NORWAY
|
The band of totality over the Svalbard area. The thick
line in the middle of the band show where one is in
the middle of the totality zone and therefore can
experience the eclipse the longest amount of time (2
minutes and 18 secunds).
The thin lines mark every half a minute of
eclipse-duration reduction while the thick lines mark
the end of the zone of totality.
Illustration: Fred Espanak, NASA |
|
The solar eclipse as seen from Oslo.
Illustration: astronomy.no |
THE REASON FOR WHY WE OBSERVE SOLAR ECLIPSES
The Moon orbits the Earth in 29.5 days and will with equal spacing
(new moon) pas close to the Sun. But the plane of the Moons
orbit have an inclination of 5 degree Celsius with respect
to the plane of the Earths orbit around the Sun. The Moon
will therefore pass either above or beneath the Sun, and
there will not be an eclipse. Only when the Moons orbit
plane and the Earths orbit plane around the Sun cross can
we observe solar eclipses or Lunar eclipses (full Moon).
The distance to the Sun from the Earth is 390 times larger
than the distance between the Earth and the Moon, at the
same time the Sun is 400 times larger than the
Moon. Therefore the Moon and The Sun appear to be of equal
size as observed from Earth. Because the Lunar orbit is
elongated we observe a ring of radiation around the Moon
when eclipses happen when the Moon is fare away, and total
eclipses when the Moon is closer.
|
This is the way eclipses arise. They can be total
or partial within a small band. (Image not to
scale).
Illustration: astronomy.no |
ANIMATIONS OF THE ECLIPSE:
The solar eclipse August 1st 2008 as seen from Kvitøya on
Svalbard. Here the eclipse will be total! Duration 25
seconds. Quicktime-format, 8,6 MB.
The solar eclipse August 1st 2008 as seen from
Oslo.Duration 25 seconds. Quicktime-format, 4,5
MB. Animation: astronomy.no
>The solar eclipse August 1st 2008 as seen from Tromsø.
Duration 26 seconds. Quicktime-format, 6,4 MB. Animation:
astronomy.no
The solar eclipse August 1st 2008 as seen from
Longyearbyen on Svalbard. Here such a big part of the
Sun will be covered by the Moon making the day noticeable
darker. Duration 25 seconds. Quicktime-format, 7,2 MB.
ANIMATIONS OF THE ECLIPSE FROM OCTOBER 2005:
Avi-animation of the eclipse as observed from the east
Norway. Animation: Carsten Arnholm, 1 MB, DiVX codec necessary.
Avi-animation of the eclipse as observed from Alicante, Spain. Animation: Carsten Arnholm, 1 MB, DiVX codec necessary.
LINKS:
NASAs main page about this eclipse
The eclipse through Arctic, including Kvitøya
Articles about the eclipse
Large Astronomic heaven-events
CONTACT ABOUT THE SOLAR ECLIPSE
