A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Wednesday, March 29, 2006,[1] [2] [3] with a magnitude of 1.0515. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 1.1 days after perigee (on March 28, 2006, at 8:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[4]
This was the second solar eclipse visible in Africa within just 6 months.
The path of totality of the Moon's shadow began at sunrise in Brazil and extended across the Atlantic to Africa, traveling across Ghana, the southeastern tip of Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Libya, and a small corner of northwest Egypt, from there across the Mediterranean Sea to Greece (Kastellórizo) and Turkey, then across the Black Sea via Georgia, Russia, and Kazakhstan to Western Mongolia, where it ended at sunset. A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including eastern South America, the northern two-thirds of Africa, the whole of Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia.
People around the world gathered in areas where the eclipse was visible to view the event. The Manchester Astronomical Society, the Malaysian Space Agency, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, as well as dozens of tour groups met at the Apollo temple and the theater in Side, Turkey. The San Francisco Exploratorium featured a live webcast from the site, where thousands of observers were seated in the ancient, Roman-style theater.[5]
Almost all actively visited areas in the path of totality had perfect weather. Many observers reported an unusually beautiful eclipse, with many or all effects visible, and a very nice corona, despite the proximity to the solar minimum. The partial phase of the eclipse was also visible from the International Space Station, where the astronauts on board took spectacular pictures of the moon's shadow on Earth's surface. It initially appeared as though an orbit correction set for the middle of March would bring the ISS into the path of totality, but this correction was postponed.
The Paris Observatory sent a team of students and coordinators to Savalou, Benin. The team took clear images of the corona. A team of Williams College, Massachusetts did many experiments and took images of the corona on the Greek island of Kastellórizo with 3 minutes of totality, which is close to the coast of Turkey and the only place in the European Union covered by the path of totality. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory also made auxiliary observations to compare images taken from space and from the ground.[6] [7] Another research simulated the changing colours of the sky in the path of totality with a three-dimensional model while considering multiple scattering. Monte Carlo method was used in the experiment to predict the colour and brightness of the sky. In addition, the direct irradiation of the corona was also studied. The goal was to plan and optimise studies on incoming solar irradiance.[8] Russian scientists studied on coronal polarization in the Baksan River Gorge surrounded by snow mountains in the North Caucasus. The location has an altitude of 1,800 metres and is 25 kilometres from Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia and also Europe.[9]
Libya under Muammar Gaddafi was under sanctions because of bombing the Pan Am Flight 103 and had a strict alcohol ban. It was the least visited region around the Mediterranean. To promote tourism, the Libyan government mobilized 5 state-owned tourism companies to attract more tourists, and built a tent village that could accommodate 7,000 people in Waw an Namus inside the Sahara Desert with excellent observation conditions. However, it was only open to astronomers, while ordinary tourists were directed to Patan, near the border with Egypt. Despite Libya's desire to attract tourists from all over the world, Israelis were still banned from entering the country.[10] [11] NASA scientists also did joint observation and research with Libyan scientists, taking images and videos.[12] [13]
A team of 20 people from the took images of Baily's beads, corona and prominences in Sallum, Egypt. The weather conditions were good in Sallum and also neighbouring Libya. Then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Minister of Defense Muhammad Tantawi and other officials also went there by helicopter and observed the eclipse with scientists and tourists.[14] [15]
The satellite responsible for SKY Network Television, a New Zealand pay TV company, failed the day after this eclipse at around 1900 local time. While SKY didn't directly attribute the failure to the eclipse, they said in a media release that it took longer to resolve the issue because of it, but this claim was rejected by astronomers. The main reason for the failure was because of an aging and increasingly faulty satellite.[16]
Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[17]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2006 March 29 at 07:37:53.6 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2006 March 29 at 08:35:29.4 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 2006 March 29 at 08:36:31.5 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2006 March 29 at 08:37:33.6 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 2006 March 29 at 09:45:42.2 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2006 March 29 at 10:12:22.7 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 2006 March 29 at 10:12:45.5 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2006 March 29 at 10:16:20.0 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2006 March 29 at 10:34:22.4 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 2006 March 29 at 10:38:33.1 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2006 March 29 at 11:46:59.6 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 2006 March 29 at 11:48:00.6 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2006 March 29 at 11:49:01.5 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2006 March 29 at 12:46:45.7 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.05152 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.10569 | |
| Gamma | 0.38433 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 00h31m31.7s | |
| Sun Declination | +03°24'10.3" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'01.1" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.8" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 00h30m46.6s | |
| Moon Declination | +03°44'36.2" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'34.9" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°00'51.4" | |
| ΔT | 64.9 s |
See also: Eclipse cycle. This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
Photos: