A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, March 20, 2015,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0445. 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 a partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring only about 14 hours after perigee (on March 19, 2015, at 19:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
Totality was visible in the Faroe Islands and Svalbard. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Greenland, Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, and western Russia. This total solar eclipse is notable in that the path of totality passed over the North Pole.
The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes and 47 seconds off the coast of the Faroe Islands. It was the last total solar eclipse visible in Europe until the eclipse of August 12, 2026.[3]
The solar eclipse began at 08:30 GMT in northwest Europe, and moved towards the northeast, but was still in northern Europe. It was most visible from the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Faroe Islands, northern Norway and Murmansk Oblast. The shadow began its pass off the south coast of Greenland. It then moved to the northeast, passing between Iceland and the United Kingdom before moving over the Faroe Islands and the northernmost islands of Norway. The shadow of the eclipse was visible in varying degrees all over Europe.[4] For example, London experienced an 86.8% partial solar eclipse while points north of the Faroe Islands in the Norwegian Sea saw a complete solar eclipse.[5] Three chartered airliners flew above the clouds, giving passengers a slightly prolonged view.[6]
The eclipse was observed at radio frequencies at the Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Finland, where a partial eclipse was seen.[7] The eclipse was also observed by meteorological satellite Meteosat-10.[8] [9]
The European Union has a solar power output of about 90 gigawatts and production could have been temporarily decreased by up to 34 GW of that dependent on the clarity of the sky. In actuality the dip was less than expected, with a 13 GW drop in Germany happening due to overcast skies.[10] [11] This was the first time that an eclipse had a significant impact on the power system, and the electricity sector took measures to mitigate the impact. The power gradient (change in power) may be −400 MW/minute and +700 MW/minute. Places in Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark were 80-85% obscured.[12] [13] [14] The temperature drops varied greatly across Europe, with most areas having an insignificant drop in temperature due to the overcast weather, while others, like Scotland, Wales, and Iceland received a drop of 2-4°C. These areas were not obscured by cloud cover during the eclipse which may have led to the drop in temperature. Wind speed in the UK dropped by ~9%. [15]
In addition to the eclipse, 20 March 2015 was also the day of the March equinox (also known as the spring or vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere). In addition, six supermoons were expected for 2015. The supermoon on 20 March 2015 was the third of the year; however, it was a new moon (near side facing away from the sun), and only its shadow was visible.[16]
At greatest eclipse, the Sun was at its zenith less than south of the Equator. Greatest eclipse occurred at 09:45:39 UTC of Friday, March 20, 2015 while March Equinox occurred at 22:45:09 UTC, just under 13 hours after the greatest eclipse (Greatest eclipse occurred in winter, 13 hours before spring).
See also: Blood Moon Prophecy. Proponents of the Blood Moon Prophecy, such as Bob O'Dell[17] also pointed out that 20 March 2015 was also a significant day on the Jewish and Biblical calendar. That evening was the onset of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month in the Biblical calendar year. Furthermore, the path of the total eclipse over the North Pole[18] was a highly symbolic location infusing the day with both great natural significance and profound religious meaning according to O'Dell. Due to the significance of the eclipse, a global prayer event in Jerusalem was organized that day.[19]
The event was visible as a partial eclipse all across Europe including: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom,[20] Ireland,[21] Portugal, France,[22] Germany,[23] Poland,[24] Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Montenegro, Finland, Western Russia, and Ukraine.
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.[25]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2015 March 20 at 07:41:59.5 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2015 March 20 at 09:10:40.3 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 2015 March 20 at 09:13:50.9 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2015 March 20 at 09:17:19.8 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2015 March 20 at 09:37:18.1 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 2015 March 20 at 09:46:24.2 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2015 March 20 at 09:46:46.8 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2015 March 20 at 10:18:14.1 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2015 March 20 at 10:15:51.3 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 2015 March 20 at 10:19:19.7 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2015 March 20 at 10:22:29.9 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2015 March 20 at 11:51:20.4 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.04455 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.09109 | |
| Gamma | 0.94536 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 23h58m01.5s | |
| Sun Declination | -00°12'50.4" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'03.7" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.8" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 23h56m50.5s | |
| Moon Declination | +00°42'08.7" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'41.6" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'15.8" | |
| ΔT | 67.7 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.
