An annular solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Sunday, February 28, 2044,[1] with a magnitude of 0.96. 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. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 6.7 days after apogee (on February 22, 2044, at 5:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be smaller.[2]
While the path of annularity will be not visible from any land areas, a partial solar eclipse will be visible for parts of Antarctica and much of South America. This will be the last of 55 umbral eclipses in Solar Saros 121.
Animated path
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.[3]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2044 February 28 at 18:10:40.7 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2044 February 28 at 19:25:50.0 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2044 February 28 at 20:06:18.0 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2044 February 28 at 20:13:36.1 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 2044 February 28 at 20:17:45.9 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 2044 February 28 at 20:17:45.9 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2044 February 28 at 20:24:39.5 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 2044 February 28 at 20:32:09.6 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2044 February 28 at 20:43:34.0 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2044 February 28 at 22:38:55.6 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 0.96001 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 0.92161 | |
| Gamma | −0.99537 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 22h45m44.1s | |
| Sun Declination | -07°51'30.6" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'08.8" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 22h47m30.6s | |
| Moon Declination | -08°41'25.7" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'29.6" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°56'51.8" | |
| ΔT | 80.8 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.