2016 Eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon s shadow falls on the Earth. The shadow comprises two concentric cones called the umbra and the penumbra. Within the smaller, central umbra, the Sun is completely blocked by the Moon, and anyone inside the umbra sees a total eclipse. Within the larger penumbra, the Sun is only partially blocked.In this animation, the umbra and penumbra cones are viewed through a telescopic lens on a virtual camera located far behind the Moon. Long focal lengths like the one used here appear to compress the distance between near and far objects. Despite appearances, the geometry of the scene is correct. The Earth is roughly 104 lunar diameters beyond the Moon, and the angle at the apex of the umbral cone is only about half a degree.From this point of view directly behind the Moon, the edges of the shadow cones look circular. The edge of the penumbra is outlined in yellow. It passes over Southeast Asia, Australia, and southern China before crossing the Pacific Ocean and reaching Hawaii. The path of the umbra (the small black dot) leads through Indonesia and over the tiny Woleai atoll in Micronesia. The umbral and penumbral shadow cones travel across the surface of the Earth during the March 9, 2016 total solar eclipse.

Solar eclipses can only occur at New Moon, when the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun. But not every New Moon produces an eclipse. The Moon s shadow barely reaches the Earth as it traces a path across the Pacific Ocean.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, casting its shadow on the Earth. The shadow comprises two concentric cones called the umbra and the penumbra. Observers on the Earth who are within the smaller, central umbra see the Sun completely blocked. Within the larger penumbra, the Sun is only partially blocked.In this animation, the Earth, Moon, Sun, and shadow cones are viewed through a telescopic lens on a virtual camera located far behind the Earth. Long focal lengths like the one used here appear to compress the distance between near and far objects. Despite appearances, the geometry of the scene is correct. The Moon s umbra cone is roughly 30 Earth diameters long, barely enough to reach the Earth, while the Sun is almost 400 times farther away.From this perspective, we see the night sides of both the Earth and the Moon. Solar eclipses can only occur during New Moon, when the entire Earth-facing side of the Moon is experiencing nighttime darkness. The Moon moves right to left in its orbit around the Earth. The shadow it casts hits the Earth during the March 9, 2016 total solar eclipse.

On Wednesday, March 9, 2016 (Tuesday evening in the Americas), the Moon will pass in front of the Sun, casting its shadow across Southeast Asia and the western Pacific. The shadow crosses the International Date Line, entering March 8, and passes Hawaii before it slides off the edge of the Earth.The Moon s shadow can be divided into areas called the umbra and the penumbra. Within the penumbra, the Sun is only partially blocked, and observers experience a partial eclipse. The much smaller umbra lies at the very center of the shadow cone, and anyone there sees the Moon entirely cover the Sun in a total solar eclipse.In the animation, the umbra is the small black oval. The red streak behind this oval is the path of totality. Anyone within this path will see a total eclipse when the umbra passes over them. The much larger shaded bullseye pattern represents the penumbra. Steps in the shading denote different percentages of Sun coverage (eclipse magnitude), at levels of 90%, 75%, 50% and 25%. The yellow and orange contours map the path of the penumbra. The outermost yellow contour is the edge of the penumbra path. Outside this limit, no part of the Sun is covered by the Moon.The numbers in the lower left corner give the latitude and longitude of the center of the umbra as it moves eastward, along with the altitude of the Sun above the horizon at that point. Also shown is the duration of totality: for anyone standing at the center point, this is how long the total solar eclipse will last. Note that the duration varies from just 2 minutes over eastern Indonesia to over 4 minutes on the Woleai Atoll in Micronesia.Go here for details about the methods and parameters used to make this visualization. The animated shadow path of the March 9, 2016 total solar eclipse, showing the umbra (black oval), penumbra (concentric shaded ovals), and path of totality (red) through Indonesia and the western Pacific.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. The animated shadow path of the March 9, 2016 total solar eclipse, showing the umbra (black oval), penumbra (concentric shaded ovals), and path of totality (red). This version omits the geographical labels and the statistics display. The animated shadow path of the March 9, 2016 total solar eclipse, showing the umbra (black oval), penumbra (concentric shaded ovals), and path of totality (red). The appearance of the Sun relative to the local horizon is shown for eight locations.